The Glacier Model Intercomparison Project (GlacierMIP): Towards standardisation of global glacier projections
Abstract
The Glacier Model Intercomparison Project (GlacierMIP) provides an international framework for the coordinated evaluation and comparison of global glacier evolution models and their projections of glacier change. Its fourth phase, GlacierMIP4, updates previous global glacier projections through a standardised experimental design. For the first time, the protocol includes simulations extending to 2300 and an overshoot scenario for a subset of climate projections and requires monthly output of individual mass-balance components such as melt, accumulation and refreezing, in addition to annual results for glacier mass and area. While permitting model-specific approaches to calibration and other aspects of model implementation, the protocol prescribes common atmospheric forcing data, inventory boundary conditions, and reporting conventions to enable consistent analyses of inter-model differences. Here, we describe the GlacierMIP4 experimental protocol, including the simulation domain, initialisation, atmospheric forcing, and standardised output requirements. More broadly, we emphasize the need for standardised terminology, units, sign convention and file formats in global glacier modelling to improve the traceability, interoperability, and comparability of results, and recommend this protocol as a blueprint for future global glacier modelling studies.
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BibTeX
@misc{laan2026glacier,
title = {{The Glacier Model Intercomparison Project (GlacierMIP): Towards standardisation of global glacier projections}},
author = {Larissa N. van der Laan and Regine Hock and Johannes Brunner and Yeliz A. Yilmaz and Claire Wilson and Lilian Schuster and Lander Van Tricht and Ruitang Yang and Harry Zekollari and Matthias Huss and Ben Marzeion and Fabien Maussion and David R. Rounce and Johannes J. Fürst},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.22005},
eprint = {2610.22005},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.22005},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - The Glacier Model Intercomparison Project (GlacierMIP): Towards standardisation of global glacier projections
AU - Larissa N. van der Laan
AU - Regine Hock
AU - Johannes Brunner
AU - Yeliz A. Yilmaz
AU - Claire Wilson
AU - Lilian Schuster
AU - Lander Van Tricht
AU - Ruitang Yang
AU - Harry Zekollari
AU - Matthias Huss
AU - Ben Marzeion
AU - Fabien Maussion
AU - David R. Rounce
AU - Johannes J. Fürst
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/15
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.22005
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.22005
AB - The Glacier Model Intercomparison Project (GlacierMIP) provides an international framework for the coordinated evaluation and comparison of global glacier evolution models and their projections of glacier change. Its fourth phase, GlacierMIP4, updates previous global glacier projections through a standardised experimental design. For the first time, the protocol includes simulations extending to 2300 and an overshoot scenario for a subset of climate projections and requires monthly output of individual mass-balance components such as melt, accumulation and refreezing, in addition to annual results for glacier mass and area. While permitting model-specific approaches to calibration and other aspects of model implementation, the protocol prescribes common atmospheric forcing data, inventory boundary conditions, and reporting conventions to enable consistent analyses of inter-model differences. Here, we describe the GlacierMIP4 experimental protocol, including the simulation domain, initialisation, atmospheric forcing, and standardised output requirements. More broadly, we emphasize the need for standardised terminology, units, sign convention and file formats in global glacier modelling to improve the traceability, interoperability, and comparability of results, and recommend this protocol as a blueprint for future global glacier modelling studies.
ER -