Introduction
============

The Open Global Glacier Model (OGGM) is an open source modelling framework for
glaciers. It has been developed since 2014: intermittently at first, and more
regularly since 2016. Today, OGGM is continuously discussed and updated by a
team of international researchers.

Our main aim is to **assist the modelling of the evolution of mountains
glaciers at large scales**. The OGGM framework offers various solutions
to the challenges encountered
when modelling a large number of glaciers. Here is a non-exhaustive list of
its features:

.. admonition:: **OGGM features**
    :class: info

    Data preprocessing
      Acquisition, download and processing of a large number of digital
      elevation models, gridded climate datasets, reference datasets for model
      calibration and validation such as geodetic mass balance and ice
      velocity products, and more...

    Climatic mass balance
      Mass balance models of various degrees of complexity,
      interchangeable, extendable and reprogrammable by anyone.

    Glacier geometry evolution models
      Suite of glacier evolution models of different types including toy models,
      statistical approaches (e.g. delta-h parameterization),
      and explicit approaches (including an ice dynamics module).

    Plug and play
      OGGM ships with a large set of pre-processed glacier states that can be
      downloaded and applied in modeling workflows using only a few lines of code.

    Distributed computing
      Automated and seamless task management system for efficient multiprocessing
      in cluster environments.

    Reproducible and sustainable code
      Well tested and well documented codebase, including online tutorials. Regularly
      maintained and freely available container environments for reproducibility
      across platforms and HPCs.

    Standard projections
      Pre-computed glacier change projections for a wide range of scenarios and use cases.
      See :doc:`download-projections` for more information.

    Community
      Welcoming community of users and developers: :ref:`get in touch <contact>` and join us!
      Check out our `community website <https://community.oggm.org/welcome.html>`_.
