Workflow map

The main driver exposes named stages in config/ais_0.1.py. The independent pure-SSA driver exposes its own stages in config/ais_0.1_SSA.py. The tables below summarize the workflow shape; dated status details can change and are maintained in the linked worklogs and run guide.

Shared preparation and inversion

Stage

Responsibility

Typical product

process_domain

Prepare the Antarctic model-domain outline.

assets/ais_domain.exp

mesh

Generate and refine the triangular mesh.

models/AIS3_mesh.nc

param

Apply data, masks, geometry, observations, and physical parameterization.

models/AIS3_param.nc

SSA rheology/friction inversion stages

Explore sensitivities and regularization, then select fields for an inversion.

Run directories and inversion result files

ssa_inverted_solve

Assemble and solve the main driver’s present-day SSA state.

models/AIS3_inverted.nc

Exact step names and hand-offs are defined in the driver; this table is an orientation, not a substitute for reading the stage implementation before changing it.

Higher-order track

The HO sequence extends the present-day initialization with vertically resolved physics. As documented in the 2026-09-29 pipeline record, the intended sequence is:

  1. ho_thermal_steadystate — establish a thermal state from the inverted model.

  2. ho_friction_inv — refine friction under HO physics; this has used chunked restarts.

  3. melt_gamma_tuning — apply the calibrated basal-melt parameterization.

  4. ho_relaxation — produce a relaxed state before transient evolution.

  5. historical_dhdt_tuning — evolve the historical period, with chunked warm restarts.

  6. projection_ssp — HO projection scaffold; forcing interpolation and prerequisites remain explicit development concerns.

Consult the post-inversion pipeline worklog for the dated stage status and known qualification issues. In particular, a completed solver job is not automatically equivalent to a validated science product.

Pure-SSA track

The SSA driver has its own downstream chain:

  1. ssa_inverted_solve_budd — assemble the SSA initial state using the saved Budd result.

  2. ssa_relaxation_budd — run the SSA relaxation stage; its geometry hand-off is deliberately different from the HO track.

  3. melt_gamma_tuning_ssa — apply the selected melt calibration.

  4. historical_dhdt_tuning_ssa — run the historical transient.

  5. projection_ssp_ssa — run the SSA projection experiments in chained chunks.

See the projection experiment record for projection forcing, experiment naming, output products, and operational choices. For SSA historical validation caveats, see validation.

Data-flow rule of thumb

Each stage should be documented in terms of four things:

  • Input state: model file or upstream result it loads.

  • Transformation: physical operation and the important numerical choices.

  • Output state: file or execution result it writes.

  • Qualification: whether the result is scaffolded, exploratory, completed, or validated.

That record makes it easier to understand dependencies without treating output filenames or folder names as sufficient documentation.