# ACCESS-ESM1.6: Release Information **URL:** \ **Category:** ACCESS-NRI Releases\ **Tags:** release, esm, model, access-esm16\ **Created:** [5 August 2026 01:51 UTC](https://forum.access-hive.org.au/t/access-esm1-6-release-information/6755 "2026-08-05T01:51:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![clairecarouge](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/forum.access-hive.org.au/clairecarouge/32/380_2.png) [@clairecarouge](https://forum.access-hive.org.au/u/clairecarouge)\ **Post date:** [5 August 2026 01:51 UTC](https://forum.access-hive.org.au/t/access-esm1-6-release-information/6755/1 "2026-08-05T01:51:16Z")
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**Author:** ![anton](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/forum.access-hive.org.au/anton/32/1836_2.png) [@anton](https://forum.access-hive.org.au/u/anton)\ **Post date:** [28 August 2026 04:22 UTC](https://forum.access-hive.org.au/t/access-esm1-6-release-information/6755/2 "2026-08-28T04:22:25Z")
# ACCESS-ESM1.6 This is the first supported release of ACCESS-ESM1.6, a coupled global earth system model that includes [atmosphere](https://access-hive.org.au/models/model_components/atmosphere), [land](https://access-hive.org.au/models/model_components/land), [ocean](https://access-hive.org.au/models/model_components/ocean), [sea ice](https://access-hive.org.au/models/model_components/sea-ice), [ocean biogeochemistry (BGC)](https://access-hive.org.au/models/model_components/bgc_ocean) and [land BGC](https://access-hive.org.au/models/model_components/bgc_land) components. This model simulates both the physical climate and global biogeochemical cycles, in particular the carbon cycle. The release provides both model configurations and experiments. The configurations are the run time settings to generate an experiment with the model. The experiments provided are generated by running the configurations unmodified. Four global model configurations being released to reflect different [CMIP7 DECK Experiments](https://wcrp-cmip.github.io/cmip7-guidance/docs/CMIP7/Experiment_set_up_and_Forcings/): πŸš€ **[piControl](https://github.com/ACCESS-NRI/access-esm1.6-configs/releases/tag/release-piControl-2.0)**: pre-industrial control with prescribed CO2 concentrations πŸš€ **[esm-piControl](https://github.com/ACCESS-NRI/access-esm1.6-configs/releases/tag/release-esm-piControl-2.0)**: pre-industrial control with prescribed CO2 emissions πŸš€ **[historical](https://github.com/ACCESS-NRI/access-esm1.6-configs/releases/tag/release-historical-1.2)**: time varying historical (1850-2021) with prescribed CO2 concentrations πŸš€ **[esm-historical](https://github.com/ACCESS-NRI/access-esm1.6-configs/releases/tag/release-esm-historical-1.2)**: time varying historical (1850-2021) with prescribed CO2 concentrations The two piControl configurations are released at version 2.0, the two historicals are at version 1.2. These versions reproduce the experiments that will be submitted to the [NCI ESGF Data Node](https://esgf.nci.org.au) for ACCESS-ESM1.6. A model description paper for the model is in preparation. If needed, the model [DOI](https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17490072) can be cited in the interim. For each configuration, released experiments are provided in the [jq44](https://my.nci.org.au/mancini/project/jq44) project. Released experiments include model diagnostic output and restarts in the model’s native output format to meet the [ACCESS Data Output Specification](https://access-output-data-specifications.readthedocs.io). There are single experiments for the two piControl configurations, and the first member of a multi-member ensemble for the historical configurations. Post-processed versions of these datasets to meet the [CMIP7 data specification](https://guidance.mipcvs.dev/CMIP7/data_specs_version/#3-current-version) will be published soon through the [NCI ESGF Data Node](https://esgf.nci.org.au). ## How to use **Refer to the [Run ACCESS-ESM1.6 instructions](https://docs.access-hive.org.au/models/run_a_model/run_access-esm1p6/)**. This page includes instructions to get a MOSRS account as a prerequisite to running the model. Details on the experiments outputs and where to find data are at [Published Data - ACCESS-ESM1.6-Configs](https://access-esm1p6-configs.access-hive.org.au/configs_experiments/data/). Experiments will soon be available to access through the `access-nri-intake` catalog. ## Features βœ… Earth System Model with carbon cycling βœ… Builds upon the well characterised and understood ACCESS-ESM1.5 model. βœ… New ocean BGC model, WOMBATlite, with an updated Fe cycle, photo-acclimation of phytoplankton, spatially variable sinking rates of particulate organic matter, and improved CO2 fluxes. βœ… Updated CABLE to CABLE 3 and, principally, the addition of two Australian tree types and wood thinning. βœ… Updated sea ice model, CICE5 with improved model diagnostics and implementation of spreading of iceberg meltwater into the ocean βœ… Updated version of MOM5 to include improvements from ACCESS-OM2 development βœ… Incremental updates to all model components and dependencies, including updated coupler (OASIS3-MCT), netcdf and openmpi versions. βœ… Performance: 26 model years / day, 1KSU / model year using [5-nodes](https://github.com/ACCESS-NRI/access-model-scaling/blob/main/ACCESS-ESM1.6/dev-preindustrial%2Bconcentrations.ipynb) on [Sapphire Rapids](https://nci.org.au/infrastructure/hpc-systems) βœ… Multiple diagnostic profiles with easy switching, using CMIP7 variable names where practical βœ… Disk usage: 6-17G / model year (depending on profile choices) ## Limitations πŸ›‘ High [salinity in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea](https://github.com/ACCESS-NRI/access-esm1.6-configs/issues/127) πŸ›‘ Ocean age tracer doesn’t reflect true β€œage” of water, as it [was reset to zero](https://github.com/ACCESS-NRI/access-esm1.6-configs/issues/703) at the start of piControl experiments. πŸ›‘ Some diagnostics were fixed after experiments had been run. In re-runs of piControl and esm-piControl experiments using the latest executable, ocean age tracer diagnostic are [not bit-for-bit identical with published output](https://github.com/ACCESS-NRI/access-esm1.6-configs/pull/707#issuecomment-4285786198). In re-runs of piControl experiment, atmospheric CO2 tracer diagnostics are [not identical with published output](https://github.com/ACCESS-NRI/UM7/issues/208). πŸ›‘ Some drift in global water mass over time πŸ›‘ Restart files are not backwards compatible with ACCESS-ESM1.5, due to different Land, Ocean BGC and Sea Ice models. πŸ›‘ Configurations require a 1-year run length ## Known Issues ⚠ Land-use Change: There are some [unallocated variables](https://github.com/ACCESS-NRI/UM7/issues/224) representing tiles for land use. This means some land-use fields are not redistributed properly between years. The impact is well within the ensemble spread of the historical simulations. ⚠ Occasional [failures converting atmosphere output](https://github.com/ACCESS-NRI/access-esm1.6-configs/issues/79) to NetCDF The model description paper in preparation will provide more details on these Features and Limitations. ## Credits ⭐ Science developments and updates were lead by CSIRO: @RachelLaw @tiloz @inh599 @Jhan @pearseb @matthew.chamberlain @dhb599 @alexnorton ⭐ Model build and deployment: @harshula @Aidan @TommyGatti @paulleopardi @dougiesquire @anton @lachlanswhyborn @manodeep ⭐ `payu` development: @jo-basevi @Aidan@Qianhui_Chen @anton @spencerwong ⭐ Atmosphere: @MartinDix @spencerwong ⭐ Ocean: @dougiesquire @pearseb @spencerwong @ezhilsabareesh8 @cbull @AndyHoggANU ⭐ Sea Ice: @anton @spencerwong @sofarrell ⭐ Land: @clairecarouge @lachlanswhyborn @Jhan @alexnorton @inh599 @MartinDix @RachelLaw ⭐ CMIP7 forcings: @paulleopardi @atteggiani @spencerwong @MartinDix ⭐ Documentation: @clairecarouge @spencerwong @anton @heidi @atteggiani @lachlanswhyborn ⭐ Data specification and um2nc: @joshuatorrance @spencerwong @atteggiani @bend ## Support Replies to this topic are disabled. If you have specific questions about **this release** [follow the guidelines for requesting support from ACCESS-NRI](https://forum.access-hive.org.au/t/access-help-and-support/908). If you have questions about #access-esm create a topic in #Earth System and tag it with #access-esm. If you require assistance [follow the guidelines for requesting help](https://forum.access-hive.org.au/t/access-help-and-support/908). ## Resources - Model configuration documentation: [https://access-esm1p6-configs.access-hive.org.au/](https://access-esm1p6-configs.access-hive.org.au/) - Model configuration repository: [GitHub - ACCESS-NRI/access-esm1.6-configs: Standard ACCESS-ESM1.6 configurations released and supported by ACCESS-NRI. Admins: @Whyborn, @blimlim, @anton-seaice Β· GitHub](https://github.com/ACCESS-NRI/access-esm1.6-configs/) - Model Software DOI: [ACCESS-ESM1.6 Release | Zenodo](https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17490072) . ---
**Author:** ![anton](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/forum.access-hive.org.au/anton/32/1836_2.png) [@anton](https://forum.access-hive.org.au/u/anton)\ **Post date:** [28 August 2026 04:37 UTC](https://forum.access-hive.org.au/t/access-esm1-6-release-information/6755/3 "2026-08-28T04:37:09Z")
---
**Author:** ![spencerwong](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/forum.access-hive.org.au/spencerwong/32/1894_2.png) [@spencerwong](https://forum.access-hive.org.au/u/spencerwong)\ **Post date:** [17 September 2026 23:06 UTC](https://forum.access-hive.org.au/t/access-esm1-6-release-information/6755/4 "2026-09-17T23:06:36Z")
# **ACCESS-ESM1.6** πŸš€ **Configuration release** : [Configuration release-piControl-2.1](https://github.com/ACCESS-NRI/access-esm1.6-configs/releases/tag/release-piControl-2.1) [Configuration release-esm-piControl-2.1](https://github.com/ACCESS-NRI/access-esm1.6-configs/releases#release-release-esm-piControl-2.1) [Configuration release-historical-1.3](https://github.com/ACCESS-NRI/access-esm1.6-configs/releases#release-release-historical-1.3) [Configuration release-esm-historical-1.3](https://github.com/ACCESS-NRI/access-esm1.6-configs/releases#release-release-esm-historical-1.3) This is a minor configuration release, and the new configuration versions produce bitwise identical results compared to their previous versions. The changes will affect output filenames and netCDF metadata. ## Updates βœ… Change to ocean output filenames in the β€œstandard” output profile to make them compliant with the ACCESS-NRI data specifications [#1033](https://github.com/ACCESS-NRI/access-esm1.6-configs/issues/1033). βœ… Fix `geospatial_lon_(min/max)` and `geospatial_lat_(min/max)` global attributes for each component in post-processed netCDF output [#1020](https://github.com/ACCESS-NRI/access-esm1.6-configs/issues/1020). βœ… Remove incorrect `time: bounds` attribute from static and instantaneous output variables [#1035](https://github.com/ACCESS-NRI/access-esm1.6-configs/issues/1035) ## How to use **Refer to the [Run ACCESS-ESM1.6 instructions](https://docs.access-hive.org.au/models/run_a_model/run_access-esm1p6/)**. This page includes instructions to get a MOSRS account as a prerequisite to running the model. Details on the experiments outputs and where to find data are at [Published Data - ACCESS-ESM1.6-Configs](https://access-esm1p6-configs.access-hive.org.au/configs_experiments/data/) . Experiments will soon be available to access through the `access-nri-intake` catalog. ## **Limitations** πŸ›‘ High [salinity in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea](https://github.com/ACCESS-NRI/access-esm1.6-configs/issues/127) πŸ›‘ Ocean age tracer doesn’t reflect true β€œage” of water, as it [was reset to zero](https://github.com/ACCESS-NRI/access-esm1.6-configs/issues/703) at the start of piControl experiments. πŸ›‘ Some diagnostics were fixed after experiments had been run. In re-runs of piControl and esm-piControl experiments using the latest executable, ocean age tracer diagnostic are [not bit-for-bit identical with published output](https://github.com/ACCESS-NRI/access-esm1.6-configs/pull/707#issuecomment-4285786198). In re-runs of piControl experiment, atmospheric CO2 tracer diagnostics are [not identical with published output](https://github.com/ACCESS-NRI/UM7/issues/208). πŸ›‘ Some drift in global water mass over time πŸ›‘ Restart files are not backwards compatible with ACCESS-ESM1.5, due to different Land, Ocean BGC and Sea Ice models. πŸ›‘ Configurations require a 1-year run length ## **Known Issues** ⚠ Land-use Change: There are some [unallocated variables](https://github.com/ACCESS-NRI/UM7/issues/224) representing tiles for land use. This means some land-use fields are not redistributed properly between years. The impact is well within the ensemble spread of the historical simulations. ⚠ Occasional [failures converting atmosphere output](https://github.com/ACCESS-NRI/access-esm1.6-configs/issues/79) to NetCDF The model description paper in preparation will provide more details on these Features and Limitations. ## **Credits** ⭐ Science developments and updates were lead by CSIRO: @RachelLaw @tiloz @inh599 @Jhan @pearseb @matthew.chamberlain @dhb599 @alexnorton ⭐ Model build and deployment: @harshula @Aidan @TommyGatti @paulleopardi @dougiesquire @anton @lachlanswhyborn @manodeep ⭐ `payu` development: @jo-basevi @Aidan @Qianhui_Chen @anton @spencerwong ⭐ Atmosphere: @MartinDix @spencerwong ⭐ Ocean: @dougiesquire @pearseb @spencerwong @ezhilsabareesh8 @cbull @AndyHoggANU ⭐ Sea Ice: @anton @spencerwong @sofarrell ⭐ Land: @clairecarouge @lachlanswhyborn @Jhan @alexnorton @inh599 @MartinDix @RachelLaw ⭐ CMIP7 forcings: @paulleopardi @atteggiani @spencerwong @MartinDix ⭐ Documentation: @clairecarouge @spencerwong @anton @heidi @atteggiani @lachlanswhyborn ⭐ Data specification and um2nc: @joshuatorrance @spencerwong @atteggiani @bend ## **Support** Replies to this topic are disabled. If you have specific questions about **this release** [follow the guidelines for requesting support from ACCESS-NRI](https://forum.access-hive.org.au/t/access-help-and-support/908). If you have questions about #access-esm create a topic in #Earth System and tag it with #access-esm. If you require assistance [follow the guidelines for requesting help](https://forum.access-hive.org.au/t/access-help-and-support/908). ## **Resources** - Model configuration documentation: [https://access-esm1p6-configs.access-hive.org.au/](https://access-esm1p6-configs.access-hive.org.au/) - Model configuration repository: [GitHub - ACCESS-NRI/access-esm1.6-configs: Standard ACCESS-ESM1.6 configurations released and supported by ACCESS-NRI. Admins: @Whyborn, @blimlim, @anton-seaice Β· GitHub](https://github.com/ACCESS-NRI/access-esm1.6-configs/) - Model Software DOI: [https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17490072](https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17490072) .