The Glacier Model Intercomparison Project (GlacierMIP): Towards standardisation of global glacier projections

Abstract

The Glacier Model Intercomparison Project (GlacierMIP) provides an international framework for the coordinated evaluation and comparison of global glacier evolution models and their projections of glacier change. Its fourth phase, GlacierMIP4, updates previous global glacier projections through a standardised experimental design. For the first time, the protocol includes simulations extending to 2300 and an overshoot scenario for a subset of climate projections and requires monthly output of individual mass-balance components such as melt, accumulation and refreezing, in addition to annual results for glacier mass and area. While permitting model-specific approaches to calibration and other aspects of model implementation, the protocol prescribes common atmospheric forcing data, inventory boundary conditions, and reporting conventions to enable consistent analyses of inter-model differences. Here, we describe the GlacierMIP4 experimental protocol, including the simulation domain, initialisation, atmospheric forcing, and standardised output requirements. More broadly, we emphasize the need for standardised terminology, units, sign convention and file formats in global glacier modelling to improve the traceability, interoperability, and comparability of results, and recommend this protocol as a blueprint for future global glacier modelling studies.