BER Science Highlights
U.S. Department of Energy | Office of Science | Biological and Environmental Research Program

ModEx

  • Model-Experimentation circular flow with Environmental System Science initiatives in the center.

    Adapting the ModEx Framework to AI Models

    Artificial intelligence will accelerate work across all six stages of the model-experiment (ModEx) cycle:
    • Hypotheses or Questions: (a) supplementing contextual metadata for existing datasets to leverage more data in developing hypotheses; (b) expanding data findability and usability.
    • Observations, Experiments, Discovery: (a) pairing autonomous sensor systems with edge computing to quickly refine sampling location and frequency and improve process resolution (e.g., methane ebullition) with high spatiotemporal heterogeneity; (b) optimizing AI-driven sampling strategies and experimental design.
    • Process or Systems Data: (a) expanding data findability and usability; (b) ensuring quality assurance and control; (c) Improving data value through classification, outlier detection, and clustering, such as by integrating imaging data (e.g., computed tomography and neutron tomography) with geochemical flux data.
    • Conceptual Models: (a) connecting ontologies from different domains; (b) identifying rough contours of new interactions.
    • Process and Systems Modeling: (a) advancing Earth system models through surrogate and hybrid modeling approaches, especially with difficult-to-integrate measurements across scales; (b) parameterizing and reducing uncertainties in bottom-up process models.
    • Model Evaluation and Interpretation: (a) assimilating data, analyzing sensitivity, and quantifying uncertainty, such as with surrogate models and hybrid surrogate/physics models; (b) identifying/characterizing model–measurement deviations.

  • Circular stages of model-observation-experimentation approach.

    BER’s ModEx Approach: Integrating Modeling, Observations, and Experiments

    Integrating Modeling, Observations, and Experiments. Within the ModEx framework, researchers combine process research (including observations, experiments, and measurements performed in the field or laboratory) with modeling activities that simulate these same processes. This integrated loop ensures that models incorporate state-of-the-science knowledge about critical systems and then guide field and laboratory research.