The Community Earth System Model Version 2 (CESM2)

An overview of the Community Earth System Model Version 2 (CESM2) is provided, including a discussion of the challenges encountered during its development and how they were addressed. In addition, an evaluation of a pair of CESM2 long preindustrial control and historical ensemble simulations is presented. These simulations were performed using the nominal 1 degrees horizontal resolution configuration of the coupled model with both the "low-top" (40 km, with limited chemistry) and "high-top" (130 km, with comprehensive chemistry) versions of the atmospheric component. CESM2 contains many substantial science and infrastructure improvements and new capabilities since its previous major release, CESM1, resulting in improved historical simulations in comparison to CESM1 and available observations. These include major reductions in low-latitude precipitation and shortwave cloud forcing biases; better representation of the Madden-Julian Oscillation; better El Nino-Southern Oscillation-related teleconnections; and a global land carbon accumulation trend that agrees well with observationally based estimates. Most tropospheric and surface features of the low- and high-top simulations are very similar to each other, so these improvements are present in both configurations. CESM2 has an equilibrium climate sensitivity of 5.1-5.3 degrees C, larger than in CESM1, primarily due to a combination of relatively small changes to cloud microphysics and boundary layer parameters. In contrast, CESM2's transient climate response of 1.9-2.0 degrees C is comparable to that of CESM1. The model outputs from these and many other simulations are available to the research community, and they represent CESM2's contributions to the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6.

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Author Danabasoglu, Gokhan
Lamarque, Jean-François
Bacmeister, Julio
Bailey, David A.
DuVivier, Alice K.
Edwards, James
Emmons, Louisa K.
Fasullo, John T.
García, Rolando R.
Gettelman, Andrew
Hannay, Cecile E.
Holland, Marika M.
Large, William G.
Lauritzen, Peter H.
Lawrence, David M.
Lenaerts, Jan
Lindsay, Keith
Lipscomb, William
Mills, Michael J.
Neale, Richard
Oleson, Keith W.
Otto-Bliesner, Bette
Phillips, Adam
Sacks, William J.
Tilmes, Simone
Kampenhout, L.
Vertenstein, Mariana
Bertini, Alice
Dennis, John M.
Deser, Clara
Fischer, Chris
Fox-Kemper, B.
Kay, J. E.
Kinnison, Douglas E.
Kushner, P. J.
Larson, V. E.
Long, Matthew
Mickelson, Sheri
Moore, J. K.
Nienhouse, Eric J.
Polvani, L.
Rasch, P. J.
Strand, Warren G.
Publisher UCAR/NCAR - Library
Publication Date 2020-02-06T00:00:00
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) Not Assigned
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Topic Category geoscientificInformation
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Metadata Date 2025-07-11T19:21:47.555433
Metadata Record Identifier edu.ucar.opensky::articles:23188
Metadata Language eng; USA
Suggested Citation Danabasoglu, Gokhan, Lamarque, Jean-François, Bacmeister, Julio, Bailey, David A., DuVivier, Alice K., Edwards, James, Emmons, Louisa K., Fasullo, John T., García, Rolando R., Gettelman, Andrew, Hannay, Cecile E., Holland, Marika M., Large, William G., Lauritzen, Peter H., Lawrence, David M., Lenaerts, Jan, Lindsay, Keith, Lipscomb, William, Mills, Michael J., Neale, Richard, Oleson, Keith W., Otto-Bliesner, Bette, Phillips, Adam, Sacks, William J., Tilmes, Simone, Kampenhout, L., Vertenstein, Mariana, Bertini, Alice, Dennis, John M., Deser, Clara, Fischer, Chris, Fox-Kemper, B., Kay, J. E., Kinnison, Douglas E., Kushner, P. J., Larson, V. E., Long, Matthew, Mickelson, Sheri, Moore, J. K., Nienhouse, Eric J., Polvani, L., Rasch, P. J., Strand, Warren G.. (2020). The Community Earth System Model Version 2 (CESM2). UCAR/NCAR - Library. https://n2t.org/ark:/85065/d7v98c85. Accessed 01 August 2025.

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