NOAA

Geophysical Fluid
Dynamics Laboratory

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gfdl's home page > research > climate dynamics and prediction

Climate Dynamics and Prediction Group

  research group members  

(employees of noaa/gfdl unless otherwise noted)
Decadal to Centennial Time Scale Climate Research (DecCen)
Thomas L. Delworth
Group Head, DecCen Lead
Keith Dixon
Kirsten Findell
William J. Hurlin
Thomas R. Knutson
Ronald J. Stouffer
Richard T. Wetherald
Michael Winton
Fanrong Zeng
Rong Zhang
Hyun-Chul Lee (rsis)
Michael J. Spelman (rsis)
Seasonal to Interannual Time Scale Climate Research
Anthony J. Rosati
SI Lead
C. Tony Gordon
Rich G. Gudgel
Matthew J. Harrison
Joseph J. Sirutis
William F. Stern
Robert D. Smith
Andrew Wittenberg
Qian Song (visiting scientist)
Shaoqing Zhang (visiting scientist)
Land Processes & Climate
P.C.D. Milly (usgs)
Land Lead
Krista Dunne (usgs)
Sergey Malyshev (princeton univ)
Elena Shevliakova (princeton univ)
Youlong Xia (princeton univ)
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  group goals & purpose  

To develop and use computer models of the atmosphere-ocean- ice-land system in order to:
  • identify and elucidate the physical and dynamical mechanisms which maintain climate and cause its variations on seasonal to centennial time scales
  • assess and understand the predictability of the climate system on seasonal and longer time scales, including the El Niño phenomenon
  • evaluate the impact of human activity on the Earth's climate system

GFDL's Climate Dynamics and Prediction Group is charged with studying and modeling climate phenomena on seasonal to multi-century time scales. The group's work is highly relevant to key elements of of the NOAA Strategic Vision, especially Mission Goal 2 to "Understand climate variability and change to enhance society's ability to respond". You may learn more about NOAA's goals by viewing the PDF file entitled New Priorities for the 21st Century: NOAA's Strategic Vision.

In addition to examining a wide range of climate time scales, various members of the group have expertise spanning the expansive set of complex and interconnected parts that together constitute the Earth's physical climate system (this includes the atmosphere, ocean, land surface and sea ice). Group members participate in the development, testing, application, and analysis of numerical models of the climate system. Running on supercomputers, these models are the research tools used by group members to both advance our understanding of the Earth's climate system and to generate products relevent to assessment and policy decision support.

  research summaries, data products, picture galleries, & news  

[GFDL Highlights Icon]

GFDL Climate Modeling Research Highlights:

For policymakers, students, and the public. This set of summaries, graphics, and animations is focused on the simulation of global climate, greenhouse gas-induced climate change, and related topics. These GFDL research efforts are relevant to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment report (AR4) and the US Climate Change Research Program (US CCSP).

[GFDL CM2.1 model T icon]

Main Page for GFDL Climate Modeling Research Highlights
You may select PDF summaries or graphics galleries for individual topics from the two pull-down menus found below.

Research Summaries (PDF)

Climate Modeling Graphics & Animations

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[el nino icon]
An animation from GFDL's El Niño forecasting research.

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On-line Datasets

 
DecCen Model Data Products:

Global climate model output produced by several of GFDL's recent experiments is available for download. Many of these experiments were conducted in association with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the US Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) efforts. Output files from GFDL's CM2 global coupled climate models can be accessed from The GFDL Data Portal.
(links open in a new window)

 
Seasonal to Interannual Data Products: [Inactive: Jan 2007]

News

GFDL Model Results Featured in New Museum
GFDL coupled climate model results have been incorporated into an exhibit at the Marian Koshland Science Museum of the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC.
[NAS Koshland Museum logo
Exchanges of data and ideas between scientists from the GFDL Climate Dynamics & Prediction Group and museum representatives led to the development of animations of 21st century climate change projections. These animations appear on a moving plasma screen in the museum, and on the museum website, along with results from an NCAR model.
As the focal point of the Changing But Uncertain Future part of the exhibit, the animations illustrate how computer-based climate models are the main tool for making climate change projections on multi-decadal to century time scales.
After being on display at the Koshland Museum for about two years, the entire Global Warming Facts & Our Future exhibit is scheduled to other science museums across the nation.

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last modified: May 28 2007.
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