A scientific function test framework for modular environmental model development: Application to the community land model

As environmental models have become more complicated, we need new tools to analyze and validate these models and to facilitate collaboration among field scientists, observation dataset providers, environmental system modelers, and computer scientists. Modular design and function test of environmental models have gained attention recently within the Biological and Environmental Research Program of the U.S. Department of Energy. In this paper, we will present our methods and software tools 1) to analyze environmental software and 2) to generate modules for scientific function testing of environmental models. We have applied these methods to the Community Land Model with three typical scenarios: 1) benchmark case function validation, 2) observation-constraint function validation, and 3) a virtual root module generation for root function investigation and evaluation. We believe that our strategies and experience in scientific function test framework can be beneficial to many other research programs that adapt integrated environmental modeling methodology.