Scientists use high-resolution models to study how the jagged terrain of the Earth's mountains influences precipitation.
Modeling
Posted inScience Updates
New Paths in Geoengineering
National Center for Atmospheric Research Fifth Annual Geoengineering Model Intercomparison Workshop and Early Career Summer School; Boulder, Colorado, 20–24 July 2015
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Seismic Clues Reveal the Mechanisms Behind Iceberg Calving
Scientists combine models and video footage of iceberg calving to analyze the potential of seismology to unravel physical processes behind the breakup of ice sheets.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Soil Crusts Play a Dual Role in Desertification
Rain falling on bare soil can form a hard crust that prevents further infiltration. But do these crusts worsen land degradation or help to prevent it?
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Improved Models of Wind Flow over Mountains
A new approach for representing areas of low-lying mountains improves the simulation of atmospheric flow over gentle topography without increasing computational requirements.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Illuminating the Controls of Convection
Researchers compare observations and models of air circulation over the tropics to determine if simulations capture how the environment shapes convection.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Aerosols Make Cumulus Clouds Brighter but Shorter Lived
Computer simulations show that although adding aerosol particles to clouds can make them more reflective, the cooling effect from clouds is largely counterbalanced by a reduction in overall cloud cover.
Posted inScience Updates
Precipitation Data Key to Food Security and Public Health
2015 Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission Applications Workshop; Hyattsville, Maryland, 9–10 June 2015
Posted inScience Updates
Better Tools to Build Better Climate Models
A Department of Energy collaboration aims to make climate model development faster and more efficient by creating a prototype of a system for testing model components.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Modeling the Future of Dissolved Organic Carbon in Boreal Forests
Climate change and forest harvesting will increase the concentration and flow of dissolved organic carbon in boreal streams.