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| CESM (Community Earth System Model) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Community Earth System Model |
| Developer | National Center for Atmospheric Research, Department of Energy (United States), University Corporation for Atmospheric Research |
| Released | 2010 |
| Programming language | Fortran, Python (programming language), Fortran |
| Operating system | Linux, macOS |
| License | Open source |
CESM (Community Earth System Model) The Community Earth System Model is a comprehensive coupled climate model used for simulating Earth's climate system, integrating atmosphere, ocean, land, sea ice, and biogeochemical cycles. It supports research for Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessments, regional partners such as NOAA centers, and academic groups including Princeton University, University of Washington, and Columbia University. The model is developed and maintained by national laboratories and universities including National Center for Atmospheric Research, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and Los Alamos National Laboratory.
CESM is a community-driven Earth system model designed to simulate interactions among the Atmosphere of Earth, Ocean, Cryosphere, Biosphere, and chemical cycles. It provides a platform for coordinated experiments referenced by international efforts like the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports. The model enables multi-century integrations, paleoclimate simulations tied to events such as the Last Glacial Maximum, and projections that inform policy processes in institutions like the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
CESM couples component models for the atmosphere, ocean, land, sea ice, and waves: the atmospheric component builds on physics and dynamics related to National Weather Service research and parameterizations used by centers like ECMWF; the ocean component derives from legacy models used at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; the land model incorporates modules developed at University of Arizona and Oregon State University for vegetation and hydrology; the sea ice model integrates algorithms from Alfred Wegener Institute and University of Washington groups. Coupling occurs via a central coupler inspired by frameworks used at DOE Oak Ridge National Laboratory and integrates fields consistent with standards promoted by World Meteorological Organization working groups.
CESM evolved from predecessor projects at National Center for Atmospheric Research and national laboratories, with milestones coordinated through consortia including University Corporation for Atmospheric Research and funding agencies such as the National Science Foundation and Department of Energy (United States). Governance is managed through community steering committees that include representatives from NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, Purdue University, and international collaborators like Met Office scientists. Development milestones align with community workshops hosted at institutions such as University of Colorado Boulder and policy-relevant assessments by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change panels.
Researchers use CESM for studies spanning paleoclimatology reconstructions of intervals like the Holocene and Pliocene, projections of sea level rise relevant to United Nations adaptation planning, attribution studies associated with extreme events cataloged by IPCC, and process-level investigations connected to El Niño–Southern Oscillation and Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. The model supports coupling to impact assessment tools used by agencies such as Environmental Protection Agency (United States) and academic centers at Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Yale University.
CESM is evaluated through intercomparison activities under the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project and diagnostics coordinated by programs at NOAA and NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies. Performance metrics include fidelity to observational datasets from programs like Argo (oceanography), Global Precipitation Measurement, and satellite missions operated by European Space Agency and NASA. Model validation uses benchmarks developed in collaboration with researchers at Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory and Scripps Institution of Oceanography and is often presented at venues such as the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting.
CESM releases are versioned and distributed by the core development team, with major versions aligning with community-driven feature sets and contributions from labs like Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory. Each release is accompanied by test cases and documentation used in training workshops at National Center for Atmospheric Research and university partners including University of Michigan and Cornell University. Historical branches reflect integration of modules from projects at Princeton University and NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory.
Architecturally, CESM uses component wrappers and a coupler layer implemented in Fortran with interfaces for scripts and analysis in Python (programming language) and utilities influenced by practices at Argonne National Laboratory. The codebase supports high-performance computing centers such as Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility, NERSC, and XSEDE resources, and includes parallelization strategies that leverage MPI implementations used at Los Alamos National Laboratory and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
The CESM community is supported by training workshops, user forums, and documentation coordinated by National Center for Atmospheric Research, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, and partner institutions like University of Colorado Boulder. Support channels include issue trackers maintained by development teams at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and collaborative events co-hosted with American Meteorological Society and American Geophysical Union. Regular summer schools and hackathons involve participants from Princeton University, Stanford University, and international partners including Met Office and Alfred Wegener Institute.
Category:Climate models