Rapid development of fast and flexible environmental models: the Mobius framework v1.0

Abstract

The Mobius model building system is a new open-source framework for building fast and flexible environmental models. Mobius makes it possible for researchers with limited programming experience to build performant models with potentially complicated structures. Mobius models can be easily interacted with through the MobiView graphical user interface and through the Python programming language. Mobius was initially developed to support catchment-scale hydrology and water-quality modelling but can be used to represent any system of hierarchically structured ordinary differential equations, such as population dynamics or toxicological models. Here, we demonstrate how Mobius can be used to quickly prototype several different model structures for a dissolved organic carbon catchment model and use built-in auto-calibration and statistical uncertainty analysis tools to help decide on the best model structures. Overall, we hope the modular model building platform offered by Mobius will provide a step forward for environmental modelling, providing an alternative to the “one size fits all” modelling paradigm. By making it easier to explore a broader range of model structures and parameterisations, users are encouraged to build more appropriate models, and in turn this improves process understanding and allows for more robust modelling in support of decision making.