Climate Variability and Change
Numerical modeling is the only way to effectively integrate the current knowledge of all of these individual components and to estimate and project potential future states of the climate system. However, scientists are still working to fully understand of all of the physical processes that contribute to climate variability and change. Research projects in this area are: eliminating model uncertainties through better understanding of the underlying processes; building models that can utilize, interpret and apply the wealth of observations from space and earth based platforms; and providing accurate and usable datasets of earth observations to the larger scientific community. The ultimate objective is to enable predictions climatic changes on time scales ranging from seasonal to multi-decadal. These prediction capabilities are critical to effective management of natural resources under scenarios that are likely to reflect the realities of the future.
Research Groups
- Arctic Radiation-Ice Bridge Sea Ice Experiment (ARISE)
- Earth System Data Records (ESDR)
- Making Earth System Data Records for Use in Research Environment (MEaSUREs)
- NASA Earth Exchange (NEX)
Focus Areas
Atmospheric Composition
The Atmospheric Composition focus area consists of research on the composition of Earth’s atmosphere, particularly of the troposphere and stratosphere, in relation to climate forcing, atmospheric ozone and aerosols, solar effects, air quality, and surface emissions of radiatively and chemically active source gases and particulates.
Weather
Our weather system includes the dynamics of the atmosphere and its interaction with the oceans and land and involves phenomena ranging from local or microphysical processes lasting minutes to global-scale events predictable up to two weeks prior.
Climate Variability and Change
NASA’s role in climate variability study is centered around providing the global scale observational data sets on oceans and ice, their forcings, and the interactions with the entire Earth system.
Water and Energy Cycle
The Water and Energy Cycle focus area studies the distribution, transport and transformation of water and energy within the Earth System, with the long-term goal to improve hurricane prediction, quantify tropical rainfall and eventually begin to balance the water budget at global and regional scales.
Carbon Cycle and Ecosystems
This Focus Area deals with the cycling of carbon in reservoirs and ecosystems as it changes naturally, is changed by humans, and is affected by climate change.
Earth Surface and Interior
NASA’s Earth Surface and Interior focus area supports research and analysis of solid-Earth processes and properties from crust to core. This includes providing the space geodetic observations and products foundational to many space missions.