INES: Infrastructure for Norwegian Earth System modelling (INES)
Developement of the Norwegian Earth System model in preparation for CMIP7.
Objectives
The objectives of INES are:
• Upgrade and maintain a cutting-edge and verified ESM suitable for the national climate science community and participation in international model intercomparison projects.
• Provide an infrastructure for efficient model simulations, storage, analysis and validation available for the national climate science community and collaborating international groups.
• For efficient sharing of model data, provide an infrastructure that connects to international data grids and ensures that model data complies with established standards of the climate community.
Project Summary
Background for proposal
A unifying activity in the national climate modeling community is the Norwegian Earth System Model (NorESM). The development of NorESM begun in 2007, bringing together modelling expertise from in particular Bergen and Oslo. A significant funding of this activity has been Research Counsil of Norway (RCN) projects starting with NorClim (20072010),
followed by EarthClim (20112014) and finally EVA (20142018). The EVA project ends February 2018 and a relevant RCN KLIMAFORSK call on “the climate system and climate change” that could potentially provide a source continued funding of NorESM, is planned in the fall of 2018. This jeopardizes the continuity of the NorESM activity. Also, the termination of EVA occur when the national climate modelling community is expected to still be in production phase of NorESM experiments to the Climate Model Intercomparison Project phase 6 (CMIP6), a project that coordinates climate model simulations providing a basis for updated climate projections relevant for IPCC’s 6th assessment report.
In an attempt to secure continued funding for a significant part of the NorESM activity, key partners of this activity are currently developing a proposal to the RCN INFRASTRUKTUR programme for the funding of a research infrastructure that will ensure the availability of a cuttingedge ESM for the national climate science community and the participation in international model intercomparison projects. The deadline of the relevant INFRASTRUKTUR call is October 12 2016 and up to NOK 1 billion is available for allocation under this call for proposals. There will be no similar call in 2017, therefore this year's call is crucial for this programme to potentially provide seamless funding after EVA for the part of the NorESM activity that may be placed in a research infrastructure.
