Reading netCDF files with unconventional dimension names #344
Description
Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
Yes, occasionally in some netCDF files there are variables that have dimensions other than those normally recognized by VERDI (columns, rows, layers, or south-north, west-east, and bottom-top), such at categories of crop types, soil types, or species types. Usually the variables have the dimensions as var(Time, var-cat, south-north, west-east). When this kind of files are opened by VERDI, the variables with the unconventional dimensions are ignored (no showing in the variable list).
Describe the solution you'd like
In conventional IOAPI (TSTEP, LAY, ROW, COL) or wrf netCDF (Times, bottom_top, south_north, west_east) files, verdi would automatically recognize the variables as 4-D time-space variables. But in the files with the unconventional dimension names, the first (Time) and the second and third (spatial) dimensions are generally the same. The only difference is the forth (LAY in case of IOAPI, bottom_top in case of wrf netCDF) dimension. One proposed solution is to treat the third (time-independent) or forth (time-dependent) unconventional dimension as the vertical layers as long as the other dimensions are conformable.
Describe alternatives you've considered
None.
Additional context
An example file can be found at: /work/MOD3DEV/dkj/Verdi/example_files/beld4_CMAQ12KM_2011.nc and look for variables with land_cat, crop_cat, and tree-cat as one of the dimensions.