IAGA Division I Working Group FAIR-MOD
What is FAIR-MOD?
An inaugural meeting was held at IUGG in Berlin on Friday July 14, 2023 for the IAGA Division I working group FAIR-MOD. The goal of this group is to enhance interactions across researchers engaged in geomagnetic and paleomagnetic modelling of observational data and the production of numerical simulations. Rationale, potential roles and activities of this group were discussed. Chairs and co-Chairs of the Working group were nominated and selected.
The group plans to explore what metadata are fundamental to making progress in understanding challenges of numerical simulations and long term field modelling, so that Division I science can evolve to be both open and FAIR (Findable Accessible Interoperable and Reproducible). The past few decades have seen burgeoning numbers of numerical simulations developed using a number of dynamo codes. Additionally, there has been progress on the development of paleomagnetic models that can include time variations extending from decades to millions of years. Increasingly, there is interaction between the relevant research communities who wish to make use of novel results but struggle to stay informed about the physical processes being modelled.
Are you interested to join in joining the working google group?
Please contact Cathy Constable.
In the context of the IAGA Division 1 FAIR-MOD working group, we have undertaken efforts to compile and make available catalogues of numerical dynamo simulations and data-based models.
Catalogues of numerical dynamo simulations
The Geodynamo Simulation Explorer is a collaborative web tool designed to catalogue and share metadata from geodynamo simulations. These simulations, which aim to model the Earth’s core dynamics, are computationally expensive and may be unintentionally duplicated across different institutes. This web platform enable users to search existing simulations, thus reducing redundancy, and promoting a more efficient use of computational resources. The exploration of available dynamo data can be done by selecting ranges of parameters of interest and/or choosing specific numerical setups (e.g., boundary conditions, forcing, etc.). Beyond its role as a catalogue, the tool offers interactive visualization features to help users understand relationships between inputs and outputs, examine dimensionless numbers, investigate scaling laws, and visually compare multiple simulations. Researchers are encouraged to contribute their own data, provided it is referenced (peer-reviewed).
Catalogues of geomagnetic and paleomagnetic models
Regarding data-based reconstructions, we provide an overview of the results available over a range of timescales, from historical to centennial, millennial, and multimillion-year intervals. The models covering the modern field with observatory and satellite data, including the IGRF model, are topic in IAGA’s working group V-MOD.
Depending on the data type, the spatial and temporal variability, and number of data, which generally decreases further back in time, different approaches are used to extract the maximum value from the available information. Thus, the reconstructions include global or regional stacks of records, global or regional geomagnetic field models, and time-averaged global field models.
Stacks are commonly represented as averaged paleointensity variations or Virtual (Axial) Dipole Moment (VADM/VDM), and less frequently as Virtual Geomagnetic Pole (VGP). These quantities serve as proxies for the dipole field under the assumption that nondipole contributions are averaged out. Global models represent the geomagnetic field using spherical harmonic (SH) basis functions. Over very long timescales, field snapshots are available in terms of SH representations, analogous to SH models but without time-dependent coefficients, or as fit to the data using only large-scale zonal components. The table lists the different reconstructions (in chronological order), along with details on their validity periods, data sources, methodologies, references, and links to the models when available online.