Evaluation and optimisation of the I/O scalability for the next generation of Earth system models: IFS CY43R3 and XIOS 2.0 integration as a case study

Earth system models have considerably increased their spatial resolution to solve more complex problems and achieve more realistic solutions. However, this generates an enormous amount of model data which requires proper management. Some Earth system models use inefficient sequential input/output (I/O) schemes that do not scale well when many parallel resources are used. In order to address this issue, the most commonly adopted approach is to use scalable parallel I/O solutions that offer both computational performance and efficiency. In this paper we analyse the I/O process of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) operational Integrated Forecasting System (IFS) CY43R3. IFS can use two different output schemes: a parallel I/O server developed by Météo-France used operationally and an obsolete sequential I/O scheme. The latter is the only scheme that is being exposed by the OpenIFS variant of IFS. “Downstream” Earth system models that have adopted older versions of an IFS derivative as a component – such as the EC-Earth 3 climate model – also face a bottleneck due to the limited I/O capabilities and performance of the sequential output scheme. Moreover, it is often desirable to produce grid-point-space Network Common Data Format (NetCDF) files instead of the IFS native spectral and grid-point output fields in General Regularly-distributed Information in Binary form (GRIB), which requires the development of model-specific post-processing tools. We present the integration of the XML Input/Output Server (XIOS) 2.0 into IFS CY43R3. XIOS is an asynchronous Message Passing Interface (MPI) I/O server that offers features especially targeted at climate models: NetCDF output files, inline diagnostics, regridding, and, when properly configured, the capability to produce CMOR-compliant data. We therefore expect our work to reduce the computational cost of data-intensive (high-resolution) climate runs, thereby shortening the critical path of EC-Earth 4 experiments. The performance evaluation suggests that the use of XIOS 2.0 in IFS CY43R3 to output data achieves an adequate performance as well, outperforming the sequential I/O scheme. Furthermore, when we also take into account the post-processing task, which is needed to convert GRIB files to NetCDF files and also transform IFS spectral output fields to grid-point space, our integration not only surpasses the sequential output scheme but also the operational IFS I/O server.This research has been supported by Horizon 2020 (ESiWACE2 (grant no. 823988) and PRIMAVERA (grant no. 641727)).Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Ensemble prediction using a new dataset of ECMWF initial states - OpenEnsemble 1.0

Ensemble prediction is an indispensable tool in modern numerical weather prediction (NWP). Due to its complex data flow, global medium-range ensemble prediction has almost exclusively been carried out by operational weather agencies to date. Thus, it has been very hard for academia to contribute to this important branch of NWP research using realistic weather models. In order to open ensemble prediction research up to the wider research community, we have recreated all 50 + 1 operational IFS ensemble initial states for OpenIFS CY43R3. The dataset (Open Ensemble 1.0) is available for use under a Creative Commons licence and is downloadable from an https server. The dataset covers 1 year (December 2016 to November 2017) twice daily. Downloads in three model resolutions (T(L)159, T(L)399, and T(L)639) are available to cover different research needs. An open-source workflow manager, called OpenEPS, is presented here and used to launch ensemble forecast experiments from the perturbed initial conditions. The deterministic and probabilistic forecast skill of OpenIFS (cycle 40R1) using this new set of initial states is comprehensively evaluated. In addition, we present a case study of Typhoon Damrey from year 2017 to illustrate the new potential of being able to run ensemble forecasts outside of major global weather forecasting centres.Peer reviewe

Orientation-Selective VLSI Retina

In both biological and artificial pattern-recognition systems, the detection of oriented light-intensity edges is an important preprocessing step. We have constructed a silicon VLSI device containing an array of photoreceptors with additional hardware for computing center-surround (edge-enhanced) response as well as edge orientation at every point in the receptor lattice. Because computing the edge orientations in the array local to each photoreceptor would have made each pixel-computation unit too large (thereby reducing the resolution of the device), we devised a novel technique for computing the orientations outside of the array. All the transducers and computational elements are analog circuits made with a conventional CMOS process

The Abisko Polar Prediction School

Polar regions are experiencing rapid climate change, faster than elsewhere on Earth with consequences for the weather and sea ice. This change is opening up new possibilities for businesses such as tourism, shipping, fisheries and oil and gas extraction, but also bringing new risks to delicate polar environments. Effective weather and climate prediction is essential to managing these risks, however our ability to forecast polar environmental conditions over periods from days to decades ahead falls far behind our abilities in the mid-latitudes. In order to meet the growing societal need for young scientists trained in this area, a Polar Prediction School for early career scientists from around the world was held in April 2016

Longitudinal Pathways between Maternal Mental Health in Infancy and Offspring Romantic Relationships in Adulthood: A 30‐year Prospective Study

Longitudinal pathways between maternal mental health in infancy and offspring romantic relationship outcomes in adulthood were examined using a 30‐year prospective longitudinal study of 196 mothers and their children. Structural equation modeling revealed that maternal mental health at 30 months was related to offspring relationship status and relationship attachment insecurity at 30 years. The adolescent variables of offspring mental health and parental relationship status mediated the link between maternal mental health and offspring relationship status. In addition, adolescent mental health and family conflict mediated the pathway between maternal mental health and offspring attachment insecurity. These results highlight the importance of individual and parental mental health to romantic relationship outcomes, and emphasize the value of taking a developmental approach to the study of romantic relationships.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90142/1/j.1467-9507.2011.00610.x.pd

An intergenerational study of perceptions of changes in active free play among families from rural areas of Western Canada

Background: Children's engagement in active free play has declined across recent generations. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine perceptions of intergenerational changes in active free play among families from rural areas. We addressed two research questions: (1) How has active free play changed across three generations? (2) What suggestions do participants have for reviving active free play? Methods: Data were collected via 49 individual interviews with members of 16 families (15 grandparents, 16 parents, and 18 children) residing in rural areas/small towns in the Province of Alberta (Canada). Interview recordings were transcribed verbatim and subjected to thematic analysis guided by an ecological framework of active free play. Results: Factors that depicted the changing nature of active free play were coded in the themes of less imagination/more technology, safety concerns, surveillance, other children to play with, purposeful physical activity, play spaces/organized activities, and the good parenting ideal. Suggestions for reviving active free play were coded in the themes of enhance facilities to keep kids entertained, provide more opportunities for supervised play, create more community events, and decrease use of technology. Conclusions: These results reinforce the need to consider multiple levels of social ecology in the study of active free play, and highlight the importance of community-based initiatives to revive active free play in ways that are consistent with contemporary notions of good parentin

Spirit, mind and body: the archaeology of monastic healing

Archaeology and material culture are used in this chapter to consider how monastic experience responded to illness, ageing and disability. The approach taken is influenced by the material study of religion, which interrogates how bodies and things engage to construct the sensory experience of religion, and by practice-based approaches in archaeology, which examine the active role of space and material culture in shaping religious agency and embodiment. The archaeology of monastic healing focuses on the full spectrum of healing technologies, from managing the body in order to prevent illness, through to the treatment of the sick and preparation of the corpse for burial

The EC-Earth3 Earth system model for the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 6

The Earth system model EC-Earth3 for contributions to CMIP6 is documented here, with its flexible coupling framework, major model configurations, a methodology for ensuring the simulations are comparable across different high-performance computing (HPC) systems, and with the physical performance of base configurations over the historical period. The variety of possible configurations and sub-models reflects the broad interests in the EC-Earth community. EC-Earth3 key performance metrics demonstrate physical behavior and biases well within the frame known from recent CMIP models. With improved physical and dynamic features, new Earth system model (ESM) components, community tools, and largely improved physical performance compared to the CMIP5 version, EC-Earth3 represents a clear step forward for the only European community ESM. We demonstrate here that EC-Earth3 is suited for a range of tasks in CMIP6 and beyond.Peer reviewe