Welcome
The Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) is engaged in comprehensive long lead-time research fundamental to NOAA's mission. Scientists at GFDL develop and use mathematical models and computer simulations to improve our understanding and prediction of the behavior of the atmosphere, the oceans, and climate. GFDL scientists focus on model-building relevant for society, such as hurricane research, prediction, and seasonal forecasting, and understanding global and regional climate change.
Since 1955, GFDL has set the agenda for much of the world's research on the modeling of global climate change and has played a significant role in the World Meteorological Organization, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessments, and the U.S. Global Change Research Program. GFDL's mission is to be a world leader in the development of earth system models, and the production of timely and reliable knowledge and assessments on natural climate variability and anthropogenic changes.
GFDL research encompasses the predictability and sensitivity of global and regional climate; the structure, variability, dynamics and interaction of the atmosphere and the ocean; and the ways that the atmosphere and oceans influence, and are influenced by various trace constituents. The scientific work of the Laboratory incorporates a variety of disciplines including meteorology, oceanography, hydrology, classical physics, fluid dynamics, chemistry, applied mathematics, and numerical analysis.
Research is also facilitated by the Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Program (AOS), which is a collaborative program at GFDL with Princeton University. Under this program, Princeton faculty, research scientists, and graduate students participate in theoretical studies, both analytical and numerical, and in observational experiments in the laboratory and in the field. The program is supported in part by NOAA funding. AOS scientists may also be involved in GFDL research through institutional or international agreements.
For an overview of GFDL's work, see our Fact Sheet.
Research Highlights
- August 24, 2012 Mixing of dust and NH3 observed globally over anthropogenic dust sources - Dust is one of the most abundant aerosols in the atmosphere, and by scattering and absorbing solar radiation, it affects climate. Anthropogenic dust is largely ignored in most current climate studies. We show how pervasive it is throughout the world, and that it is mostly associated with croplands. Read more
- August 17, 2012 Global scale attribution of anthropogenic and natural dust sources and their emission rates based on MODIS Deep Blue aerosol products - Dust is one of the most abundant aerosols in the atmosphere, and by scattering and absorbing solar radiation, it affects climate. In particular, anthropogenic dust is a significant source of radiative forcing on the climate system. Increasing numerical resolution of climate models provides an opportunity to create a realistic, high-resolution dust-source inventory. Read more
- August 10, 2012 Global calcite cycling constrained by sediment preservation controls - The primary objective of this work was to build a set of internally consistent and computationally efficient algorithms to represent the regionally varying production, water column dissolution, and sediment preservation of pelagic calcite, and analyze the biogeochemical implications. Read more
- August 3, 2012 Northern high latitude heat budget decomposition and transient warming - The future response of Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) to increased carbon dioxide is known to be uncertain, with models showing 21st century weakening of 0 to 50%, according to the IPCC 4th report. Read more
Read more GFDL Research Highlights
Events & Seminars
- September 27, 2012: Diapycnal mixing in the ocean: patterns, processes, and peculiarities
(abstract)
Jennifer MacKinnon (Scripps Insitute of Oceanography)
Time: 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Location: Smagorinsky Seminar Room - October 3, 2012: Toward an NAO Theory: Observations, Theories and Simulations
(abstract)
Michael Ghil (Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, and University of California, Los Angeles)
Time: 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Location: Smagorinsky Seminar Room - October 4, 2012: Seeing Climate, Seeing Change: The role of social and decision sciences in communicating uncertain environmental risks
(abstract)
Heidi Cullen (Climate Central)
Time: 2:00 pm - 3:15 pm
Location: Smagorinsky Seminar Room - October 10, 2012: Coupled Model Parameter Estimation: Opportunities and Challenges
(abstract)
Shaoqing Zhang (GFDL)
Time: 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Location: Smagorinsky Seminar Room - October 11, 2012: Interpreting the noisy geological record of ancient sea level changes
(abstract)
Robert Kopp (Rutgers)
Time: 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Location: Smagorinsky Seminar Room - October 17, 2012: TBA
Jacob Schewe (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Germany)
Time: 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Location: Smagorinsky Seminar Room - October 18, 2012: Evaluation and Regime-dependent Error Diagnosis of Cloud and Water Vapor Simulations in Climate Models Using NASA A-Train Satellite Observations
(abstract)
Jonathan Jiang and Hui Su (Jet Propulsion Lab, Pasadena, CA)
Time: 2:00 pm - 3:15 pm
Location: Smagorinsky Seminar Room - October 31, 2012: TBA
Marian Westley guest (TBA)
Time: 12:00 pm - 1:15 pm
Location: Smagorinsky Seminar Room