Project Plans
Project Plans: 1995
"As I look down, I saw a large river meandering slowly for miles, passing from one country to another without stopping. I also saw huge forests, extending across several borders. And I watched the extent of the ocean touch the shores of separate continents." — Astronaut John-David Bartoe
John-David Bartoe's description of his view of the Earth from space is evidence that a picture often speaks more loudly than words. This simple portrait captures the essence of the common global interests we share to gain a better understanding of the Earth as a system of natural physical processes and the impact of our human actions that affect all people, regardless of where they live in the world. His image of the Earth from space also conveys the unmistakable relationship of Earth to other planets in our solar system, and in a similar vein, exposes our motivation for understanding comparable planetary dynamics.
The quote from Bartoe is an appropriate introduction to the 1995 Summer Institute, as it reveals the theme for our continuing climate and planetary investigations. This summer our research approach offers a new dimension of collaborative research among teams working on climate change problems - Cloud/Storm Lifecycles, Water/Agricultural Impacts, Pinatubo, and Storm Tracks. And the research team investigating Jupiter's Atmosphere is a complementary planetary study of aerosols, which provides a different perspective upon one of the mechanisms important in the Earth's climate system.
Understanding global climate change is one of the most important, if not the greatest scientific problem facing people throughout the world. Climate change can potentially influence the status of our health and the supply of our natural resources. As we enter an era in which climate change is expected to become increasingly apparent, it will be crucial that we gain a public understanding of the nature of climate change in terms of both natural and anthropogenic processes.
The importance of understanding the processes which shape our environment has never been greater than it is now. Our planet, our species, and our nation have always been characterized by change. But today is a unique time, as the advances and expansions of humans have created the ability to alter the planet on a global scale within a time span of decades. Knowledge of current global change, understanding of the mechanisms involved, and development of predictive modeling hold potentially great economic and social value for the people of the United States. The perspective provided by space observations is crucial for providing the data needed to understand global change.
The research in the Institute on Climate and Planets explores these basic processes. In general, the approach for most of the research teams is iteration between theoretical (model simulations) and real world climate and planetary observations in order to assess the strength and weakness of research models. Each project involves participants in a research process where they are expected to become familiar with data, understand the global distribution of particular variables, analyze the changes (anomalies) in different timescales and geographic areas and assess the variability of the climate and planetary parameters being studied. At the same time, the approach is designed to contribute to education about the basic scientific research process.
