The Community Earth System Model Version 2 (CESM2)

G. Danabasoglu; J. F. Lamarque; J. Bacmeister; D. A. Bailey; A. K. DuVivier; L. K. Emmons; J. Fasullo; R. Garcia; A. Gettelman; C. Hannay; M. M. Holland; W. G. Large; P. H. Lauritzen; D. M. Lawrence; K. Lindsay; W. H. Lipscomb; M. J. Mills; R. Neale; K. W. Oleson; B. Otto-Bliesner; A. S. Phillips; W. Sacks; S. Tilmes; L. van Kampenhout; M. Vertenstein; A. Bertini; J. Dennis; C. Deser; B. Fox-Kemper; J. E. Kay; D. Kinnison; P. J. Kushner; V. E. Larson; M. C. Long; S. Mickelson; J. K. Moore; E. Nienhouse; L. Polvani; P. J. Rasch; W. G. Strand

doi:10.1029/2019MS001916

The Community Earth System Model Version 2 (CESM2)

G. Danabasoglu^*
, J. F. Lamarque
, J. Bacmeister
, D. A. Bailey
, A. K. DuVivier
, L. K. Emmons
, J. Fasullo
, R. Garcia
, A. Gettelman
, C. Hannay
, M. M. Holland
, W. G. Large
, P. H. Lauritzen
, D. M. Lawrence
, K. Lindsay
, W. H. Lipscomb
, M. J. Mills
, R. Neale
, K. W. Oleson
, B. Otto-Bliesner

A. S. Phillips, W. Sacks, S. Tilmes, L. van Kampenhout, M. Vertenstein, A. Bertini, J. Dennis, C. Deser, B. Fox-Kemper, J. E. Kay, D. Kinnison, P. J. Kushner, V. E. Larson, M. C. Long, S. Mickelson, J. K. Moore, E. Nienhouse, L. Polvani, P. J. Rasch, W. G. Strand

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

An overview of the Community Earth System Model Version 2 (CESM2) is provided, including a discussion of the challenges encountered during its development and how they were addressed. In addition, an evaluation of a pair of CESM2 long preindustrial control and historical ensemble simulations is presented. These simulations were performed using the nominal 1° horizontal resolution configuration of the coupled model with both the “low-top” (40 km, with limited chemistry) and “high-top” (130 km, with comprehensive chemistry) versions of the atmospheric component. CESM2 contains many substantial science and infrastructure improvements and new capabilities since its previous major release, CESM1, resulting in improved historical simulations in comparison to CESM1 and available observations. These include major reductions in low-latitude precipitation and shortwave cloud forcing biases; better representation of the Madden-Julian Oscillation; better El Niño-Southern Oscillation-related teleconnections; and a global land carbon accumulation trend that agrees well with observationally based estimates. Most tropospheric and surface features of the low- and high-top simulations are very similar to each other, so these improvements are present in both configurations. CESM2 has an equilibrium climate sensitivity of 5.1–5.3 °C, larger than in CESM1, primarily due to a combination of relatively small changes to cloud microphysics and boundary layer parameters. In contrast, CESM2's transient climate response of 1.9–2.0 °C is comparable to that of CESM1. The model outputs from these and many other simulations are available to the research community, and they represent CESM2's contributions to the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6.

Original language	English
Article number	e2019MS001916
Journal	Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems
Volume	12
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1029/2019MS001916
Publication status	Published - 1 Feb 2020

Funding

Previous and current CESM versions are freely available online (at www.cesm.ucar.edu:/models/cesm2/). The CESM data sets used in this study are also freely available from the Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF; at esgf-node.llnl.gov/search/cmip6) or from the NCAR Digital Asset Services Hub (DASH; at data.ucar.edu) or from the links provided from the CESM website (at www.cesm.ucar.edu). The CESM project is supported primarily by the National Science Foundation (NSF). This material is based upon work supported by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), which is a major facility sponsored by the NSF under Cooperative Agreement 1852977. Computing and data storage resources, including the Cheyenne supercomputer (doi:10.5065/D6RX99HX), were provided by the Computational and Information Systems Laboratory (CISL) at NCAR. We thank all the scientists, software engineers, and administrators who contributed to the development of CESM2. GPCP Precipitation data are provided by the NOAA/OAR/ESRL PSD, Boulder, Colorado, USA, from their website (at https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/psd/). The implementation of the WaveWatch-III has benefitted from the input and collaborations with the wave model developers at the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP).

Keywords

Community Earth System Model (CESM)
coupled model development and evaluation
global coupled Earth system modeling
preindustrial and historical simulations

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1029/2019MS001916

2019MS001916Final published version, 67.1 MB

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Danabasoglu, G., Lamarque, J. F., Bacmeister, J., Bailey, D. A., DuVivier, A. K., Emmons, L. K., Fasullo, J., Garcia, R., Gettelman, A., Hannay, C., Holland, M. M., Large, W. G., Lauritzen, P. H., Lawrence, D. M., Lindsay, K., Lipscomb, W. H., Mills, M. J., Neale, R., Oleson, K. W., ... Strand, W. G. (2020). The Community Earth System Model Version 2 (CESM2). Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems, 12(2), Article e2019MS001916. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019MS001916

@article{1d209fde8ba248b48c389fbc1d4690ce,

title = "The Community Earth System Model Version 2 (CESM2)",

abstract = "An overview of the Community Earth System Model Version 2 (CESM2) is provided, including a discussion of the challenges encountered during its development and how they were addressed. In addition, an evaluation of a pair of CESM2 long preindustrial control and historical ensemble simulations is presented. These simulations were performed using the nominal 1° horizontal resolution configuration of the coupled model with both the “low-top” (40 km, with limited chemistry) and “high-top” (130 km, with comprehensive chemistry) versions of the atmospheric component. CESM2 contains many substantial science and infrastructure improvements and new capabilities since its previous major release, CESM1, resulting in improved historical simulations in comparison to CESM1 and available observations. These include major reductions in low-latitude precipitation and shortwave cloud forcing biases; better representation of the Madden-Julian Oscillation; better El Ni{\~n}o-Southern Oscillation-related teleconnections; and a global land carbon accumulation trend that agrees well with observationally based estimates. Most tropospheric and surface features of the low- and high-top simulations are very similar to each other, so these improvements are present in both configurations. CESM2 has an equilibrium climate sensitivity of 5.1–5.3 °C, larger than in CESM1, primarily due to a combination of relatively small changes to cloud microphysics and boundary layer parameters. In contrast, CESM2's transient climate response of 1.9–2.0 °C is comparable to that of CESM1. The model outputs from these and many other simulations are available to the research community, and they represent CESM2's contributions to the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6.",

keywords = "Community Earth System Model (CESM), coupled model development and evaluation, global coupled Earth system modeling, preindustrial and historical simulations",

author = "G. Danabasoglu and Lamarque, \{J. F.\} and J. Bacmeister and Bailey, \{D. A.\} and DuVivier, \{A. K.\} and Emmons, \{L. K.\} and J. Fasullo and R. Garcia and A. Gettelman and C. Hannay and Holland, \{M. M.\} and Large, \{W. G.\} and Lauritzen, \{P. H.\} and Lawrence, \{D. M.\} and K. Lindsay and Lipscomb, \{W. H.\} and Mills, \{M. J.\} and R. Neale and Oleson, \{K. W.\} and B. Otto-Bliesner and Phillips, \{A. S.\} and W. Sacks and S. Tilmes and \{van Kampenhout\}, L. and M. Vertenstein and A. Bertini and J. Dennis and C. Deser and B. Fox-Kemper and Kay, \{J. E.\} and D. Kinnison and Kushner, \{P. J.\} and Larson, \{V. E.\} and Long, \{M. C.\} and S. Mickelson and Moore, \{J. K.\} and E. Nienhouse and L. Polvani and Rasch, \{P. J.\} and Strand, \{W. G.\}",

year = "2020",

month = feb,

day = "1",

doi = "10.1029/2019MS001916",

language = "English",

volume = "12",

journal = "Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems",

issn = "1942-2466",

publisher = "John Wiley and Sons Inc.",

number = "2",

}

Danabasoglu, G, Lamarque, JF, Bacmeister, J, Bailey, DA, DuVivier, AK, Emmons, LK, Fasullo, J, Garcia, R, Gettelman, A, Hannay, C, Holland, MM, Large, WG, Lauritzen, PH, Lawrence, DM, Lindsay, K, Lipscomb, WH, Mills, MJ, Neale, R, Oleson, KW, Otto-Bliesner, B, Phillips, AS, Sacks, W, Tilmes, S, van Kampenhout, L, Vertenstein, M, Bertini, A, Dennis, J, Deser, C, Fox-Kemper, B, Kay, JE, Kinnison, D, Kushner, PJ, Larson, VE, Long, MC, Mickelson, S, Moore, JK, Nienhouse, E, Polvani, L, Rasch, PJ & Strand, WG 2020, 'The Community Earth System Model Version 2 (CESM2)', Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems, vol. 12, no. 2, e2019MS001916. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019MS001916

TY - JOUR

T1 - The Community Earth System Model Version 2 (CESM2)

AU - Danabasoglu, G.

AU - Lamarque, J. F.

AU - Bacmeister, J.

AU - Bailey, D. A.

AU - DuVivier, A. K.

AU - Emmons, L. K.

AU - Fasullo, J.

AU - Garcia, R.

AU - Gettelman, A.

AU - Hannay, C.

AU - Holland, M. M.

AU - Large, W. G.

AU - Lauritzen, P. H.

AU - Lawrence, D. M.

AU - Lindsay, K.

AU - Lipscomb, W. H.

AU - Mills, M. J.

AU - Neale, R.

AU - Oleson, K. W.

AU - Otto-Bliesner, B.

AU - Phillips, A. S.

AU - Sacks, W.

AU - Tilmes, S.

AU - van Kampenhout, L.

AU - Vertenstein, M.

AU - Bertini, A.

AU - Dennis, J.

AU - Deser, C.

AU - Fox-Kemper, B.

AU - Kay, J. E.

AU - Kinnison, D.

AU - Kushner, P. J.

AU - Larson, V. E.

AU - Long, M. C.

AU - Mickelson, S.

AU - Moore, J. K.

AU - Nienhouse, E.

AU - Polvani, L.

AU - Rasch, P. J.

AU - Strand, W. G.

PY - 2020/2/1

Y1 - 2020/2/1

N2 - An overview of the Community Earth System Model Version 2 (CESM2) is provided, including a discussion of the challenges encountered during its development and how they were addressed. In addition, an evaluation of a pair of CESM2 long preindustrial control and historical ensemble simulations is presented. These simulations were performed using the nominal 1° horizontal resolution configuration of the coupled model with both the “low-top” (40 km, with limited chemistry) and “high-top” (130 km, with comprehensive chemistry) versions of the atmospheric component. CESM2 contains many substantial science and infrastructure improvements and new capabilities since its previous major release, CESM1, resulting in improved historical simulations in comparison to CESM1 and available observations. These include major reductions in low-latitude precipitation and shortwave cloud forcing biases; better representation of the Madden-Julian Oscillation; better El Niño-Southern Oscillation-related teleconnections; and a global land carbon accumulation trend that agrees well with observationally based estimates. Most tropospheric and surface features of the low- and high-top simulations are very similar to each other, so these improvements are present in both configurations. CESM2 has an equilibrium climate sensitivity of 5.1–5.3 °C, larger than in CESM1, primarily due to a combination of relatively small changes to cloud microphysics and boundary layer parameters. In contrast, CESM2's transient climate response of 1.9–2.0 °C is comparable to that of CESM1. The model outputs from these and many other simulations are available to the research community, and they represent CESM2's contributions to the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6.

AB - An overview of the Community Earth System Model Version 2 (CESM2) is provided, including a discussion of the challenges encountered during its development and how they were addressed. In addition, an evaluation of a pair of CESM2 long preindustrial control and historical ensemble simulations is presented. These simulations were performed using the nominal 1° horizontal resolution configuration of the coupled model with both the “low-top” (40 km, with limited chemistry) and “high-top” (130 km, with comprehensive chemistry) versions of the atmospheric component. CESM2 contains many substantial science and infrastructure improvements and new capabilities since its previous major release, CESM1, resulting in improved historical simulations in comparison to CESM1 and available observations. These include major reductions in low-latitude precipitation and shortwave cloud forcing biases; better representation of the Madden-Julian Oscillation; better El Niño-Southern Oscillation-related teleconnections; and a global land carbon accumulation trend that agrees well with observationally based estimates. Most tropospheric and surface features of the low- and high-top simulations are very similar to each other, so these improvements are present in both configurations. CESM2 has an equilibrium climate sensitivity of 5.1–5.3 °C, larger than in CESM1, primarily due to a combination of relatively small changes to cloud microphysics and boundary layer parameters. In contrast, CESM2's transient climate response of 1.9–2.0 °C is comparable to that of CESM1. The model outputs from these and many other simulations are available to the research community, and they represent CESM2's contributions to the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6.

KW - Community Earth System Model (CESM)

KW - coupled model development and evaluation

KW - global coupled Earth system modeling

KW - preindustrial and historical simulations

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85081086192

U2 - 10.1029/2019MS001916

DO - 10.1029/2019MS001916

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85081086192

SN - 1942-2466

VL - 12

JO - Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems

JF - Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems

IS - 2

M1 - e2019MS001916

ER -

The Community Earth System Model Version 2 (CESM2)

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Funding

Keywords

UN SDGs

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