Elements: Cyberinfrastructure for streamlining coupled, simplified climate modeling within the Community Earth System Model

在过去的几十年里，全球气候模型的复杂性急剧增加，现在代表了一系列大规模的大气、海洋、冰冻圈、生物圈和化学过程的耦合过程。然而，这种复杂性导致了大量的计算成本，并为研究人员进行有针对性的实验和研究特定的动力学过程带来了挑战。通过创建简化的模型来理想化气候系统是一种在避免复杂性和费用的同时执行这些类型的高度集中研究的方法。然而，气候模型界目前缺乏软件基础设施，无法在单个框架内使用最小的物理包、简化的域几何或更精简的模型版本来轻松配置这些模型，该框架弥合了这些简化模型和完全耦合系统之间的差距。该项目旨在通过开发一个软件工具链来填补这一空白，以便能够在NCAR的社区地球系统模型(CESM)中快速和无缝地设置耦合简化模型。这一更简单的模型工具链将作为CESM建模框架的一部分得到官方支持，并将服务于所有气候科学学科的研究和学术界的需求。更简单的模型工具链的总体目标是简化用户工作流程，并以最小的人力或计算时间成本实现研究准备就绪的耦合建模。工具链的第一个组成部分，即更简单的模型查询工具，将根据用户的XML元数据，就不同地球系统模型组成部分的兼容性和配置向用户提供建议。该工具本质上将允许用户磨练他们的建模策略，而不必参考每个组件的文档或求助于试错方法。然后，工具链将允许以确保跨组件兼容性的方式配置模型分辨率和理想化的域几何。工具链支持的工作流程将被组织起来，以便首先保证耦合系统的兼容性，然后在各个模型组件内以逐渐更高的粒度级别进行定制。工具链将与将托管在CESM Simple Models网站上的用户文档一起提供。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Global climate models have increased dramatically in their complexity over the last few decades, and now represent a massive array of coupled atmospheric, oceanic, cryospheric, biospheric and chemical processes. However, this complexity incurs substantial computational expense, and creates a challenge for researchers to perform targeted experiments and investigate specific dynamical processes. Idealizing the climate system through the creation of simplified models is a way of performing these types of highly focused studies while avoiding complexity and expense. However, the climate modeling community presently lacks the software infrastructure to easily configure these models using minimal physics packages, simplified domain geometries, or more streamlined model versions, within a single framework that bridges the gap between these simplified models and the fully coupled system. This project aims to fill this gap by developing a software toolchain to enable fast and seamless setup of coupled simplified models within NCAR’s Community Earth System Model (CESM). This Simpler Models toolchain will be officially supported as part of the CESM modeling framework, and will serve the needs of the research and academic communities across all climate science disciplines.The overarching goal for the Simpler Models toolchain is to streamline the user workflow and enable research-ready coupled modeling at minimal expense in terms of human or computing time. The first component of the toolchain, the Simpler Models Query Tool, will advise users on the compatibility and configuration of different earth system model components based on their XML metadata. This tool will essentially let the user hone their modeling strategy without having to consult each component’s documentation or resorting to a trial and error approach. The toolchain will then allow for the configuration of model resolution and idealized domain geometries in such a way as to ensure compatibility across components. The workflow enabled by the toolchain will be structured so that compatibility of the coupled system is guaranteed first, followed by customizations at progressively higher levels of granularity within individual model components. The toolchain will be accompanied by user documentation that will be hosted on the CESM Simpler Models website.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.