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Model Code

The Mars Climate Modeling Center (MCMC) has publicly released the source code for two Mars Global Climate Models (MGCMs).

Artist rendering of MCMC's MGCM high resolution cubed-sphere grid.

The MCMC maintains the source code for two MGCMs on NASA’s GitHub (links below). Both MGCMs simulate the Martian atmosphere and climate, including seasonal cycles of CO2, dust, and water. 

  1. FV3-based MGCM – A modern model that uses the NOAA GFDL cubed-sphere finite volume dynamical core. It is highly parallelized and scaleable, which allows for higher-resolution simulations and faster throughput. However, it requires at least six computational cores and is more complex to install and run. 
  2. Legacy MGCM – An older model that uses the Arakawa “C” grid latitude/longitude dynamical core. It runs serially, so it is slower, but it is relatively simple to set up and execute.

After running the MGCM, the output can be explored using CAP (see the Model Analysis Tools tab)

Model code

The FV3-based GCM

The FV3-based MGCM source code and user manual are available on NASA’s GitHub.

Link to the FV3 GCM on GitHub
An artist’s rendering of a cubed-sphere grid
NASA/Courtney Batterson

If you use the FV3-based GCM in your research, please cite the specific version:

FV3-based GCM Version 3.2 (APA):

NASA Ames Mars Climate Modeling Center. (2024, December 6). Ames Mars GCM (Version 3.2) [Computer software]. NASA GitHub. https://doi.org/10.25966/ty4s-w176

FV3-based GCM Version 3.1 (APA):

NASA Ames Mars Climate Modeling Center. (2024, January 17). Ames Mars GCM (Version 3.1) [Computer software]. NASA GitHub. https://doi.org/10.25966/ty4s-w176

FV3-based GCM Version 3.0 (APA):

NASA Ames Mars Climate Modeling Center. (2023, November 29). Ames Mars GCM (Version 3.0) [Computer software]. NASA GitHub. https://doi.org/10.25966/ty4s-w17

Model code

The Legacy GCM

The Legacy MGCM source code and user manual are available on NASA’s GitHub.

Link to the Legacy GCM on GitHub
An artist’s rendering of a lat-lon grid
NASA/Courtney Batterson

If you use the Legacy GCM in your research, please cite it as follows:

Legacy Mars GCM (APA):

NASA Ames Mars Climate Modeling Center (2023, April 12). NASA Ames Legacy Mars Global Climate Model [Computer software]. NASA GitHub. https://doi.org/10.25966/3tpw-nt26

Key Publications:

Haberle et al., 2019 (APA):

Haberle, R.M., Kahre, M.A., Hollingsworth, J.L., Montmessin, F., Wilson, R.J., Urata, R.A., … Brecht, A.S., Kling, A.L.M., & Schaeffer, J.R. (2019). Documentation of the NASA/Ames Legacy Mars Global Climate Model: Simulations of the present seasonal water cycle. Icarus, 333, 130–164. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2019.03.026

Kahre et al., 2023 (APA):

Kahre, M.A., Haberle, R.M., Wilson, R.J., Urata, R.A., Steakley, K.E., Brecht, A.S., Bertrand, T., Kling, A.L.M., Batterson, C.M.L., Hartwick, V.L., Harman, C.E., & Gkouvelis, L. (2023). The NASA Ames legacy Mars global climate model: Radiation code error correction and new baseline water cycle simulation. Icarus, 400, 115561–115561. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2023.115561

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NASA/Courtney Batterson