Implementation of advanced coastal ocean models for accurate prediction of hydrodynamic conditions depends on partnerships between government, academic, and private entities. Participation in modeling efforts by members across the community benefits from the strengths of each, streamlines projects, and enables advancement of model use and acceptance. While the needs and requirements of each user and application vary, the infrastructure and framework for modeling, coding, and data manipulation can be a shared endeavor. The combined effort of the community in contributing to this system advances science, research, and operations. The Coast Survey Development Laboratory (CSDL) is participating in the advancement of this infrastructure by contributing to the development of community-based standards, protocols and tools. This effort will streamline input and output of data, model analysis and visualization, documentation, and benchmarking.
Coastal Ocean Modeling Framework (COMF)
The Coastal Ocean Modeling Framework (COMF) is an end-to-end set of standards and tools for the National Ocean Service's (NOS) operational hydrodynamic forecast models. The goal of COMF is to provide a comprehensive software infrastructure to increase ease of use, performance, portability, interoperability, and reuse in forecast modeling. Furthermore it provides a common interface to other NOAA plans (e.g., the Earth System Modeling Framework – ESMF; the Integrated Ocean Observing System Data Management & Communications Plan – IOOS DMAC) and extramural partners and stakeholders. The usage of COMF allows a multiplicity of models to be maintained in an efficient and robust manner.
Model Skill Assessment
Skill assessment is an objective measurement of how well a model simulation does when compared to observations. NOS requires nowcast/forecast modeling systems to be assessed for skill in adherence to NOS standards. A skill assessment software package has been designed by CSDL’s Marine Modeling and Analysis Programs (MMAP) to perform skill assessment of water levels, currents, temperature, and salinity for model systems in both tidally dominated and non-tidal regions.
Model Evaluation Environment
How does MMAP objectively evaluate existing and emerging modeling technologies to select appropriate community models to support requirements to address navigational, inundation, and ecological issues? The selection process must be based on quantitative measures of accuracy, adaptability, portability and sustained supportability. Therefore, MMAP has established a Model Evaluation Environment (MEE) that consists of sufficient data and information to evaluate modeling technology.
Metadata Standards for Hydrodynamic Models
Metadata is the information about datasets which describes the contents of the files and allows other resources to discover those files and work with them. The Coast Survey Development Laboratory is working to develop methods which are well suited to coastal ocean modelers' needs. CSDL has created its own subset of conventions to describe standardized output files for NOS nowcast/forecast models. These standards describe NetCDF files which are simplified from the original data files produced by the models.