Rapid prototyping for regional ocean and coupled capabilities with MOM6 and CESM

Regional models offer a computational shortcut for resolving ocean and Earth system properties down to kilometer scales. However, they introduce additional complexity because of the need for open boundary conditions. Here we summarize tools developed by the ongoing CROCODILE project to allow rapid prototyping of regional high-resolution configurations of CESM. A gallery of Jupyter notebooks allows interactive design of regional domains, including grids, bathymetry, and forcing choices. Data assimilation, model-data comparison tools, and an updated diagnostics suite support the ability to ground truth against a range of observations. New coupling capabilities being developed include CICE, WW3, and MPAS-A. This framework is intended to support process studies, impacts-driven research, and downscaling of global simualtions.