From the PI, Sep ’26: Preparing for the Next Generation of E3SM

Dr. Peter Caldwell, E3SM PI

Dear E3SM community –

The last few months have been dominated by phase 4 planning. Our decadal vision was accepted by the Department of Energy (DOE) at the end of June and our in-person briefing of our pre-proposal on Aug 31st was well received. The overarching goal of phase 4 will be improving seasonal-to-decadal predictability. As in previous phases, our plan for achieving this involves the application of cutting-edge technology. In the past this has mostly meant exascale computing, but in phase 4 AI will take center stage. Articles on E3SM AI awards, coupled emulator progress, inline model correction, and lateral water transport in this newsletter highlight this growing focus. Collaborating with the new Genesis projects will also be important. The pre-proposal also reaffirms E3SM’s commitment to regular releases of world-class Earth system models to the broader DOE community. Even though phase 4 isn’t scheduled to begin until May, we will switch to a new group structure at the start of the fiscal year because that is when most lab staff try to line up projects for the next year.

As we look towards writing the full proposal in the next few months, I’m grateful for the excellent team that surrounds me.

Peter