Description and Evaluation of the MIT Earth System Model (MESM)

The MIT Integrated Global System Model (IGSM) is designed for analyzing the global environmental changes that may result from anthropogenic causes, quantifying the uncertainties associated with the projected changes, and assessing the costs and environmental effectiveness of proposed policies to mitigate climate risk. The IGSM consists of the MIT Earth System Model of intermediate complexity (MESM) and the Economic Projections and Policy Analysis (EPPA) model. This paper documents the current version of the MESM, which includes a 2-dimensional (zonally averaged) atmospheric model with interactive chemistry coupled to the Global Land System model and an anomaly-diffusing ocean model.This work was supported by U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Science under DE-FG02-94ER61937 and other government, industry and foundation sponsors of the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change. For a complete list of sponsors and U.S. government funding sources, see http://globalchange.mit.edu/sponsors. Data presented in the paper are available at http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/113339