The Climate Science for a Sustainable Energy Future (CSSEF) is a collaborative project among Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and Sandia National Laboratories, together with the National Center for Atmospheric Research to transform the climate model development and testing process and thereby accelerate the development of the Community Earth System Model's sixth-generation version, CESM3, scheduled to be released for predictive simulation in the 5 to 10 year time frame. Four research themes are addressed in the project:

1. A focused effort for converting observational data sets into specialized, multi- variable data sets for model testing and improvement
2. Development of model development testbeds in which model components and sub-models can be rapidly prototyped and evaluated
3. Research to enhance numerical methods and computational science research focused on enabling climate models that use future computing architectures
4. Research to enhance efforts in uncertainty quantification for climate model simulations and predictions.

These four themes are mutually reinforcing and tightly coupled around three overarching research directions:

1. Development, implementation, and testing of variable-resolution methodologies that enable computationally efficient simulation of the climate system at regional scales
2. Improvement of representing the hydrological cycle and quantification of the sources of certainty in its simulation
3. Reduction and quantification of uncertainties in carbon cycle and other biogeochemical feedbacks in the terrestrial ecosystem.

CSSEF will be structured to first deploy expertise in the research theme areas across the development of the atmosphere, ocean, sea ice, and land surface model components, and later to the fully coupled system.

Addressing the DOE Office of Biological and Environmental Research's Long-Term Measure to, "Deliver improved scientific data and models about the potential response of the Earth's climate and terrestrial biosphere to increased greenhouse gas levels for policy makers to determine safe levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere," will be a focus of the CSSEF project.

For more information contact Dr. Dorothy Koch (Dorothy.Koch@science.doe.gov) or visit the project website.