Climate

Advancing Climate Science

For stakeholders in the public and private sectors, understanding the potential risks of and how to adapt to climate change is critical. Those involved in water resources, forest management, agriculture, transportation, and urban planning require accurate climate models.

Understanding, Predicting, and Reducing Climate Change

We’re developing technologies and key data sets that unlock actionable insights. These include improved climate models we’re creating with the help of NOAA’s Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory and other partners. We’re also leveraging ground-breaking, new, underwater measuring technologies that improve the documentation of deep-ocean warming and the impact of melting Antarctic ice sheets.

Climate Modeling Data

Creating Faster, More Accurate Models

Global warming is affecting different regions of the world in ways that are still being discovered. We’re working to improve the speed and accuracy of computer simulations used to predict regional weather trends and extreme rainfall events by partnering with NOAA. 

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Vulcan Climate Modeling

The Climate Modeling Team is collaborating with partners to produce more accurate and efficient climate models; using supercomputers, machine learning technologies, and modern programming languages to help stakeholders prepare for the future. The Climate Modeling Team will transition from Vulcan to become part of the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence in the fall of 2021. This move will combine world-class research, engineering, product resources and talent to create greater positive impact, as envisioned by the late Paul G. Allen.

Partners
NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, MeteoSwiss/ETH-Zurich, University of Washington

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Improving Existing Models with Better Data

Climate models are only as good as the data they rely on. It’s critical we improve our understanding by expanding the data sets available to represent our changing world and create more accurate models.

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Creating Deep Ocean Profiles

We’re deploying deep-ocean profiling floats, or “Deep Argos,” to depths of 4,000-6,000 meters into the Atlantic Ocean, east of Brazil. They're collecting vital temperature and salinity data, which can be used in ocean circulation and climate models. In addition, this project aims to create a proof of concept to increase confidence among funding partners and, in turn, support subsequent deployments at greater scale.*

Partners
NOAA-Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, MRV, R/V Petrel

Exploring Below Antarctic Ice

Our Antarctic Ice Exploration project aims to deploy the first autonomous network of long-endurance, deployable robots linked via underwater sound transmissions to collect critical data in unexplored ice-shelf cavities and adjacent, open-ocean areas of the Western Antarctic. Gathering data near and beneath ice shelves is challenging, but necessary in order to more accurately understand glacier-ocean interactions, ice-flow behaviors, and future ice-sheet contributions to sea levels.*

Partners
University of Washington; Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Columbia University

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* Funded by the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation