The necessity and benefits for establishing the international Earth-system Prediction Initiative (EPI) are discussed by scientists associated with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) World Weather Research Programme (WWRP), World Climate Research Programme (WCRP), International Geosphere–Biosphere Programme (IGBP), Global Climate Observing System (GCOS), and natural-hazards and socioeconomic communities. The proposed initiative will provide research and services to accelerate advances in weather, climate, and Earth system prediction and the use of this information by global societies. It will build upon the WMO, the Group on Earth Observations (GEO), the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) and the International Council for Science (ICSU) to coordinate the effort across the weather, climate, Earth system, natural-hazards, and socioeconomic disciplines. It will require (i) advanced high-performance computing facilities, supporting a worldwide network of research and operational modeling centers, and early warning systems; (ii) science, technology, and education projects to enhance knowledge, awareness, and utilization of weather, climate, environmental, and socioeconomic information; (iii) investments in maintaining existing and developing new observational capabilities; and (iv) infrastructure to transition achievements into operational products and services.
National Center for Atmospheric Research,* Boulder, Colorado, and Geophysical Institute, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, and Institute of Global Environment and Society, Calverton, Maryland
Atmospheric Science and Technology Directorate, Environment Canada, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Center for Earth System Science, National Institute for Space Research, São José dos Campos, Brazil
NOAA/Earth System Research Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado
National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado
World Climate Research Programme, World Meteorological Organization, Geneva, Switzerland
Atmospheric Research and Environment Programme, World Meteorological Organization, Geneva, Switzerland
Météo France, Toulouse, France
Climate Service Center, Hamburg, Germany
THORPEX, World Weather Research Programme, World Meteorological Organization, Geneva, Switzerland
Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, Maryland
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden, and International Council for Science, Paris, France
Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research, the Bureau of Meteorology and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Earth Simulator Center, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Yokohama, Japan
Department of Meteorology, University of Reading, Reading, and Grantham Institute, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
Norwegian Meteorological Institute, Oslo, Norway
Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique, Palaiseau, France
Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Hamburg, Germany
Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, Reading, United Kingdom
Adaptation and Impacts Research Division, Environment Canada, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Met Office, Exeter, United Kingdom
Meteorological Research Institute, Tsukuba, Japan
University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland, and University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, Reading, and University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
World Weather Research Programme, World Meteorological Organization, Geneva, Switzerland
Health and Climate Foundation, Washington, D.C.
Environmental Systems Science Centre, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom
NOAA/NC EP Environmental Modeling Center, Camp Springs, Maryland
CIMSS, University of Wisconsin—Madison, Madison, Wisconsin
Department of Meteorology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
*NC AR is sponsored by the National Science Foundation
