qtcm 0.1.2:a Python implementation of the Neelin-Zeng Quasi-Equilibrium Tropical Circulation Model

[摘要] Historically, climate models have been developed incrementally andin compiled languages like Fortran.While the use of legacy compiledlanguages results in fast, time-tested code, the resulting modelis limited in its modularity and cannot take advantage of functionalityavailable with modern computer languages.Here we describe aneffort at using the open-source, object-oriented language Pythonto create more flexible climate models:the package qtcm,a Python implementation of the intermediate-level Neelin-ZengQuasi-Equilibrium Tropical Circulation model (QTCM1) of the atmosphere.The qtcm package retains the core numerics of QTCM1, writtenin Fortran to optimize model performance, but uses Python structuresand utilities to wrap the QTCM1 Fortran routines and manage modelexecution.The resulting "mixed language" modeling package allowsorder and choice of subroutine execution to be altered at run time,and model analysis and visualization to be integrated in interactivelywith model execution at run time.This flexibility facilitatesmore complex scientific analysis using less complex code than wouldbe possible using traditional languages alone, and provides toolsto transform the traditional "formulate hypothesis →write and test code → run model → analyzeresults" sequence into a feedback loop that can be executedautomatically by the computer.

[学科分类] 天文学(综合)