MADS

MADS (Model Analysis & Decision Support) is an object-oriented code that is capable of performing various types of model analyses and supporting model-based decision making.

MADS can be executed under different computational modes, which include:

Sensitivity Analysis
Parameter Estimation (PE), Model Inversion and Calibration
Uncertainty Quantification (UQ)
Model Selection
Model Avereging
Decision Support (DS)

MADS can be externally coupled with any existing model simulator through integrated modules that generate input files required by the model simulator and parse output files generated by the model simulator using a set of template and instruction files similar to the files applied for the code PEST (Doherty 2009).

MADS analyses can be performed using existing control, template and instruction files developed for the code PEST without any modifications or adjustments.

MADS can be used as a library for internal coupling with simulators using object-oriented programming.

MADS can also be internally coupled with a series of built-in analytical simulators of contaminant transport in aquifers.

MADS provides:

efficient parallelization (MPI and POSIX threading)
runtime control, restart, and preemptive termination
advanced Latin-Hypercube sampling techniques, including Improved Distributed Sampling (IDS)
more than four alternative implementations of the Levenberg-Marquardt optimization technique
advanced local, global, and hybrid single- and multi-objective optimization techniques, including Multi-start Levenberg-Marquardt (MSLM), Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), TRIBES, SQUADS
local and global sensitivity and uncertainty techniques, including Monte-Carlo Methods, Sobol's global sensitivities, ABAGUS
Bayesian and non-Bayesian uncertainty analyses related to decision support, including DREAM, info-gap analyses.

MADS is a unix-style code with command-line interface. All the analyses are performed by a single executable code; model analyses and their options are selected by command-line keywords.

MADS is written in C/C++ and tested on various platforms (Unix, Linux, Mac OS X, MS Windows).

MADS has been successfully applied to perform various model analyses related to environmental management of contamination sites. Examples include solutions of source identification problems, quantification of uncertainty, model calibration, and optimization of monitoring networks.

MADS current stable version (v 1.1.14) has been actively updated.

Professional softwares/codes with somewhat similar but not equivalent capabilities are:

The source code, example input/output files, and a manual are available at MADS website.

LA-CC-10-055, LA-CC-11-035