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| Titel |
PIMMS tools for capturing metadata about simulations |
| VerfasserIn |
Charlotte Pascoe, Gerard Devine, Gregory Tourte, Stephen Pascoe, Bryan Lawrence, Hannah Barjat |
| Konferenz |
EGU General Assembly 2013
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| Medientyp |
Artikel
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| Sprache |
Englisch
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| Digitales Dokument |
PDF |
| Erschienen |
In: GRA - Volume 15 (2013) |
| Datensatznummer |
250081184
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| Zusammenfassung |
| PIMMS (Portable Infrastructure for the Metafor Metadata System) provides a method for
consistent and comprehensive documentation of modelling activities that enables the sharing
of simulation data and model configuration information. The aim of PIMMS is to package the
metadata infrastructure developed by Metafor for CMIP5 so that it can be used by climate
modelling groups in UK Universities.
PIMMS tools capture information about simulations from the design of experiments to
the implementation of experiments via simulations that run models. PIMMS uses the
Metafor methodology which consists of a Common Information Model (CIM),
Controlled Vocabularies (CV) and software tools. PIMMS software tools provide for
the creation and consumption of CIM content via a web services infrastructure
and portal developed by the ES-DOC community. PIMMS metadata integrates
with the ESGF data infrastructure via the mapping of vocabularies onto ESGF
facets.
There are three paradigms of PIMMS metadata collection:
Model Intercomparision Projects (MIPs) where a standard set of questions is
asked of all models which perform standard sets of experiments.
Disciplinary level metadata collection where a standard set of questions is asked
of all models but experiments are specified by users.
Bespoke metadata creation where the users define questions about both models
and experiments.
Examples will be shown of how PIMMS has been configured to suit each of these three
paradigms. In each case PIMMS allows users to provide additional metadata beyond that
which is asked for in an initial deployment.
The primary target for PIMMS is the UK climate modelling community where it
is common practice to reuse model configurations from other researchers. This
culture of collaboration exists in part because climate models are very complex with
many variables that can be modified. Therefore it has become common practice to
begin a series of experiments by using another climate model configuration as a
starting point. Usually this other configuration is provided by a researcher in the
same research group or by a previous collaborator with whom there is an existing
scientific relationship. Some efforts have been made at the university department level
to create documentation but there is a wide diversity in the scope and purpose of
this information. The consistent and comprehensive documentation enabled by
PIMMS will enable the wider sharing of climate model data and configuration
information.
The PIMMS methodology assumes an initial effort to document standard model
configurations. Once these descriptions have been created users need only describe the
specific way in which their model configuration is different from the standard. Thus the
documentation burden on the user is specific to the experiment they are performing and fits
easily into the workflow of doing their science.
PIMMS metadata is independent of data and as such is ideally suited for documenting
model development. PIMMS provides a framework for sharing information about failed
model configurations for which data are not kept, the negative results that don’t appear in
scientific literature.
PIMMS is a UK project funded by JISC, The University of Reading, The University of
Bristol and STFC. |
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