NextGen In A Box (NGIAB)

Run the NextGen National Water Resources Modeling Framework locally with ease.

NGIAB provides a containerized and user-friendly solution for running the NextGen framework, allowing you to control inputs, configurations, and execution on your local machine.

	Funding for this project was provided by the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), awarded to the Cooperative Institute for Research to Operations in Hydrology (CIROH) through the NOAA Cooperative Agreement with The University of Alabama (NA22NWS4320003).

Why NextGen In A Box?

• Run NextGen Locally: Experiment with the framework and customize configurations on your local machine.
• Control Over Inputs: Choose specific regions or basins for analysis and modify input data as needed.
• Simplified Setup: Utilize Docker containers for effortless deployment, avoiding complex software installations.
• Open Research Practices: Promote transparency and reproducibility through open-source tools like Git and GitHub.

Case Study: This repository demonstrates running NWM for Provo River Basin, UT

Repository Contents:

• Dockerfile for running the NextGen Framework
• Guide script (guide.sh) for easy execution
• README with instructions and documentation

Getting Started

Prerequisites

Windows:

1. Install WSL: Head over to Microsoft's official documentation and follow their comprehensive guide on installing WSL: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/install
2. Install Docker Desktop: Begin by downloading and installing Docker Desktop from the official website: https://docs.docker.com/desktop/install/windows-install/#install-docker-desktop-on-windows
3. Start Docker Desktop: After installation, launch the Docker Desktop application.
4. Open WSL as Admin: Right-click on the WSL icon and select "Run as Administrator".
5. Verify Installation: In the WSL window, type the command docker ps -a to check if Docker is running correctly. This command should display a list of Docker containers.

Mac:

1. Install Docker Desktop: Download and install Docker Desktop for Mac from: https://docs.docker.com/desktop/install/mac-install/
2. Start Docker Desktop: Launch the Docker Desktop application once the installation is complete.
3. Open Terminal: Open the Terminal application on your Mac.
4. Verify Installation: Similar to Windows, use the command docker ps -a in the Terminal to verify Docker is functioning as expected.

Linux:

1. Install Docker: The installation process for Linux varies depending on your distribution. Refer to the official documentation for detailed instructions: https://docs.docker.com/desktop/install/linux-install/
2. Start Docker and Verify: Follow the same steps as described for Mac to start Docker and verify its installation using the docker ps -a command in the terminal.

• Input Data:
  • Download Sample Data: Use the provided commands to download sample data for the Sipsey Fork case study.
  • To generate your own data: Refer to the NGIAB-datapreprocessor for instructions on generating custom input data.
  • To generate your own data and run using NGIAB: Refer to the ngen-datastream repository for instructions on generating custom input data.

This section guides you through downloading and preparing the sample input data for the NextGen In A Box project.

Step 1: Create Project Directory

• Linux/Mac: Open your terminal and go to your desired folder where you want to checkout repo and ngen-data folder and run the following commands:

mkdir -p NextGen/ngen-data

cd NextGen/ngen-data

• WSL (Right click and run as Admin): Open WSL with administrator privileges and execute:

cd /mnt/c/Users/<Folder>

mkdir -p NextGen/ngen-data

cd NextGen/ngen-data

Step 2: Download Sample Data

• Linux/Mac/Windows WSL: Use wget to download the compressed data file:

wget --no-parent https://ciroh-ua-ngen-data.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/AWI-006/AWI_16_2853886_006.tar.gz

Step 3: Extract and Rename

• All Platforms: Extract the downloaded file and optionally rename the folder:

tar -xf AWI_16_2853886_006.tar.gz

Below is Optional: Rename the folder

mv AWI_16_2853886_006 my_data

Now you have successfully downloaded and prepared the sample input data in the NextGen/ngen-data directory. Remember to replace "my_data" with your preferred folder name if you choose to rename it.

Case Study Map for the Provo River Basin, UT

Running NGIAB

1. Clone the Repository: Go to the folder created earlier during step #1 above

cd NextGen
git clone https://github.com/CIROH-UA/NGIAB-CloudInfra.git

cd NGIAB-CloudInfra

2. Run the Guide Script:

./guide.sh

3. Follow the prompts:

   • Input Data Path: Enter the path to your downloaded or generated input data directory. (e.g NextGen/ngen-data/my_data)

   • Run Mode: Choose between parallel or serial execution based on your preferences. The script pulls the related image from the awiciroh DockerHub, based on the local machine's architecture:

     For Mac with apple silicon (arm architecture), it pulls awiciroh/ciroh-ngen-image:latest.
     For x86 machines, it pulls awiciroh/ciroh-ngen-image:latest-x86.
     

     Example NGEN run command for parallel mode:

     mpirun -n 10 /dmod/bin/ngen-parallel ./config/wb-2853886_subset.gpkg all ./config/wb-2853886_subset.gpkg all ./config/realization.json /ngen/ngen/data/partitions_10.json

     Example NGEN run command for serial mode:

     /dmod/bin/ngen-serial ./config/wb-2853886_subset.gpkg all ./config/wb-2853886_subset.gpkg all ./config/realization.json

   • Select Files (automatically): Script selects specific catchment, nexus, and realization files based on input data.

   • After the model has finished running, the script prompts the user whether they want to continue.

   • If the user selects 1, the script opens an interactive shell.

   • If the user selects 2, then the script exits.

Output:

• Model outputs will be saved in the outputs folder within your input data directory. (e.g '.../NextGen/ngen-data/my_data/')

After the guide.sh is finished, the user can decide to use the Tethys Platform for visualization of the outputs (nexus and catchments). The script will pull the latest image of the Ngiab visualizer tethys app. It will also spin a GeoServer container in order to visualize the catchments layers (due to the size of the layer, this layer is visualized as with WMS service)

Your NGEN run command is mpirun -n 8 /dmod/bin/ngen-parallel ./config/wb-2853886_subset.gpkg all ./config/wb-2853886_subset.gpkg all ./config/realization.json /ngen/ngen/data/partitions_8.json
If your model didn't run, or encountered an error, try checking the Forcings paths in the Realizations file you selected.
Do you want to redirect command output to /dev/null? (y/N, default: n):
y
Redirecting output to /dev/null.

real    0m44.057s
user    3m59.398s
sys     0m7.809s
Finished executing command successfully.
Would you like to continue?
Select an option (type a number):
1) Interactive-Shell
2) Exit
#? 2
Have a nice day.
3 new outputs created.
Any copied files can be found here: /home/ubuntu/AWI_16_2853886_006/outputs
Visualize outputs using the Tethys Platform (https://www.tethysplatform.org/)? (y/N, default: y):

How to run NGIAB Visualizer?

If you have previous runs that you would like to use, you can also visualize them running the ./ViewOnTethys.sh script.

(base) [ubuntu@ubuntu NGIAB-CloudInfra]$ ./viewOnTethys.sh
Last used data directory path: /home/ubuntu/AWI_16_2853886_006
Do you want to use the same path? (Y/n): Y
Visualize outputs using the Tethys Platform (https://www.tethysplatform.org/)? (y/N, default: y):
y
Setup Tethys Portal image...

Output of the model guide script

The output files are copied to the outputs folder in the '/NextGen/ngen-data/my_data/' directory you created in the first step

If the Tethys Platform is used to visualize the outputs after the guide.sh, or if the viewOnTethys.sh script is used, you can expect to see geospatial and time series visualization of the catchments and nexus points:

Geopatial Visualization Nexus Time Series Catchments Time Series

Additional Resources:

• Next Generation Water Modeling Engine and Framework Prototype
• NGIAB_data_preprocessor
• ngen-datastream Repository