BAMOS Vol 31 Special Issue October 2018 Bulletin Vol 31 Special Issue 01 2018 | Page 16

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BAMOS
Special Issue
Can our brains keep pace with climate
models?
David Carlson
Director, World Climate Research Programme, World Meteorological Organization
As atmospheric CO 2 concentrations rise and humanity’s
response founders, a broad research community adds flavour
and complexity to our understanding of present and future
climate. To make effective use of more-capable models running
at higher resolution, and to validate those models with real-
world data, requires enhanced collaboration. The climate
modelling community uses the 6th phase of their Coupled
Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6) to rethink procedures
and schedules. They opened all plans and documents for
community access. They developed a schedule that encourages
innovation and flexibility by modelling centres while enhancing
collective impact. They recruited and organised an impressive
range of scientific interest and contributions. Simultaneously,
the observational community exploited open access data
journals as a new mechanism to share a surprising range of
climate-relevant data. Well-described freely-accessible global
data sets on CO 2 , methane, ocean heat, stratospheric aerosols,
tropospheric clouds and terrestrial soils—to name only a few—
have revolutionised expectations for data sharing. These trends
—flexible model infrastructure based on open frameworks
and more than 250 openly-accessible data products—confirm
the research community’s determination to make a strong
difference in scientific understanding of climate and in access
to climate information.