OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY

“We’re examining the ways global and regional climate models 

can inform local decision-making to equip our cities and 

communities with equitable solutions that address climate 

change and its impacts.”

Melissa Allen-Dumas, Research Scientist, 

Computational Urban Sciences Group

Climate Change Science Institute

ADVANCING 

understanding 

of climate change

ASSESSING

clean energy solutions

COMMUNICATING

science to diverse 

stakeholders

LEVERAGING

expertise and big 

science capabilities

INTEGRATING

climate, clean energy, 

national security, and 

environmental justice

Climate change is a tangible reality that affects our daily lives. The past decade was the hottest on record, and extreme events such 

as wildfires, hurricanes, and flooding are becoming more frequent and intense. The Climate Change Science Institute (CCSI) at Oak 

Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is addressing these challenges by advancing our understanding of climate change and its impacts 

on human and natural systems. CCSI brings together the multidisciplinary expertise and big science capabilities—including worldclass supercomputers—required to predict the future of our changing planet and to evaluate potential solutions at the intersection 

of climate, clean energy, national security, and environmental justice.

Informing Solutions

Formed in 2009, CCSI is unique within the national laboratory system and across the nation. 

The institute fosters innovation and interdisciplinary approaches to climate science, focusing 

on the areas below.

Earth system modeling—Uses high-performance computing (HPC) to advance modeling 

techniques, enabling Earth system models to operate at higher resolutions. Translates new 

knowledge of environmental processes into the existing Energy, Exascale, Earth System Model 

(E3SM) for greater predictive accuracy on finer geographic scales.

Data integration, dissemination, and informatics—Merges data from diverse sources 

and distributes them through single portals to a broad range of scientists and stakeholders 

interested in climate change information. Creates data management tools to facilitate science. 

Integrative ecosystem science—Captures model-inspired measurements and 

observations from a range of biomes and biogeochemical processes, leveraging unique 

ecosystem-scale climate change experiments managed by ORNL. Uses these data to inform 

predictive models from local to global scales.

Impacts, adaptation, and urban dynamics—Develops analytical tools and methods 

for assessing adaptation strategies at the intersection of climate science, energy use, and 

environmental justice. Provides data to stakeholders who must prepare community members 

and infrastructure for risks associated with climate change.

Pathways to net-zero carbon emissions—Uses artificial intelligence and HPC to integrate 

data from diverse sources into regional climate models to determine decarbonization pathways 

and to inform mitigation strategies and technology development.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is managed by UT-Battelle LLC for the US Department of Energy January 2022

Key Projects

Spruce and Peatland Responses 

Under Changing Environments 

(SPRUCE)—Assessing the response 

of northern peatland ecosystems to

increases in temperature and exposures

to elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations

Atmospheric Radiation 

Measurement (ARM) 

Data Center—Sharing computing 

resources and data on atmospheric 

radiation balance to inform models 

of global climate change

Energy Exascale Earth 

System Model (E3SM)—

Model development and 

simulation investigating energyrelevant science via HPC

Fine-Root Ecology Database 

(FRED)—A freely available global root trait 

database advancing understanding and 

model representation of belowground

trait variation within and among species 

and across environmental gradients 

ORNL Distributed Active 

Archive Center (ORNL DAAC) 

for Biogeochemical Dynamics—

Providing scientists and stakeholders 

with access to biogeochemical and 

ecological data and models

Next-Generation Ecosystem 

Experiments (NGEE Arctic, Tropics)—

Advancing predictive understanding of 

the structure and function of the Arctic 

and tropical terrestrial ecosystems in 

response to climate change

Free Air CO2 Enrichment 

(FACE) Model Data Synthesis—

Analyzing data from long-term CO2

enrichment experiments in ecosystems 

spanning the world

Reducing Uncertainty in 

Biogeochemical Interactions 

through Synthesis and 

Computation (RUBISCO)—

Facilitating comparisons between 

ensembles of earth system models

CCSI encompasses two major data centers that curate more than 

12,500 diverse environmental and climate datasets and many tools 

for their management, navigation, and analysis. These datasets are 

available to the worldwide research community.

CONTACT

Peter Thornton

Director

Climate Change Science Institute

thorntonpe@ornl.gov

865-241-3742

One Bethel Valley Road, 

Oak Ridge, TN 37830

ornl.gov/ccsi