PCMDI

PCMDI
Name	Program for Climate Model Diagnosis and Intercomparison
Abbreviation	PCMDI
Formation	1989
Type	Research Program
Headquarters	Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Location	Livermore, California
Parent organization	Department of Energy

PCMDI The Program for Climate Model Diagnosis and Intercomparison (PCMDI) is a research program focused on climate model evaluation, intercomparison, and data archiving. Based at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, it supports activities related to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, and national climate assessment efforts. PCMDI engages with institutions such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the United States Department of Energy to advance climate science.

Overview

PCMDI develops diagnostics, metrics, and software to evaluate simulations from models used by the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project, and Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project while collaborating with centers like Met Office Hadley Centre, Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, and NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory. Its work supports assessments by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and contributes to data archives used by the World Climate Research Programme, the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, and the Earth System Grid Federation. PCMDI activities interface with projects led by National Center for Atmospheric Research, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Columbia University, University of California, Berkeley, and Princeton University.

History and Development

PCMDI was established in the late 1980s at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in response to needs identified by groups including the World Climate Conference, the U.S. Global Change Research Program, and the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme. Early collaborations involved modelers from British Antarctic Survey, CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, and Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and Analysis and informed protocols later adopted by the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project and the Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project. Over decades, PCMDI expanded its scope through partnerships with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and international institutions such as the Japan Meteorological Agency and National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research.

Data and Products

PCMDI curates and distributes climate model output and diagnostics used in assessments by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and national reports like the U.S. National Climate Assessment. Its data holdings integrate standards from organizations such as the World Meteorological Organization, the Global Climate Observing System, and the Open Geospatial Consortium and are consumed by researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, Yale University, University of Oxford, and Harvard University. Products include model evaluation metrics, standardized model datasets aligned with Representative Concentration Pathway scenarios, and archives compatible with tools from European Space Agency, National Center for Atmospheric Research, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Tools and Services

PCMDI develops software and platforms for model intercomparison and analysis interoperable with community tools such as Python (programming language), NetCDF, CF (file format), and services used by Earth System Grid Federation, Open Science Grid, and Amazon Web Services research programs. Toolkits and portals created by PCMDI are utilized by modeling centers including Met Office Hadley Centre, Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, NERSC, and NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information for diagnostics, reproducibility, and data dissemination. PCMDI also supports community standards coordinated with Global Change Master Directory, Committee on Earth Observation Satellites, and the Research Data Alliance.

Research and Applications

PCMDI contributions underpin research cited in assessments by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and studies by investigators at NOAA, NASA, European Commission Joint Research Centre, United Nations Environment Programme, and universities including University of Cambridge, ETH Zurich, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, and Columbia University focusing on attribution, projection, and model fidelity. Applications extend to impacts and adaptation planning used by agencies such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Homeland Security, World Bank, and United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and inform sectoral analyses involving International Energy Agency, Food and Agriculture Organization, and World Health Organization studies.

Governance and Collaborations

PCMDI operates within Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under oversight of the United States Department of Energy and coordinates with international programs including the World Climate Research Programme, the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, and the Earth System Grid Federation. Collaborative networks include national laboratories like Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Argonne National Laboratory and academic partners such as University of Maryland, University of Washington, University of Colorado Boulder, and Carnegie Institution for Science. PCMDI governance engages with advisory groups and funding bodies including the National Science Foundation, NASA, NOAA, and intergovernmental bodies like the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Category:Climate organizations