Navigating the Noise: Bringing Clarity to ML Parameterization Design with O(100) Ensembles

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Lin, Jerry, Yu, Sungduk, Peng, Liran, Beucler, Tom, Wong-Toi, Eliot, Hu, Zeyuan, Gentine, Pierre, Geleta, Margarita, Pritchard, Mike
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2023
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author Lin, Jerry
Yu, Sungduk
Peng, Liran
Beucler, Tom
Wong-Toi, Eliot
Hu, Zeyuan
Gentine, Pierre
Geleta, Margarita
Pritchard, Mike
author_facet Lin, Jerry
Yu, Sungduk
Peng, Liran
Beucler, Tom
Wong-Toi, Eliot
Hu, Zeyuan
Gentine, Pierre
Geleta, Margarita
Pritchard, Mike
contents Machine-learning (ML) parameterizations of subgrid processes (here of turbulence, convection, and radiation) may one day replace conventional parameterizations by emulating high-resolution physics without the cost of explicit simulation. However, uncertainty about the relationship between offline and online performance (i.e., when integrated with a large-scale general circulation model (GCM)) hinders their development. Much of this uncertainty stems from limited sampling of the noisy, emergent effects of upstream ML design decisions on downstream online hybrid simulation. Our work rectifies the sampling issue via the construction of a semi-automated, end-to-end pipeline for $\mathcal{O}(100)$ size ensembles of hybrid simulations, revealing important nuances in how systematic reductions in offline error manifest in changes to online error and online stability. For example, removing dropout and switching from a Mean Squared Error (MSE) to a Mean Absolute Error (MAE) loss both reduce offline error, but they have opposite effects on online error and online stability. Other design decisions, like incorporating memory, converting moisture input from specific humidity to relative humidity, using batch normalization, and training on multiple climates do not come with any such compromises. Finally, we show that ensemble sizes of $\mathcal{O}(100)$ may be necessary to reliably detect causally relevant differences online. By enabling rapid online experimentation at scale, we can empirically settle debates regarding subgrid ML parameterization design that would have otherwise remained unresolved in the noise.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2309_16177
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Navigating the Noise: Bringing Clarity to ML Parameterization Design with O(100) Ensembles
Lin, Jerry
Yu, Sungduk
Peng, Liran
Beucler, Tom
Wong-Toi, Eliot
Hu, Zeyuan
Gentine, Pierre
Geleta, Margarita
Pritchard, Mike
Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics
Machine Learning
Machine-learning (ML) parameterizations of subgrid processes (here of turbulence, convection, and radiation) may one day replace conventional parameterizations by emulating high-resolution physics without the cost of explicit simulation. However, uncertainty about the relationship between offline and online performance (i.e., when integrated with a large-scale general circulation model (GCM)) hinders their development. Much of this uncertainty stems from limited sampling of the noisy, emergent effects of upstream ML design decisions on downstream online hybrid simulation. Our work rectifies the sampling issue via the construction of a semi-automated, end-to-end pipeline for $\mathcal{O}(100)$ size ensembles of hybrid simulations, revealing important nuances in how systematic reductions in offline error manifest in changes to online error and online stability. For example, removing dropout and switching from a Mean Squared Error (MSE) to a Mean Absolute Error (MAE) loss both reduce offline error, but they have opposite effects on online error and online stability. Other design decisions, like incorporating memory, converting moisture input from specific humidity to relative humidity, using batch normalization, and training on multiple climates do not come with any such compromises. Finally, we show that ensemble sizes of $\mathcal{O}(100)$ may be necessary to reliably detect causally relevant differences online. By enabling rapid online experimentation at scale, we can empirically settle debates regarding subgrid ML parameterization design that would have otherwise remained unresolved in the noise.
title Navigating the Noise: Bringing Clarity to ML Parameterization Design with O(100) Ensembles
topic Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics
Machine Learning
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2309.16177