Module overview
‘Modules’ or ‘response models’ capture the response of various outcomes to hydrology (and in future, other drivers). They are expected to be written by subject-matter experts, and are likely to target a range of outcomes across themes. They will typically target granular outputs, e.g. the hydrologic indicators at gauges in the Environmental Water Requirements (EWR) tool. Moreover, they are likely to be written in different languages and for different purposes. A key goal of HydroBOT is to unify these approaches into a common framework, and allow processing and integration for management decision making. As such, HydroBOT maintains a flexible general structure able to accept a range of datasets given a small set of requirements. It also provides functionality to handle idiosyncracies in that data (e.g. pseudo-spatial aggregation) and, for integrated modules, can automate detection and handling of those idiosyncracies.
Modules might be fully-integrated (as is only the case for the EWR tool currently); see additional information about the EWR module.
The toolkit can also proceed from the outputs of unintegrated modules if necessary, as demonstrated here.
Integrating new modules will depend on their structure and particular needs, but simple pseudocode describing the necessary functions is provided here.