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New Report Explores Revolutionary Environmental Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure5 min read

by Lauren Nicole Core on January 10, 2023

Announcements

The Artificial Intelligence for Earth System Predictability (AI4ESP) workshop took place in late 2021 and led to the publication of a workshop report that outlines a roadmap for the execution of AI4ESP encompassing near- (2-year), mid- (5-year), and longterm (10-year) activities (Source: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory).

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) to help collect, understand, and analyze large sets of information, known as Big Data, has the potential to revolutionize our ability to observe, understand, and predict processes in the Earth’s systems.

While these technologies and data have been widely used to identify and predict human behavior in the commercial sector, researchers and scientists are working together to apply AI and modeling techniques such as machine learning (ML) to advance Earth and environmental science. Specifically, a group of scientists and experts aims to integrate modern technology in the work of Earth system models, observations, and theory — as well as to provide computational capabilities that can deliver speed, accuracy, and more-informed, agile decision-making. 

In a collaborative effort between the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Biological and Environmental Research (BER) and DOE’s Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) program, as well as with community experts, the Artificial Intelligence for Earth System Predictability (AI4ESP) workshop was held from October through December 2021. The five-week, virtual workshop explored the challenges and development of an infrastructure that would best integrate a combination of technological capabilities and human activities in the field, laboratories and on computational resources. BER developed the process as the Model-Experiment paradigm, or ModEx, and a report released this fall outlines the key takeaways of last year’s event.

“Effective improvements to Earth system predictability require radical advancements across the ModEx environment. This workshop offered a cross-discipline and cross-mission opportunity for the scientific and application communities to collaborate towards the understanding of the advancements needed,” said Nicki Hickmon, associate director of operations for the multi-lab DOE Atmospheric Radiation Measurement user facility and a researcher at Argonne National Laboratory.

According to the newly released report summarizing the AI4ESP workshop, the event brought together more than 700 participants from both the private and public sectors, with representatives from the Earth and environmental sciences, computing, and AI. Together, about 100 experts designed the workshop based on 156 white papers provided by 640 authors from 112 institutions around the world.

Information was narrowed down to 17 topics related to the integrative water cycle and extreme weather phenomena within that cycle. Nine focal points related to Earth system predictions were discussed, including sessions involving hydrology, watershed science and coastal dynamics; atmosphere, land, oceans, and ice; climate variability and extremes. Throughout the sessions, participants explored the potential of AI to unlock scientific discoveries using tools such as neural networks, knowledge-informed machine learning; AI architectures and co-design. 

In each session, challenges were identified that support the need for revolutionized AI technology and infrastructure that can be applied to manage complex work in the environmental science field.

“We need new AI methodologies that incorporate process understanding and respect physical laws to make predictions of Earth system behavior scalable, trustworthy and applicable under future climate regimes,” said Charuleka Varadharajan, an EESA research scientist and lead of the laboratory’s Earth AI & Data Program Domain. “This workshop is unique in discussing how AI could improve models, observations, and theory incorporating DOE’s ModEx approach. The workshop enabled us to develop 2-, 5-, and 10-year priorities for Earth science and computational science, as well as programmatic and cultural changes to advance the use of AI for Earth system predictions,” Varadharajan added.

Experts developed a comprehensive list of opportunities where AI research and development can help with some of the greatest challenges facing Earth science. These challenges include managing and analyzing large sets of data to enhance the ability to observe and predict extreme events and foster the integration of human activities into theory and models.

Workshop participants also identified several priorities necessary to tackle computational challenges — including advancements in both AI and ML, algorithms, data management and more. The result of those priorities can help develop a technology infrastructure that is efficient, accurate, strategic, convenient, and further reaches across resources.

“One of the most exciting opportunities in modeling is the development of new hybrid models that incorporate both process-based and ML-based modules,” said Forrest Hoffman, lead for the Computational Earth Sciences group at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. “These modeling frameworks can enable incorporation of data about poorly understood processes that can improve accuracy and often result in improved computational performance for Earth system models, enabling more simulations and analysis to be conducted within given resource limits.”

There is also a need for programmatic and cultural changes to support a more cohesive mission across various scientific and government agencies, as well as a trained workforce that can successfully integrate technology into their humanistic research and activities. The experts identified solutions that would include AI research centers specific to environmental science, frameworks that enable shared services across various communities, and ongoing training and support missions. 

The 2021 AI4ESP workshop participants continue to discuss community computational activities, including those from the American Geophysical Union and American Meteorological Society. Stay tuned for additional workshops and meetings in the near future — more collaborations, engagements, and framework development will continue to further the AI4ESP mission.

A related article, “Accelerating and Improving Smart Use of Big Data to Predict Earth System Processes,” is published on the DOE Office of Science website.

 

News & Events

Chun Chang Places Second in Annual Berkeley Lab Pitch Competition3 min read

January 18, 2023

Commercializing Berkeley Lab inventions is an important part of the Lab’s mission, and one that requires strong communication skills. For example, Lab inventors need to be able to pitch their ideas to external partners and potential funders.  The annual Berkeley Lab Pitch Competition occurred on October 27, 2022 and is a part of an entrepreneurship…

EESA Scientists Collaborate With Universities to bring Environmental Science Research Opportunities and Training to Students Underrepresented in STEM3 min read

January 13, 2023

  EESA researchers are collaborators in three of the 41 projects awarded in December by DOE through its Reaching a New Energy Sciences Workforce (RENEW) initiative.  RENEW aims to build foundations for research at institutions that have been historically underrepresented in the Office of Science (SC) research portfolio. The initiative provides opportunities for undergraduate and…

A Q&A With Postdoc Kunxiaoja Yuan3 min read

January 4, 2023

  Kunxiaojia Yuan received her Bachelor’s of Engineering in remote sensing and Ph.D. in geographic information engineering from Wuhan University. She is a postdoctoral researcher in EESA, with a research focus on global carbon, energy, and water cycle analysis and model evaluation using machine learning and causal inference. What motivated you to pursue a postdoc…

A Q&A With Postdoc Brandon Enalls4 min read

After flipping on the TV to a science channel segment about environmental microbes, postdoc researcher Brandon Enalls was instantly amazed by microbiology. After working with a research group that studied microbes in extreme salinity, like the Dead Sea, Enalls knew he wanted to study microbes “in strange places, doing strange things,” inspiring him to get…

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