A collaborative team from ECMWF, the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, CSC, the Alfred Wegener Institute, DKRZ, and BSC has been shortlisted for the ACM Gordon Bell Prize for Climate Modelling, having produced the first multi-decadal, fully coupled global climate projections at approximately 5km resolution, extending to 2040, utilising the European EuroHPC supercomputers LUMI and MareNostrum 5. These projections, achieved in 2024, were generated by combining three kilometre-scale Earth system models—ICON, IFS-NEMO, and IFS-FESOM—with impact-sector applications and a new online evaluation framework, reaching a production throughput of approximately 0.6 simulated years per day and generating multi-petabyte datasets. The team also scaled the coupled models to 1km global resolution, utilising up to 2,000 nodes on LUMI-G and 6,000 CPU nodes on MareNostrum 5, demonstrating unprecedented scalability and future-proofing model codes for even higher resolutions.
Kilometre-Scale Climate Modelling Achieves ACM Gordon Bell Prize Nomination
The Climate Change Adaptation Digital Twin has been shortlisted for the ACM Gordon Bell Prize for Climate Modelling, recognizing its work in multi-decadal Earth system simulations at kilometre scales, facilitated by Europes EuroHPC supercomputers and collaborative efforts across the continent. This nomination follows recognition with two HPCwire Readers Choice Awards last year for Best Scientific Achievement and Best Use of HPC in Science, acknowledging its pioneering work in kilometre-scale climate modelling.
The submission builds on achievements in deploying complete digital twin workflows across Europes largest distributed EuroHPC supercomputers, combining three kilometre-scale Earth system models—ICON, IFS-NEMO, and IFS-FESOM—with impact-sector applications. These workflows transform raw climate data into sector-specific information while simultaneously employing a new online evaluation framework to assess climate realism during simulations. In 2024, the teams delivered the first fully coupled global climate projections at approximately 5km resolution across all Earth system components, running simulations out to 2040 on LUMI and MareNostrum 5, achieving a production throughput of around 0.6 simulated years per day and generating multi-petabyte datasets now accessible via the DestinE platform.
The team is currently performing new simulations with operational workflows, planned for completion by early 2026, covering the period 1990-2050 at 5km resolution using all three models. These models leverage ongoing EU and national research projects, such as nextGEMS, EERIE, TerraDT, GLORIA, and WarmWorld, which have adapted them to kilometre-scale resolution. The Gordon Bell submission also demonstrates unprecedented scalability, with the model codes ready for even higher resolutions, scaling the coupled models to 1km global resolution, utilising up to 2,000 nodes on LUMI-G and 6,000 CPU nodes on MareNostrum 5s general-purpose CPU partition.
These results are enabled by EuroHPCs systems LUMI, hosted by CSC in Finland, and MareNostrum 5, hosted by BSC in Spain, both among the fastest supercomputers globally. LUMI combines a GPU-accelerated partition with CPU-only nodes, operates on renewable hydropower, and reuses waste heat for urban warming, while MareNostrum 5 combines accelerated and general-purpose partitions, providing versatility for large-scale simulations. Sustained European investment ensures the portability of these leading Earth system models across mixed CPU-GPU architectures, preparing them for Europes next-generation HPC systems, including testing on JUPITER, Europes upcoming exascale supercomputer.
Advancing Earth System Digital Twins
In 2024, the teams moved beyond scalability tests to deliver the first multi-decadal, fully coupled global climate projections at approximately 5km resolution across all Earth system components, running simulations out to 2040 on LUMI and MareNostrum 5. This advancement, from approximately 100km global models, was achieved at a production throughput of around 0.6 simulated years per day, generating multi-petabyte datasets now accessible via the DestinE platform.
The models underpinning the Climate DT not only utilise leading European Earth system models, but also incorporate developments from recent and ongoing EU and national research projects—including nextGEMS, EERIE, TerraDT, GLORIA, and WarmWorld—that have adapted these models to kilometre-scale resolution. The submission highlights the future-proof nature of the model codes, demonstrating unprecedented scalability and readiness for even higher resolutions.
The achievement of these results is directly linked to the capabilities of EuroHPC systems LUMI, hosted by CSC in Finland, and MareNostrum 5, hosted by BSC in Spain, both ranked among the fastest supercomputers worldwide. LUMI uniquely combines a vast GPU-accelerated partition with CPU-only nodes, operates entirely on renewable hydropower, and reuses waste heat to warm the city of Kajaani, while MareNostrum 5 combines accelerated and general-purpose partitions, providing exceptional versatility for large-scale simulations across numerous scientific domains. Sustained European investment in the portability of these leading Earth system models across mixed CPU-GPU architectures ensures their readiness for Europes next-generation HPC systems, with ongoing testing on JUPITER, Europes first upcoming exascale supercomputer.
Unprecedented Scalability for High-Resolution Simulations
The teams are currently performing a new set of runs with newly defined operational workflows, planned to be ready by early 2026, covering the period from 1990 to 2050 at 5km resolution using all three models. These models are underpinned by leading European Earth system models and ongoing EU and national research projects that have adapted them to kilometre-scale resolution.
The Gordon Bell submission also demonstrates unprecedented scalability, with the coupled models scaled to 1km global resolution across the entire Earth system; ICON ran on LUMI-G (atmosphere and land on GPUs, ocean on CPUs), and IFS-FESOM ran on MareNostrum 5s general-purpose CPU partition (MN5-GPP). These scalability runs utilised up to 2,000 nodes on LUMI-G and 6,000 CPU nodes on MN5-GPP, reaching unprecedented throughputs at 1km resolution.
Leveraging European Supercomputing Infrastructure
In 2024, the teams moved beyond pure scalability runs to deliver the first ever multi-decadal, fully coupled global climate projections at approximately 5km resolution across all Earth system components, running out to 2040 on LUMI and MareNostrum 5. This leap from approximately 100km global models was achieved at a production throughput of approximately 0.6 simulated years per day, generating multi-petabyte datasets now accessible via the DestinE platform.
The models underpinning the Climate DT not only draw on leading European Earth system models, but also on recent and ongoing EU and national research projects—such as nextGEMS, EERIE, TerraDT, GLORIA, and WarmWorld—that have adapted these models to kilometre-scale resolution. This allows for increasingly detailed and accurate kilometre-scale climate modelling.
The Gordon Bell submission also demonstrates unprecedented scalability, with the coupled models scaled to 1km global resolution across the entire Earth system; ICON ran on LUMI-G (atmosphere and land on GPUs, ocean on CPUs), and IFS-FESOM ran on MareNostrum 5s general-purpose CPU partition (MN5-GPP). These scalability runs utilised up to 2,000 nodes on LUMI-G and 6,000 CPU nodes on MN5-GPP, reaching unprecedented throughputs at 1km resolution.
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