A future-ready Open Global Glacier Model (OGGM)

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Ben Marzeion
• Subject Area: Physical Geography ; Atmospheric Science ; Software Engineering and Programming Languages
• Term: from 2021 to 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 443178605

• Final Report Year: 2024

Final Report Abstract

Glaciers are important for regulating water supply, contributing to sea-level rise, and serving as indicators of climate change. The Open Global Glacier Model (OGGM) was developed to better understand and predict glacier changes worldwide. Unlike other tools, OGGM is open-source, which has made it a key resource for researchers around the world. OGGM faced challenges as its code became more complex and harder to maintain. This project was conducted to modernize the model and ensure it remains useful for future research. The main goals were to improve code testing, reduce code complexity, and make better use of the growing amount of glacier data. The project also aimed to allow OGGM to better use emerging technologies, like cloud computing, and expand its global user community. Several improvements were made, including the expansion of a robust testing system to ensure the accuracy of model updates. The code was reorganized to make it easier for new users to join the project and add new features. OGGM now integrates with other related models and tools, allowing it to simulate glacier changes more effectively. It also now makes better use of the quickly growing quality and amount of satellite data. OGGM has become more accessible to researchers, especially in developing countries, through cloud-based accessibility and educational resources like OGGM-Classroom. The project has also helped improve a global glacier inventory, which is essential for understanding and tracking glacier changes. As a result, OGGM’s impact has grown significantly. Many scientific studies are now using the model to explore glacier behavior.

Publications

• Assessing skill and use of CMIP6 decadal re-forecasts in global glacier mass balance modelling . Copernicus GmbH.
  van der Laan, Larissa; Förster, Kristian; Scaife, Adam; Vlug, Anouk & Maussion, Fabien
  
• Global glacier evolution over the last millennium and the influence of climate forcings on the mass balance. Copernicus GmbH.
  Vlug, Anouk; Marzeion, Ben; Prange, Matthias & Maussion, Fabien
  
• OGGM-Edu: an open-source educational platform about glaciers and glacier modelling. Copernicus GmbH.
  Vlug, Anouk; Schmitt, Patrick; Schuster, Lilian; Holmgren, Erik; Schroeder, Marie; Ultee, Lizz; Champollion, Nicolas; Marzeion, Ben & Maussion, Fabien
  
• OGGM/oggm-standardprojections-csv-files: v1.0 (v1.0)
  Lilian Schuster, Patrick Schmitt, Anouk Vlug & Fabien Maussion
  
• OGGM/oggm: v1.6.0
  Fabien Maussion, Timo Rothenpieler, Matthias Dusch, Patrick Schmitt, Anouk Vlug, Lilian Schuster, Nicolas Champollion, Fei Li, Ben Marzeion, Moritz Oberrauch, Julia Eis, Johannes Landmann, Alex Jarosch, Alexander Fischer, luzpaz, Sarah Hanus, David Rounce, Matteo Castellani & Sadie L. Bartholomew
  
• OGGM/oggm: v1.6.1
  Fabien Maussion, Timo Rothenpieler, Matthias Dusch, Patrick Schmitt, Anouk Vlug, Lilian Schuster, Nicolas Champollion, Fei Li, Ben Marzeion, Moritz Oberrauch, Julia Eis, Alexander Fischer, Johannes Landmann, Alex Jarosch, luzpaz, Sarah Hanus, David Rounce, Matteo Castellani, Sadie L. Bartholomew … & Philipp Gregor
  
• Regional and tele-connected impacts of the Tibetan Plateau surface darkening. Copernicus GmbH.
  Tang, Shuchang; Vlug, Anouk; Piao, Shilong; Li, Fei; Wang, Tao; Krinner, Gerhard; Li, Laurent Z. X.; Wang, Xuhui; Wu, Guangjian; Li, Yue; Zhang, Yuan; Lian, Xu & Yao, Tandong
  
• Regional and tele-connected impacts of the Tibetan Plateau surface darkening. Nature Communications, 14(1).
  Tang, Shuchang; Vlug, Anouk; Piao, Shilong; Li, Fei; Wang, Tao; Krinner, Gerhard; Li, Laurent Z. X.; Wang, Xuhui; Wu, Guangjian; Li, Yue; Zhang, Yuan; Lian, Xu & Yao, Tandong
  
• Regional modeling of peripheral glaciers in Greenland: Implications for mass balance, freshwater runoff, and sea level rise . Copernicus GmbH.
  Shafeeque, Muhammad; Malles, Jan-Hendrik; Vlug, Anouk; Marzeion, Ben; Möller, Marco & Eis, Julia
  
• The influence of climate forcings on global glacier evolution over the last millennium. Copernicus GmbH.
  Vlug, Anouk; Marzeion, Ben; Prange, Matthias; van der Laan, Larissa & Maussion, Fabien
  
• Projecting the Response of Greenland's Peripheral Glaciers to Future Climate Change: Glacier Losses, Sea Level Impact, Freshwater Contributions, and Peak Water Timing. Copernicus GmbH.
  Shafeeque, Muhammad; Malles, Jan-Hendrik; Vlug, Anouk; Möller, Marco & Marzeion, Ben
  
• Assessing the Influence of Climate Forcing Data Resolution on Simulations of Glacier and Freshwater Dynamics for the Flade Isblink Ice Cap, Northeast Greenland. Copernicus GmbH.
  Shafeeque, Muhammad; Vlug, Anouk & Marzeion, Ben
  
• Decadal re-forecasts of glacier climatic mass balance. The Cryosphere, 19(9), 3879-3896.
  van der Laan, Larissa Nora; Vlug, Anouk; Scaife, Adam A.; Maussion, Fabien & Förster, Kristian
  
• Reconstructed global glacier mass change since LIA strongly influenced by the sample of observed glaciers. Copernicus GmbH.
  Vlug, Anouk; Maussion, Fabien; Leclercq, Paul; van der Laan, Larissa; Carrivick, Jonathan & Marzeion, Ben