ECMWF Copernicus Procurement · 2015. 11. 11. · (EUCP) (3). 3 Technical Specifications 3.1...

ECMWF Copernicus Procurement

Invitation to Tender

Copernicus Climate Change Service

Volume II

Global climate projections: data access,

product generation and impact of front-

line developments

ITT Ref: C3S_34a

ISSUED BY: ECMWF Administration Department Procurement Section

Date: 7 October 2015

Version: Final

of 17 C3S_34a: Global Climate Projections

Table of Contents 1 Introduction to the Project ............................................................................................................. 3

1.1 Definitions ............................................................................................................................... 3

2 Project Summary ............................................................................................................................. 5

3 Technical Specifications .................................................................................................................. 6

3.1 Background information on the Climate Data Store .............................................................. 6

3.2 General requirements ............................................................................................................. 6

3.2.1 User interaction .............................................................................................................. 6

3.3 Specific requirements ............................................................................................................. 6

3.3.1 Lot 1: Provision of support to one Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF) node in

Europe ......................................................................................................................................... 7

3.3.2 Lot 2: Multi-model product generation .......................................................................... 8

3.3.3 Lot 3: Roadmap toward a reference set of climate projections for Europe (EUCP). ...... 8

3.4 Performance Requirements .................................................................................................. 11

3.4.1 Schedule ........................................................................................................................ 11

3.4.2 Deliverables ................................................................................................................... 12

3.4.3 Data delivery requirements .......................................................................................... 13

3.4.4 Key Performance Indicators .......................................................................................... 15

4 Tender Format .............................................................................................................................. 15

4.1 Page limits ............................................................................................................................. 15

4.2 Specific additional instructions for the suppliers’ response ................................................. 16

4.2.1 Track Record ................................................................................................................. 16

4.2.2 Quality of resources to be deployed ............................................................................. 16

4.2.3 Technical Solution proposed ......................................................................................... 17

4.2.4 Management and implementation ............................................................................... 17


1 Introduction to the Project The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) responds to environmental and societal challenges

associated with human-induced climate changes.

The Climate Change Service will combine observations of the climate system with the latest science

to develop authoritative, quality-assured information about the past, current and future states of

the climate in Europe and worldwide.

The Service will build upon and complement capabilities existing at national level and being

developed through a number of climate-change research initiatives. It will become a major

contribution from the European Union to the WMO Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS)

and its Climate Monitoring Architecture.

The Service will provide comprehensive climate information covering a wide range of components of

the Earth-system (atmosphere, land, ocean, sea-ice and carbon) and timescales spanning decades to

centuries (i.e. based on the instrumental record). It will maximise the use of past, current and future

earth observations (from in-situ and satellite observing systems) in conjunction with modelling,

supercomputing and networking capabilities. This conjunction will produce a consistent,

comprehensive and credible description of the past, current and future climate.

This wealth of climate information will be the basis for generating a wide variety of sectoral climate

impact indicators aimed at supporting adaptation and mitigation policies in Europe in a number of

sectors. Various components of this climate information will be made available through a distributed

Climate Data Store (see definition below). An initial portfolio of the Climate Data Store is described

under section 3.1. This particular ITT will be dedicated to the provision and assessment of global

projections produced with coupled general circulation models (CGCM) for different emission

scenarios, complemented by multi-decadal simulations for historical climate conditions performed

by the same CGCMs.

The implementation of C3S is divided in several phases, with the goal of reaching an operational

status by 2019 onwards. The first phase covers two years and is dedicated to a proof-of-concept

(PoC) of the overall architecture of the Service, the definition of the content of the different

components of the Service, and prototyping activities. This PoC will be followed by a one year pre-

operational phase, during which the processes within each component and interfaces between

components of the Service will be consolidated.

1.1 Definitions C3S Data Portal provides access to the Climate Data Store (CDS), a facility for providing information

about past, present and future climate in terms of Essential Climate Variables data products and

derived climate indicators.

CDS catalogue and toolbox: The CDS catalogue is a list of data, products, services and tools that will

be made available to users. The CDS toolbox is a set of tools that can operate on data and products

of the CDS and that can be invoked by the users of the C3S Data Portal.

Sectoral Information System (SIS): C3S SIS will deliver information tailored to the needs of end users

and customers of the service for various EU sectoral policies (i.e., Agriculture and Forestry, Coastal

areas, Infrastructure, Water management, Biodiversity, Disaster risk reduction, Health, Marine and

fisheries) or other Societal Benefit Areas (SBAs). The SIS will be supplied primarily by data and

products available from the CDS and complemented, where appropriate, by ancillary datasets (e.g.,


population density, land use, ..) needed to address, for instance, sector specific climate impacts at

European scales.

Essential Climate Variables (ECVs) are variables or groups of linked variables that critically

contribute to the characterization of Earth's climate, as defined in Bojinski et al (2014)1 and GCOS

(2010)2

CMIP5/CMIP6 are the short names for the stage 5 and stage 6 of the Coupled Model

Intercomparison Project. The experiments performed under CMIP5 are described in Taylor et al.

(2012)3, and are divided into three priority categories (Core, Tier-1, Tier-2). This particular ITT is

concerned with the long-term component of CMIP5, and specifically with experiments belonging to

the Core and Tier-1 categories. Detailed protocols for CMIP6 experiments and sub-projects are

currently being finalised.

Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) are four greenhouse gas concentration (not

emissions) trajectories adopted by the IPCC for its fifth Assessment Report (AR5) in 2014. It

supersedes Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES) projections published in 2000.

Application software: The Climate Data Store (CDS) will contain a toolbox, allowing the

development of interactive web-based applications. The toolbox will be composed of tools that

perform operations on data and products, such as computation of statistics, sub-setting, averaging,

value at points, etc. It is expected that data and products generated by the SIS will be made available

via the CDS and will be used for the development of applications. Tools, for the purpose of this

tender have to be programmed preferably in Python (standard C/C++/Fortran tools are also

acceptable) and Tenderers are encouraged to use Matplotlib and interfaces to R such as rpy2. All

applications have to be executable on Unix/Linux.

A Climate Indicator is an aggregate quantitative measure used to illustrate and communicate the

impact of climate change on complex environmental phenomena in terms of trends and variability.

Estimates of ECVs and associated climate indicators may be derived from reanalyses, seasonal

forecasts and climate projections as well as observations.

Sectoral climate impact indicators use climate indicators or ECV data products and add sector-

specific information (e.g. based on socio-economic data) and specialised post-processing (e.g.

involving a physical or statistical modelling chain) to expose the impact of climate change in a form

that is useful to decision makers.

A demonstrator is the product actually used in demonstrations to prospective customers or end-

users including prototyping services.

1 Stephan Bojinski, Michel Verstraete, Thomas C. Peterson, Carolin Richter, Adrian Simmons, and

Michael Zemp, 2014: The Concept of Essential Climate Variables in Support of Climate Research,

Applications, and Policy. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 95, 1431–1443. doi:

http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-13-00047.1

2 GCOS, 2010: Implementation plan for the global observing system for climate in support of the UNFCCC (2010 update). GCOS Rep. 138, 186 pp. Available online at www.wmo.int/pages/prog/gcos/Publications/gcos-138.pdf 3 Karl Taylor, Ronald J. Stouffer, and Gerald A. Meehl, 2012: An Overview of CMIP5and the Experiment Design. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 93, 485-498. DOI:10.1175/BAMS-D-11-00094.1

http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-13-00047.1http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/gcos/Publications/gcos-138.pdfhttp://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/gcos/Publications/gcos-138.pdf


The Water Sector is defined as the sector that will address all aspects of water resource and risk

management and the water-related industries.

The Energy Sector is defined by the totality of all of the industries and services involved in the

production and sale of energy, including fuel extraction, manufacturing, refining and distribution to

users.

The Agriculture and Forestry Sector is defined as any manufacturing or trade based on the growing

and/or harvesting of organic commodities. This includes all livestock and livestock products, food

and other agricultural products, forest products, and all associated services.

The Health Sector is defined as the people, institutions and resources, arranged together in

accordance with established policies, whose primary purpose is to promote, restore and maintain

health. It includes government ministries and departments, hospitals and other health services,

health insurance schemes, voluntary and private organizations in health, as well as the

pharmaceutical industry and drug wholesale companies.

The Coastal Areas Sector is defined by the totality of all industries and services located

geographically at the interface or transition areas between land and sea, including large inland lakes.

The Insurance Sector is defined by the totality of all industries and services related to insurance

which are impacted by climate change and variability including futures markets.

The Tourism Sector is defined by the totality of all industries and services related to tourism.

Tourism is defined as the activities of persons who travel to and stay in places outside their usual

environment for more than twenty-four (24) hours and not more than one consecutive year for

leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from

within the place visited.

The Infrastructure Sector is defined as all physical and organizational structures and facilities needed

for the operation of a society or enterprise.

2 Project Summary ECMWF invites tenders for the provision and assessment of historical climate simulations and global

climate projections for different emission scenarios produced with atmospheric and coupled general

circulation models (AGCM and CGCM), to be developed during the proof-of-concept and pre-

operational stage of the Service. Specific aspects covered by this particular ITT include providing

access to data from historical simulations and climate projections at global level, developing multi-

model products focussed on projected values of selected Essential Climate Variables (ECVs), and

assessing the potential benefit of improving specific aspects in the production of climate projections

(e.g. with respect to the standards specified in international inter-comparison projects). A common

goal across the C3S activities is a comprehensive assessment of the projection uncertainties, with

estimations of the roles played by different emission scenarios, global and regional model

formulation, and internal climate variability. This particular ITT covers activities to be developed

during the proof-of-concept and pre-operational stage of the Service. In these stages, C3S products

and activities will be mainly based on simulations already available and produced under the CMIP5

protocol. Minimum standards will be required in order to allow the production of reliable

probabilistic multi-model products, and metrics to assess the capability of individual models in

simulating relevant aspects of the climate system will be defined and computed. At the same time,

actions will be promoted to assess progress in simulations performed with a new generation of

global models, including those which are going to contribute to the High Resolution component of


CMIP6 and to related Horizon 2020 projects. Specifically, the contract will be divided into 3 lots:

Provision of support to one Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF) node in Europe (1), Multi-model

product generation (2), and roadmap toward a reference set of climate projections for Europe

(EUCP) (3).

3 Technical Specifications

3.1 Background information on the Climate Data Store The Climate Data Store (CDS) is a core element of the C3S and is the subject of another ITT. It is

designed to provide access to data and information about past, present and future climate change in

terms of Essential Climate Variables and derived climate indicators. CDS information products will

make use of data sets describing the physical climate system, in four major categories:

Climate reanalyses at global and regional scales

Climate observations and ECV products other than reanalyses

Multi-model seasonal forecasting products

Multi-model climate projections at global and regional scales

A technical infrastructure for the CDS is currently being developed as part of the PoC phase of the

C3S. The envisioned infrastructure, when ready, will provide access to CDS data content and

toolboxes that can be used to generate new products and services for C3S. The toolbox component

is also intended to facilitate scientific assessments of climate data sets.

During the PoC phase, and until a fully functional CDS becomes available, C3S activities will focus on

a provisional list of existing climate data sets and products as indicated in Table 1, as well as

Appendix 2 of Blunden, J. and D. S. Arndt, Eds., 2015: State of the Climate in 2014. Bull. Amer.

Meteor. Soc., 96 (7), S1–S267.

For the purpose of this ITT ECMWF will provide access to archived data sets and observations as well

as web-based tools for data selection and visualization when available. Tools currently being

developed include a Climate Monitoring Facility for comparing gridded ECV products, as well as an

Observation Feedback Archive providing access to observations used in ECMWF global reanalyses.

3.2 General requirements

3.2.1 User interaction A central responsibility of C3S will be to continually collect and analyse feedback from users in order

to maintain requirements that meet their evolving needs. ECMWF will provide the first level of user

support. This will be implemented by means of a help desk, with a level of service (e.g. office hours,

time guaranteed for a response) adjusted taking into consideration the user requirements. User

queries of a more specialised nature will be referred to the relevant C3S service providers and shall

be answered within reasonable time. During the contract phase corresponding to the PoC, the

Tenderer, as part of its response, is therefore requested to provide a workflow methodology for

responding to user requests and a mechanism to continually improve user interactions. This is

applicable to each of the three lots of this ITT.

3.3 Specific requirements Beyond the requirements described in Section 3.2 and that apply to each of the three lots, the

following lot-specific requirements shall also be addressed by the Tenderer.


3.3.1 Lot 1: Provision of support to one Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF) node in

Europe The goal of this lot is to facilitate access and processing of existing global climate projections from

the CMIP5 archive via a suitably designed interface to the C3S Climate Data Store (CDS). In order to

assess the fidelity of the models and to estimate model biases and uncertainties, control and

historical simulations performed by the same GCMs must also be accessible.

The focus of this particular lot is on non-initialized scenario simulations running up to 2100. The

potential advantages of using initialized simulations for the next few decades will be explored in Lot

3, with the goal of including initialized climate predictions into the subsequent operational phase of

C3S.

With reference to the CMIP5 experiment summary by Taylor et al. (2012), access is requested to the

following simulations:

EC: Pre-industrial control with prescribed, non-evolving concentrations of atmospheric gases

and aerosols (1 run) [CMIP5 Core]

EH1: Historical ensemble, 1850 to at least 2005, imposed changing concentrations and

forcings, minimum of 3-member ensemble [CMIP5 Core + Tier-1]

EH2: AMIP ensemble, 1979 to at least 2008, prescribed SST and sea-ice concentration, other

forcings as in Historical ensemble above, minimum of 3-member ensemble. [CMIP5 Core +

Tier-1]

EP1: Projection following RCP4.5 emission scenario, years 2006-2100, minimum of 3-

member ensemble [CMIP Core + ensemble extension]


member ensemble [CMIP Core + ensemble extension]

If available for the same models, the following simulations should be added:


member ensemble [CMIP Tier-1 + ensemble extension]

EP4: Projection following RCP6 emission scenario, years 2006-2100, minimum of 3-member

ensemble [CMIP Tier-1 + ensemble extension]

The ensemble extensions to the Core/Tier-1 CMIP5 minimum requirements for the 2006-2100

projections (highlighted in bold) is requested in order to provide estimates of uncertainties arising

from internal variability.

Only data from GCMs providing all the requested (EC, EH1, EH2, EP1, EP2) simulations will be

included in the CDS. Therefore, the Tenderer is not required to provide access to the whole CMIP5

archive, but only to a selected subset of data. A minimum set of model variables and levels is

specified in Table 2. For such a subset, the Tenderer is required to guarantee access (as a minimum,

on a UK working hour basis) from the web portal of C3S Climate Data Store through a user-friendly

interface, to be designed in collaboration with ECMWF. All data have to be provided in

internationally accepted formats (eg CF-compliant NetCDF)

The Tenderer is also requested to implement appropriate protocols (eg OPeNDAP) to allow

computations from stored data on local servers. The Tenderer may either work in collaboration with

other ESGF nodes to improve connectivity and data exchange among different nodes (eg through

initiatives developed by the ESGF Compute Working Team), or have a sufficiently large subset of

CMIP5 data available on a local storage system. In replying to the ITT, the Tenderer is requested to


provide a list of data on which remote computation can be performed and a description of the

implemented protocol.

3.3.2 Lot 2: Multi-model product generation The first deliverable under this lot is the definition of metrics aimed at quantifying the fidelity of

available climate models in simulating historical climate condition, and the application of these

metrics to the CMIP5 historical simulation datasets which will be served by C3S. These metrics will

be computed making use of observations and reanalyses from the C3S Climate Data Store, and will

be translated into quality flags to be used for the selection of the appropriate input to specific

applications. In addition to well established metrics focussed on model mean state (eg Reichler and

Kim 2008) 4, the Tenderer is requested to develop metrics representative of model variability on

different time scales, from the intra-seasonal to the inter-decadal.

The second set of deliverables is a set of interactive tools for the generation of both generic

products (for example, maps of intra-ensemble variability for different models and scenarios, etc.),

and tailored products for at least four economic sectors (including energy and water). For climate

projections, the main purpose of the generic products is to quantify the expected geographical

distribution of changes in ECVs for future periods (of eg 10-, 20- or 30-year duration) with respect to

an historical reference (eg 1981-2010), and the uncertainties attributed to a) different emission

scenarios, b) different GCMs and c) natural climate variability. In addition to geographical maps, the

interactive tools will allow the computation of time series for indices of relevant phenomena, such

as ENSO and teleconnection patterns (eg NAO).

Tailored products have to be developed in consultation with contributors to the Sectoral Information

System (SIS). For example, operators in the energy sectors may require products quantifying the

frequency of cold spells and heat waves, while water managers may require information on the

probability and duration of droughts. The interface for the generation of these products has to be

designed in such a way as to allow the selection of GCM data based on quality flags derived from

appropriate metrics computed for the historical period.

Products developed under this lot are expected to be generated from model data served by the CDS

during the pre-operational phase. However, since the CDS access to CMIP data will be developed

during the Proof-of-Concept phase (see Lot-1 of this ITT), the Tenderer may get input data directly

through existing ESGF nodes during the development phase. All code developed for the generation

of products has to be written using well-recognized languages and standards. If public-domain

software is used, source code needs to be accessible.

In replying to this ITT, the tenderer needs to provide a list of the generic and sector-specific products

they intend to develop, with examples of graphical output for at least three generic products and

two sector-specific products.

4 Thomas Reichler and Junsu Kim, 2008: How Well Do Coupled Models Simulate Today’s Climate?

Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 89, 303-311. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-89-3-303

3.3.3 Lot 3: Roadmap toward a reference set of climate projections for Europe (EUCP). This lot will fund impact studies to assess the benefit of additional resources for front-line global

simulations, in order to guide requirements and resource allocations for the operational phase of

C3S. These studies will respond to sectoral (and associated ECV) requirements, by analysing how

CMIP6/MIPs address these best.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-89-3-303


One area of interest is the comparative benefit of increased ensemble size versus resolution for

global models, using for example simulations following the standard proposed for the CMIP6

HighResMIP as a reference, and linking the results to the specific needs of different economic

sectors. Specific issues to be addressed by this study include the reliability of probabilistic estimates

and the ability to simulate high-impact events.

The second area of interest is the benefit of initialised projections for the first half of the 21st

Century, with a focus on pros and cons of estimating multi-decadal signals in the presence of a

drifting model climate, and their consequences in terms of climate information to be used by

sectoral applications.

Explicit links to relevant FP7/H2020 projects and CMIP5/CMIP6 simulations will be required for both

studies. The Tenderer is expected to make use of existing model simulations for the recent historical

period (1950 onwards) and the next few decades, possibly complemented by additional simulations

if necessary (eg additional ensemble members, initial dates, new initial conditions from recent re-

analyses). A scientific plan, including research target and a list of required model data, must be

provided in replying to the ITT for this lot.

Table 1 Climate datasets expected to be accessible via the Climate Data Store at an early stage

Product name

ECVs Spatial extent

Spatial resolution

Time extent Temporal resolution

Source

Gridded observational products

CRUTEM4 Air temperature

Land 5o x 5o 1850-2013 monthly CRU

GISTEMP Land 2o x 2o 1880-2013 monthly NASA

GPCC

Precipitation

Land 1o x 1o 1900-2010 monthly DWD/WMO

GPCP Global 1o x 1o 1979-2013 monthly NASA

GPCP Global 1o x 1o 1996-present daily NASA

E-OBS Air temperature, pressure, precipitation

Europe 0.25o x

0.25o 1950-2013 daily KNMI/EUM

ETNET/FP7

HadISST2 Sea-surface temperature, sea ice

Global Variable 1850-2010 monthly Hadley Ctr

CLARA-A1

Cloud properties, Earth radiation budget

Global 0.25o x

0.25o 1982-2009 monthly CM-SAF

MVIRI Europe+ 0.03o x

0.03o 1983-2005 sub-daily CM-SAF

HOAPS Ocean 0.5o x 0.5o 1987-2008 daily CM-SAF

QA4ECV Albedo

Land 0.05o x

0.05o 1982-present weekly FP7

SAF_ECV tbd

Global tbd tbd tbd EUMETSAT_SAF

CCI_ECV tbd

Global tbd tbd tbd ESA partners

Climate reanalyses

ERA-Interim Temperature, pressure, wind, precipitation, water vapour, cloud properties, Earth radiation budget

Global 80 km 1979-NRT sub-daily ECMWF

ERA-20C Global 125 km 1900-2010 sub-daily FP7

ERA-20CL Global 25 km 1900-2010 sub-daily FP7

JRA-55 Global 1.25o x

1.25o 1958-NRT sub-daily JMA

MERRA Global 0.67o x 0.5o 1979-NRT sub-daily NASA


Product name

ECVs Spatial extent

Spatial resolution

Time extent Temporal resolution

Source

ERA5-NRT Global 40 km 1979-NRT sub-daily ECMWF

ERA-CLIM2 Global 125 km 1900-2010 sub-daily FP7

UERRA Europe


29. Total runoff

30. Surface snow amount

31. Sea surface temperature

32. Sea surface salinity

33. Sea surface height above geoid

34. Sea ice fraction

35. Sea ice thickness

36. Snow depth over sea ice

37. Sea ice + snow amount

38. Se ice surface temperature

2.2 Monthly means, 3-dim fields on pressure level fields (1000, 925, 850, 700, 600, 500, 400, 300,

250, 200, 150, 100, 70, 50, 30, 20, 10 hPA)

1. Air temperature

2. U-wind

3. V-wind

4. Specific humidity

5. Relative humidity

6. Geopotential height

2.3 Daily means, 2-dim fields

1. Near-surface (2m) air temperature (SAT)

2. Daily max SAT

3. Daily min SAT

4. Sea-level pressure

5. Near-surface (10m) wind speed

6. Near-surface specific humidity

7. Precipitation

3.4 Performance Requirements

3.4.1 Schedule The projects span 39 months for lots one and two, and 27 months for lot three.

The successful Tenderer for each Lot is expected to provide a detailed time plan and schedule as part

of the tender response. The proposed time plan and schedule shall address the main tasks, inputs,

outputs, intermediate review steps, milestones, deliverables and dates. Regular progress meetings

will be held with ECMWF during the contract to assess project status, risks and actions.

ECMWF has to prepare annual Implementation Plans, which must be approved by the European

Commission before they can enter into force. The implementation plans will take full stock of service

reviews, performed thoroughly on an annual basis, as well as of the continuously evolving user

requirements and corresponding service specifications. The successful Tenderer shall therefore

provide each year for ECMWF approval an updated detailed plan of proposed activities including

Deliverables and Milestones, using the Work Package table template in Volume IIIB, which will form

part of this Implementation Plan. The successful Tenderer has to report on a quarterly and annual

basis (for more details please see Volume V Framework Agreement for this ITT).

ECMWF will organise annual meetings to bring together all C3S service providers. The successful

Tenderer is expected to attend these meetings. The Tenderer is also expected to attend monthly


teleconference meetings to discuss C3S service provision, service evolution and other topics that cut

across different aspects of C3S. The cost of attending these meetings shall be covered by each

successful Tenderer and shall be included in the tendered price.

The cost of organising and attending lot-specific meetings included in the list of Deliverables below

shall also be covered by each successful Tenderer and shall be included in the tendered price.

3.4.2 Deliverables All project reports shall be produced in English. The quality of reports and deliverables shall be

equivalent to the standard of peer-reviewed publications and practice. Unless otherwise specified in

the specific contract, deliverables shall be made available to ECMWF in electronic format

(pdf/MSWord/ MS Excel or compatible).

3.4.2.1 Lot 1

D1.1 The Tenderer is expected to provide access to data from at least five models which provide

data for the simulations listed in Section 3.3.1 . In the PoC phase, only a subset of the fields specified

by the CMIP5 Standard Output (http://cmip-pcmdi.llnl.gov/cmip5/data_description.html) has to be

accessible on a working-hour basis (9am to 5pm, UK time); this subset should include enough data to

allow the development of both general and sector-specific products. A minimum list of fields, which

should be available for all models, is provided in table 2.

D1.2 The Tenderer is expected to deliver a software solution (including a web interface) to allow

computations on stored data to be performed on local servers, with results sent to the client in

graphical and/or numerical form. Specifically, this facility should be able to access data stored at

daily and sub-daily intervals in order to compute appropriate statistics (eg frequency of days with

temperature or rainfall exceeding a given threshold). The Lot1 Tenderer is expected to interact with

the Lot-2 Tenderer in order to make sure that the multi-model product developed under Lot-2 can

be efficiently computed using the implemented software.

D1.3 The Lot-1 tenderer will organize a workshop (together with the Lot-2 Tenderer) aimed at

optimising the interactions between the two Lots and agree on a consolidated list of input data to be

provided as an input to the product-generation software during the Pre-Operational and Operational

phases of C3S. The Lot-1 tenderer will cover 50% of the organization costs.

3.4.2.2 Lot 2

D2.1 The Tenderer will deliver software to compute and display a set of metrics quantifying the

ability of climate models to represent the observed mean state and variability of the climate system

during a 30-year portion of the historical record.

D2.2 The Tenderer will deliver software to compute generic multi-model products in terms of

geographical (global grid-point) fields representing relevant model statistics (eg ensemble mean

anomalies, indices of internal variability, indices of inter-model differences, frequencies of anomalies

exceeding a given percentile or fixed threshold). Output should be available to the user in both

graphical and numerical form.

D2.3 The Tenderer will deliver software to compute single-model and multi-model time series of

climate indices, for both pre-defined indices (eg NINO3.4 SST anomaly) or defined interactively by

the user as a linear combination of averages over specified grid-boxes (eg teleconnection indices

defined as differences between anomalies averaged over 2 to 4 rectangular regions). Output should

be available to the user in both graphical and numerical form


D2.4 The Tenderer will deliver software to compute products tailored for application in four of the

socio-economic sectors described in Section 2, including water and energy. The Tenderer is expected

to interact with the contributors to SIS for the definition of these products. Output should be

available to the user in both graphical and numerical form.

D2.5 The Lot-2 tenderer will organize a workshop (together with the Lot-1 Tenderer) aimed at

optimising the interactions between the two Lots and agree on a consolidated list of input data to be

provided as an input to the product-generation software during the Pre-Operational and Operational

phases of C3S. The Lot-2 tenderer will cover 50% of the organization costs.

For all the deliverables, input data is supposed to be included in CMIP5 standard output and, for

verification data, in the re-analysis and observational databases available from the CDS and

described in Table 1. The Lot-2 Tenderer is expected to interact with the Lot-1 Tenderer in order to

make sure that, in the pre-operational phase of C3S, the multi-model product developed under Lot-2

can be efficiently computed using data and software provided under Lot-1.

3.4.2.3 Lot 3

D3.1 The Tenderer is expected to deliver a scientific report on the comparative

advantages/disadvantages of increased model resolution versus increased ensemble size in the

simulation of climate scenarios. The report should include a general-science part and at least three

case studies focussed on phenomena relevant to sectoral application (see definitions of socio-

economic sectors in Section 2).

D3.2 The Tenderer is expected to deliver a scientific report on the comparative

advantages/disadvantages of using initialized vs. non-initialized scenario simulations for the period

2021-2050. The report should include a general-science part and at least three case studies focussed

on phenomena relevant to sectoral application (see definitions of socio-economic sectors in Section

2).

D3.3 The Lot-3 tenderer will organize a workshop with relevant scientific institution to discuss and

propose a roadmap towards the inclusion of initialised decadal predictions in the Operational phase

of C3S.

For both reports, input data may come from the CMIP5 archive, preliminary CMIP6 results, FP7 and

H2020 projects. The report should indicate what results are available and what developments are

expected to take place under current international and EU-funded projects in the specific areas

addressed by the report. The reports are expected to guide the definition of requirements for the

operational phase of C3S in the area of global climate projections.

3.4.3 Data delivery requirements It is expected that datasets generated or acquired by the Tenderers will be delivered by them to the

Climate Data Store. The section below indicates generic requirements for these datasets in terms of

standards and conformity.

3.4.3.1 Climate Data Store (CDS) requirements:

(Note that these requirements are generic to all ITTs and will strictly apply when the CDS is fully

developed, which will not be the case during the proof-of-concept and preoperational phase of the

Service. However, the standards to comply with will be a prerequisite for any future integration.)

3.4.3.1.1 Provision of data and products

Suppliers will make the output of their work available to C3S users via the CDS.


They can do so by either of the following methods:

a) uploading their data and products to a designated server,

b) providing them via web services.

In the case of (a), suppliers will have to agree with ECMWF on the data formats to be used. ECMWF

will only accept data in formats that follow internationally recognised standards. Such standards

must be open (i.e. non-proprietary), managed by a recognised international standardisation body

(e.g. ISO, WMO, OGC, etc.), or any de-facto standard. Open source software should also exist that

can read and write files of these standards. Serialisation formats (e.g. NetCDF, XML, JSON) should be

supported by standard schemas and conventions. All text-based formats should be encoded in UTF-

8. ECMWF will implement tools to check the compliance of the provided data and products to the

agreed standards before they are added to the CDS.

Examples of case (a) are data uploaded to the CDS in WMO GRIB edition 1 and 2, NetCDF files

conforming to CF-1.6, or greater.

In the case of (b), suppliers will have to agree with ECMWF on the protocols to be used to invoke the

web services. ECMWF will only accept protocols that follow internationally recognised standards.

Such standards must be open (i.e. non-proprietary), managed by a recognised international

standardisation process (e.g. ISO, WMO, OGC, etc), or be a de-facto standard such as OpenDAP.

ECMWF will consider using bespoke web-based APIs to access the data and products if they

implement very simple protocols (e.g. REST), as long as the results returned by these APIs are

compatible with (a). It should be noted that requests for these web services will mostly originate

from the Climate Data Store itself, as part of a workflow run on behalf of an end-user; ECMWF will

therefore need to have the necessary credentials to invoke these services. ECMWF will not provide

information on the end user’s identity when invoking the web services. ECMWF will nevertheless

collect usage statistics for all aspects of C3S.

Examples of case (b) are OGC standards (WMS, WCF, WFS, etc), OpenDAP, etc. Other protocols

could be considered as the system evolves.

Every dataset and/or service provided will have to be documented using the appropriate metadata

standards (e.g. ISO19115).

3.4.3.1.2 Provision of processing capabilities

Suppliers will (when appropriate) implement specific web-service-based data manipulation

facilities. These will make it possible to run some agreed reduction and/or analysis algorithms

directly on the data and products located on the suppliers’ systems, and to return the results of said

algorithms.

As for data retrievals, invocation of these web services will mostly originate from the Climate Data

Store itself as part of a workflow run on behalf of an end user, and ECMWF will need to have the

necessary end-user credentials to invoke these services. ECMWF will not provide information on the

end user’s identity when invoking the web services. ECMWF will nevertheless collect usage statistics.

ECMWF will ensure that these services are invoked in a controlled fashion, to prevent any misuse of

the system. This web services will be implemented with OGC’s WPS standards or will be based on

simple web-based REST API or equivalent. The results returned by these services will have to be in

formats compatible with options (a) or (b) described above.


Data, products and services which are available to users in the Climate Data Store should follow the

European Commission’s free and open data policy.

3.4.3.2 Data and IPR

It is a condition of EU funding for C3S that ownership of the datasets passes from the suppliers to

the EC, via ECMWF. Ownership will pass on delivery of the datasets. In return, the suppliers will be

granted a non-exclusive licence to use the datasets which they have provided to C3S for any purpose

except one which conflicts with the aims of C3S.

All software and products used by the successful Tenderer to produce the C3S datasets will remain

the property of the successful Tenderer, except for those components which are acquired or created

specifically for C3S purposes, with C3S funding, and which are separable and useable in isolation

from the rest of the successful Tenderers’ production system. The identity and ownership of such

exceptional components will be passed to the EC via ECMWF annually, but in return the successful

Tenderer will be granted a non-exclusive licence to use them for any purpose except one which

conflicts with the aims of C3S.

Detailed contractual terms, including terms to give effect to the arrangements described above, are

set out in the terms and conditions for this ITT (Volume V of the ITT documents).

3.4.4 Key Performance Indicators The successful tenderer will develop a set of specific, measurable, assignable, reasonable and time

related (SMART) key performance indicators (KPI), that will allow an efficient monitoring of the

Service performance. The proposal shall contain a preliminary set of KPI’s. One KPI is that

deliverables be of sufficiently high quality to enable acceptance at a final user consolidation

workshop by key stakeholders from the EC, ECMWF and SIS users. Organisation of the workshops

will be part of the individual lots (Section 3.4.1). The list of key stakeholders will be defined at the

beginning of the project in consultation with the successful Tenderers.

4 Tender Format General guidelines for the tender are described in Volume IIIB. Specific requirements for this

particular ITT are described in the next few sub-sections.

4.1 Page limits As a guideline, it is expected that individual sections of the Tenderer’s response do not exceed the

page limits listed below. These are advisory limits and should be followed wherever possible, to

avoid excessive or wordy responses.

Table 3 Page limits

Section Page Limit

Track Record 1 (for general) and 2 (per entity)

Quality of resources to be deployed 2 (excluding Table 1 in Volume IIIB and CVs with a maximum length of 2 pages each)

Technical Solution proposed 12 (Table 2 in Volume IIIB, the section on references, publications, patents and any pre-existing IPR is excluded from the page limit and has no page limit)

Management and Implementation 5 (excluding Table 3 and Table 5 in Volume IIIB) + 2 per each Work package description (Table 4 in Volume IIIB)

Pricing Table No limitation


4.2 Specific additional instructions for the suppliers’ response The following is a guide to the minimum content expected to be included in each section, additional

to the content described in the general guidelines of Volume IIIB. This is not an exhaustive

description and additional information may be necessary depending on the Tenderer response.

4.2.1 Track Record The Tenderer for itself and any proposed subcontractors shall demonstrate that they have

participated in national or international research and private sector projects in the last 5 years for

the area for which this tender is proposed (climate science, climate data records, climate

monitoring, climate projections, scenarios and impacts). ECMWF may ask for evidence of

performance in the form of certificates issued or countersigned by the competent authority.

4.2.2 Quality of resources to be deployed The Tenderer shall propose a team that meets the following requirements:

The Tenderer’s Project Leader has substantial experience (e.g. a PhD or equivalent) in the

remit of the lot of the tender and 6 years' experience related to the climate change area

demonstrated through participation in scientific or industrial projects. He/she is a project

manager, as demonstrated by an appropriate qualification (PRINCE2, university degree) or

the equivalent of at least 2 years’ documented experience. He/she has a minimum of 3

years' experience in managing projects of the same size as this Tender in the area of climate

science, climate data records, climate monitoring, climate projections, scenarios and

impacts.

Individual lots have additional requirements which are listed below.

4.2.2.1 Lot 1

At least one member of the team has a university degree (or equivalent) and more than 5

years' experience in Information Technology with experience in hardware/software

solutions for handling and accessing large archives of geophysical data.

4.2.2.2 Lot 2


years' experience in diagnostics and validation of gridded data produced by climate models,

or post-secondary education and more than 6 years of relevant experience in relevant area

demonstrated through participation in multiple scientific or industrial projects during the

last 10 years.


years' experience in statistical modelling and post-processing of geophysical data, collecting

user and stakeholder feedback, or post-secondary education and more than 6 years of

relevant experience demonstrated through participation in multiple scientific or industrial

projects during the last 10 years

4.2.2.3 Lot 3

For each of two areas of investigation addressed by this lot, at least one member of the

team has a university degree (or equivalent) and more than 5 years' experience in climate

modelling, with particular experience in diagnostics of multi-model climate predictions and

projections, or post-secondary education and more than 6 years of relevant experience in

relevant area demonstrated through participation in multiple scientific or industrial projects

during the last 10 years.


The Tenderer shall also describe any additional resources which will be deployed.

4.2.3 Technical Solution proposed

4.2.3.1 Background

The Tenderer is expected to provide a short background on the proposed technical solution to

demonstrate their understanding of that solution. This should include background on the Tenderer’s

understanding of the Copernicus Climate Change Service. This section should contain a review of

existing material relevant to the tender and highlight gaps which need to be addressed.

4.2.3.1.1 User requirements, climate data inventory

For each lot, the tender is also expected to describe the approach to engage with the users via

workshops and consultation (this applies to all lots) and collect information on existing climate

datasets. It is expected that the latter will include a review of published documents and literature by

the scientific community.

In addition, the Tenderer shall also list potential parties with which the Tenderer already has a

substantial relationship which can be approached to participate in workshops and interviews.

4.2.3.2 Methods

This section should contain an exhaustive and detailed description of the methods which will be

used in this tender for performing and documenting the scientific assessments and

recommendations, and a clear pathway for interacting with ECMWF.

4.2.3.3 Table of compliance

The Tenderer should include a statement of compliance for each requirement formulated in this

document. This statement can be provided in the form of a summary compliance table.

4.2.4 Management and implementation For each lot, the Tenderer shall provide a detailed implementation plan of proposed activities for the

duration specified under each lot. The number of deliverables should at least cover those specified

in section 3.4.2. The number of milestones is not restricted. Adjustments to the proposed

implementation plan can be made on an annual basis depending on needs for service evolution,

changed user requirements, or other requirements as agreed between the European Commission

and ECMWF.

As part of the general project management description the Tenderer shall consider the following

elements (this is not an exhaustive list):

Quarterly, annual and final reports shall be provided in accordance with the Framework

Agreement Article 2.3.

Implementation plan for the year N+1 shall be provided in February of the year N for

ECMWF approval.

Monthly teleconferences with ECMWF and a proposal for involvement of ECMWF in major

project reviews shall be provided as part of the management plan.

A proposed payment plan shall be provided as part of the proposal. The payment plan shall

be based on quarterly payments for routine services work packages and shall be based on

milestones completion and associated deliverables for development related activities.

A list of sub-contractors describing their contribution and key personnel, legal name and

address shall be provided. The tenderer shall describe how the Framework Agreement, in

particular Clause 2.9 has been flowed down to all their sub-contractors.

ECMWF Copernicus Procurement · 2015. 11. 11. · (EUCP) (3). 3 Technical Specifications 3.1...

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