The EU-FP7 ERA-CLIM2 project contribution to advancing science and production of Earth-system climate reanalyses

Abstract

International audience ; ERA-CLIM2 is a European Union Seventh Framework Project started in January 2014. It aims to produce coupled reanalyses, which are physically consistent data sets describing the evolution of the global atmosphere, ocean, land-surface, cryosphere and the carbon cycle. ERA-CLIM2 has contributed to advancing the capacity for producing state-of-the-art climate reanalyses that extend back to the early 20th century. It has led to the generation of the first ensemble of coupled ocean, sea-ice, land and atmosphere reanalyses of the 20th century. The project has funded work to rescue and prepare observations, and to advance the data51assimilation systems required to generate operational reanalyses, such as the ones planned by the European Union Copernicus Climate Change Service. This paper summarizes the main goals of the project, discusses some of its main areas of activities, and presents some of its key results.