Climate Models: New Methods and Applications

Abstract

In this talk, we will briefly review the evolution of climate modeling; explore complex modeling concepts, such as positive feedback; and objectively look at the current state of models and what they tell us. Lastly, we will close with an application of modeling to storm surge on the western Alaskan coast being developed at UAA. Since the development of the first general circulation model and the advent of computing in the 1950s, climate modeling has evolved rapidly in complexity and accuracy, as well as breadth of application. Current models track the movement of fluids and energy transfer between the atmosphere, land, and ocean to most commonly output either short-term weather forecasts or long-term climate change predictions. Jon S. Allen is a current engineering PhD student at UAA/UAF. He holds a MS Ocean Engineering from Texas A&M.