E3SM August 2025 All-Hands Meeting: Advancing Collaboration and Ecosystem Projects Synergy
The E3SM project convened its semi-annual All-Hands Meeting in August 2025, bringing together researchers, developers, E3SM ecosystem projects and stakeholders for three days of collaboration, innovation, and strategic planning. Hosted in Bethesda, MD, this year’s meeting marked a significant step forward in E3SM’s commitment to greater synergy with the broader DOE scientific ecosystem.
A major highlight was the expanded participation: E3SM welcomed over 40 members from external projects and their program managers, fostering deeper connections and shared vision across DOE-supported initiatives. This collaborative approach sets the stage for a new meeting structure—moving forward, E3SM will host project-only all-hands meetings in the winter and broader community meetings each summer. This change will ensure regular opportunities for focused internal coordination as well as open ecosystem community engagement.
To further support community integration, E3SM announced that upcoming simulation campaigns will include community output requests, publicized via e3sm-ecosystem@llnl.gov (click to subscribe). Clear pathways were also advertised for submitting bug reports and suggesting new features, inviting broader input and feedback to shape the project’s technical direction.
Key Highlights
Opening Plenary and Ecosystem Talks:
The meeting kicked off with introductory remarks from E3SM leadership, followed by updates from major ecosystem projects including HyperFACETS (RGMA), GCIMS (MSD), ARM, THREAD (ASR), and ESS. These sessions underscored recent scientific advances and set the stage for deeper discussions.
Science Group Presentations:
E3SM’s core science groups—Water Cycle, Human/Earth Systems, and Polar—shared progress on modeling efforts, data integration, and cross-disciplinary research. Notable presentations covered water cycle simulations, coupled human-earth systems modeling, and polar process improvements.
Breakout Sessions:
Targeted breakouts enabled focused dialogue on topics such as:
- S2D (Subseasonal-to-Decadal Prediction)
- Discussed advanced prediction techniques, integration of new process representations, and prioritized next steps for improving forecast skill
- Atmospheric Development
- Reviewed progress on atmospheric model components, discussed challenges in parameterization, and set targets for next-gen improvements.
- Atmospheric Evaluation
- Compared evaluation metrics, standardized assessment protocols, and planned new observational campaigns for model validation.
- OMEGA (Ocean Modeling)
- Evaluated ocean model updates, resolved technical integration issues, and identified areas for enhanced coupling with atmosphere/land
- Land Modeling
- Shared new land process results, coordinated on data needs, and agreed on collaborative projects for soil and vegetation modeling.
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) Applications
- Presented AI-enabled workflow demos, brainstormed applications for model tuning and data analysis, and created a roadmap for pilot studies.
- Polar Science
- Discussed polar process representation, planned joint studies on ice-ocean coupling, and set milestones for improved polar simulations.
- Large Ensembles
- Explored ensemble design strategies, shared results from recent runs, and prioritized ensemble-based uncertainty quantification.
- High-Resolution Modeling
- Assessed computational challenges, reviewed recent high-res results, and outlined scaling strategies for future simulations.
- Practical Applications and Digital Testbeds
- Identified stakeholder needs, mapped E3SM contributions to digital testbeds, and established feedback loops for real-world applications.
- Ice Group
- Coordinated on ice model updates, discussed cross-group data sharing, and set targets for next-generation ice sheet simulations.
- Human/Earth Systems
- Integrated human system dynamics, reviewed coupling strategies, and planned collaborative research on land use and impacts.
Each session fostered technical exchange, identified challenges, and set priorities for future work.
Infrastructure and Model Capabilities:
Infrastructure sessions provided updates on model development (E3SM v3.1), repository management, testing pipelines, and new tool releases such as SCORPIO and MOAB coupler. The Feature Request Process and analysis tool demonstrations (NCO, LIVVkit, xCDAT, SimBoard) highlighted ongoing efforts to streamline workflows and enhance data accessibility.
Emerging Opportunities:
Plenary discussions on emerging opportunities explored plans for S2D, AI integration, high-resolution modeling, and E3SM’s role in digital testbeds. These sessions emphasized the importance of collaborative innovation and stakeholder engagement.
Poster Session and Awards:
A poster session showcased research from across the E3SM community. The meeting also recognized outstanding contributions with awards, celebrating excellence in science, teamwork, and impact. For more on the awards, see here.
Collaboration and Next Steps
The meeting concluded with a plenary discussion focused on new opportunities for collaboration, suggestions for E3SM’s strategic direction, and identification of “low-hanging fruit” science questions enabled by recent model advances. Attendees were encouraged to provide feedback and help shape the program’s future.
E3SM extends its gratitude to all participants, session chairs, and organizers for making the 2025 All-Hands Meeting a success. The expanded community participation and new meeting format reflect E3SM’s commitment to openness, innovation, and shared progress. The collaborative spirit and shared vision demonstrated throughout the event will drive continued advancement in Earth system modeling and its applications.
For more details and session materials, visit:
E3SM All-Hands Meeting Wiki
