GNN-VIEW: Visual Inspection and Explanation of Graph-based Earth-System Models

Machine learning Earth-system models are becoming increasingly important, and so is their development. Graph-based models, one of the most prominent approaches, allow developers to constrain the learning process before training via graph connectivity. Yet, developing these models remains challenging: the graph is built algorithmically with little intuition about the final result beyond static plotting, which requires extra work and is often not detailed enough. Even after successful training, how the model arrives at forecasts remains obscure. We present GNN-VIEW, an interactive browser-based tool that supports the development of such systems. GNN-VIEW exposes the graph's information pathways, allowing model developers to debug the graph structure before training. After training, GNN-VIEW uses attribution-based explainability to reveal which input features are used by the trained model for a given forecast. This helps developers understand why a model fails. We showcase the usefulness of GNN-VIEW in the construction stage of a graph for an ocean forecasting model, and in explaining poorly predicted precipitation of a trained weather forecasting model during Hurricane Laura.