Project I.1.4: Open benchmark

Project Name: I.1.4 Open benchmark
Project Lead: Antonio Baptista

Project Description
An open-community and sustained benchmark for skill-and-performance assessment of circulation models for the extended Columbia River system. It is envisioned to accommodate multiple codes, and to allow the participation of modelers with drastically different modeling skills.

Fit in program
Numerical modeling of circulation plays a critical role in activities across CMOP science. This project serves five important purposes: (a) provides an objective assessment of skill and performance of the circulation models currently used for forecasts, simulation databases, and scenario analysis in the extended Columbia River system; (b) broadens the range of unstructured-grid circulation models available in practice for CMOP research; (c) promotes progressive enhancement of circulation-model codes and algorithms community-wide; (d) promotes progressive enhancement of Columbia River modeling strategies; (c) enhances access of a broad range of users (including non-modelers) to modeling results

Outcomes
The desired outcome is a cyber-enabled benchmark, sustaining the semi-automated inter-comparison (via quantitative and feature-based metrics) and of diverse numerical codes and modeling strategies for the Columbia River coastal margin, through a series of progressively more demanding tests of simulation skill. The project is in its early stages of development. Improved skill and coverage metrics for forecasts and simulation databases are a first derivative outcome.