NESSI 2021 - Joana Olsen
Joana Olsen, University of Wyoming
MusicBox in the Curriculum
MusicBox is a Box Chemistry Model that is being tested and evaluated as a tool for use in university undergraduate and graduate course curriculum. The tool has been used to evaluate mechanisms at different levels of the atmosphere – including the Troposphere and the Stratosphere – under the guidance of a group of NCAR and university scientists. MusicBox provides a user interface, allowing for easy development of atmospheric chemistry models. Species, reactions, initial conditions, and evolving conditions can be added easily to the desired mechanism for evaluation. The useability of the model stems from the ability to look at each added reaction, select various reaction types, and compare reaction rates to published data. This ability to change reactions supports scientific exploration of atmospheric chemistry by students. With the help of scientists, validation and verification of results and mechanisms is being conducted. For further verification, the mechanisms created were compared to other box model simulations like BOXMOX, previously conducted experiments, and textbook publications. As the results are being confirmed, the mechanisms have been uploaded to a GitHub repository for easy student and professor access. By having these sample mechanisms readily available, the professors can incorporate them into their teachings. The mechanisms can be downloaded directly to the student’s personal or university owned computer, uploaded to MusicBox, and simulated without the use of complex built steps or knowledge of programming.
Mentors: Andrew Conley & Mary Barth
Slides and Poster