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Multi-Scale Atmospheric Numerical Modeling and Data Assimilation for Planetary Applications - With a Focus on Mars
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| The goal of this proposal is the development of the first flexible, multi-scale numerical, dynamical model of planetary atmospheres - and specifically the Martian atmosphere. The model will provide a single tool for study of atmospheric motions on scales from the micro (tens to hundreds of meters) to global; it will provide full flexibility in spatial grid construction; and will provide a framework for Martian data assimilation and weather prediction. The project will take advantage of the new Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) modeling system developed by a consortium of US universities and government organizations - NCAR, NOAA and the DoD - and will thus track (and in some key areas lead) the state-of-the-art in terrestrial model design. This project will see the infusion of a number of modern software coding practices into planetary/Martian atmospheric modeling, including extensive modularity, from-the-ground-up use of fast and compact Fortran 90/95, and explicit MPI parallelization. Support is requested to allow conversion of this community model to allow for generalized planetary use (and for Martian conditions in particular) and to undertake changes in the dynamical core to allow it to run as a global model. By leveraging substantial investment in model development by other agencies, this effort will provide a very high return for NASA investment ñ as well as benefiting those other agencies. We intend to feed the model improvements from this project back into the public-domain WRF system, making it available for all NASA planetary and Earth systems science researchers. |
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