We are delighted to announce the publication of a new paper in PLOS Climate, led by CMIP Panel co-chair Helene Hewitt, titled:
“Towards provision of regularly updated climate data from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project”
This work addresses a key challenge and opportunity for CMIP: how to support the needs of both research and applications communities in the future?
Beyond it’s use in research, CMIP data has become an important data provider for numerous downstream communities, including but not limited to, the Coordinated Regional Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX), Intersectoral Impacts MIP (ISIMIP), and governmental, academic, and commercial organisations. This role of CMIP as a climate data provider has distinct requirements to its role in the research community.
To address this problem, the paper outlines a proposal which would provide high-demand data to be delivered regularly.
Some of the major themes in the paper include:
- Where are we at the moment?
The paper outlines a path for CMIP7 that includes Assessment Fast Track (AFT) experiments designed to inform climate assessment bodies (e.g. IPCC) in a more timely manner. - Serving different communities
The authors discuss how CMIP’s experimental design and infrastructure can adapt to serve both cutting-edge scientific exploration (via MIPs) and stable, reliable data delivery for downstream applications. - What does regular delivery mean?
The paper proposes frequent (e.g. annual) extensions of historical forcings, alongside a five-year delivery for future projections. This helps align with evolving observational records, model improvements, and policy cycles (e.g. the UNFCCC Global Stocktake). - Where should we start?
To make this vision viable, the authors suggest that some CMIP tasks evolve toward semi-operational workflows, starting with prototyping annual historical forcing extensions. - The importance of community partnerships
The paper underscores that success will depend on sustained funding, infrastructure evolution, and close links with downstream communities (e.g. CORDEX, ISIMIP).
Acknowledgements & authors
This paper is a collaborative and community effort. Lead author Helene T. Hewitt (Met Office Hadley Centre) is joined by a broad group of coauthors: Greg Flato, Eleanor O’Rourke, John P. Dunne, Fanny Adloff, Julie M. Arblaster, Frederic Bonou, Olivier Boucher, Tereza Cavazos, Beth Dingley, Paul J. Durack, Baylor Fox-Kemper, Tatiana Ilyina, Tomoki Miyakawa, Matthew Mizielinski, Vaishali Naik, Zebedee Nicholls, Robert Pincus, Karl E. Taylor, Susann Tegtmeier, and Nils Wedi.
