Space Weather Modeling Framework

Space Weather Modeling Framework: A new tool for the space science community

Gabor Toth Igor V. Sokolov Tamas I. Gombosi David R. Chesney C. Robert Clauer Darren L. De Zeeuw Kenneth C. Hansen Kevin J. Kane Ward B. Manchester Robert C. Oehmke Kenneth G. Powell Aaron J. Ridley Ilia I. Roussev Quentin F. Stout Ovsei Volberg
Center for Space Environment Modeling, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

Richard A. Wolf Stanislav Sazykin Anthony Chan Bin Yu
Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA

Jozsef Kota
University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA

Abstract: The Space Weather Modeling Framework (SWMF) provides a high-performance flexible framework for physics-based space weather simulations and various space physics applications. The SWMF integrates numerical models of the Solar Corona, Eruptive Event Generator, Inner Heliosphere, Solar Energetic Particles, Global Magnetosphere, Inner Magnetosphere, Radiation Belt, Ionosphere Electrodynamics, and Upper Atmosphere into a high-performance coupled model. The components can be represented with alternative physics models, and any physically meaningful subset of the components can be used. The components are coupled to the control module via standardized interfaces, and an efficient parallel coupling toolkit is used for the pairwise coupling of the components. The execution and parallel layout of the components is controlled by the SWMF. Both sequential and concurrent execution models are supported. The SWMF enables simulations that were not possible with the individual physics models. Using reasonably high spatial and temporal resolutions in all of the coupled components, the SWMF runs significantly faster than real time on massively parallel supercomputers.

This paper presents the design and implementation of the SWMF and some demonstrative tests. Future papers will describe validation (comparison of model results with measurements) and applications to challenging space weather events. The SWMF is publicly available to the scientific community for doing geophysical research. The SWMF is being expanded in collaboration with other model developers.

Keywords: space environment modeling, space weather, scientific computing software framework, high performance computing, parallel computing, solution adaptive mesh refinement

Complete paper. This paper appears in J. Geophysical Research 110, A12226, 2005, doi:10.1029/2005JA011126.

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