Established competitively in 2018, the Cooperative Institute for Modeling the Earth System (CIMES) at Princeton University is a NOAA Cooperative Institute sponsored by NOAA's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL). CIMES is a product of a highly successful collaboration between Princeton University and NOAA/GFDL stretching back to 1967.
CIMES conducts research under three themes: (1) Earth System Modeling: Developing and improving Earth System Models (ESMs), numerical models which simulate the climate and earth system, and allow prediction of the future evolution of this system. These models include the dynamical, physical, chemical, and biological components of the atmosphere-ocean-ice-land system and their coupling; (2) Seamless Prediction across Time and Space Scales: Applying the ESMs to predictions on time-scales from days to centuries and over spatial scales from those of extreme events to global scales, making use of the same flexible code-base. CIMESfocuses on two different aspects of prediction across time and space scales: the very high-resolution modeling necessary to resolve extreme weather phenomena, and the predictability of different weather and climate phenomena; and (3) Earth System Science: Analysis and Applications: Using ESMs to understand the impacts of environmental variations and changes on pressing problems of relevance to society, including marine ecosystems, weather extremes, drought, and air quality.
CIMES research activities assist NOAA in four of its Mission Goals: (1) Healthy Oceans Goal: Marine fisheries, habitats, and biodiversity are sustained within healthy and productive ecosystems; (2) Weather-Ready Nation Goal: Society is prepared for and responds to weather-related events; (3) Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Goal: An informed society anticipating and responding to climate and its impacts; and (4) Resilient Coastal Communities and Economies Goal: Coastal and Great Lakes communities are environmentally and economically sustainable.