Report: JAG/OCM Operational Community Modeling

1. Report: JAG/OCM Operational Community Modeling COPC Meeting AFWA, Omaha, NB 2 May, 2007

2. Outline • Update: WRF Development Testbed Center (DTC) • - WRF Code Management & User Support plan • - Inter-organization agreements for DTC management & resourcing • - Resource trajectory and personnel hiring • - Major DTC projects in FY07 and implications for COPC • Update: WRF Science Code & Infrastructure • (follow up COPC AI 2006-1.5) • Update: WRF and ESMF

3. Update on DTC Management Progress: WRF code management & user support plan - MMM and DTC have reached agreement for NCAR to provide UNIFIED code management & support to WRF users. - NCAR has announced its first JOINT WRF TUTORIAL to be held summer 2007. - Both dynamical cores & multiple physics suites - New capabilities to be added to the tutorial as they become available – HWRF, HYCOM, ensembles, etc. Progress: Inter-organization agreements for DTC management & resourcing. - DTC is submitting proposal to NOAA for an NCAR-NOAA cooperative agreement. (Responds to NOAA ’07 BAA.) - DTC interagency agreement has been discussed between Air Force and NOAA for single transfer of all govt. money to DTC. - Can be expanded to include other agencies. - Potential DTC resources from NSF can follow direct path to NCAR. 3

4. The WRF Code Repository Reference Code Operational Codes • User Support: • Documentation • Tutorials • Wrfhelp • User workshops DTC testing and acceptance Contributed Code Community Codes Developer Codes Developers Committee Developer Code Code Developer Code Developer Code Developer Code Developer NCAR Unified Code Management & User Support Plan DTC and MMM will share management and support of WRF system codes residing in a single WRF Code Repository. Accountability to DTC Advisory Board for management and support of WRF Reference & Oper. codes. Accountability to development community for code entrance into WRF. (Accountability for WRF software framework is TBD.) Courtesy NCAR

5. Projected WRF DTC Resources: FY07-FY12 *GSD “in-kind” scientist support. **Does not include computational resources and office space.

6. Expansion of DTC Personnel in FY07 • Infrastructure & Reference code support – 2 software • engineers hired. • Data assimilation support – 1+ support positions announced • for DA, including GSI. • Verification system development – 3 temporary FTEs hired. • - At least 1 FTE expected to develop as full-time support position. • - AFWA is lead funder. • HWRF support – 1 position to be announced for support • of HYCOM and moveable two-way grid nesting. • NMM dynamical core support – 1 assoc. scientist hired.

7. Major DTC Projects in FY07 • Extension of WRF system capabilities: • - Unified WRF verification system under development, • building on existing codes: • -NCEP forecast verification system (FVS) • -GSD real-time verification system (RTVS) • -NCAR object-oriented verification system for research • - Unified WRF post-processor has been completed. • Testing and evaluation of WRF to establish Reference code: • - Dynamical core intercomparisons: Dx=13 km, fcst. 60-84 h • - Purpose: Establish that both cores yield forecasts of similar • accuracy, facilitating rapid R2O transfers of science and • technology using the interoperable WRF system. • - Purpose: Facilitate ensembles in operations and research. • - Status: Experiment design is well advanced; • Runs likely will start in summer ‘07. • - Supports WRF goal of accelerating transfer of new • science and technologies from research community. 7

8. Update on WRF Science Code and Infrastructure Development - 1 • Coupling WRF to HYCOM – Development underway • - NCEP/EMC: Preliminary work to couple HYCOM to WRF-NMM. • - NCAR/MMM: HYCOM operating under the WRF infrastructure, • using MCEL coupler. Preliminary testing underway. • - Neither initiative currently attempts to perform coupling • via ESMF. ESMF needs further regridding capabilities. • WRFv2.2 released by NCAR/MMM (Dec. 2006) • - Adds new microphysics & radiation parameterization (both cores). • - Includes nudging FDDA (grid and obs), urban canopy model in Noah • LSM, positive definite advection (ARW only). • - Includes one-way static nesting code for NMM. • - Includes new WRF Preprocessing System (WPS) for ARW core. • - Next release: Will include WPS capability for NMM core.

9. Update on WRF Science Code and Infrastructure Development - 2 • WRF Reference Code and Interoperability by DTC • - Standardized regression testing under development for NMM nesting. • - Developing new WRF Testing Framework (WTF) to improve future • regression testing for Contributed and Reference codes. • - Community requirements being collected. • - 6 new physics combinations interoperable with NMM core in v2.2. • - Testing more physics combinations for interoperability with NMM. • - WRF Domain Wizard - GUI interface to define domains & run WPS. • WRF Infrastructure, Streamlining and Convergence w/ESMF • - ARW fully interoperable as an ESMF component (WRFv2.2). • - ARW benchmark & HPC tests: 7 Teraflops on 12,500 processors.

10. Frameworks: Update on WRF and ESMF • WRF software framework has undergone important • advancements since Oct. ’06. • - Full interoperability of WRF as an ESMF component • - Capacity to run HYCOM under WRF framework • NCAR/MMM in agreement with conclusion of the • 2006 WRF-ESMF Convergence Workshop: “We believe • [two] options are appropriate near term strategies. • - WRF uses ESMF for high-level coupling, [and] • - WRF uses ESMF low-level utilities.” • MMM accountability for WRF software framework • remains an unresolved element in code management plan. • Versions of Navy and NCEP models have been/are being • developed to run as ESMF components. • - GFS and NMM at NCEP • - NOGAPS and COAMPS at NRL 10

11. Future Directions of WRF and ESMF - 1 • WRF software framework is reliable, reasonably mature • and will remain the dominant framework for community • mesoscale modeling for at least 5-8 years. • NCEP has offered to make its ESMF-NMM available • to some external users for testing and evaluation, • as soon as feasible. (probably in late ’07 or early ’08) • Goals: (1) - Assist NCEP with model testing. • (2) - Evaluate ESMF as a potential framework for future • mesoscale modeling in the research community. • NCEP expects to have its regional and global models • converted to an ESMF-based system in ~5 years. • Navy modeling systems also anticipated to migrate to • ESMF on approximately same time scale. 11

12. Future Directions of WRF and ESMF - 2 • Maintaining benefits of accelerated transfer of new • modeling science and technologies between research and • operations will require a common modeling framework. • DTC has resources to become a logical focal point for • extending ESMF-based models into an interoperable, • multi-core, multi-physics community modeling system • supported to users. • - Too early to estimate probability of success. • - Warrants ongoing development and testing. • - Time horizon – 6-10 years to fully transition the • community modeling system from WRF to ESMF.

13. Recommendations on WRF and ESMF • Monitor ongoing development of ESMF as it adds • range of capabilities required for mesoscale applications. • Monitor deliberations of NUOPC. • Continue development, testing and evaluation of • ESMF-based limited-area models at NCEP and NRL. • Encourage broad community involvement in testing and • evaluation ESMF-based models from NRL and NCEP. • Identify extensions and developments necessary for • ESMF and models running under ESMF to be • considered as a potential community-supported system. • Assess time and resources required to follow development • and implementation path to a community system. COPC has the potential to contribute significantly to all the above activities w/o derailing community modeling.

14. End

15. FY07 - WRF Development Testbed Center: A Growing Resource Supporting WRF & COPC Table 1. Proposed allocation of DTC FY07 funding by agency, (as ofOct. 2007) *Since GSD money shown here is “in-kind” scientist support, no administrative overhead is charged by DTC.

16. WRF Development Testbed Center: A Growing Resource Supporting WRF & COPC • Proposed DTC functions in FY07: • WRF software version control and definition of Reference Codes • Software framework management & development prioritization • Reference code support and documentation • Ensemble modeling & post-processing support • Verification system development and support • Visiting scientist program • Establishment and maintenance of physics interoperability • Testing for elevation of contributed codes to Reference status • NWP science support • Testing and evaluation of Reference codes • Transition of specific candidate codes to operations centers

17. CSAB AI-2006-5.6: Proposed Streamlining Tasks for WRF Software Framework • Develop and publish detailed documentation of the WRF I/O stack (API). • Cost: ~$22K, Time: ~Spring ‘07 • Confirm the reduction of the WRF Registry due to elimination • of obsolete sections. Current phase completed; More possible in ’07. • (No funding requested.) • Standardize initialization of physics packages. • Cost: $130K (NCAR&NRL), Time: 1 yr? • Develop and publish standardized build mechanisms and conventions. • Cost: $90K (NCAR&NRL), Time: ~1 yr • Develop and publish standards for parameter naming & metadata • conventions. Cost: none requested, Time: depends on Clim.Fc. • Adopt climate forecast metadata conventions for geo-registration data. • Cost: none requested, Time: depends on Clim.Fc. • Establish metadata conventions for generic model info (start time, dt, etc.) • Cost: none requested, Time: depends on Clim.Fc. • Provide interoperability source-code “translator” for physics using different • k-index and looping orders. Cost: ~$275K for prelim. phase, Time: ~1-2 yr • Reassess comparative efficiency of WRF codes in (i,j,k) vs. (i,k,j). • MMM does not consider this task a high priority.