NOAA PRINCETON LAB WINS SILVER MEDAL FOR CLIMATE MODELING

NOAA’s Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory has been awarded a silver medal – one of the highest honors granted by the Secretary of the Department of Commerce.

“The outstanding work done by the laboratory’s computer modeling team has contributed greatly to the national and international assessments of climate change,” said retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “This honor recognizes the quality of the work being done at the laboratory, as well as its contributions to our understanding of climate change.”

A silver medal honors “exceptional performance characterized by noteworthy or superlative contributions that have a direct and lasting impact within the Department.”

“GFDL’s modelers are exceptional, and their work is essential for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which relies on NOAA’s computer models,” said Richard Spinrad, NOAA assistant administrator for oceanic and atmospheric research. “GFDL is recognized in the international community for its computing skill, innovation, and reliability.”

Named in the award are: Tom Delworth, Keith Dixon, Stuart Freidenreich, Paul Ginoux, Richard Hemler, Larry Horowitz, Daniel Schwartzkopf, Michael Spelman, M. Ramaswamy, and Ronald Stouffer.

The team was cited for “establishing NOAA as a leading source of credible model-based scientific information about past and future climate for national and international climate assessments.”

An awards ceremony is slated for December 6 in Washington, D.C.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of our nation’s coastal and marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners and nearly 60 countries to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes.

On the Web:

NOAA: http://www.noaa.gov

Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory: http://www.gfdl.noaa.gov