Ice Sheet Model Intercomparison Project

General

ISMIP (Ice Sheet Model Intercomparison Project) arose from the Numerical Experimentation Group of CliC (Climate and Cryosphere - a core project of the World Climate Research Programme co-sponsored by the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research).

ISMIP aims to produce a new set of model intercomparison exercises to test the current generation of ice flow codes. It is a follow-up to the EISMINT phases I and II, which activity inspired much of the ice-sheet model development during the nineties in laboratories worldwide.

New model setups have now been prepared for higher-order flow models (HOM), Heinrich-type of ice-sheet instabilities (HEINO), polar ice sheet models (POLICE), and marine ice sheet models (MISMIP).

Topics

There exist new descriptions for 4 intercomparison topics, each of which is coordinated by the person(s) mentioned in brackets:

comparison of higher-order models: ISMIP-HOM
(Coordinator: Frank Pattyn, e-mail: fpattyn@ulb.ac.be)

comparison of Heinrich-type of ice-sheet instabilities: ISMIP-HEINO
(Coordinators: Reinhard Calov and Ralf Greve, e-mail: calov@pik-potsdam.de and greve@lowtem.hokudai.ac.jp)

comparison of the ice-dynamic response of Antarctic and Greenland ice sheet models applied to climatic warming: ISMIP-POLICE
(Coordinator: Philippe Huybrechts, e-mail: phuybrec@vub.ac.be)

comparison of marine ice sheet models: MISMIP
(Coordinators: Christian Schoof, Richard Hindmarsh, and Frank Pattyn, e-mail: cschoof@eos.ubc.ca, rcah@bas.ac.uk, and fpattyn@ulb.ac.be)

Time table

A first discussion meeting for ISMIP-HOM and ISMIP-HEINO took place during the EGU General Assembly 2007 in Vienna

A further discussion meeting for ISMIP exercises is envisaged to take place during EGU 2008

Registration

Interested participants are kindly requested to send an E-mail to the respective topic coordinator and to Philippe Huybrechts. That will help to create a mailing list for further announcements.