ISOSAM (ISOtope Snow-Atmosphere Modeling for Earth System applications) aims to establish a new cooperation between UiB and LSCE to (1) connect the new generation of water isotope researchers with their complementary expertise, (2) perform an essential model improvement of LMDZiso, and (3) form the basis for a consortium to successfully contribute to the upcoming HEU 2025-2027 program.
Isotope-enabled atmospheric models, like LMDZiso, offer a secondary, process-based way to evaluate model performances through water isotopes as tracers of all hydrological processes. However, only few models exist that represent water isotopes in polar regions sufficiently for hydrological analysis. LMDZiso is one of these models and has large potential to help improve the parameterisation of hydrological processes in climate models. With ISOSAM, we will set up the framework to refine the snow surface-atmosphere exchange of water isotopes in LMDZiso and, thereby, support the development of an excellent tool to investigate hydrological processes in polar regions. ISOSAM achieves this, by sharing model code, observational and modeling expertise between scientists at UiB and LSCE. With the comprehensive datasets of observations from the cooperation between both institutes and LSCE’s resources and competence in isotope-enabled climate modeling, we aim to contribute to the upcoming HEU program by showcasing how water isotope data can be used to improve ESMs.
The project will be executed in three phases, starting with an all-participant workshop at LSCE in January 2025, which focuses on knowledge transfer, code sharing, and the technical framework that allows the implementation of the new process in LMDZiso, mainly executed by the ECRs. During the second phase, the refinement will be tested in a 1D set up. Outcomes will be discussed in a workshop at UiB in mid-2025 and reported. A workshop in phase 3 aims at planning strategies to utilise the refined model to contribute to EU projects.
