The Climatological Data Ocean Model (docn) functions as the ocean component in a CCSM configuration. Recall that a configuration consists of various independent component models (e.g. atmosphere, land, ocean, sea-ice), each connected to a coupler. The data ocean component interacts with the coupler just like any ocean model would, but it is not an active model. Rather, it takes SST data from an input data file and sends it to the coupler, ignoring any forcing data received from the coupler. The input data file may contain either climatological SST data (e.g. from Shea, Trenberth, & Reynolds) or a time series of multi-year data. Such a "data model" is useful for coupling active atmosphere and land models with climatological or multi-year SST forcing data.
Important note: When assembling a CCSM configuration, the user must carefully consider the limitations and requirements of all components and make sure that the complete set of component models will interact in a meaningful way. In particular, the user must verify that the data provided by this model is adequate for their specific application.