The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will provide $70 million toward research in Earth system model development, contributing to the development of the Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM).

The project, intended to aid scientists in addressing climate issues, involves using DOE high-performance computers for advanced modeling through both mathematical and computational solutions, a DOE press release said. The Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing (SciDAC) partnership involved in the project is a collaboration of experts in earth sciences, applied mathematics and computer science.

“America’s leadership in the climate sciences relies on tight collaborations involving Earth system scientists, mathematicians, and software developers, who take advantage of the world’s fastest computers,” Sharlene Weatherwax, associate director of science for biological and environmental research, said in the release. “Given demands to more rapidly accelerate predictive capabilities, DOE intends to address the most pressing climate science challenges that have hindered scientific progress.”

The project will address challenges of the E3SM and aim to improve performance and representations of key processes that are crucial components of the E3SM baseline climate state, the release said. Processes include ocean circulation, the Antarctic ice sheet, marine biogeochemistry and the variability of winds in the tropical stratosphere. 

The funding is sponsored by the Biological and Environmental Research (BER) and Advanced Scientific Computing Research program offices under the umbrella of the Office of Science. The total funding that is planned includes $70 million over a five-year period, with $14 million anticipated to be used in Fiscal Year 2022, the release said.

Applications are open to universities, DOE national laboratories, nonprofits, for-profit institutions and other federal agencies.