Organised by the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry in Jena, Germany, and hosted by Lund’s Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science (INES), the two-day meeting brought together over 50 scientists working at the intersection of climate modelling, AI, and Earth system science.
Bridging AI and Climate Modelling
AI4PEX—short for Artificial Intelligence for Process Enhancement in Earth System Models—is a collaborative effort involving 18 partner institutions across nine countries. The goal is to develop hybrid modelling frameworks that combine machine learning with physically based process models to better simulate how our planet’s land, atmosphere, and oceans behave, especially under the influence of extreme events.
Topics discussed at the Lund meeting ranged from simulating extreme weather impacts on forests, to modelling ocean heatwaves and carbon exchange, to improving cloud representation in climate models. While much of the project is still in early development, the consortium is now entering its second year, and several prototype tools and hybrid model components are beginning to emerge.
Lund's Role: LPJ-GUESS and Forest Resilience
Lund University plays a key role in the land system part of the project. The LPJ-GUESS dynamic vegetation model, developed at INES, is being further refined to better represent how forests grow, die, and respond to stress under a changing climate.
In parallel, Lund researchers are helping to develop new evaluation datasets and benchmarking tools for assessing whether AI-enhanced models are genuinely improving predictions. These tools are critical for validating results across domains and ensuring reproducibility.
“It's really exciting to be able to unite together these powerful tools of process-modelling, big data and AI in one workflow to push forward our understanding of Earth system processes.” — Thomas Pugh, Senior Lecturer, Dept. of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science (INES), Lund University
The work also connects closely with MERGE, Lund University’s strategic research environment for modelling the regional and global Earth system (www.merge.lu.se). MERGE’s focus areas—such as terrestrial biosphere dynamics, biogeochemical cycles, and climate system feedbacks—overlap strongly with AI4PEX objectives, and several Lund participants are active in both initiatives.
A Meeting of Minds
A central theme of the Lund meeting was knowledge exchange between disciplines—bringing together ecologists, atmospheric scientists, oceanographers, and AI experts. Sessions included work package updates, presentations and collaborative planning for cross-domain integration of land, atmosphere, and ocean models.
As AI4PEX progresses, more public tools, datasets, and scientific outputs are expected to be released, supporting a new generation of models for understanding the Earth system in an era of rapid change.
For more information about the project, visit www.ai4pex.org