Computer-driven climate models are simplifications of the real world with attempt to understand the dynamics of the climate system and to assess the impacts of various climate change projections. They are the primary tools used today in climate change research. Until now, however, they have been little more than a “black box” to most people. As a practical matter, few scientists have had access to climate models, which typically required supercomputing facilities and skilled programmers to run. The resulting lack of familiarity with climate modeling techniques has often engendered public distrust of important scientific findings based on such methodologies.
This research, supervised by Renee Sieber and conducted by Jian Zhou, aims to integrate a climate model with a digital earth. An application will wrap complex computer modeling programs with a graphical interface familiar to most personal computer users, creating a platform for the public to explore the subject of climate change. It is hoped that the public will become knowledgeable about a global environmental change that will profoundly impact the Earth’s environmental health as well as the world’s economic and geopolitical landscape over the coming decades.
