ESMF is a software that enables the creation and integration of weather, climate, and related models.
The architecture of ESMF allows the creation of complex, coupled modeling systems, with an emphasis on breaking down applications into smaller, more manageable components. These components are units of software composition with a standard calling interface and behavior, enabling building multiple applications and having different implementations. Components can be physical domains or any function such as I/O systems or couplers.
In addition to enabling the development of individual models, ESMF features toolkits that facilitate the construction of components and applications, including collection of pre-built software solutions like regridding software, calendar management, logging and error handling, and parallel communications.
ESMF offers various essential features, such as a Full Fortran 90 interface, partial C/C++ interface, and support for MPI, OpenMP, and hybrid user codes, among others. It also includes a Fortran 90 Reference Manual and User's Guide, runs on most high-performance parallel computing platforms (such as IBM, many Linux variants, Cray, and Compaq), and offers free user support with an active community.
ESMF is a superstructure for the coupling of Earth system components, with software solutions that wrap the user code with minimal overhead while providing simple drivers for modification of user codes. It allows both sequential or concurrent execution of components, supports single executable as well as limited multiple executable capabilities.
Moreover, it provides infrastructure for building Earth system components, including a Time Manager that comes with various calendars and time functions, data structures for storage and manipulation of Arrays, Fields, and Bundles of Fields on the same grid, parallel data communication, and regridding software, message logging tools, and a resource file manager.
Overall, ESMF is an excellent software solution with the potential to revolutionize the development and coupling of weather, climate, and other Earth science models, by providing a flexible, scalable, and user-friendly infrastructure.
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