The Benefits of Unified Modeling Infrastructures for Research Across Scales: A Philosophical Perspective
Abstract
Significant difficulties for prediction and research across all scales stems from a) the complex nature of the earth system, and b) limitations on the representation of the system due to the historical development of models in disparate communities—weather and climate. Historical development of models in different communities has led to representational perspectivism, where models capture only certain features of the ubiquitous complexity of the system. Choices are made about what features of the system to prioritize in the development of models based on the interests of the local research communities. Climate models focus on the large-scale processes and long-term dynamic evolution of the system. This results in models that can simulate the long-term evolution of the system at coarse resolutions, but are ill equipped to predict or study other significant features of the system that happen, such as events at finer resolutions and over much shorter-time scales, which is the primary focus of weather modeling. In the different research communities of weather and climate choices about scientific aims and what to prioritize impact the methods used for the development and evaluation of the model physics, as methods must fit the aims and priorities. Consequently, methods that can then be utilized to research and improve the different model's representation of the physics of the system and the questions models can be used to answer are linked to a perspective on the system. Future development and research must happen according to the representational perspective that is consistent with the historical development. Emerging predictive aims and research across scales is difficult given the historical divergence of weather and climate models and the methodological limitations of these available instruments. My research argues for the significance of unified modeling infrastructures that combine the disparate model components, perspectives, and communities of weather and climate to facilitate research across the numerous temporal and physical scales of interest. More complete research of the unique earth system across a variety of scales, which advances predictive capabilities and scientific understanding of the system physics, requires the convergence of historically disparate models and research communities.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2019
- Bibcode:
- 2019AGUFM.A11V2758M
- Keywords:
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- 3319 General circulation;
- ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSES;
- 3329 Mesoscale meteorology;
- ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSES;
- 3337 Global climate models;
- ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSES;
- 3364 Synoptic-scale meteorology;
- ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSES