How Well Do Coupled Models Simulate Today's Climate?

Oupled climate models are sophisticated tools designed to simulate the Earth climate system and the complex interactions between its components. Currently, more than a dozen centers around the world develop climate models to enhance our understanding of climate and climate change and to support the activities of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). However, climate models are not perfect. Our theoretical understanding of climate is still incomplete, and certain simplifying assumptions are unavoidable when building these models. This introduces biases into their simulations, which sometimes are surprisingly difficult to correct. Model imperfections have attracted criticism, with some arguing…

• NS
  National Science Foundation
• UD
  U.S. Department of Energy
• NO
  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
• OO
  Office of Science