Software Carpentry and the Hydrological Sciences

Scientists are spending an increasing amount of time building andusing hydrology software. However, most scientists are never taughthow to do this efficiently. As a result, many are unaware of tools andpractices that would allow them to write more reliable andmaintainable code with less effort. As hydrology models increase incapability and enter use by a growing number of scientists and theircommunities, it is important that the scientific software developmentpractices scale up to meet the challenges posed by increasing softwarecomplexity, lengthening software lifecycles, a growing number ofstakeholders and contributers, and a broadened developer base thatextends from application domains to high performance computingcenters. Many of these challenges in complexity, lifecycles, anddeveloper base have been successfully met by the open sourcecommunity, and there are many lessons to be learned from theirexperiences and practices. Additionally, there is much wisdom to befound in the results of research studies conducted on softwareengineering itself. Software Carpentry aims to bridge the gap betweenthe current state of software development and these known bestpractices for scientific software development, with a focus onhands-on exercises and practical advice. In 2014, Software Carpentry workshops targeting earth/environmentalsciences and hydrological modeling have been organized and run at theMassachusetts Institute of Technology, the US Army Corps of Engineers,the Community Surface Dynamics Modeling System Annual Meeting, and theEarth Science Information Partners Summer Meeting. In thispresentation, we will share some of the successes in teaching thismaterial, as well as discuss and present instructional materialspecific to hydrological modeling.