ESMValTool

ESMValTool. It is an open-source community diagnostic tool for the evaluation of Earth System Models, developed to facilitate and standardize the analysis used in major international climate assessments like those by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The software enables comprehensive, reproducible evaluation of model performance against a wide range of observations and reanalysis data, supporting research within projects such as Coupled Model Intercomparison Project. Its development is driven by a consortium of major climate research institutions to enhance the rigor and transparency of climate model intercomparison.

Overview

The primary purpose of the tool is to provide a systematic framework for assessing the fidelity of simulations from complex climate and Earth system models. It processes output from modeling groups worldwide, including those contributing to the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6, and compares it to reference datasets from sources like the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. By automating complex analysis chains, it ensures reproducibility and consistency in evaluations that inform critical reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. This standardization is vital for large collaborative projects such as those under the World Climate Research Programme.

Development and history

Initial development was coordinated under the European Union's Earth System Model Evaluation Tool project, with significant contributions from the Helmholtz Association and early funding from the European Commission's Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development. The tool evolved to become a core component of the Copernicus Climate Change Service, managed by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. Key institutional developers include the Deutsches Klimarechenzentrum, the Netherlands eScience Center, and the University of Reading, with collaborative input from the National Center for Atmospheric Research in the United States. Its development philosophy emphasizes open science, aligned with principles from the Research Data Alliance.

Technical specifications

The software is primarily written in Python (programming language), leveraging scientific libraries like NumPy and SciPy, and incorporates some legacy code from the NCL (programming language). It uses a recipe-driven system where users define analyses in YAML configuration files, which are then executed by a core framework to produce standardized diagnostics and visualizations. It interfaces with data formats standardized by the Climate and Forecast Metadata Conventions and relies on tools like iris (software) for data manipulation. The tool is designed to run on high-performance computing environments common at institutions like the Deutsches Klimarechenzentrum and the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

Scientific applications

It is extensively used for model evaluation in major international projects, most notably for analyzing output from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6, which underpins the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Applications range from assessing global mean temperature trends and Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation variability to evaluating regional phenomena like the Indian Ocean Dipole and Madden–Julian oscillation. Researchers at institutions like the University of Oxford and the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology employ it to benchmark models against satellite data from NASA and reanalysis products from the Japan Meteorological Agency.

Community and governance

Development and maintenance are stewarded by a broad consortium under the umbrella of the Copernicus Climate Change Service, with project coordination often handled by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. Governance involves regular contributions from scientists at the Deutsches Klimarechenzentrum, the Netherlands eScience Center, the University of Reading, and the National Center for Atmospheric Research. The community actively participates through workshops, tutorials at conferences like the European Geosciences Union General Assembly, and collaborative development on platforms such as GitHub. This model fosters a robust user base across institutions like the Met Office and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Category:Climate change assessment and data Category:Scientific simulation software Category:Free science software