Session

DescriptionAdaptive mesh refinement (AMR) is an important method that enables many mesh-based applications to run at effectively higher resolution within limited computing resources by allowing high resolution only where really needed. This advantage comes at a cost: greater complexity in the mesh management machinery, and challenges with load distribution. The management of platform heterogeneity is challenging enough for applications; it becomes a bigger challenge when there is AMR. Options such as asynchronous communication and hierarchy management for parallelism and memory come into play. Different groups using AMR based applications are bringing different approaches to this challenge. An interesting exercise is to compare these different approaches to see whether they are truly conceptually different, or the difference lies only in the details. This two-session minisymposium will include presentations from developers of dominant AMR packages or of scientific codes based on AMR about their approach to managing heterogeneity. The final slot will be an open discussion about the merits of various approaches.