Earth System Modeling Framework: Difference between revisions

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The '''ESMF''' (''Earth System Modeling Framework'') is [[open source software]] for building and coupling multi-component [[climate]], numerical [[numerical weather prediction]], [[data assimilation]], and other [[Earth science]] [[software applicationapplications]]s. These applications are computationally demanding and usually run on [[supercomputers]]. The ESMF project is distinguished by its strong emphasis on community ownership[[governance]] and [[distributed development]], and by a diverse customer base that includes modeling groups from universities, major U.S. research centers, the [[National Weather Service]], the [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]], and [[NASA]]. The ESMF development team is centered at [[NCAR]].

==About ESMF==

===Purpose===

ESMF increases the [[interoperability]] of Earth science modeling software developed at different sites and promotes [[code reuse]]. The idea is to transform distributed, specialized knowledge and resources into a collaborative, integrated modeling community that operates more efficiently, can address a wider variety of problems more effectively, and is more responsive to societal needs.

===Software Architecture===

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 such as atmospheric [[radiative processes]] and ocean [[biogeochemistry]] 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 are [[software mediators]] that 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 sufaces to form a completely covered global surface) or other specialized transformations. In ESMF, couplers are also software components.

===History===

The ESMF collaboration had its roots in the Common Modeling Infrastructure Working Group (CMIWG), an unfunded, grass-roots effort to explore ways of enhancing collaborative Earth system model development. The CMIWG attracted broad participation from major weather and climate modeling groups at research and operational centers. In a series of meetings held from 1998 to 2000, CMIWG members established general requirements and a preliminary design for a common [[software framework]].