Water Vapor Content of the Current and Future Climate of North America

This visualization shows column integrated water vapor content over North America for the period April to June 2011, during which time one of the most destructive and deadliest tornado outbreaks to impact the United States occurred (April 25-28). Side-by-side comparison of the simulations show greater water vapor content in the simulated future climate, which can…

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Present and Future Climate in a Global Model

This visualization shows a CESM1 model comparison between a present day (1990) and a future (2090) simulation using a business-as-usual or high emissions scenario, called RCP8.5.  Clouds represent six-hourly time steps of total water vapor for one year. Technically speaking, this is the CESM1 model variable, TMQ, defined as the total precipitable water (vertically integrated)…

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Climate Change: Precipitation

This simulation shows a comparison between present day (1990) and future (2090) precipitable water in the Earth’s atmosphere using an RCP8.5 emissions scenario. Movies  Movie File (.mov, 1920×1080, 236MB) Images Science Credits This simulation was made possible because of the large number of individuals both from within NCAR and the many outside collaborators who have…

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Climate Change: Temperature Anomalies

A comparison between present and future (RCP8.5) surface temperature anomalies. A 3-day smoothing has been applied to the output to dampen day to day variability. Movies  Movie File (.mov, 118MB, 1920×1080) Images Computational Modeling Nan Rosenbloom and Gary Strand (NCAR/CGD) Visualization and Post-production Tim Scheitlin and Matt Rehme (NCAR/CISL) Model CESM Visualization Software NCAR Command…

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Negative NAO Triggered by Stratospheric Sudden Warming

Seasonal forecast for winter of 1997/1998 with 46LCAM (Ensemble member with a sudden stratospheric warming). This is a 4 month forecast of surface geopotential height anomalies (shown with surface relief and contour lines) and surface temperature anomalies (shown with a color gradient). The forecast starts on Dec 1, 1997, and goes through the end of…

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Global weather simulated by a cloud-resolving weather prediction model

The global weather from 20 October – 4 November 2012, simulated by a cloud-resolving weather prediction model Model: MPAS – Variable: Outgoing Longwave Radiation Science: The complex evolution of multiscale cloud systems illustrates the myriad of weather phenomena that populate our atmosphere. Features of interest include the diurnal cycle of convection over central Africa and…

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Surface Ozone Concentrations on the Colorado Front Range

This animation shows simulated hourly surface ozone concentrations during the 2014 FRAPPÉ campaign. The simulations have been performed with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model. The simulations have been conducted with a 4 km x 4 km grid horizontal resolution and show the frequent occurrence of high ozone pollution…

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Total Accumulation of Global Precipitation

Project Metis: Seasonal Forecasts with Enhanced Ocean and Atmosphere Resolution This visualization shows total accumulation of global precipitation (blue/purple) and the 6-hourly precipitation (yellow/red) between May 1 and Nov 1, 2015. What to look for: Of particular interest are the cyclones that scrawl lines across the map, leaving a visible trail in the total precipitation field. Movies Movie…

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Surface Temperatures from Climate Change vs. Geoengineering

This visualization describes temperature changes relative to years 2015-2024 from unabated climate change (RCP8.5) and stratospheric sulfate aerosol geoengineering (using feedback) simulated by a state-of-the-art coupled earth system model. Geoengineering, often using stratospheric sulfate aerosols, is discussed as a potential means of deliberately offsetting some of the effects of climate change, such as rising temperatures.…

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Planetary Water Vapor

This visualization shows hourly time steps of CESM1 total column integrated water vapor (TMQ) for one year. The value of TMQ at each point determines the amount of 3D surface displacement. Higher values of TMQ have a larger displacement, helping to visually identify regions with the most significant temporal changes in water vapor. Movies Quicktime…

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