The NOAA Environmental Software Infrastructure and Interoperability Group

1. The NOAA Environmental Software Infrastructure and Interoperability Group Cecelia DeLuca Robert Oehmke Sylvia Murphy SEE Presentation September 27, 2011

2. Outline • Overview • Part 1: Modeling frameworks • ESMF • NUOPC • Climate-Hydrological Coupling • ESMF Regridding (Oehmke) • Part 2: Modeling workflows and data services • Earth System Curator • TeraGrid Environmental Science Gateway • CoG Portal • Global Interoperability Program • Curator demonstration (Murphy)

3. The Basics • NESII focuses on development of software infrastructure for Earth system modeling • Arrived at ESRL / CIRES on Nov 1, 2009 • Formerly the Earth System Modeling Infrastructure section at the National Center for Atmospheric Research • Started with the Earth System Modeling Framework (ESMF) project – has grown to include numerous others • Partners and customers are from research and operational centers, weather and climate, across U.S. agencies and international organizations

4. The Vision • Develop interoperable modeling components that can connect in multiple waysImprove predictions and support research • Build advanced utilities that many models can useEnable research, promote cost efficiency • Enable models to be self-describingIncrease understanding and defensibility of outputs • Create workflows that automate the modeling process from beginning to endImprove productivity • Build workspaces that encourage collaborative, distributed development of models and data analysisLeverage distributed expertise

5. Key Strategies • Use and evolve standards (data, metadata, component interfaces, services) to maximize interoperability • Community-driven development and community ownership • Formal governance processes in which customers set priorities • Frequent public design reviews and demonstrations • Openness of project metrics, code and information • Public storage of project records wherever possible • Commitment to a globally distributed and diverse development and customer base • Leverage broad base of code and expertise to build complex systems • Distributed development and routine international collaboration

6. The Team

7. NESII Collaborators and Customers If it’s a large center engaged in Earth System Modeling, chances are good NESII is working with someone there … • NOAA ESRL GSD/PSD, GFDL, NCDC, PMEL, NCEP Environmental Modeling Center • NASA JPL, Goddard Space Flight Center, GISS • DOE PCMDI, Argonne National Laboratory, ORNL, Sandia • DoD NRL Stennis and Monterey, Naval Oceanography, Army ERDC, Air Force Weather Agency • DOI USGS • NCAR Community Earth System Model, WRF, MPAS, HAO, Unidata • University of Michigan, Purdue University, University of South Carolina, University of Colorado, Colorado State University, Georgia Institute of Technology • GO-ESSP, CUAHSI, CSDMS, OpenMI, OGC, CCA, METAFOR • Delft Hydraulics, British Atmospheric Data Center, CERFACS, IPSL, Univ. Reading, UK Met Office, DKRZ, MPI • Many more …

8. Outline • Overview • Part 1: Modeling frameworks • ESMF • NUOPC • Climate-Hydrological Coupling • ESMF Regridding (Oehmke) • Part 2: Modeling workflows and data services • Earth System Curator • TeraGrid Environmental Science Gateway • CoG Portal • Global Interoperability Program • Curator demonstration (Murphy)

9. Earth System Modeling Framework Started: 2002 Collaborators: Co-developed and used by NASA (GEOS-5 climate model), NOAA (NCEP weather models), Navy (global and regional models), Community Earth System Model, others Sponsors: NASA MAP, NOAA NWS and CPO, NSF SEIII, DoD HPCMP • ESMF increases code reuse and interoperability in climate, weather, coastal and other Earth system models • ESMF is based on the idea of components, sections of code that are wrapped in standard calling interfaces • Most U.S. weather and climate models now use the framework in some fashion ~100 components

10. ESMF Architecture Architecture of the GEOS-5 atmospheric general circulation model • Each box in the diagram is a component • Components can be arranged hierarchically, helping to organize the structure of complex models • Different modeling groups may create different kinds or levels of components

11. Architecture Components Layer Gridded Components Coupler Components ESMF Superstructure • ESMF provides a superstructure for assembling model components into applications. • ESMF provides an infrastructure that modelers use to • Generate and apply interpolation weights • Handle metadata, time management, data I/O and communications, and other functions User Code Model Layer ESMF Infrastructure Fields and Grids Layer Low Level Utilities External Libraries MPI, NetCDF, …

12. Standard Interfaces All ESMF components have the same three standard methods: Initialize Run Finalize Each standard method has the same simple interface: • Steps to adopting ESMF • Divide the application into components (without ESMF) • Copy or reference component input and output data into ESMF data structures • Register components with ESMF • Set up ESMF couplers for data exchange call ESMF_GridCompRun (myComp, importState, exportState, clock, …) Where: myComp points to the component importState is a structure containing input fields exportState is a structure containing output fields clock contains timestepping information • Interfaces are wrappers and can often be set up in a non-intrusive way

13. Component Overhead • Diagram at right shows overhead of an ESMF-wrapped CCSM4 component vs native code • For this example, ESMF wrapping required NO code changes to scientific modules • No significant performance overhead (< 3% is typical) • Few code changes for codes that are modular • Platform: IBM Power 575, bluefire, at NCAR • Model: Community Climate System Model (CCSM) • Versions: CCSM_4_0_0_beta42 and ESMF_5_0_0_beta_snapshot_01 • Resolution: 1.25 degree x 0.9 degree global grid with 17 vertical levels for both the atmospheric and land model, i.e. 288x192x17 grid. The data resolution for the ocean model is 320x384x60.

14. Metadata Handling and Usage • Complete provenance of codes and data is critical as Earth system models are scrutinized and employed for decision making! • Metadata is represented in ESMF by the Attribute class as name/value pairs • Generate comprehensive simulation descriptions • Automate aspects of model execution and coupling • Archive metadata with output data and automatically link the two in a display (TeraGrid Environmental Science Gateway) • Standard metadata is organized by Attribute packages • Aggregate, store, output in XML and other formats • Attribute packages include the following conventions • Climate and Forecast (CF) • Select ISO standards • METAFOR Common Information Model (CIM) • These can be linked and nested

15. ESMF as anInformation Layer • Parallel generation and application of interpolation weights • Run-time compliance checking of metadata and time behavior • Fast parallel I/O • Redistribution and other parallel communications • Automated documentation of models and simulations (new) • Ability to run components in workflows and as web services (new) Applications of information layer Structured model information stored in ESMF wrappers Attributes: CF conventions, ISO standards, METAFOR Common Information Model Standard metadata ESMF data structures Standard data structures Component Field Grid Clock User data is referenced or copied into ESMF structures Native model data structures modules grids timekeeping fields

16. Portability and Testing • ESMF is comprehensively tested and extremely portable! • Many tests and examples bundled with the software • More than 4600 unit tests • An additional, automated test harness to cover the many options related to grids and distributions • Dozens of examples • Dozens of system tests • External demonstrations, showing ESMF linked to applications • Users can separately download use test cases, with more realistic problem and data sizes • Regression tests run nightly on 24+ platform/compiler combinations

17. ESMF Summary • Widely used: ~4000 downloads, ~2300 members of informational mailing list • Stable calling interface, largely guaranteed to be backward compatible • Fast parallel remapping for unstructured or logically rectangular grids, many options • Core methods are scalable to tens of thousands of processors • Supports hybrid (threaded/distributed) programming for optimal performance on many computer architectures • Multiple coupling and execution modes for flexibility • Time management utility with many calendars, forward/reverse time operations, alarms, and other features • Metadata utility that enables comprehensive metadata to be written out in standard formats • Support most current platform/compiler combinations, exhaustive test suite and documentation • Couples Fortran or C-based model components

18. ESMF Key Investments • Maintain and promote the framework with multi-agency partners • Increase outreach and number of people trained • Pilots with other NOAA centers – especially GFDL and OHD – resulting in more code reuse • Explore ESMF regridding for reuse in the data services community via a python interface, avoid massive redundant development

19. National Unified Operational Prediction Capability (NUOPC) Started: 2010 Collaborators: Tri-agency (NOAA, Navy, Air Force) consortium of operational weather prediction centers, with participation from NOAA GFDL and NASA modelers Sponsors: NOAA NWS and Navy • ESMF allows for many levels of components, types of components, and types of connections • In order to achieve greater interoperability, usage and content conventions and component templates are needed • This collaboration is building a “NUOPC Layer” that constrains how ESMF is used, and introduces metadata and other content standards • The initial pilot project (delivered June 2011) focuses on atmosphere-ocean coupling in NCEP NEMS and Navy NOGAPS and COAMPS codes

20. A Common Model Architecture NUOPC partners have agreed on a subset of components whose interactions will be standardized

21. Operational Modeling Systems using (or will use ) ESMF/NUOPC Layer in some form • Naval Operational Global Atmospheric Prediction System (NOGAPS) • Coupled Ocean Atmosphere Mesoscale Prediction System (COAMPS) • Navy Coastal Ocean Model (NCOM) • Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) • Wave Watch 3 (WW3) • Community Ice Code (CICE) • Ensemble Forecast System (EFS) • Simulating Waves Near Shore (SWAN) • Advanced Circulation Model (ADCIRC) • Global Forecast System (GFS) • Global Ensemble Forecast System (GEFS) • North American Mesoscale Model (NMM) • Finite Element Icosahedral Model (FIM) • NOAA Environmental Modeling System (NEMS) • Global Assimilation of Ionospheric Measurements (HAF-GAIM) • Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF) • Land Information System (LIS) • List courtesy of David McCarren, NOAA/Navy • Builds on Battlespace Environments Institute (2005-2010) reliance on ESMF

22. Establish an architecture in which major components are siblings. The initial design supports explicit coupling and concurrent or sequential execution of components. Allow inheritance from generic component templates. Couple components with pre-fabricated connectors. Standardize the number and function of phases of initialize, creating a standard setup pattern. Constrain the data that may be sent between components with standardized field data structures and a field dictionary based on the Climate and Forecast standard. Implement a compliance checker to provide feedback during component development. Use compatibility checking to determine if required import fields for a component were supplied. Other run-time reporting alerts users to any issues with compliance. NUOPC Layer Features and Functions Delivered with June 2011 Prototype

23. NUOPC Key Investments • Ensure the NUOPC Layer is adopted by target operational applications (So far … NOGAPS-HYCOM, NEMS … next COAMPS) • Increase use of the NUOPC Layer within the broader ESMF customer base in order to increase research to operations potential

24. Curator Hydrology Started: 2009 Collaborators: University of South Carolina, CUAHSI, University of Michigan Sponsors: NOAA GIP • A new perspective on climate impacts modeling • Instead of what do we “put in” the climate model … • How do we create a linked network of models that multiple communities can use?

25. Climate-Hydro Coupling • Hydrological impact studies can be improved when forced with data from climate models [Zeng et al., 2003; Yong et al., 2009] • Ideally the coupling would be two-way • There are scale issues, but these are lessening as hydrological models increase in size of region covered and climate models increase in resolution • A technology gap exists: • Many hydrological models run on personal computers • Most climate models run on high performance supercomputers • Existing frameworks: ESMF (climate/weather) and OpenMI (hydrology) can connect these types of models • ESMF and OpenMI components can be operated as web services that can be used to communicate across a distributed network • Both ESMF and OpenMI are widely used

26. Design Goals for Climate Impacts

27. Prototype Climate-Hydro System Personal Computer • SWAT (hydrology model) runs on PC • CAM (atmospheric model) runs on HPC • Wrappers for both SWAT and CAM provide OpenMI interface to each model • Driver (OpenMI Configuration Editor) uses OpenMI interface to timestep through models via wrappers Driver OpenMI SWAT CAM OpenMI Wrapper • Access to CAM across the network provided by ESMF Web Services • CAM output data written to NetCDF files and streamed to CAM wrapper via ESMF Web Services • Using prototype to explore feasibility of 2-way coupling High Performance Computer Data Files ESMF Web Services ESMF CAM Component From Saint, iEMSs 2010

28. Target Coupled System • Target system informed by exploration of parameter space for different strategies (estimated SWAT and CAM run times and transfer times) • SWAT covering southeast U.S. coupled to CAM/CLM – purple region • Restricting finest SWAT resolution to watersheds of interest (Neuse and Savannah) makes calibration somewhat easier • SWAT forced by CAM fields (precip, temperature, wind speed, etc.); ET from SWAT nudges values in CAM

29. Curator-Hydrology Key Investments • Link to emerging NOAA efforts, e.g. IWRSS, OHD - co-evolve and promote standards and an interoperable component pool • Link to community efforts – DOE integrated Regional Earth System Model (iRESM)

30. Outline • Overview • Part 1: Modeling frameworks • ESMF • NUOPC • Climate-Hydrological Coupling • ESMF Regridding (Oehmke) • Part 2: Modeling workflows and data services • Earth System Curator • TeraGrid Environmental Science Gateway • CoG Portal • Global Interoperability Program • Curator demonstration (Murphy)

31. Earth System Curator Started: 2005 Collaborators: METAFOR , NCAR, DOE PCMDI, Earth System Grid Federation, NOAA GFDL, Georgia Institute of Technology Sponsors: NSF SEIII, NASA MAP, NOAA GIP • Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessments rely on data generated by Coupled Model Intercomparison Projects (CMIPS), where different scenarios are tested across many models • For the last IPCC assessment, there was little metadata available about the runs performed • The Curator project collaborated on a comprehensive metadata schema for climate models, and implemented a metadata display in the Earth System Grid data distribution portal

32. ESG Metadata Display This screen shot shows a real CMIP5 run as it appears in an ESGF portal RESULT: MUCH more information about climate models used in assessments, in browsable, searchable form

33. Curator Key Investments • Add features to the Curator project to address science-driven requirements collected and prioritized during reviews – search on forcings, differencing, dynamic comparison table • Engage key partners (PCMDI, British Atmospheric Data Center, NCAR) to evolve the Curator architecture for new data systems

34. TeraGrid Environmental Science Gateway Started: 2008 Collaborators: NCAR CISL and CESM, Purdue University Sponsors: NSF TeraGrid • Creates an end-to-end, self-documenting workflow for running the Community Earth System Model (CESM) • GUI configuration and submission of runs through the Purdue CESM portal • ESMF is used within CESM to organize and output extensive model metadata • Data and metadata is archived back to an Earth System Grid Federation Gateway, where it can be searched and browsed • Currently have a working prototype

35. CESM portal ESG gateway Workflow Architecture User requests Account DB Token Mgr TG MyProxy CESM Web Services Data/ Metadata Track Status Create Case Configure Case Submit Case Authentication/ Authorization Transfer Files Job Management Debugging Post-process Publish Data Publish Metadata Output Output Jobs A paper describing this architecture recently won a best paper award at the TG11 conference: Zhao, L., C. Song, C, Thompson, H. Zhang, M. Lakshminarayanan, C. DeLuca,S. Murphy, K. Saint, Don Middleton, Nathan Wilhelmi, Eric Nienhouse, and Michael Burek, Developing an integrated end-to-end TeraGrid climate modeling environment , TeraGrid ’11, Salt Lake City, Utah, July 18-21, 2011 ESG Data Publisher Scratch Storage iRODS

36. Environmental Science Gateway KeyInvestments • Support the automated collection of provenance information for post-processing of climate and related model output – a critical gap! – to support efforts like the NCA

37. Earth System CoG Started: 2009 Collaborators: NCAR, Eart System Grid Federation, University of Michigan, CU Community Surface Dynamics Modeling System Sponsors: NSF CDI • Will facilitate collaborative model building, evaluation and analysis • Particularly well-suited for model intercomparison projects (MIPs) • Project hosting and indexing with connections to data and analysis services through the Earth System Grid Federation • Projects will have standard metadata and can be linked to form networks • Pilot projects include 2012 workshop on comparison of atmospheric dynamical cores (previously supported 2008 workshop) at NCAR, 2013 downscaling techniques workshop coordinated by the National Climate Predictions and Projections Platform

38. 2008 Dynamical Core Colloquium on CoG CoG prototype includes data search, bookmarking, wikis, and communications

39. CoG Key Investments • Establish CoG as a center for collaborative modeling and analysis • Engage the broader community in co-development of this capability – e.g. British Atmospheric Data Center – in order to increase resource base

40. National Climate Predictions and Projections Platform Started: 2010 Collaborators: Mainly NOAA PSD, NCAR RAL, many others participating Sponsors: NOAA CPO • Developing a portal and associated services to deliver information about the local and regional effects of climate change • Still in formative stages • Defining pilot projects in collaboration with USGS and others • Thinking about implementation strategies • Investigating prior art and related projects • NESII is serving as a technical coordinator

41. NCPP Key Investments • Unify access to climate related holdings within DOE Earth System Grid, USGS GeoData Portal, NOAA NOMADS and other sources through standard data formats and tools (CF conventions, OGC standards, THREDDS, NWAVE) • Promote standards for user services (e.g. climate indices generation) that can be applied to these unified data holdings (REST, OGC WPS)

42. NOAA Global Interoperability Program Started: 2009 Collaborators: NOAA GFDL, PMEL, GSD, and NCDC, Unidata, NCAR, CSU, University of Michigan Sponsors: NOAA CPO • GIP builds software infrastructure that • can be used in the weather, water, and climate disciplines, and for training modelers • integrates and automates workflows • NESII lead DeLuca coordinates the project

43. Building Along Workflows

44. Building Across Disciplines coordination coordination RESULT: Better coordination of infrastructure development across disparate groups

45. GIP Key Investments • Align GIP with NOAA strategic plans and objectives and “institutionalize” the program • Formally associate GIP with global infrastructure coordination organizations, especially the Global Organization of Earth System Science Portals

46. The Vision • Develop interoperable modeling components that can connect in multiple waysImprove predictions and support research • Build advanced utilities that many models can useEnable research, promote cost efficiency • Enable models to be self-describingIncrease understanding and defensibility of outputs • Create workflows that automate the modeling process from beginning to endImprove productivity • Build workspaces that encourage collaborative, distributed development of models and data analysisLeverage distributed expertise

47. Questions? • For more information, links and references, see our newish group page: http://esrl.noaa.gov/nesii/