Designing

Designing a Virtual Ecosystem

You specify a new Virtual Ecosystem in about fifty steps, each of which is accessed through the VEW Designer. Clicking on one of its sectors opens the corresponding Graphical User Interface (GUI).

You proceed sector-by-sector around the design panel. As each step is completed, the corresponding element of the specification file is recorded and the indicator light changes from red to green.

The Computation GUI allows you to specify which network computer to run the job on, and where to store the results i.e. the data that defi ne the virtual ecosystem. Alternatively, you can specify that the code should be stored on a CD for running off-line on another computer.

The Sample GUIs allow the user to specify which of the variable should be logged, at what frequency, and in what depth-time window.

Each Model GUI allows the user to select a specififi cation from earlier ones held in an archive, or to create a new one using the equation editor.

The Scenario GUIs allow the user to specify the dates and geographical location, to create a track for the water column, and to choose the data sets used for weather, ocean circulation and ocean hydrography (including nutrients).