Common Modeling Infrastructure
Encyclopedia
Common modeling infrastructure refers to software libraries that can be shared across multiple institutions in order to increase software reuse and interoperability in complex modeling systems. Early initiatives were in the climate
and weather
domain, where software components representing distinct physical domains (for example, ocean
or atmosphere
) tended to be developed by domain specialists, often at different organizations. In order to create complete applications, these needed to be combined together, using special coupling software that transferred and transformed data between the components. An additional challenge was that these models required supercomputers to run, and specialized software to address routine functions such as I/O, parallel data communications, and error handling.
In this context, the incentives for common modeling infrastructure included:
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, a series of journal papers and government reports described common modeling infrastructure as necessary to the competitiveness and evolution of the U.S. Earth science modeling community. These reports resulted in a number of new community projects. The Earth System Modeling Framework (ESMF
) in the U.S. and the PRogramme for Integrated Earth System Modeling (PRISM) in Europe were two of the largest. Similar projects were initiated in related domains, including the Space Weather Modeling Framework and the Center for Integrated Space Weather Modeling in the space weather
community.
In the late 2000s, the growing global interest in climate change refocused attention on the role of common modeling infrastructure in solving complex problems. Some of the specific factors that new common modeling infrastructure projects seek to address include:
Active common modeling infrastructure projects include the Network Common Data Form (NetCDF
) library, the Spherical Coordinate Remapping and Interpolation Package (SCRIP), the GFDL Flexible Modeling System (FMS), the OASIS coupler developed at CERFACS, and the multi-agency Earth System Modeling Framework (ESMF
). The NOAA Global Interoperability Program is an integrative effort whose aim is to encourage coordination across such projects.
Climate
Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...
and weather
Weather
Weather is the state of the atmosphere, to the degree that it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. Most weather phenomena occur in the troposphere, just below the stratosphere. Weather refers, generally, to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate...
domain, where software components representing distinct physical domains (for example, ocean
Ocean
An ocean is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas.More than half of this area is over 3,000...
or atmosphere
Atmosphere
An atmosphere is a layer of gases that may surround a material body of sufficient mass, and that is held in place by the gravity of the body. An atmosphere may be retained for a longer duration, if the gravity is high and the atmosphere's temperature is low...
) tended to be developed by domain specialists, often at different organizations. In order to create complete applications, these needed to be combined together, using special coupling software that transferred and transformed data between the components. An additional challenge was that these models required supercomputers to run, and specialized software to address routine functions such as I/O, parallel data communications, and error handling.
In this context, the incentives for common modeling infrastructure included:
- the need for physical consistency across components, such as using the same physical constants and calendarCalendarA calendar is a system of organizing days for social, religious, commercial, or administrative purposes. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months, and years. The name given to each day is known as a date. Periods in a calendar are usually, though not...
s - the need for clear, standard software interfaceSoftware interfaceSoftware interface may refer to:* graphical user interface* interface...
s so components could be exchanged and introduced easily - the desire to create systems in which the components of complex models were separable, so that controlled experiments could be performed in which only specific components were changed
- the desire to share as many of the libraries handling non-scientific modeling functions as possible
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, a series of journal papers and government reports described common modeling infrastructure as necessary to the competitiveness and evolution of the U.S. Earth science modeling community. These reports resulted in a number of new community projects. The Earth System Modeling Framework (ESMF
ESMF
The ESMF is open source software for building climate, numerical weather prediction, data assimilation, and other Earth science software applications. These applications are computationally demanding and usually run on supercomputers...
) in the U.S. and the PRogramme for Integrated Earth System Modeling (PRISM) in Europe were two of the largest. Similar projects were initiated in related domains, including the Space Weather Modeling Framework and the Center for Integrated Space Weather Modeling in the space weather
Space weather
Space weather is the concept of changing environmental conditions in near-Earth space or thespace from the Sun's atmosphere to the Earth's atmosphere. It is distinct from the concept ofweather within the Earth's planetary atmosphere...
community.
In the late 2000s, the growing global interest in climate change refocused attention on the role of common modeling infrastructure in solving complex problems. Some of the specific factors that new common modeling infrastructure projects seek to address include:
- increased demand for access to climate modelClimate modelClimate models use quantitative methods to simulate the interactions of the atmosphere, oceans, land surface, and ice. They are used for a variety of purposes from study of the dynamics of the climate system to projections of future climate...
output and related information following the widespread dissemination of the conclusions of the IPCC Fourth Assessment ReportIPCC Fourth Assessment ReportClimate Change 2007, the Fourth Assessment Report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change , is the fourth in a series of reports intended to assess scientific, technical and socio-economic information concerning climate change, its potential effects, and options for...
in 2007 - the desire to model anticipated climate change impacts, often by linking together a variety of local, regional, and global models and datasets
- the exploration of weather modeling techniques and observational datasets to improve and validate climate model predictions
Active common modeling infrastructure projects include the Network Common Data Form (NetCDF
NetCDF
NetCDF is a set of software libraries and self-describing, machine-independent data formats that support the creation, access, and sharing of array-oriented scientific data. The project homepage is hosted by the Unidata program at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research...
) library, the Spherical Coordinate Remapping and Interpolation Package (SCRIP), the GFDL Flexible Modeling System (FMS), the OASIS coupler developed at CERFACS, and the multi-agency Earth System Modeling Framework (ESMF
ESMF
The ESMF is open source software for building climate, numerical weather prediction, data assimilation, and other Earth science software applications. These applications are computationally demanding and usually run on supercomputers...
). The NOAA Global Interoperability Program is an integrative effort whose aim is to encourage coordination across such projects.