A model-service deployment strategy for collaboratively sharing geo-analysis models in an open web environment

Geo-analysis models can be shared and reused via model-services to support more effective responses to risks and help to build a sustainable world. The deployment of model-services typically requires significant effort, primarily because of the complexity and disciplinary specifics of geo-analysis models. Various modelling participants engage in the collaborative modelling process: geo-analysis model resources are provided by model providers, computational resources are provided by computational resource providers, and the published model-services are accessed by model users. This paper primarily focuses on model-service deployment, with the basic goal of providing a collaboration-oriented method for modelling participants to conveniently work together and make full use of modelling and computational resources across an open web environment. For model resource providers, a model-deployment description method is studied to help build model-deployment packages; for computational resource providers, a computational resource description method is studied to help build model-service containers and connectors. An experimental system for sharing and reusing geo-analysis models is built to verify the capability and feasibility of the proposed methods. Through this strategy, modellers from dispersed regions can work together more easily, thus providing dynamic and reliable geospatial information for Future Earth studies.