Version 3.1

This is a major upgrade to the local wind multipliers code following a collaboration with scientist at the Australian National University.
The processing steps are now included one required and one optional steps:

• Preprocessing step(required)

This step will merge mesh block with settlement types and produce both vector and raster merged layers. The second part of preprocessing step is to overlay merged meshblock raster layer with LCCS dataset in order to improve the categories with "Natural surface" types. The output of this step is an updated LCCS layer that is going to be used as the terrain_data for producing local wind multipliers.

• Rasterising step (optional)

Assuming having the merged shapefile from the preporcessing step, There is also one optional step between preprocessing and generating local wind multipliers. This step can be used to rasterise merged meshblock from shapefile to GeoTiff on a given topography file.

Updating docs for instructions on how to run the local wind multipliers code including each above steps.
convert.py script in the utilities folder was also updated for handling alignment and projection when writing the combined local wind multiplier raster files.

Version 3.0

This is a major upgrade to Python 3.7 and above.

• Combine the three component multipliers (Ms, Mh and Mt) into a single band, repeated for each wind direction (E, N, NE, NW, S, SE, SW, W). Each band is then stored in a single geotiff file for each tile.
• mpi_runner.py creates a Virtual Raster Table (VRT) that allows a virtual GDAL dataset to be composed from other datasets.
• Created dataset dimensions are set by the input dataset dimensions, not fixed
• Handles the case of an empty input file, but not in an ideal way (replace missing file with values of 1)
• PyPar replaced by mpi4py
• TCRM-108: Fixed crash due to fraction indices.
• TCRM-108: Python version change to 3.7
• TCRM-108: Adding test terrain_table data.
• Update for PEP8 conformance test

Version 2.0

• In some cases, tiles were not correctly completed using subprocess calls to the GDAL executables. Replaced the subprocess calls with the GDAL API.
• Updated the tile output to remove overlapping areas.
• Simplified the output structure.
• Updated the terrain multiplier algorithm as per AS/NZS 1170.2 (2011) and recent amendments.
• Updated the topographic multiplier algorithm to include the Tasmania factor as per AS/NZS 1170.2 (2011).
• Updated the topographic multiplier algorithm to remove the conservatism associated with the topographic multiplier as described in this Record, with a modification to the treatment of shallow topographic features such as shallow hills and escarpments. In the case where Mt < 1.4, a linear interpolation is constructed so that the percentage of reduction is gradually increased from 0 at point (Mt = 1) to 10 at point (Mt = 1.4))
• Updated the shielding multiplier convolution mask to exclude the grid point being evaluated.