IPSL Centre for Earth Observation (ICEO)

The Centre for Earth Observation supports and coordinates IPSL resources dedicated to measurement systems and observational data. In Earth observations, which includes space missions, multi-instrumented surface and airborne observations, major measurement campaigns and measuring of geochemical tracers, IPSL plays a dual role: a coordination role at the regional level to strengthen the collective Earth observation activities to improve our understanding of the climate system. a data and service centre for the National Atmosphere Data Centre (AERIS)  through the ESPRI services.

IPSL Climate Modelling Centre (ICMC)

The Climate Modelling Centre explores physical, chemical and biogeochemical aspects of the Earth’s climate. It brings together modelling teams from the various IPSL laboratories who study the different parts of the climate system (atmosphere, ocean, continental surfaces, cryosphere) and their couplings. Studies focus on the functioning of the climate system, its variability and climate change, whether of natural origin or due to human activities by developing and using an integrated model of the Earth system to carry out climate simulations. These results are managed, analysed and distributed through ESPRI facilities for and within the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) and the Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX).

University Observatories

The IPSL activities of collecting, archiving and making available different types of data started in the 1990s. Since then, it has developed continuously beside the creation and growth of observatories in French universities (OSUs). The IPSL services have therefore gradually been integrated into the Île-de-France OSUs, in particular the OVSQ and Ecce Terra, which co-host some of the ESPRI facilities and services. The OSUs remain specific and respond to a regional integration and mutualisation of scientific platforms. It is therefore important in the Paris region to ensure coherence between the digital strategy plans of the IPSL and the OSUs.

Local IT Services Departments

Within the IPSL federation, ESPRI is the preferred contact for local IT staff on the Pierre-et-Marie-Curie campus of Sorbonne University and the École Polytechnique. It has one dedicated room on each site to host the machines and ensure a fair administration of the resources, the network in agreement with the security constraints. Thus, ESPRI is at the interface between the IT Departments of the hosting sites and the IPSL laboratories.

National High-Performance Computing Centres (HPC)

The ESPRI centre is part of the national high-performance computing ecosystem as a Tier 2: it is a thematic platform combining computing and data, linked to national and European computing centres. Dedicated broadband network connections have been set up between ESPRI and the two national GENCI HPC at Commissariat à l’Énergie Atomique (CEA) and at the Institut du développement des Ressources en Informatique Scientifique (IDRIS).

Research Infrastructures (RI)

ESPRI is driven by the needs of the national and international scientific communities. The IPSL Computing and Data Centre is integrated into national, European and international Research Infrastructures (RI) to which ESPRI contributes and in which it represents the IPSL. In particular, it constitutes an essential building block of the following RIs:

CLIMERI-France

CLIMERI-France is structured around five main activities to ensure the production, analysis and dissemination of climate simulations, in close interaction with the international activity of the World Climate Research Program and the various users of these simulations. CLIMERI-France also relies on the modelling resources and expertise of:

• Institut Pierre-Simon Laplace (IPSL)
• Centre National de Recherche Météorologique (CNRM)
• Centre Européen de Recherche et de Formation Avancée pour le Calcul Scientifique (CERFACS)
• Météo France
• University of Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium)
• Institut des Géosciences de l’Environnement (IGE)
• University of Bordeaux (EPOC)
• Laboratoire d’Océanographie Physique et Spatiale (LOPS)
• Laboratoire d’Etude en Géophysique et Océanographie Spatiale (LEGOS)

CLIMERI France

Data-Terra

Data-Terra organises data access in an integrated way, by making available data products and services related to the observation of the Earth system, via four French data clusters: AERIS (Atmosphere), FORM@TER (Solid Earth), THEIA (Continental Surfaces), ODATIS (Oceans and Coasts). Data-Terra also relies on resources and expertise of:

• Centre National d’Études Spatiales (CNES)
• Institut Français de Recherche pour l’Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER)
• Institut National de l’information Géographique et Forestière (IGN)
• Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)
• Institut National de Recherche Agronomique (INRAE)
• Météo France

The European Networks for Earth System Modelling (ENES)

The European Networks for Earth System Modelling (ENES) gathers 47 partners  from academic, public and industrial world to work together and cooperate to discuss strategies to accelerate progress in climate and Earth system modelling and understanding. IS-ENES also relies on computing resources of:

• Centre for Environmental Data Analysis (CEDA – UK)
• Deutsche Klimarechenzentrum (DKRZ – Germany)
• Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici (CMCC – Italy)
• Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI – Sweden)
• University of Cantabria (UCAN – Spain)

The Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF)

The Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF) is an interagency and international collaboration that develops, deploys and maintains software infrastructure for the management, dissemination, and analysis of model output and observational data. ESGF also relies on the contribution and funding from:

• Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL – US)
• National Computational Infrastructure (NCI – Australia)
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA – US)
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA – US)