The Max Planck Institute for Meteorology (MPI-M) is a research institute dedicated to understanding the Earth's changing climate and conducting fundamental climate research. It operates under the Max Planck Society (MPG), one of Germany's leading research organisations. MPI-M plays a significant role in the German Climate Computing Centre (DKRZ GmbH), serving as its major shareholder and one of its most influential users. Collaboration with other institutions and model development are crucial to advancing research, enabling the institute to be at the forefront of global developments.
The scientists at MPI-M investigate the sensitivity of the Earth System to perturbations, such as changes in the atmosphere's composition, and aim to establish the sources and limits of predictability within the Earth System. They develop and analyse sophisticated Earth System Models (ESMs) that simulate the atmosphere, land, and ocean processes. These models serve as essential tools for understanding climate behaviour and form the basis for international assessments of climate change. The model simulations are complemented by targeted in-situ measurements and satellite observations.
Role in the project
MPI-M has been a driver and an integral part of ESiWACE since the projects start. The main work of MPI-M in ESiWACE3 will focus on WP3 "Tackling the data challenge". Here, data layouts for the optimal transfer and storage of ESM data will be developed. In these efforts, this task will draw from current approaches in data catalogues, such as FDB/GRIB2 or formats like Zarr, and will attempt to align the concepts developed in the project to these frameworks. In terms of implementing a suitable compression schema, this task will be greatly appreciated in exchange for the actual compression development and domain knowledge gathered in a parallel study in the project.
List of people involved
Reinhard Budich, Sven Willner
Relevant infrastructure and services
MPI-M contributes to the MPG Earth System Research Partnership and has been involved in all Coupled Model Inter-Comparison Project (CMIP) phases. Research groups at MPI-M have transitioned from using the established model MPI-ESM to the novel ICON-ESM. This model is based on advanced numerical methods formulated on unstructured grids tailored for high-performance computing infrastructures. It comprises components for the atmosphere (ICON-A), ocean and sea ice (ICON-O), land surface & biosphere (ICON-L/JSBACH), and oceanic biogeochemistry processes (HAMOCC).
MPI-M is actively engaged in disseminating information to public and private decision-makers and the general public regarding climate and global change issues. It collaborates with the University of Hamburg in running the International Max Planck Research School on Earth System Modelling (IMPRS-ESM), which promotes high-quality doctoral research on the Earth's climate system. The institute is also involved in the cluster of excellence "Climate, Climatic Change and Society" (CLICCS) at the University of Hamburg, which explores climate dynamics, social dynamics related to climate change, and human-environment interactions.