Michael Wehner (left) and Bill Collins (right) reviewing the NCAR's Community Atmosphere Model to see how well the model can reproduce observed tropical cyclone statistics using supercomputers to map climate change.
Climate and Atmosphere Processes scientists study the processes that drive variability and change in the atmosphere and broader climate system. They develop modeling tools to predict these changes at different time and space scales.
This program aims to develop global process-resolving models to help quantify the roles of climate feedbacks in anthropogenic climate change. Abrupt and extreme climate changes from anthropogenic warming pose some of the greatest risks to society and the environment. Understanding of the complex interactions involved with feedbacks is critical.
The Earth and Environmental Sciences Area’s, Atmospheric System Research Program advances fundamental understanding of atmospheric radiation, clouds, and precipitation, and their interactions with Earth’s surface and climate.
The Climate and Atmosphere Processes (CAP) Program Domain was initiated in 2015 and is one of four Program Domains within the Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division. Projects and programs within the CAP program domain use a combination of theory, models, and observations to develop our understanding of the processes that drive variability and long-term change in the atmosphere. Core capabilities in the CAP program domain include:
expertise in the physics and statistics of climate extremes;
models and parameterizations for simulating atmospheric phenomena across a wide range of scales: from convective (1 km) to global (25,000 km);
expertise, models, and theoretical understanding of the propagation of light and thermal radiation in the atmosphere; and
theoretical and observational understanding of the processes that govern cloud behavior.
Vision and Mission
Vision: A comprehensive theoretical and predictive understanding of the processes that drive variability and change in the atmosphere and broader climate system
Mission: To develop foundational knowledge and capabilities needed to understand and predict variability and change in the atmosphere and broader climate system
