Earth scientists today have unprecedented online access to collected data on rock compositions. This work aims to expand the capabilities and access to modeling tools whereby such data can be compared to hypotheses about the Earth. The alphaMELTS software package provides a flexible, powerful, easy-to-use interface to a set of successful models and algorithms that apply the theory of classical thermodynamics to understanding melting and crystallization of igneous rocks. This grant will enable the creation of the next generation of the software, interaction with users to implement requested features and support their modeling efforts, testing and demonstration of new features, optimization of the package for use in teaching, and publication of its educational features to encourage wide adoption. The award will fund a Database of MELTS Examples (DOME) to facilitate quick start-up and reproducibility of results; new solid solution models; a family of routines for seamless incorporation of alphaMELTS functionality into any Fortran, C++, Matlab or Python code; Visualization and analysis tools through coupling to MATLABTM; and more.
This award will enable significant outreach by alphaMELTS developers to the broad geological instruction and research communities. It will fund two "MELTS camp" short courses to introduce new users to the software and demonstrate its capabilities. All software developed under this work will be released free of charge for use by the community and support under this award will enable dynamic interaction with the user community for support and implementation of user-requested features.
