EC-Earth

EC-Earth
Name	EC-Earth
Developed by	European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts; KNMI; INM; SMHI; MPI-M; Met Office; CNRS; CNR; BCC; MIROC; UNIROMA
Initial release	2007
Latest release	2021
Programming language	Fortran; C; MPI (computer program)
Platform	High-performance computing; ECMWF Cray; PRACE; ARCHER; JASMIN
Website	EC-Earth Consortium

EC-Earth is a state-of-the-art coupled Earth system model developed by a European consortium to simulate climate variability, climate change, and decadal predictability. It integrates atmosphere, ocean, sea ice, land surface, and biogeochemical components to address questions in seasonal forecasting, paleoclimate, and future projections under forcings used by bodies such as the IPCC and stakeholders including national meteorological services. Designed for use on large supercomputers and in coordinated intercomparison projects, it interfaces with observational datasets from agencies like ECMWF, NOAA, NASA, EUMETSAT and research programs such as CMIP and CORDEX.

Overview

EC-Earth is a modular coupled model framework combining legacy components from institutions including ECMWF, ICHEC, KNMI, MPI-M, SMHI, Met Office Hadley Centre, CNRS and others to represent physical and biogeochemical processes across the Earth system. The project supports research into anthropogenic forcing pathways assessed by the IPCC AR6 and historical events cataloged by Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project. EC-Earth is used within multi-model ensembles coordinated by organizations like CMIP6, CMIP5, CORDEX, and CMOR. Its development emphasizes reproducibility, traceability, and performance on platforms funded by PRACE, EuroHPC, and national computing centers such as Cineca and SURFsara.

Model Components and Configuration

The core atmospheric component originates from the Integrated Forecast System of ECMWF and shares heritage with models like IFS and IFS Cycle. Ocean dynamics are typically provided by models such as NEMO or variants employed by Mercator Ocean, coupled to sea-ice modules like LIM or CICE. Land surface processes derive from schemes used in HTESSEL, JSBACH, or CLM depending on configuration; vegetation, snow, and hydrology parameterizations reference work from ORCHIDEE and LPJ-GUESS. Biogeochemical extensions include modules influenced by BGC-Argo observations and model systems used by ESMValTool contributors. Coupling infrastructure uses standards from OASIS3-MCT and data conventions compatible with CF-conventions to exchange fields such as radiation, aerosols, greenhouse gases, and carbon fluxes. Typical configurations vary from atmosphere-only setups similar to AMIP to fully coupled Earth system models participating in CMIP6 experiments, with horizontal resolutions spanning from ~200 km to ~25 km and ensemble strategies guided by centers like ECMWF, Met Office, and MPI-M.

Development History and Versions

EC-Earth originated from collaborative initiatives in the mid-2000s that linked forecasting expertise at ECMWF with climate research at national institutes like KNMI and SMHI. Early releases aligned with experiments in CMIP3 and later evolved through stages supporting CMIP5 and CMIP6 protocols. Major version milestones incorporated advances from projects funded by the European Commission, such as contributions under Framework Programmes and Horizon 2020 consortia that also included partners like BSC, IRI, DMI, SMHI, and UniMiB. Each major upgrade integrated community code from programs including NEMO, CICE, ORCHIDEE, and linked analysis toolchains used by ESGF data nodes and diagnostics from ESMValTool. Operational transitions reflected collaborations with national forecasting services exemplified by Met Office seasonal systems and research collaborations with MPI-M paleoclimate groups.

Applications and Research Use

EC-Earth supports a broad range of science questions: detection and attribution studies cited by IPCC, projections of regional climate change used by CORDEX downscalers, seasonal forecast contributions to C3S and Copernicus services, and paleoclimate reconstructions aligned with PMIP. It underpins impact-driven assessments for sectors coordinated by agencies like European Commission directorates and national authorities including RIVM and KNMI. EC-Earth ensembles are applied in research on Arctic amplification studied alongside ICESat and CryoSat datasets, monsoon dynamics analyzed with TRMM and GPM rainfall records, and coupled carbon-cycle feedbacks compared against observations from FLUXNET and BGC-Argo. Model outputs feed into multi-model synthesis efforts coordinated by organizations such as IPSL, GFDL, NCAR, CSIRO, JMA, and NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory for intercomparison and downstream impacts modeling.

Evaluation and Validation

Validation strategies employ observational products from ERA5, ERA-Interim, HadCRUT, GISTEMP, Berkeley Earth, and satellite records from MODIS, AVHRR, SeaWiFS, and GRACE to evaluate climatology, variability, and trends. Skill assessments for seasonal predictions reference verification systems like TIGGE and reanalysis intercomparisons used by Copernicus Climate Change Service. Performance metrics use frameworks developed by groups including PCMDI and diagnostics from ESMValTool and DCPP. Benchmarking studies contrast EC-Earth results with outputs from CMIP6 participants such as MPI-ESM1-2-HR, UKESM1, GFDL-ESM4, CESM2, INM-CM4-8, and MRI-ESM2-0, informing tuning efforts led by teams at KNMI, SMHI, MPI-M, and ECMWF.

Governance, Collaboration, and Funding

The project is governed by a consortium model with academic and operational partners including KNMI, SMHI, MPI-M, ECMWF, Met Office, CNRS, CNR, and numerous universities and research centers across Europe. Collaborative activities are coordinated through memoranda and project agreements funded by programs such as European Commission Horizon 2020, FP7, national research councils like NWO and ANR, and infrastructure grants from PRACE and regional supercomputing initiatives including BSC and CINECA. Training, code sharing, and community support are facilitated via workshops affiliated with EGU, AGU, EUMETSAT training events, and model developer meetings that include stakeholders from IPCC author teams, national meteorological services, and international research networks.

Category:Climate models