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Convert to xarray #933

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@davidhassell

It would be nice to be able to convert cf.Field, cf.Domain, cf.FieldList, cf.DomainList constructs to xarray datasets in memory.

E.g.

>>> import cf
>>> f = cf.example_field(0)
>>> ds = f.to_xarray()
>>> ds
<xarray.Dataset> Size: 640B
Dimensions:   (lat: 5, lon: 8, bounds2: 2)
Coordinates:
  * lat       (lat) float64 40B -75.0 -45.0 0.0 45.0 75.0
  * lon       (lon) float64 64B 22.5 67.5 112.5 157.5 202.5 247.5 292.5 337.5
    time      float64 8B dask.array<chunksize=(), meta=np.ndarray>
Dimensions without coordinates: bounds2
Data variables:
    lat_bnds  (lat, bounds2) float64 80B dask.array<chunksize=(5, 2), meta=np.ndarray>
    lon_bnds  (lon, bounds2) float64 128B dask.array<chunksize=(8, 2), meta=np.ndarray>
    q         (lat, lon) float64 320B dask.array<chunksize=(5, 8), meta=np.ndarray>
Attributes:
    Conventions:  CF-1.13
>>>
>>> f.nc_set_variable('/forecast/model/q')
>>> ds = f.to_xarray()
>>> ds 
<xarray.DataTree>
Group: /
│   Dimensions:   (lat: 5, lon: 8, bounds2: 2)
│   Coordinates:
│     * lat       (lat) float64 40B -75.0 -45.0 0.0 45.0 75.0
│     * lon       (lon) float64 64B 22.5 67.5 112.5 157.5 202.5 247.5 292.5 337.5
│       time      float64 8B dask.array<chunksize=(), meta=np.ndarray>
│   Dimensions without coordinates: bounds2
│   Data variables:
│       lat_bnds  (lat, bounds2) float64 80B dask.array<chunksize=(5, 2), meta=np.ndarray>
│       lon_bnds  (lon, bounds2) float64 128B dask.array<chunksize=(8, 2), meta=np.ndarray>
│   Attributes:
│       Conventions:  CF-1.13
└── Group: /forecast
    └── Group: /forecast/model
            Dimensions:  (lat: 5, lon: 8)
            Data variables:
                q        (lat, lon) float64 320B dask.array<chunksize=(5, 8), meta=np.ndarray>
>>>
>>> ds = cf.write(f, fmt='XARRAY')
>>> ds
<xarray.DataTree>
Group: /
│   Dimensions:   (lat: 5, lon: 8, bounds2: 2)
│   Coordinates:
│     * lat       (lat) float64 40B -75.0 -45.0 0.0 45.0 75.0
│     * lon       (lon) float64 64B 22.5 67.5 112.5 157.5 202.5 247.5 292.5 337.5
│       time      float64 8B dask.array<chunksize=(), meta=np.ndarray>
│   Dimensions without coordinates: bounds2
│   Data variables:
│       lat_bnds  (lat, bounds2) float64 80B dask.array<chunksize=(5, 2), meta=np.ndarray>
│       lon_bnds  (lon, bounds2) float64 128B dask.array<chunksize=(8, 2), meta=np.ndarray>
│   Attributes:
│       Conventions:  CF-1.13
└── Group: /forecast
    └── Group: /forecast/model
            Dimensions:  (lat: 5, lon: 8)
            Data variables:
                q        (lat, lon) float64 320B dask.array<chunksize=(5, 8), meta=np.ndarray>
>>>

See also NCAS-CMS/cfdm#394

Activity

  1. added
    enhancementNew feature or request
    dataset readRelating to reading datasets
    dataset writeRelating to writing datasets
    and removed
    dataset readRelating to reading datasets
    on Mar 17, 2026
  2. added this to the NEXTVERSION milestone on Mar 17, 2026
  3. removed this from the NEXTVERSION milestone on Apr 10, 2026
  4. sadielbartholomew commented on Apr 10, 2026

    @sadielbartholomew
    Member

    (Removed NETXVERSION label since we agreed this won't make it in for today's release.)

  5. sadielbartholomew commented on Apr 10, 2026

    @sadielbartholomew
    Member

    (Now adding the new NEXTVERSION milestone, after changing the old one to 3.20.0...)

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    dataset writeRelating to writing datasetsenhancementNew feature or requestxarrayRelated to xarray datasets

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