function f_map(FN, mdat, mlat, mlon, Cr, ttl, xlb, ylb)
 
%* render flat map data  f_map(FN, mdat, mlat, mlon, Cr, ttl, xlb, ylb)
%   FN      figure number
%   mdat    map data to be rendered
%   mlat    latitudes for mdat
%   mlon    longitudes for mdat
%   Cr      color axis [min max] array
%   ttl     figure title, expects character string
%   xlb     x-axis label, character string
%   ylb     y-axis label, character string

 
%* load a MATLAB native data set containing lat & lon of world coaslines
load coast			


%* map plot window
wind=[min(mlon) max(mlon) min(mlat) max(mlat)]; 

%********
% flat map using data passed to the function
%********

figure(FN)                          %open figure window
clf
axis equal
axis(wind)                          % define axes for this plot
hold on
caxis(Cr)                  % define color range for this plot
pcolor(mlon, mlat, mdat)         	% simple Plate Carree projection
shading flat
xlabel(xlb)
ylabel(ylb)
title(ttl)
colorbar('horiz')
hold on
plot(long, lat, 'r-')               % plot world coastlines