Simplifying end-to-end numerical modeling using software containers

Software systems require substantial set-up to get all the necessary code, including external libraries, compiled on a specific platform. Recently, the concept of containers has been gaining popularity because they allow for software systems to be bundled (including operating system, libraries, code, and executables) and provided directly to users, eliminating possible frustrations with up-front system setup.

Using containers allows for efficient, lightweight, secure, and self-contained systems. Everything required to make a piece of software run is packaged into isolated containers, ready for development, shipment, and deployment. Using containers guarantees that software will always run the same, regardless of where it is deployed.

Ultimately, containers substantially reduce the spin-up time of setting up and compiling software systems and promote greater efficiency in getting to the end goal of producing model output and statistical analyses.

The Common Community Physics Package (CCPP) is designed to facilitate the implementation of physics innovations in state-of-the-art atmospheric models, the use of various models to develop physics, and the acceleration of transition of physics innovations to operational NOAA models. 

Modeling the population dynamics of dengue vector mosquito Aedes aegypti is often done using dynamic life cycle models that simulate the life cycles of cohorts of mosquitoes using a mechanistic approach.

Perhaps the greatest limitation of these dynamic life cycle models is the continued use of simplistic empirical relationships to predict water temperature in and water loss from containers based on several meteorological variables. In contrast, physics-based models solve for the energy balance of the water inside of the container, taking into account shortwave (solar) and longwave (terrestrial) radiation and heat fluxes (sensible, latent, and ground).

An energy balance container model developed by RAL scientists, termed the Water Height And Temperature in Container Habitats Energy Model (WHATCH'EM), solves for water temperature and height for user-specified containers with readily available weather data. Realistic estimation of water temperature and height from WHATCH'EM has potential to improve output from mosquito population models and aid in assessment of dengue risk.

Resources

Journal of Medical Entomology, WHATCH'EM: An Energy Balance Model for Determining Water Height and 11 Temperature in Container Habitats for Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus