DAWG Update: November 2022

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RST major release

The next release of the RST will be a major release, version 5.0. We are testing the code throughout November, and we encourage you to test the release to ensure that it compiles on your system.

Key updates in RST 5.0 include:

• All fitting algorithms will be called by the make_fit binary, and the following binaries have been removed: make_lmfit, make_fitex2, make_fitex1.
• There will be no default fitting algorithm. The user must specify the fitting algorithm using a command line option (-fitacf3, -fitacf2, -lmfit1, -fitex2, -fitex1)
• Added the LMFit2.0 fitting algorithm by A.S. Reimer.
• C & IDL software to support the recommendations of the TDIFF Task Force, and a sample file of TDIFF values. The recommended changes to the hardware file format were included in the previous release (RST 4.7)
• New fields in the fitacf file format:
  • algorithm: name of the fitting algorithm used to fit the ACFs
  • tdiff: value of TDIFF used when calculating the elevation angles
  • elv_error & elv_fitted: these replace elv_high and elv_low when using FitACF3.0
• New command line option in map_addhmb to allow the user to constrain the HMB based on a spectral width threshold (no change to default behaviour)
• New virtual height model for midlatitude radars and modularized rpos_v2 library by E.G. Thomas
• Speed improvements to map_grd and map_addhmb (~3x)
• New GUI for displaying real-time fit data (fitacfclientgui binary) by E.G. Thomas
• Updates to the data simulator (sim_real and make_sim)
• Updated documentation to reflect all changes listed above.

Release branch on Github: https://github.com/SuperDARN/rst/pull/533

Deadline for feedback: 30 November 2022

DAWG leadership

Adrian Grocott has taken over from Emma as the scientific chair of the DAWG. He will co-chair the DAWG together with Kevin Sterne. We are all working together to ensure a smooth transition.