GEOS-Chem Support Team

Contact Information

The best way to get in touch with the GEOS-Chem Support Team (aka GCST) is to open a new issue on Github. When creating an issue, please include your name and institution.

GCST Members

Name Github Title Location
Bob Yantosca @yantosca Senior Software Engineer Harvard
Melissa Sulprizio @msulprizio Senior Scientific Software Engineer Harvard
Lizzie Lundgren @lizziel Senior Scientific Software Engineer Harvard
Saptarshi Sinha @SaptSinha Scientific Applications Software Engineer WashU
Yidan Tang @yidant Scientific Applications Software Engineer WashU

GCST Mission

The GEOS–Chem Support Team (GCST) uses robust source code management techniques to facilitate the open-source development of GEOS–Chem, maintain code integrity, ensure proper documentation and traceability, and support users. Its principal activities are as follows:

  • Implementation of new GEOS–Chem developments into the standard model. Most developments of the model are initiated by individual users for their own scientific purposes. Their implementation into the standard model is led by the Support Team in collaboration with the developer. We use the Git software management system (Git, www.git-scm.com) to ensure that each user’s source code revisions can be tracked properly.

  • Fundamental GEOS–Chem development. The Support Team conducts fundamental model development essential for the long term. This includes upgrades to new versions of GEOS meteorological data, acquisition and storage of data, implementation of new coding and data structures, and technical updates.

  • Benchmarking of new versions. The Support Team benchmarks each new version of GEOS–Chem following a standard protocol to ensure the traceability and integrity of the model.

  • Documentation, communication, and education. The Support Team maintains the GEOS–Chem manuals (on ReadTheDocs) and wiki pages, publishes quarterly e-newsletters, welcomes new users, offers programming guidelines and advice, develops standards for coding and documentation instructs users on the use of various software tools, and conducts model clinics at Users’ Meetings.

  • Development of supporting software. The Support Team publishes open-source software for the benefit of the GEOS–Chem and broader modeling community. It maintains GCPy, a collection of Python programs that facilitates the analysis and visualization of CTM data. GCPy is the standard visualization tool for GEOS–Chem and is updated regularly to maintain compatibility with the standard model.

Responsibilities of the GEOS-Chem User Community

Users are encouraged to join GEOS-Chem Working Groups, to contribute to model development, to participate in community meetings, and to keep informed about GEOS-Chem from available documentation.

Please keep in mind that the GCST primarily works on software development and may not possess the expertise to answer questions that are scientific rather than technical. We request that you contact the relevant GEOS-Chem Working Group for assistance.

The GCST is responsible only for the benchmarking of the full-chemistry simuation. We expect that GEOS-Chem community members will be responsible for the scientific content and validation of the other "specialty" simulations.

Regrettably, the GCST cannot assist you with the following:

  • Teaching you how to program in Fortran, Python IDL, Matlab, Perl, etc.
  • Installing software on your system
  • Installing hardware on your system
  • Setting up web pages for your group

Software tools maintained by the GEOS-Chem User Community

Several useful software packages (e.g. Integrated Methane Inversion, CHEEREIO, etc) are maintained by members of the GEOS-Chem User Community. The GEOS-Chem Support Team claims no responsibility for the upkeep and support of these packages. Please contact the listed maintainer(s) directly.