What is ELCOM?

The Centre for Water Research Estuary and Lake Computer Model or CWR-ELCOM, is a 3D hydrodynamics, thermodynamics and transport model that is closely coupled to the Computational Aquatic Ecosystem Dynamics (CAEDYM) model. CWR-ELCOM solves the unsteady shallow water equations with modules for heat and momentum transfer across the water surface due to wind and atmospheric thermodynamics. More info is at the CWR web site <ELCOM> and <CWR services >. The details of the code can be found in papers and technical reports <more info>

Who wrote CWR-ELCOM?

The original version of CWR-ELCOM was written and enhanced from 1997 through 2000 by Dr. Ben R. Hodges (this website author) while working as a research fellow at the Centre for Water Research (CWR), University of Western Australia. Since that time, a number of graduate students have made significant contributions to the code.

Who owns CWR-ELCOM?

As CWR-ELCOM was developed with funding developed through CWR, the intellectual property rights for the model are held by the Centre for Water Research at the University of Western Australia.

How can I get a copy?

The model, including source code, has previously been distributed at minimal charge to academic research partners of CWR, and for payment to commercial users. Becoming an academic research partner of CWR requires a formal contract to be signed agreeing to the terms and conditions of academic use. A partnership is a two-way street, and users of the model are expected to actively collaborate with CWR in writing papers and provide CWR any new code developed for implementation in future models. Students typically do not have the legal signing authority for a research partnership agreement. The distribution process is controlled by the Contract Research Group at CWR.

About the names ELCOM, ELMO and ECOM...

ELCOM was the name given to the follow-on to the Estuary and Lake MOdel (ELMO) that was developed at CWR in 1996. We ran into problems with using the name ELMO, as we found it had already by trademarked by a computer company. When we chose the Estuary and Lake COmputer Model (ELCOM) as the obvious simplest variant, the name ran through the trademark check without any problems. We were not aware that HydroQual was modifying the Princeton Ocean Model as the Estuary and Coastal Ocean Model (ECOM) - likewise, it is clear that they were not aware of our project. In any case, we are now unfortunately stuck with two 3D hydrodynamic models, ELCOM and ECOM, with very similar names. My apologies to the modeling community for any confusion this might cause. The closeness of the names was inadvertent. In my future work, I am trying to consistently use CWR-ELCOM as the model name to reduce confusion.