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CMIP6 publication closure (Monday 7th April 2025)
CMIP6 ESGF project to be closed to new submissions. This change does not affect CMIP6Plus or any other ESGF project.
We are anticipating CMIP7 AR7 Fast Track data publication to commence in late 2025 (see https://wcrp-cmip.org/cmip7/#cmip_ar7_fast_track). In preparation for CMIP7 and in order to redirect scarce resources to serve CMIP7 needs, we have decided to close the ESGF CMIP6 project to further publications on Monday 7th April 2025. This will enable the limited ESGF and CMIP resources to be redirected to developing the next-generation infrastructure to support CMIP7 activities.
The currently active CMIP6Plus, obs4MIPs, input4MIPs and other small projects will not be affected by the CMIP6 closure. New publications to these projects will remain active until CMIP7 infrastructure is tested and established, with migration of these ongoing projects from old to new infrastructure in planning. We will consult with CMIP6Plus registered MIPs actively publishing to the project before deciding on a timeline for project closure.
Modelling groups are able to publish further CMIP6 DECK like experiments into CMIP6Plus providing they follow the guidance here and use the updated CVs and MIP tables linked to from the guidance. MIPs who need to publish data before CMIP7 AR7 FT delivery begins should contact the CMIP IPO to discuss whether adding to CMIP6Plus is possible.
All CMIP6 data will remain available for the foreseeable future and the ESGF and CMIP communities are working hard to ensure that in addition high demand datasets access is maintained.
LLNL ESGF data node decommissioning and transfer of archive (Monday 26th May 2025)
The ESGF node at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL, California, USA) is being shut down in May 2025 as the corresponding hardware reaches end of life and is decommissioned. The LLNL ESGF node hosts the most complete and up-to-date CMIP6 archive, and ongoing efforts are migrating these data to the Oak Ridge (ORNL) and Argonne (ANL) Laboratory ESGF nodes before decommissioning at LLNL begins. As all data will be migrated to ORNL and ANL supported hardware, no data loss will occur.
LLNL will cease new data publication from [April 7th 2025] and node operations will shut down by the 31st May 2025. This information is also relevant for ESGF data nodes publishing to the LLNL ESGF index – a separate communication will reach out to affected nodes.
Modelling groups who currently publish data to the LLNL ESGF index should engage their ESGF contact to begin updating the data publication processes. These groups will be contacted as a replacement publication solution is implemented.
We will continue to update the broader community with reminders and updates of timing as required.
The ESGF index pages hosted at ORNL and ANL are shown below along with other ESGF search pages:
- ORNL: https://esgf-node.ornl.gov/search
- ANL: https://esgf-node.cels.anl.gov/
- DKRZ: https://esgf-metagrid.cloud.dkrz.de/
- CEDA: https://esgf-ui.ceda.ac.uk/
- NCI: https://esgf.nci.org.au/
- IPSL: https://esgf-node.ipsl.upmc.fr/projects/esgf-ipsl/
Next Generation ESGF (ESGF-NG) migration
Since 2020, the ESGF community has been re-engineering the infrastructure that delivers projects such as CMIP. This “Next Generation” infrastructure (ESGF-NG) is planned for launch in July 2025 and will replace all existing CMIP services. This move to ESGF-NG is vital for several reasons:
- To allow new technologies to be used to support data publication and distribution
- To allow old software libraries and systems to be retired, as support for and maintaining security of various individual components is becoming difficult
- To enable the inter-operation of ESGF with a range other services
Announcements confirming the date and showcasing some of the planned changes will be made closer to the launch date.
While the initial migration will focus on ensuring that CMIP6 data is available, CMIP6Plus publication can continue and CMIP7 activities can begin, other older datasets, such as CMIP5, may not be available through the search interface initially. There are no plans to migrate older projects, including CMIP3 and CMIP5 to the new indexes at this time. Important Note: All current CMIP data will be retained, but access may need to be downloaded from separate systems via alternative routes (e.g. CEDA and DKRZ archives).
As CMIP has been working closely with the ESGF community, CMIP activities will be the first to move to the new systems. Other projects who are using ESGF are encouraged to engage with their ESGF infrastructure counterparts and the CMIP Data Node Operation Team (CDNOT) to develop plans to migrate away from the current infrastructure.
Further information on the changes to the ESGF infrastructure will be available soon.
FAQs
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