LogoClim

Overview

LogoClim is a NetLogo model designed to
simulate and visualize global climate conditions. It allows researchers
to pull high-resolution climate data directly into agent-based models,
making it easier to study how climate variables interact with complex
systems over time.

Learn more about the model in the user
manual.

If you find this project useful, please consider giving it a star!  

[!NOTE]
LogoClim is an independent project with no affiliation to WorldClim or its developers. Users should be aware that WorldClim datasets are freely available for academic and other non-commercial use only. Any use of WorldClim data within LogoClim must comply with WorldClim's licensing terms.

How It Works

LogoClim uses raster data to represent climate variables such as
temperature and precipitation over time. It incorporates historical data
(1951-2024) and future climate projections (2021-2100) derived from
global climate
models
under various Shared Socioeconomic Pathways
(SSPs,
O’Neill et al.,
2017).

The model operates on a grid of patches, where each patch represents a
geographical area and stores values for latitude, longitude, and
selected climate variables. During the simulation, patches update their
colors based on the data values. The results can be visualized on a map,
accompanied by plots that display the mean, minimum, maximum, and
standard deviation of the selected variable over time.

All climate inputs come from WorldClim 2.1, a
widely used source of high-resolution climate datasets based on weather
station observations worldwide (Fick & Hijmans,
2017). These data series are offered
at various spatial resolutions, ranging from 10 minutes (~340 km² at the
equator) to 30 seconds (~1 km² at the equator), and can be chosen within
the model interface.

Historical Climate Data

This series includes
only 12 monthly data points representing long-term average climate
conditions for the period 1970-2000. It provides averages on minimum,
mean, and maximum temperature, precipitation, solar radiation, wind
speed, vapor pressure, elevation, and on bioclimatic
variables.

Historical Monthly Weather Data

This series includes
12 monthly data points for each year from 1951 to 2024, based on
downscaled data from
CRU-TS-4.09,
developed by the Climatic Research
Unit
at the University of East Anglia. It provides
monthly averages for minimum temperature, maximum temperature, and total
precipitation.

Future Climate Data

This series
includes 12 monthly data points from
downscaled climate
projections derived from
CMIP6 models for
four future periods: 2021-2040, 2041-2060, 2061-2080, and 2081-2100. The
projections cover four
SSPs:
126, 245, 370, and 585, with data available for average minimum
temperature, average maximum temperature, total precipitation, and
bioclimatic variables.

Learn more about the data series in the
WorldClim website.

Usage

To get started using LogoClim, you must have
NetLogo version 7 or later installed. The
NetLogo website provides easy installers for
Windows, macOS, and Linux, along with detailed instructions for
installation.

The model also depends on four NetLogo extensions:
GIS,
Pathdir,
String, and
Time. No manual installation is
required since they are automatically installed the first time the model
runs.

[!TIP]
Linux users can install NetLogo via LogoPak, a Flatpak package that bundles all four NetLogo applications: NetLogo, NetLogo 3D, HubNet Client, and BehaviorSearch.

With NetLogo ready, follow these 5 steps to get LogoClim up and
running.

A. Downloading the Model

You can download the latest release of the model from the CoMSES
Network.
This is the recommended option for most users, as it provides a stable
version of the model that has been tested and documented.

For the development version, you can clone or download the model GitHub
code repository directly.

B. Opening the Model

After downloading and uncompressing the model files, open the
logoclim.nlogox file in NetLogo. You can find this file in the code
directory when using the CoMSES
Network
release or in the nlogox folder when using the development version.

C. Preparing the Data

The CoMSES Network
release
includes an example dataset that is ready to use with LogoClim. You
can use it as a starting point. But, ideally you should prepare your own
data to suit your research needs. The user
manual will guide you through
the process of downloading and preparing
WorldClim data for use with LogoClim.

We also provide other example datasets for testing and demonstration.
These files are available in the model’s OSF
repository and are ready to use
with LogoClim. Please note that these datasets are for demonstration
purposes only and are not be suitable for research applications. Always
verify the suitability of the data for your specific research questions
and objectives.

D. Running the Model

With files at hand, use the Select Data Directory button in the model
interface to specify their location. This will set the data-path
global variable to the correct path, allowing the model to access the
data. After that, you can configure the other parameters as needed and
start the simulation.

Once everything is set, click Setup and then Go buttons to start the
simulation. Learn more about the model interface and parameters in the
user
manual.

Note that the example dataset included in the CoMSES Network
release
is intentionally small to keep downloads fast and easy. The model’s
default configuration already points to this dataset, so you can simply
click Setup and then Go to run the model with it.

E. Integrating with Other Models

LogoClim was created to be integrated with other models using
NetLogo’s
LevelSpace
extension. This extension enables parallel execution and data exchange
between models. See the user
manual for
integration instructions.

To facilitate this integration, we created the
Logônia model, a fictional
plant-growth model providing a practical example of how to integrate
LogoClim with other models. It is also available on the CoMSES
Network
and its code repository is available on
GitHub.

User Manual

[!NOTE]
This section describes the technical setup required to render the user manual locally. You do not need any of this to simply use LogoClim.

LogoClim’s user manual is
developed using the latest versions of the Quarto
publishing system, the NetLogo environment,
and the R programming language. To ensure
consistent results, the renv
package is used to manage and restore the R environment.

To render the manual or reproduce its analyses locally, install the four
dependencies listed above and follow the steps below.

1. Clone this repository to your local machine.
2. Open the project in the terminal or in your preferred
   IDE.
3. Install package dependencies by running
   Rscript -e "renv::restore()" in the terminal or
   renv::restore()
   in an R console. Make sure R is installed and available in your
   system’s PATH
   before running this command.
4. Open the Quarto notebook files (.qmd) and run the code as
   described.

When running
renv::restore(),
check the output for any missing system dependencies like
GDAL. They are usually installed automatically via
your OS package manager, but if something fails, you may need to handle
them manually. See
render-manual.yaml for a list
of system dependencies required for your operating system.

We do not recommend using external environments such as
Anaconda, as these can cause issues with R
package installation and management. This project relies on several
system dependencies, all of which are automatically installed via the
Comprehensive R Archive Network (CRAN).

We recommend using the installers provided by the R
Project or the
rig installation manager from
r-lib when installing R. If your
IDE
lacks a built-in R console, consider installing
radian for a better experience.

Avoid using
VPNs, corporate
proxies, or other network-routing tools while processing the data, as
these can interfere with the downloads.

If you run into issues with renv
(it can be a bit of a
pain sometimes), you
can use
renv::deactivate(clean = TRUE)
to remove the environment completely. In that case, you will need to
install all required packages manually.

To render the entire manual, run the following command in the terminal:

quarto render --profile html

The rendering process may take some time depending on your machine. Once
complete, the Quarto book will be available in
the docs folder.

Contributing

Contributions are always welcome! Whether you want to report bugs,
suggest new features, or help improve the code or documentation, your
input makes a difference.

Before opening a new issue, please check the issues
tab to see if your
topic has already been reported.

You can also support the development of LogoClim by becoming a
sponsor.

Click here to make a
donation. Please mention LogoClim in your donation message.

Citation

[!NOTE]
When using WorldClim data, you must also cite the original data sources.

The appropriate citation depends on the specific dataset utilized. Please refer to the WorldClim website for up-to-date citation guidelines and dataset references.

If you use this model in your research, please cite it to acknowledge
the effort invested in its development and maintenance. Your citation
helps support the ongoing improvement of the model.

To cite LogoClim in publications please use the following format:

Vartanian, D., Garcia, L., & Carvalho, A. M. (2026). LogoClim:
WorldClim in NetLogo [Computer software].
https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/EAPZU

A BibLaTeX entry for LaTeX users is:

@software{vartanian2026,
  title = {LogoClim: WorldClim in NetLogo},
  author = {{Daniel Vartanian} and {Leandro Garcia} and {Aline Martins de Carvalho}},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.17605/OSF.IO/EAPZU}
}

License

Copyright (C) 2026 Sustentarea Research and Extension Center

LogoClim is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the
terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software
Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later
version.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY
WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A
PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with
this program. If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.

Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge Robert J.
Hijmans, Stephen E.
Fick, and the entire
WorldClim team for their outstanding work in
creating and maintaining the WorldClim datasets.

We thank the Climatic Research
Unit
at the University of East Anglia and the
United Kingdom’s Met Office for
developing and providing access to the
CRU-TS-4.09
dataset, a vital source of historical climate data.

We also acknowledge the World Climate Research Programme
(WCRP), its Working Group on Coupled
Modelling, and the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6
(CMIP6) for coordinating and advancing
global climate model development.

We are grateful to the climate modeling groups for producing and sharing
their model outputs, the Earth System Grid Federation
(ESGF) for archiving and providing access to
the data, and the many funding agencies that support
CMIP6 and
ESGF.