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Why are ocean models important?

July 19, 2023 1:35 pm Published by Comments Off on Why are ocean models important?

Ocean models are important because the ocean acts as a buffer for climate change. It does this by absorbing heat and carbon dioxide associated with human activities.  Ocean models are a useful tool to study the ocean and to understand how it is changing. Understanding ocean circulation around Antarctica is critical to understanding global sea level rise and the 3-dimensional circulation of the global ocean. Unfortunately, observations of this very remote region are limited. Ocean models are therefore a crucial tool... View Article

What is a Weather Forecast Model?

July 19, 2023 1:10 pm Published by Comments Off on What is a Weather Forecast Model?

A Weather Forecast Model is used to forecast the weather of tomorrow, or a few days into the future. The model uses detailed information from satellites, surface observations, aircraft and ships to produce the best possible knowledge of the atmosphere, ocean and land. These observations are brought together in the form of an initial state for the model and this initial state is evolved forward in time on a large computer system for a number of days. One of the... View Article

How accurate have climate models been so far?

July 18, 2023 1:15 pm Published by Comments Off on How accurate have climate models been so far?

Climate models are continuously evolving and improving, becoming more skilful tools that provide us with an indication of what our future may look like.  Climate models have improved over time. The figure below shows the projected global temperature change from various models, since the early 1970s, and how the observations compared to the models. Although some models show higher or lower warming than observed, climate models have proved to be generally in agreement with observations. All the models show surface... View Article