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ESARC Environmental Systems Analysis Research Center |
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The Earth's climate system consists of many inter-related components – the ocean, sea ice and atmosphere, as well as terrestrial components such as snow cover, hydrology, and vegetation. These climate-system components are linked or coupled to each other, such that variability or a change in one component is connected to variability in others. For example, a change in snow cover affects the exchanges of energy and moisture between the atmosphere and the land surface, which in turn affects the overlying atmosphere and its circulation, which in itself a controlling factor of the snow-cover distribution. The dynamics of the climate system
may be better understood through integrating observational and modeling
research that applies quantitative methods within a germane analytical
framework. An example of one such analytical framework is climate
diagnostics – i.e., understanding the causes and potential
predictability, based on the behavior that can be observed or modeled,
usually involving advanced statistical methods. Another analytical
framework is exploratory data analysis, which uses
multivariate statistical methods to identify systematic variability and
linkages between variables when there are no complete expectations
beforehand. ESARC staff have research
expertise in these aspects of ocean–ice–atmosphere
system dynamics:
Research
Areas: § Modes of climate variability on intra-seasonal to century time
scales § Rapid climate shifts and anomalies § Ocean–ice–atmosphere interactions and “feedback” processes § Synoptic-scale climate
and sea-ice variability Geographical
Areas: § The Arctic and northern North America § North Atlantic Ocean, Nordic Seas and adjacent areas Methods
and Techniques: § Exploratory data analysis § Time series analysis and spatial data analysis – geostatistics § Climate diagnostics and theoretical modeling § Numerical
model-generated
data
analysis § Satellite sensor data
analysis
For further information, please contact us at: info@esarc-colorado.org Last updated on February 7, 2005.
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