Posted on November 28, 2023 (Updated on July 18, 2025)

Step-by-Step Guide: Installing ESMF and ESMFPy in Ubuntu with gfortran, gcc, and Python for Earth Science and Ocean Models

Modeling & Prediction

Getting ESMF and ESMFPy Running on Ubuntu: A (Hopefully) Painless Guide

So, you’re diving into Earth science or ocean modeling and need to get ESMF (Earth System Modeling Framework) and its Python buddy, ESMFPy, up and running on your Ubuntu machine? Awesome! ESMF is a seriously powerful tool for linking together different models, and ESMFPy lets you wrangle it all from the comfort of Python, which, let’s be honest, is where most of the cool data analysis happens these days.

This guide is going to walk you through the installation process, step by step. I’ve been there, wrestling with environment variables and cryptic error messages, so I’m aiming to make this as straightforward as possible. Trust me, it’s worth the effort!

First Things First: Gathering Your Tools

Before we even think about downloading anything, let’s make sure you have the basics covered. Think of it like gathering your ingredients before you start baking. You’ll need:

  • Ubuntu, Naturally: This guide is written with Ubuntu in mind. While the general idea should work on other Linux flavors, the commands might be a little different. Just a heads-up!

  • gfortran and gcc: These are your Fortran and C compilers, the workhorses that will actually build ESMF. If you don’t have them, fire up your terminal and run:

    bash

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