Building Climate Resilience with NASA Data

9 September 2021

Andrea Portier

NASA GSFC- SSAI

andrea.m.portier@nasa.gov

Learn how and why NASA Earth observations are used in climate models, and the importance of differentiating weather from climate.

Motivation for Understanding the Changing Climate

Why Climate Modeling?

• One of the only ways to see the future and impact of different policy choices
• Models provide the information needed to build climate resilience
• Improve forecasting of fire seasons
• Better understanding of the changing impacts of hurricanes

https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/billions/

What is the difference between weather vs climate?

Weather, short-term

Climate, long-term

• Earth’s atmosphere at a particular time and place.
• Combination of temperature, humidity, precipitation, cloudiness, visibility, and wind.
• “What will it be like today?”
• “Will we get rain this week?”
• Highly accurate forecasts up to seven days

• Area’s typical weather conditions are like over a long period of time— 30 years or more.
• What the temperatures are like during different seasons?
• How much rain or snow typically falls. 
• Predict climate = much harder because timescales involved are much longer

So what exactly is a climate model?

• Computer programs to understand how our planet is changing and predict future climate patterns.
• Made up of a number of mathematical equations describing physical and chemical relationships among Earth’s systems: atmosphere, land, ocean, ice
• Simulates experiments that we cannot do in the real world

Climate models divide the atmosphere into a 3-D grid. Each grid piece is represented by mathematical equations that describe the materials in it and the way energy moves through it. Credit: NOAA.

Where does NASA come into play?

• Leader in making space-based measurements of climate variables:
• precipitation, water vapor, and temperature
• Real-time data and long records of these variables develop and inform climate models.
• NASA data are used as input in climate models

This visualization reveals that the Earth system, like the human body, comprises diverse components that interact in complex ways. Credit: NASA GSFC

Developing and Improving Climate Models with NASA Data

Scientists use NASA data to develop and improve climate models through different approaches:

• Model Parameterization -> using data to understand Earth system processes/ relationships and develop the governing equations of the model

• Data Assimilation -> using real time data to set initial conditions of a model and start a climate model “run”
• Validation -> comparing a climate model to past observations to determine the accuracy of the model

View the latest IMERG precipitation anomalies animation here. Credits: NASA Goddard Scientific Visualization Studio. 

Check out the GPM Climate Modeling Applications Package!

Package > Highlights different ways that NASA’s Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission data is used for climate modeling activities

​

• How NASA data, such as GPM, is used to develop, inform, and enhance climate models
• Series of outreach materials > blog articles, video, STEM interviews, StoryMap, educational one-pagers
• Check out all materials HERE!

THANK YOU!

Questions or Comments??

Building Climate Resilience with NASA Data

9 September 2021

Andrea Portier

NASA GSFC- SSAI

andrea.m.portier@nasa.gov

Learn how and why NASA Earth observations are used in climate models, and the importance of differentiating weather from climate.

Motivation for Understanding the Changing Climate

Why Climate Modeling?

• One of the only ways to see the future and impact of different policy choices
• Models provide the information needed to build climate resilience
• Improve forecasting of fire seasons
• Better understanding of the changing impacts of hurricanes

https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/billions/

What is the difference between weather vs climate?

Weather, short-term

Climate, long-term

• Earth’s atmosphere at a particular time and place.
• Combination of temperature, humidity, precipitation, cloudiness, visibility, and wind.
• “What will it be like today?”
• “Will we get rain this week?”
• Highly accurate forecasts up to seven days

• Area’s typical weather conditions are like over a long period of time— 30 years or more.
• What the temperatures are like during different seasons?
• How much rain or snow typically falls. 
• Predict climate = much harder because timescales involved are much longer

So what exactly is a climate model?

• Computer programs to understand how our planet is changing and predict future climate patterns.
• Made up of a number of mathematical equations describing physical and chemical relationships among Earth’s systems: atmosphere, land, ocean, ice
• Simulates experiments that we cannot do in the real world

Climate models divide the atmosphere into a 3-D grid. Each grid piece is represented by mathematical equations that describe the materials in it and the way energy moves through it. Credit: NOAA.

Where does NASA come into play?

• Leader in making space-based measurements of climate variables:
• precipitation, water vapor, and temperature
• Real-time data and long records of these variables develop and inform climate models.
• NASA data are used as input in climate models

This visualization reveals that the Earth system, like the human body, comprises diverse components that interact in complex ways. Credit: NASA GSFC

Developing and Improving Climate Models with NASA Data

Scientists use NASA data to develop and improve climate models through different approaches:

• Model Parameterization -> using data to understand Earth system processes/ relationships and develop the governing equations of the model

• Data Assimilation -> using real time data to set initial conditions of a model and start a climate model “run”
• Validation -> comparing a climate model to past observations to determine the accuracy of the model

View the latest IMERG precipitation anomalies animation here. Credits: NASA Goddard Scientific Visualization Studio. 

Check out the GPM Climate Modeling Applications Package!

Package > Highlights different ways that NASA’s Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission data is used for climate modeling activities

​

• How NASA data, such as GPM, is used to develop, inform, and enhance climate models
• Series of outreach materials > blog articles, video, STEM interviews, StoryMap, educational one-pagers
• Check out all materials HERE!

THANK YOU!

Questions or Comments??

Example: Validation with GPM

Scientists cannot wait years to even decades to see if their models are accurately projecting the future climate system, they must test a model’s accuracy using past events.

​

Climate models such as the GISS-E3 must accurately simulate seasonal cycles observed by GPM in order for their predictions to be more reliable. Using the GPM rainfall magnitudes as benchmarks, new model equations are being worked on to improve this area of rainfall simulation.

Example: Validation with GPM

Scientists cannot wait years to even decades to see if their models are accurately projecting the future climate system, they must test a model’s accuracy using past events.

​

Climate models such as the GISS-E3 must accurately simulate seasonal cycles observed by GPM in order for their predictions to be more reliable. Using the GPM rainfall magnitudes as benchmarks, new model equations are being worked on to improve this area of rainfall simulation.