Tool for Collective Evaluation of Earth System Models: Recent Updates in PCMDI Metrics Package (PMP)
The PCMDI Metrics Package (PMP), an open-source Python software for climate model evaluation, has been used to provide "quick-look" objective comparisons of Earth System Models with one another and available observations. Systematic and routine evaluation of multiple climate models in a collective manner is essential, especially as thousands of simulations are available with the data burden increasing to Petabyte scale (e.g., CMIP6). PMP results are produced in the context of all model simulations contributed to CMIP6 and earlier CMIP phases. Among other purposes, this enables modeling groups to evaluate changes during the development cycle in the context of the structural error distribution of the multi-model ensemble. Currently, the comparisons emphasize metrics of large- to global-scale annual cycle, tropical and extratropical modes of variability, ENSO, MJO, regional monsoons, and high frequency characteristics of simulated precipitation. In this talk I will introduce recent updates in the PMP development.