Hello Friends,

This month I will be discussing the field of computational climate dynamics. This has been a field I have been engaged in for the past 2 years. I will be giving the description of the field itself, the research potential, major questions, and then finally discussing the research I have been conducting.  So, the first thing is what is climate dynamics? Climate dynamics is a field of study which explores all different components of the climate system and how they interact and create a dynamic or constantly changing climate system. But, what exactly is the climate system? Well, the climate system is a result of studying the Earth?s climate from a systems thinking perspective. If we model the climate as a system we can then define it and explore it from both a physics and mathematics perspectives. That is where climate modelling and analysis comes in.

Climate modelling is a method which is often used in the study of climate dynamics. This is because if we are treating the climate as a system, then it opens a world of opportunities to explore it from a physics and math viewpoint. We can thus ?model? the climate system using mathematics. Maths is often useful in describing many natural phenomena. The field of climate dynamics is what serves as an interface between maths and the environment. We can apply mathematical expressions and equations to model the dynamics this climate system. This my friends it the beauty of this study. Let me explain further. We are able to model and explore both past and future behaviour of the climate system under certain inputs and conditions. We are able to create analysis from simple cause and effect analysis to more complex analysis webs.

Now what do I mean by these mathematics and analysis? Well, the mathematics are usually in the form of differential equations which model the many aspects of the climate system. These are like mathematical statements which model the change in temperature with a change in an independent variable, usually time. These equations are in the form dT/dt where T is temperature and t is time. In the process of exploring the effects of time on temperature we can explore the natural cycles of climate change. These are based on temperature changes caused by external factors such as changes in Earth?s tilt and orbital shape which are functions of time. We can also use these mathematical models to investigate the effects of short term perturbations such as the hypothesized human GHG influence and obtain analysis upon how much we are actually effecting the environment.

And the ultimate beauty of it? Well, these models can be used for both the past and future. Given we have empirical data for past climates we can observe the accuracy of our modelling by comparison to empirical data. So that is the field I have been studying in the last 2 years. I have done much research and modelling not to mention in depth analysis. All this will be the topic of discussion for my next article which will go more in depth with the specific research I have conducted. However, if you have any questions whatsoever in this topic or field of study, please feel free to ask me.

Kindest Regards,

Nitish Bhatt

Picture courtesy: dartmouth.edu