Overview of obs4MIPs and ana4MIPs

The Observations for Model Intercomparison Project (obs4MIPs) refers to a limited collection of well-established and documented datasets that have been organized according to the CMIP5 model output requirements and made available to the larger climate science and research community in the same way CMIP5 simulation output is accessed. Obs4MIPs aims at providing observations data sets - primarily from satellite data – with a particular emphasis on compatibility in terms of (1) variable type, (2) temporal and spatial sampling, (3) and measurement period between WCRP-type model simulations and observations. The obs4MIPs approach strictly follows the CMIP5 protocols when selecting datasets, and provides documentation of the datasets to facilitate climate model evaluation and analysis by a broad user base. Each obs4MIPs dataset corresponds to a field that is output in one or more of the CMIP5 experiments. This technical alignment of observational products with climate model output greatly facilitates model data comparisons.

A similar effort (ana4MIPs - Analysis for Model Intercomparison Projects) is underway to collect data from current major reanalysis efforts. Each dataset is reformatted into a common format to facilitate comparison with each other and with the CMIP5 model output. The ana4MIPs data include upper atmosphere wind, moisture, temperature fields and fluxes not routinely globally observed, and will be expanded to included ocean reanalysis in the near future as well.