Earth System Modeling Framework: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 17:02, 9 April 2009

Revision as of 22:53, 12 May 2009

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ESMF is based on principles of [[component-based software engineering]]. The components within an ESMF software application usually represent large-scale physical domains such as the [[atmosphere]], [[ocean]], [[cryosphere]], or land surface. Some models also represent specific processes (e.g. ocean biogeochemistry, the impact of [[solar radiation]] on the atmosphere) as components. In ESMF, components can create and drive other components so that an ocean biogeochemistry component can be part of a larger ocean component.

The software that connects physical domains is called a coupler in the Earth system modeling community. Couplers follow the [[mediator pattern]] and take the outputs from one component and transform them into the inputs that are needed to run another component. Transformations may include unit conversions, grid interpolation or remapping, mergers (i.e., combining land and ocean sufacessurfaces to form a completely covered global surface) or other specialized transformations. In ESMF, couplers are also software components.

===History===