MADAGASCAR software package and reproducible research

Introduction

The goal of this paper is to introduce the MADAGASCAR software package. MADAGASCAR provides a collection of programs for multidimensional data analysis, including seismic imaging and seismic data processing, and an integrated environment for arranging data processing workflows and computational experiments. MADAGASCAR follows the philosophy of reproducible research, introduced by Claerbout (1992). Reproducible research implies that the results of computational experiments are published along with the software code and, if possible, the input data, so that the reader of an article is able to reproduce and verify the experiment (Fomel and Claerbout, 2010; Schwab et al., 2000).

Why is reproducible research important? A scientific communication is valuable only if the result is communicated to a skeptic, someone who does not take the author's conclusions for granted unless they are confirmed by sufficient evidence. The ability to confirm and verify the published result allows the recepient of a scientific communition to build on top of previous result and to extend scientific and technological progress. This is the case... computations...

It is the need for an integrated and open environment for geophysical research that motivated the development of the MADAGASCAR software package. reproducible research... ..similarities and differences with MATLAB... with SU...

To make the presentation more entertaining, we organize the paper as a story. In this story, a young geophysicist discovers Madagascar, uses it to perform data processing tasks and to develop new algorithms, and eventually contributes to the Madagascar development. Through this story, we introduce different features of the package that the reader may find useful.

MADAGASCAR software package and reproducible research