MPTRAC vs PySDM
MPTRAC
slcs-jsc.github.ioPySDM
open-atmos.github.ioSide by side
| Figure | MPTRAC | PySDM |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 2 | 1 |
| Spec score · Physics Simulation Software | 8.7 (#7) | 8.1 (#28) |
| Authoring tools | No | Yes |
| Data export | Yes | Yes |
| Delivery mode | hybrid | hybrid |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Lesson library | No | Yes |
| License | The repository states that MPTRAC is distributed under the GNU General Public License v3.0. | PySDM and PySDM-examples are free/libre open-source software released under the GNU GPL v3 license. |
| Purpose | MPTRAC is a Lagrangian particle dispersion model for analyzing atmospheric transport in the free troposphere and stratosphere. | PySDM simulates particle populations undergoing diffusional and collisional growth and breakage, with a focus on atmospheric cloud physics and aerosol, cloud, and rain microphysics. |
| Support | The project directs questions, support, and collaboration inquiries to Dr. Lars Hoffmann at the Jülich Supercomputing Centre. | The project recommends GitHub Discussions for help understanding, using, and extending PySDM, and its GitHub issue tracker for reporting incorrect or undocumented behavior. |
Plans
In their own words
MPTRAC
MPTRAC is a Lagrangian particle dispersion model for studying atmospheric transport in the free troposphere and stratosphere. It calculates forward and backward air-parcel trajectories from meteorological wind fields, with stochastic diffusion, subgrid wind variation and mixing between parcels. Optional process parameterizations cover convection, sedimentation, decay, gas-phase and aqueous-phase chemistry, and wet and dry deposition. Listed research applications include long-range pollutant transport, volcanic ash dispersion, tracer experiments and atmospheric chemistry.
The browser-based Web Runner can configure, run and visualize simulations, then download results without local installation. It is limited to 10,000 air parcels, 30 days and 10 minutes of model runtime. The model needs meteorological input, normally netCDF files on a regular pressure, longitude and latitude grid. MPTRAC supports hybrid MPI, OpenMP and OpenACC parallelization, and offers visualization interfaces for Gnuplot and ParaView. It is GPL-3.0 software for Linux, self-hosted and web use; listed pricing includes free.