Weathering change: playing the long game

摘要

More than 20 years ago in the UK 'there was a very conscious choice to make a large long-term investment in climate science. This accelerated the development of climate models,' according to Pier Luigi Vidale, professor at the University of Reading, UK, and National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS) senior scientist. Vidale says this investment, along with the attention the UK government has devoted to environmental problems and the efforts it has made to engage the scientific community, is largely why 'the UK now leads the way in climate modelling'. One such investment was made in 1990 with the opening of the Met Office Hadley Centre, a world-leading research centre for climate science. The dynamics group at the centre, now led by Nigel Wood, is responsible for the development of the 'dynamical core' of UK weather and climate models - that is, the scheme that solves the equations of atmospheric motion.