The Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP): Reviewing project history, evolution, infrastructure and implementation
Paul J. Durack, Karl E. Taylor, Peter J. Gleckler, Gerald A. Meehl, Bryan Lawrence, Curt Covey, Ronald J. Stouffer, Guillaume Levavasseur, Atef Ben-Nasser, Sébastien Denvil, Martina Stockhause, Jonathan M. Gregory, Martin Juckes, Sasha Ames, Fabrizio Antonio, David C. Bader, John P. Dunne, Daniel P. W. Ellis, Veronika Eyring, Sandro Fiore, Sylvie Joussaume, Philip Kershaw, Jean‐François Lamarque, Michael Lautenschlager, Jiwoo Lee, Chris F. Mauzey, Matthew Mizielinski, Paola Nassisi, Alessandra Nuzzo, Eleanor O’Rourke, Jeffrey F. Painter, Gerald L. Potter, S. Rubiera Rodriguez, D. N. Williams
Abstract
Abstract. The CMIP6 project was the most expansive and ambitious Model Intercomparison Project (MIP), the latest in a long history, extending back four decades. CMIP has captivated and engaged a broad, growing community focused on improving our climate understanding. It has anchored our ability to quantify and attribute the drivers and responses of the observed climate changes we are experiencing today. The project's profound impact has been achieved by combining the latest climate science and technology. This has enabled the production of latest-generation climate simulations and the dissemination of their output, which has seen increased community attention in every successive phase. The review emphasizes the pragmatics of progressively scaling up efforts, the evolution of how the MIPs were implemented, and the coordinated efforts to establish a minimal infrastructure to make that possible, most recently delivering CMIP6.