Peter Gleckler Program for Climate Model Diagnosis and Intercomparison Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory gleckler1@llnl.gov

The Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project (AMIP): Progress and Plans

The Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project (AMIP) is a standard experimental protocol for atmospheric general circulation models. It is reviewed annually by the World Climate Research Programme's Working Group on Numerical Experimentation (WGNE). The most basic specification of the exercise is the prescription of realistically varying sea surface temperatures and sea ice, with simulations beginning in January 1979 and ending near present. There is an extensive standard model output of monthly means and high frequency data. A diverse community of scientists contributes to the analysis of AMIP simulations which are provided by most climate modeling groups.

There have been many successes and struggles since the projects inception, some of which will be highlighted here. In recent years, PCMDI has developed a robust data management system so that AMIP and its sister project (the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, CMIP) could be managed more effectively. With this infrastructure now complete, PCMDI is developing advanced strategies to diagnose climate simulations, some of which will be summarized in this presentation.