Multi-decadal high-resolution historical simulations with the ECMWF global atmosphere model

Abstract

This paper describes an ensemble of global atmosphere reference simulations covering the period 1980 to 2023 produced with the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Integrated Forecasting System (IFS). The resulting dataset consists of 6-hourly three-dimensional global outputs from higher- and lower-resolution configurations of the IFS, which have average horizontal grid spacings of ~9 km (one ensemble member) and ~28 km (ten ensemble members), respectively. The atmosphere is constrained by high-resolution satellite-based estimates of daily mean sea surface temperature and sea ice concentration and time-evolving external climate forcings, including observed greenhouse gas and estimated aerosol concentrations. These data were produced as part of the European Eddy-Rich Earth System Models (EERIE) project and will serve as a reference for corresponding ocean-atmosphere coupled simulations and idealised sensitivity experiments. We have made this dataset publicly available and expect it to be a valuable resource for scientific research and other applications that extend beyond the lifetime of the EERIE project.