Review of climate simulation by Simple Climate Models

Romero-Prieto, Alejandro; Mathison, Camilla; Smith, Chris

doi:10.5194/gmd-19-115-2026

Articles | Volume 19, issue 1

https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-19-115-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-19-115-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 19, issue 1

Review and perspective paper

| Highlight paper

|

07 Jan 2026

Review and perspective paper | Highlight paper |

| 07 Jan 2026

Review of climate simulation by Simple Climate Models

Alejandro Romero-Prieto, Camilla Mathison, and Chris Smith

Model code and software

Archive of models reviewed in "Review of climate simulation by simple climate models" Alejandro Romero-Prieto https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15600556

ciceroOslo/ciceroscm: Paper submission with doi (v1.1.1) Marit Sandstad et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10548720

FaIR calibration data Chris Smith https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10566813

christianstassen/greb-hydro-develop-gmd: A Hydrological Cycle Model for the Globally Resolved Energy Balance Model (GREB) v1.0 Christian Stassen https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.2232282

Hector a simple carbon-climate model Kalyn Dorheim et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10698028

tsutsui1872/mce: Minimal CMIP Emulator (MCE v1.2.1) Junichi Tsutsui https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5574895

A cost-benefit Integrated Assessment Model (CB-IAM) v1.0 Xuanming Su https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11928479

WASP-ESM/WASP_Earth_System_Model: WASP_Earth_System_Model_v3.0_March2021 WASP Earth System Model https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4639491

Short summary

Simple Climate Models (SCMs) are widely used tools to explore how Earth's climate may change in the future. In recent decades, the number and types of SCMs have increased significantly, hindering efforts to understand cross-model differences. In this study, we provide an overview of the main principles guiding climate simulation by SCMs, as well as a description of most high-profile SCMs. This work offers a clear reference to support the informed use of these important tools.