the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
| 12 Sep 2025
The Atmospheric Composition Component of the ICON modeling framework: ICON-ART version 2025.04
Abstract. Accurate and efficient modeling of atmospheric composition, including aerosols and trace gases and their interactions with radiation, clouds, and dynamics is essential for improving predictions of air quality, weather, climate, and related health impacts. The ART (Aerosols and Reactive Trace gases) component extends the ICOsahedral Nonhydrostatic (ICON) modeling framework by enabling online, fully coupled simulations of atmospheric composition processes across scales. ART includes modules for emissions, transport, gas-phase chemistry, and aerosol microphysics in both the troposphere and stratosphere, allowing for the investigation of feedbacks between atmospheric composition and physical processes from the large-eddy to global scale.
This paper presents an updated overview of the ICON-ART framework as implemented in version 2025.04, highlighting recent developments in emission parameterizations, chemical mechanisms, aerosol processes, and coupling to the physical core of ICON via aerosol–radiation and aerosol–cloud interactions. We summarize the structure of the code infrastructure and demonstrate the model’s flexibility and scalability across a wide range of applications. ICON-ART provides a unified and modular platform for research and operational use in atmospheric composition, bridging the gap between regional air quality modeling and global Earth system simulations.
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CEC1: 'No compliance with the policy of the journal', Juan Antonio Añel, 06 Oct 2025
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AC1: 'Reply on CEC1', Gholam Ali Hoshyaripour, 08 Oct 2025
Dear Prof. Añel,
Thank you for your message and for clarifying the journal’s data availability policy.
Regarding the CERES SSF Level 2 data, these datasets are publicly available from NASA’s Atmospheric Science Data Center (ASDC) in accordance with the NASA Earthdata User Policy. This policy allows free access to the data via the Earthdata portal (after a one-time registration) but does not permit redistribution by third parties. Therefore, we are not allowed to republish these data ourselves. We will revise our Data Availability statement accordingly to include the dataset DOI and official access link from NASA ASDC with the following text:
The CERES SSF Level 2 data used in this study were obtained from NASA’s Langley Research Center (LaRC) Atmospheric Science Data Center (ASDC) and are available at https://doi.org/10.5067/TERRA/CERES/SSF_Terra-FM1_L2.004A (NASA/LARC/SD/ASDC, 2014b) and https://doi.org/10.5067/AQUA/CERES/SSF-FM3_L2.004A (NASA/LARC/SD/ASDC, 2014a).
The data are in the public domain; however, access requires a free Earthdata login, and restrictions related to U.S. export control regulations (e.g., ITAR, EAR, or OFAC) may apply to users in certain countries.As for the ICON-ART simulation outputs, we fully acknowledge the open-data requirement and are in the process of preparing and organizing the datasets for upload to a public repository (e.g., KITopen or Zenodo). The data will be made available with a DOI, and this information will be added to the manuscript as soon as possible.
While we fully respect and support the journal’s commitment to open data, we would like to note that it took approximately two months for the manuscript to be assigned to an editor and three months for this issue to be raised. We understand the editorial workload and appreciate the effort involved, but such checks at an earlier stage would make the review process more efficient for all parties. Uploading the simulation data will not take us nearly as long, and we are committed to addressing this promptly.
Thank you for your understanding and for your continued consideration of our manuscript.
Regards,
Ali Hoshyaripour
Karlsruhe Institute of TechnologyCitation: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3400-AC1 -
CEC2: 'Reply on AC1', Juan Antonio Añel, 08 Oct 2025
Dear authors,
Thanks for your reply. We are aware that the CERES data are available on the NASA webpage; however, the NASA webpage is not a suitable repository for the long-term preservation of data which can be used for publishing a paper, and data is a crucial part of the publication of your work. Therefore, please store the CERES data that you have used for your work in a suitable repository, as listed in our policy, and reply to this comment with its permanent handler and link.
Juan A. Añel
Geosci. Model Dev. Executive Editor
Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3400-CEC2 -
AC2: 'Reply on CEC2', Gholam Ali Hoshyaripour, 15 Oct 2025
Dear Prof. Añel,
As requested, we have revised the Data Availability section to fully comply with the policy. The updated text reads as follows:
CERES SSF Level 2 data were obtained from the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) Atmospheric Science Data Center (ASDC) and are available at https://asdc.larc.nasa.gov/data/CERES/SSF (access requires an Earthdata login). The CERES data remapped to the ICON R03B06 grid and the ICON-ART simulation outputs used to produce the figures in this study are openly available at https://doi.org/10.35097/yuabhmjfkj38kyen. The data related to Fig 4 are available at https://dx.doi.org/10.35097/01n9a0gccv6f2ggk.
As promised, we have completed this step promptly to ensure full transparency and accessibility of our data. We hope that with this revision, the manuscript now meets all requirements and that the review process can proceed without further delay.
Kind regards,
Ali Hoshyaripour
Karlsruhe Institute of TechnologyCitation: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3400-AC2 -
CEC3: 'Reply on AC2', Juan Antonio Añel, 15 Oct 2025
Dear authors,
Thanks for addressing this issue. We can consider now the current version of your manuscript in compliance with the Code and Data policy of the journal.
Juan A. Añel
Geosci. Model Dev. Executive Editor
Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3400-CEC3
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CEC3: 'Reply on AC2', Juan Antonio Añel, 15 Oct 2025
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CC1: 'Reply on CEC2', Axel Seifert, 15 Oct 2025
Dear Juan A. Añel,
Just for clarification and future publications in GMD: For example, in this recent GMD paper
Glauch, T., Marshall, J., Gerbig, C., Botía, S., Gałkowski, M., Vardag, S. N., and Butz, A.: pyVPRM: a next-generation vegetation photosynthesis and respiration model for the post-MODIS era, Geosci. Model Dev., 18, 4713–4742, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-4713-2025, 2025.
MODIS data has been used. As far as I can see, the data availability only provides the links to the MODIS archive at NASA. I don't see that the authors have copied the NASA data to another long-term archive. Why is this okay for MODIS but not for CERES?
Best regards, Axel SeifertCitation: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3400-CC1 -
CEC4: 'Reply on CC1', Juan Antonio Añel, 15 Oct 2025
Dear Axel Seifert,
In this case, you are right when pointing out this inconsistency. The sites linked in the paper you mention are not permanent repositories and should not have been accepted, as is the case with CERES in this manuscript. Unfortunately, the topical editor of the mentioned paper and I failed to follow up on this issue with the authors. On my side, I probably missed the email alert regarding the authors ' reply to my initial comment (which did not solve all the outstanding issues). In summary, the manuscript should not have been accepted with such a flaw.
It is our policy not to retract papers that have failed to comply with the Code and Data policy, as we consider ourselves responsible for ensuring compliance. Editors should carefully check manuscripts submitted to the journal for adherence to our policy.
I hope this clarifies the inconsistency pointed out regarding the application of the policy.Juan A. Añel
Geosci. Model Dev. Executive Editor
Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3400-CEC4
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CEC4: 'Reply on CC1', Juan Antonio Añel, 15 Oct 2025
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AC2: 'Reply on CEC2', Gholam Ali Hoshyaripour, 15 Oct 2025
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CEC2: 'Reply on AC1', Juan Antonio Añel, 08 Oct 2025
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AC1: 'Reply on CEC1', Gholam Ali Hoshyaripour, 08 Oct 2025
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RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2025-3400', Anonymous Referee #1, 13 Oct 2025
This manuscript by Hoshyaripour et al., entitled ‘The Atmospheric Composition Component of the ICON modeling framework….’, provides a comprehensive and updated overview of the ICON-ART model version 25.04, with a particular focus on recent developments in key components such as emissions, chemical mechanisms, and aerosol processes. It further details the coupling of these components with the physical core of the model, aimed at enhancing the representation of aerosol–radiation and aerosol–cloud interactions. Additionally, the paper outlines the structural organization of the model code and evaluates its computational feasibility.
This work is thus essential for gaining an in-depth understanding of the ICON-ART model architecture and serves as a valuable reference for users seeking to become familiar with its structural and coding framework. A concise review of the relevant literature related to the individual components of ICON-ART is also provided. The manuscript effectively demonstrates the model’s capability in simulating aerosol interactions with both radiation and clouds, and discusses the mechanisms through which such interactions are implemented across different model components. Overall, the manuscript is well written, and the mathematical formulations are presented in a clear and concise manner. Upon addressing the issues and suggestions outlined below, this manuscript may be considered suitable for publication.The large number of the acronyms has been used in the whole manuscript and it is suggested to add a separate Appendix describing this manuscript. The caption of the Table and Figure could be modified to be self-explanatory. e.g., Table 1-2 give the brief overview of the Basis v Implementation. It can re-written what basis is about etc.
As noted in lines 43–45, previous work with ICON-ART has been acknowledged, while this manuscript aims to present an updated overview. However, it would be helpful to clarify which components are entirely new in the version 25.04 and which represent updates to existing implementations. For instance, while the Online Emission Model (OEM) is mentioned as part of version 25.04, the manuscript does not clearly indicate how this anthropogenic emission component was handled in earlier versions. In contrast, Section 2.3, which covers volcanic eruptions, provides an excellent and detailed account of the updates made—offering a useful model for how other sections might be strengthened with similar clarity.
Section 5.2 provides a comprehensive description of the CCN activation and its coupling with ICON microphysics for liquid-phase clouds. While the methodological explanation is clear, given that ACI is emphasized in the abstract as a key development, this section could be further strengthened by including a brief quantitative validation or sensitivity analysis demonstrating the realized impact of ACI. The INAS-based treatment for ice-phase ACI is still under development and may be incorporated in future work.
Emission processes such as desert dust and biogenic VOCs (e.g., VPRM, mentioned later) are not discussed in the manuscript. It is suggested to include a brief discussion at the end of these in Section 2, or alternatively, add short descriptions to Table 1 (e.g., in Basis column) to make their inclusion and treatment clearer.
Specific Comment:Line 28-29 Page2: Repetition in the abbreviation defining, ICON, ART etc.
Line 52-53: The reference needed which describe OEM in COSMO-ART.
Line 68: Hermes or HERMES (High-Elective Resolution Modelling Emission System)?
Line 67 Is there anything missing in the line ‘[e.g.,][]’ ?Line 175-180: The new Grythe et al. (2014) sea‐salt emission parametrization is introduced in Section 2.4. A brief quantitative or visual comparison with the Monahan scheme could further illustrate the improvement in sea‐salt emission estimates.
Line 211: Meccatracer?
Line 424-426: The sedimentation terms in Equations (12)–(13) use inconsistent symbols (Φ → Ψ). Please ensure consistent notation for the prognostic variable, either using the hat over Ψ throughout or omitting it consistently.Line 515: ARI is already defined earlier in text.
The sub‐labels in Figure 9 are difficult to read due to the white font color. Consider enclosing the letters in a contrasting box or background to improve visibility.
Line 697: Online Emission Module→ OEM
Line 712-713: vegetation photosynthesis and respiration model (VPRM)?
Appendix D and E do not seem cited or discussed in the text.
Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3400-RC1 -
RC2: 'Comment on egusphere-2025-3400', Tabish Ansari, 19 Oct 2025
The comment was uploaded in the form of a supplement: https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2025/egusphere-2025-3400/egusphere-2025-3400-RC2-supplement.pdf
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Dear authors,
Unfortunately, after checking your manuscript, it has come to our attention that it does not comply with our "Code and Data Policy".
https://www.geoscientific-model-development.net/policies/code_and_data_policy.html
In your manuscript you state that "CERES SSF Level 2 data were obtained from NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) Atmospheric Sciences Data Center (ASDC) at https://asdc.larc.nasa.gov/data/CERES/SSF (link requires Earthdata login). After the completion of review processe, the output from ICON-ART simulations generated in this study will be uploaded on Radar4KIT. For any inquiries about the data from this study please contact Ali Hoshyaripour (ali.hoshyaripour@kit.edu)".
The policy of our journal establishes clearly that all the data necessary to replicate a study must be published openly accessible, without limitations, and in one of the suitable repositories listed in our policy before submitting a manuscript to the journal. It is clear that this is not the case for the CERES and the output of the ICON-ART simulations. Therefore, the current situation with your manuscript is irregular. Please, publish the mentioned data in one of the appropriate repositories and reply to this comment with the relevant information (link and a permanent identifier for it (e.g. DOI)) as soon as possible, as we can not accept manuscripts in Discussions that do not comply with our policy.
I must note that if you do not fix this problem, we cannot continue with the peer-review process or accept your manuscript for publication in our journal..
Juan A. Añel
Geosci. Model Dev. Executive Editor