Pa. Fishwick et al., A MULTIMODELING BASIS FOR ACROSS-TROPHIC-LEVEL ECOSYSTEM MODELING - THE FLORIDA EVERGLADES EXAMPLE, Transactions of the Society for Computer Simulation, 15(2), 1998, pp. 76-89
We present a new modeling method for use in large-scale physical syste
ms, such as the Everglades ecosystem. The current work that has been d
one in the ATLSS (Across-Trophic-Level System Simulation) project-whic
h focuses on simulating key Everglades system components-relies on cod
e integration. While this represents a necessary first step in analyzi
ng the dynamics of species within the Everglades, it falls short of tr
ue model integration. We have constructed a methodology called object-
oriented physical modeling (OOPM), which allows a comprehensive knowle
dge representation to be constructed for large-scale systems. OOPM enf
orces the idea that an implementation of compute code can be accomplis
hed in an incremental fashion by starting with a conceptual model and
progressing to more detailed models. During this evolutionary procedur
e, a minimal amount of code is written, since the emphasis is on devel
oping the conceptual model so that it not only represents the intuitiv
e aspects of the model, but is also executable. OOPM provides a kind o
f ''blueprint'' for ecologists, biologists and hydrologists to communi
cate and integrate models effectively.