An Introduction to Climate Modeling and Analysis

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An Introduction to Climate Modeling and Analysis#

Tutorials at the 2025 paleoCAMP | June 16–June 30, 2025

Jiang Zhu
jiangzhu@ucar.edu
Climate & Global Dynamics Laboratory
NSF National Center for Atmospheric Research

Learning objectives#

  • Understand the basic structure of the Community Earth System Model (CESM) as a software

  • Learn the four steps to set up and run a preindustrial control simulation

  • Learn to use Python/Jupyter Nobebooks to analyze and visualize model output

  • Optional

    • Learn how to configure and run CESM for paleoclimate (e.g., a mid-Holocene simulation)

    • Explore how CESM simulations can be used for hypothesis testing

Quick Demos#

  • Basic introduction to Unix/Linux commands

  • Introduction to Python and Jupyter Notebooks

  • Overview of NSF NCAR computing resources and user access

Morning modules#

  • Introduction to CESM: structure, components, and workflow

  • Live demonstration: how to configure, build, and submit a CESM run

Afternoon modules#

  • Hands-on exercises: analyzing CESM output on NCAR’s JupyterHub

  • Option 1: Run and compare a pair of piControl and mid-Holocene simulations

  • Option 2: Analyze ITCZ and monsoon dynamics using a long mid-Holocene simulation

  • Additional resources: accessing model output and data analysis tips

  • Challenging: Configure and run a Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) simulation

Contents