Improving the Effectiveness of US Climate Modeling

About this book

Information derived from climate modeling has become increasingly important in recent years. More and more we understand that climate variability and change impacts society and that dealing with climate-related disasters, conflicts, and opportunities requires the best possible information about the past, present, and future of the climate system. To this end, Improving the Effectiveness of U.S. Climate Modeling describes ways to improve the efficacy of the U.S. climate modeling enterprise, given the current needs and resources. It discusses enhanced and stable resources for modeling activities, focused and centralized operational activities, how to give researchers access to the best computing facilities, the creation of a common modeling and data infrastructure, and research studies on the socioeconomic aspects of climate and climate modeling.

Contents

Executive Summary; Questioning the Effectiveness of U.S. Climate Modeling; Climate Models, Observations, and Computer Architectures; Model Construction; Observations and Climate Models; Purposes of Climate Modeling; Computer Architectures in Support of Climate Modeling; State of U.S. Climate Modeling; Models; Computing; Human Resources; The High-End Centers; Organizational Background; Summary of High-End Capabilities in the United States; Increased Societal Demands on U.S. Modeling; Ozone Assessments; IPCC; U.S. National Assessment; Seasonal-to-Interannual Forecasting; Decadal and Longer Variability; Responding to Climate Modeling Requirements; Computational Resources Required; Will Massively Parallel Architectures Satisfy Our Needs?; The Need for Centralized Facilities and Operations; Fostering Cooperation With a Common Modeling Infrastructure; Human Resources; Need for Climate Services and Management Issues; Rewarding the Transition Within the Research Community; Providing the Best Possible Service to an Informed Public; Summary; Improving the Effectiveness of U.S. Climate Modeling; A Vision for the Future; Climate Research and Climate Operations; Mutual Interactions and Mutual Benefits Between Climate Research and Climate Operations From Vision to Reality; References; Appendixes; A Steering Committee and Staff Biographies; B Capacity of U.S. Climate Modeling to Support Climate Change Assessment Activities; C Questionnaire Sent to Large and Intermediate Modeling Centers; D Questionnaire Sent to Small Modeling Centers; E Climate Modeling Survey: Summary Responses; F Workshop Agenda; G Workshop Participants; H Summary of Other Relevant Reports; I Description of Different Codes; J Acronyms

Customer Reviews

Biography

Panel on Improving the Effectiveness of U.S. Climate Modeling, Commission on Geosciences, Environment and Resources, National Research Council