Home About News New Release: E3SM-Unified 1.12.0 is Here

New Release: E3SM-Unified 1.12.0 is Here

  • February 24, 2026
  • Brief

    • E3SM UnifiedThe project is excited to announce E3SM-Unified 1.12.0, the newest update to E3SM’s unified Conda and Spack environment. This release brings together all the essential E3SM-supported analysis tools for a streamlined, reliable workflow—whether you’re working on an E3SM-supported system or your own machine.

    Major Changes & Highlights

    • All core tools have been updated, including ChemDyg, E3SM-Diags, e3sm_to_cmip, LIVVKit, MOAB, MPAS-Analysis, MPAS-Tools, NCO, xcdat, zppy, and zstash. The default Python environment now uses Python 3.13.
    • CDAT packages (cdms2, cdtime, cdutil, genutil, etc.) are no longer supported. If you rely on these, please continue using an older version and begin transitioning to modern alternatives like xarray and xcdat.
    • There’s a known issue with X forwarding for the ncvis GUI on macOS machines with Apple Silicon (such as M3 chips). As a workaround, run defaults write org.xquartz.X11 enable_render_extension 0 on your local machine and restart XQuartz, or use E3SM-Unified 1.9.0.

    Package-by-Package Summary

    • ChemDyg 1.1.0 – Updates for zppy compatibility and minor fixes.
    • E3SM-Diags 3.0.1 and 3.1.0 – Native grid plotting, snapshot analysis, expanded diagnostics, and user-facing bug fixes.
    • e3sm_to_cmip 1.13.0 – New variable handlers, improved logging, faster setup, and bug fixes.
    • LIVVKit 3.1.0 – Improved handling of missing files and clearer diff headers.
    • MOAB 5.6.0 – Unified iMOAB API, faster workflows, enhanced visualization, and new regression tools.
    • mosaic 1.2.1 – Improved mesh mirroring and plotting from restart files.
    • MPAS-Analysis 1.14.0 – Enhanced diagnostics, new analysis features, and bug fixes.
    • NCO 5.3.6 – Improved regridding, bug fixes, and better error detection.
    • xcdat 0.10.1 – New features for regridding and performance improvements.
    • zppy 3.1.0 – Beta support for pcmdi_diags, improved global_time_series, and bug fixes.
    • zppy-interfaces 0.2.0 – Supports new zppy features.
    • zstash 1.5.0 – Simpler Globus authentication and better database corruption detection.

    For a full list of packages and versions, see the E3SM-Unified confluence page.

    Where to Use It

    E3SM-Unified 1.12.0 is now available on all supported systems: Andes, Aurora, Chrysalis, Compy, Dane, Frontier, Perlmutter, and ALCF Polaris.
    If you’re at OLCF, it is recommended to use Andes for processing and analysis.

    On Aurora, Chrysalis, Compy, Dane, Frontier, and Perlmutter, key packages (ESMF, ILAMB, MOAB, NCO, TempestExtremes, and TempestRemap) are built with Spack for improved parallel performance.

    Looking Ahead

    Testing for E3SM-Unified 1.13.0 will begin in April, with a release planned for May 2026.
    If you have suggestions for package updates or want to see new AI/ML tools included, join the discussion on the v1.13.0 GitHub page.

    Resources

    Contact

    • Andrew Nolan, Los Alamos National Laboratory
    • Xylar Asay-Davis, Los Alamos National Laboratory
     
     

    This article is a part of the E3SM “Floating Points” Newsletter, to read the full Newsletter check:

     
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