Article by Katherine Shanahan, JCSDA Program Coordinator
The Joint Effort for Data assimilation Integration (JEDI) project thrives through a partnership of core and community contributions. A strong community focus allows software engineers and scientists alike to download and run the public code, access support forums, and contribute to new developments. Sharing resources enables a faster transfer of research to operations so that JCSDA stakeholders and the data assimilation community can utilize JEDI in transitions to next-generation prediction systems. Ultimately, the hope is to leverage collaborative community development to craft a truly state-of-the-art unified data assimilation system.
National and international interest in effectively utilizing this cutting-edge system has increased over the past several years in anticipation of the first public release in October 2020. After the public release, desire for JEDI training opportunities has surged. Users and developers from the scientific to academic communities are eager to learn about how to apply JEDI to their own projects. To keep up with demand, the JCSDA has expanded support and training through the launch community-monitored forums, lecture videos on our YouTube channel, more JEDI Academies, and a new JEDI Short Course offering at the AMS 2021 Annual Meeting.
The Introduction to the Joint Effort for Data assimilation Integration (JEDI) AMS short course took place on March 10, 2021. Spanning only four hours, the short course was designed to be a condensed version of what one might learn on the first day of a typical JEDI Academy. By the end of the short course, participants were able to understand how to get JEDI up and running, how to simulate observations with the Unified Forward Operator (UFO), and practice data assimilation with JEDI. The course consisted of four brief lectures and two practical sessions where attendees worked through tutorials and met with instructors one-on-one if needed.
Several short course attendees pose for a virtual group photo on Wednesday, March 10, 2021. Group photos via screen shot have become a regular practice for virtual meetings.
Over 100 community members participated in the AMS short course, making it one of the largest training sessions the JCSDA has offered to date. Despite the large numbers and online format, attendees stated that the short course was valuable to their understanding of JEDI. The JCSDA is looking forward to hosting more “mini” JEDI Academies, including an academy for management, in the near future. To stay on top of future training opportunities, please sign up to receive news via www.jcsda.org.