CESM-HR-RCP2.6: Community Earth System Model High-Resolution (CESM-HR) RCP2.6 Sea Surface Height Simulation (global, daily) for the 2006-2100 period.

Rationale and Objective This dataset provides 2D numerical model output of global sea surface height (SSH) from a high-resolution simulation under RCP2.6 low emission scenario. The primary objective was to improve the prediction and projection of regional and local sea-level changes using a global eddy resolving (~10 km) model. By accurately resolving complex coastlines, bathymetry, and regional ocean circulation- such as the Loop Current and its associated eddies in the Gulf of America- this model offers significantly higher precision than standard coarse-resolution (~100km) CMIP-class models. Furthermore, the availability of a companion high-resolution RCP8.5, RCP6.0 and RCP4.5 simulations enable a direct comparison of sea-level responses across different radiative forcing pathways. Methods and Model Description Data were produced using a ~100 km (1 degree) version of the Community Earth System Model (CESM-HR) with 60 vertical levels following the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 (CMIP5) protocol. Model is initialized in 2006 from a CESM-HR historical simulation (see Chang et al., (2020) for details) and forced with Representative concentration Pathway 2.6 (RCP2.6) forcings. This simulation is initialized from the 3rd ensemble member of the high-resolution historical ensemble suit. Time Period and Spatial Extend The simulation covers the period 2006-2100 and the data is available for the global domain. Dataset Contents The dataset consists of daily averaged SSH (cm) data on the global grid (3600x2400 points) in muti-year (~10 years) NetCDF files. The file also contains the model grid variables (latitude, longitude, mask, depth and area). The SSH data files reside in a collection with other variables from the same experiment and can be identified with filename string “b.e13.BRCP26C5.ne120_t12.cesm-ihesp-hires1.0.42.003.pop.h.nday1.SSH*”.