Frameworks: Large Scale Atmospheric Research Using an Integrated WRF Modeling, Visualization, and Verification Container Framework (I-WRF)

Cornell University, Ithaca NY

Investigators

Abstract

The Cornell University and National Center for Atmospheric Research I-WRF Project is developing and deploying an integrated multi-container framework for the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model to enable multi-node containerized simulations complete with verification and visualization capabilities. I-WRF lowers the bar for multidisciplinary researchers who wish to use WRF in parallel on multiple platforms, ranging from desktops to clouds and supercomputers. By enabling easier and more effective use of this set of applications, I-WRF makes atmospheric modeling accessible to a broader range of researchers (atmospheric scientists, civil engineers, agricultural scientists, etc.) who no longer must set up and maintain a complex suite of software applications on their own. The portability, traceability, and ease of deploying the multi-node containerized framework supports the urgent need for more and better simulations of possible future climate states signaled by the UN Climate Change Conference and the establishment of the NSF Engineering Research Visioning Alliance on The Role of Engineering in Addressing Climate Change. I-WRF application containers incorporate software tools developed mainly at NCAR. These include the WRF model and Model Evaluation Tools (METplus), as well as visualization and analysis tools that are enhanced for interactive investigations. I-WRF containers are optimized to run on multiple platforms and to enable parallel analysis of large domains with a high level of spatial discretization. They will be freely available at a container repository and discoverable with common tools. Adopters can use the I-WRF container components to build and modify their own containers, thus saving time and increasing overall container availability and sharing within and between scientific communities. To prove container validity, scaling studies will be performed on a range of use cases. These include examining the evolution of renewable energy generation in a changing climate, the effect of land use and climate change on severe weather events, and the relation between air quality and human morbidity and mortality. Three postdocs will engage in the use case studies. The ability to run I-WRF multi-node simulations on desktops will overcome current obstacles in training students to use WRF at NCAR and in university course curricula. This project is supported by the Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure in the Directorate for Computer & Information Science & Engineering and the Directorate for Geosciences. 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.