How is Climate Studied?A day in the life of a climate scientist

QuestionsHow do we know about past climate?

Examples of climate data

What is it like to collect data, and what do scientists do with it?

How do we know about past climate? Measurements: (from about 1850 on)

History: books, farming records, art

"I was walking down the road with two friends

when the sun set; suddenly, the sky turned as red as

blood. I stopped and leaned against the fence, feeling

unspeakably tired. Tongues of fire and blood stretched

over the bluish black fjord. My friends went on walking,

while I lagged behind, shivering with fear. Then I heard

the enormous, infinite scream of nature.”

Edward Munch, speaking about his painting “The

Scream” that he painted in 1893

How do we know about past climate?Proxy data: something we can

measure that tells us about something else we can’t measure. For example, I can look at the clothes you are wearing, and whether or

not you are wet to guess what the weather and precipitation outside are like.

If everyone is soaking wet and carrying an umbrella how likely is it that it was raining outside?

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Examples of Proxy Data used for Climate

Tree rings

AndCoralIce coresLake and ocean floorsSoilCave formations

What do these sources of data have in common?What do you think scientists can learn from these?

More Examples of Proxy DataFossils tell us where and when

certain animals and plants lived, letting us know what the temperature and precipitation was like.

Packrat Middens: nests that desert packrats made. They collected all kinds of plants,

and animal waste, which are then “glued” together with their urine.

They serve as a “time capsule” of the plants and animals that were around during the animals lifetime

Research in AntarcticaDave Schneider spends part of the year in

Antarctica taking ice core dataHe analyzes it in laboratories to see how

much oxygen and what kinds of oxygen are in it

That helps him learn what the climate used to be like

He also keeps track of what is happening in Antarctica now

Here are some of his slides about his work and the businesses that help him do his research

Polar Climate Research

David P. Schneider National Center for Atmospheric Research

primary sponsor:

Geology majorLoved field trips and the outdoorsFascinated by Greenland and Antarctic ice core dataEnjoyed winter, found out polar field work not too harsh (in the summer!)Went to grad school, postdoc in Boulder, pursued ‘hot topics’ in polar scienceCurrently compare data and models (desk job, but in Boulder!)

My story

Antarctic Research Challenges

Neff et al., 2008

•REMOTE, HARSH ENVIRONMENT• No permanent occupants• Logistics are challenging and expensive

•FEW CLIMATE OBSERVATIONS• Short climate records• Large climate variability

•DIFFICULT TO MODEL• Global climate models ‘adapted’ to the

temperate and the tropical latitudes do not necessarily do well in the polar regions

Scott’s hut at McMurdo, Antarctica

Dave’s recommended web-sitesDocumentary videoswww.theantarcticachallenge.comwww.extremeicesurvey.org

Colorado businesses that support polar research

http://www.polarfield.comhttp://rpsc.raytheon.com

Atmospheric Research"Careers in Atmospheric Science" video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fk-uqrXkkG8

Do these careers focus on observational data (measurements) or proxy data?

Are you familiar with any atmospheric research happening now?

That’s right…. HIPPOWhat is the point of HIPPO?

To measure how much of certain molecules and particles are in the air from the north to south pole, and from close to sea level all the way up to the next layer of the atmosphere (the stratosphere.. Most planes don’t go this high)

Why is this important?The information that HIPPO is getting from the

atmosphere is unique. No-one has ever gotten observational data from this many parts of the world, and at all these different altitudes.

Satellites can get some information about the atmosphere by sending radiation to the earth, but it is not as detailed as HIPPO information since they are measurements from far away.

HIPPO lets us know how correct the satellite data is. Why does that matter?

Who runs HIPPO?It takes a team of scientists, managers, and

technicians to make a project like this work

http://hippo.ucar.edu/team/project-directors

HIPPO in the Newshttp://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/SC0911/S0001

4.htm

Answers…How do we know about past climate?

Examples of climate data

What is it like to collect data, and what do scientists do with it?