Designing a Process for Selecting, Vetting, and Implementing Physics Innovations in a Community Modeling Paradigm

In collaboration with the Global Model Testbed (GMTB) and other partners, NCEP/EMC recently conducted an experiment to assess whether advances in the representation of physical processes could be accelerated by implementing in the Global Forecast System (GFS) pre-tuned suites of physical parameterizations rather than one parameterization or innovation at a time. This strategy was motivated by a desire to leverage both parameterization development and suite-optimization efforts that had occurred elsewhere in the meteorological community.

The experiment was successful in engaging multiple segments of the community on topics of compelling mutual interest. It produced a workable strategy for evaluating contributions from the community, and it set reasonable standards for fair and objective evaluation of these contributions. Furthermore, it allowed EMC to make a community-vetted, evidence-based decision for targeting specific parameterization for its next implementation of the GFS. However, some developers from outside EMC felt that the process inherently handicapped the performance of their parameterizations. Moreover, most contributors agreed that the process inspired competition and isolation among developers rather than the spirit of collaboration and teamwork that is often presented as the compelling motivation for development of the Unified Forecast System (UFS). In this presentation, the lessons learned from this experiment will be examined and ideas for improving future scientific collaborations under the UFS umbrella will be examined.