Computing the Climate - How We Know What We Know About Climate Change

This accessible, non-technical book reveals how, starting in the 1800s, scientists have used mathematical models and computer simulations to demonstrate that climate change is real - and accelerating. Readers will learn where the key scientific ideas came from, how they were tested, and what future these models forecast for our planet.

List of contents

1. Introduction; 2. The world's first climate model; 3. The forecast factory; 4. Taming chaos; 5. The heart of the machine; 6. The well-equipped physics lab; 7. Plug and play; 8. Sound science; 9. Choosing a future; References; Index.

About the author

Steve M. Easterbrook is Director of the School of the Environment at the University of Toronto, where he teaches courses on environmental decision-making, systems thinking, and climate literacy. He received a Ph.D. in Computing from Imperial College London in 1991. In the 1990s he served as lead scientist at NASA's Katherine Johnson IV&V Facility in West Virginia, where he worked on software verification for the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station. He has been a consultant for the European and Canadian Space Agencies, and a visiting scientist at many climate research labs in the US and Europe.

Summary

This accessible, non-technical book reveals how, starting in the 1800s, scientists have used mathematical models and computer simulations to demonstrate that climate change is real – and accelerating. Readers will learn where the key scientific ideas came from, how they were tested, and what future these models forecast for our planet.

Foreword

Accurate climate models have existed since the 1800s. Learn how these models have developed – and why we should believe them.

Product details

• Authors: Steve M. Easterbrook, Steve M. (University of Toronto) Easterbrook
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 31.08.2023
• EAN: 9781107589926
• ISBN: 978-1-107-58992-6
• No. of pages: 350
• Subjects: Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Mathematics > Miscellaneous; NATURE / Ecology, popular science, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Sociology / General, MATHEMATICS / Applied, SCIENCE / Earth Sciences / Meteorology & Climatology, COMPUTERS / Computer Simulation, NATURE / Weather, Biology, life sciences, Social impact of environmental issues, Meteorology & climatology, Weather, Weather and climate: general interest, Ethical & social aspects of IT, Mathematical modelling, Computer modelling & simulation, COMPUTERS / Social Aspects, SCIENCE / Bioinformatics, Computational biology / bioinformatics, Computer modelling and simulation, Climatology and climate modelling