Clouds in climate models: Identifying sources of uncertainty

Models don’t always capture the behavior of all clouds. Credit: Pixabay

A new study supported by the Climate Program Office’s Modeling, Analysis, Predictions, and Projections (MAPP) Program enhances our understanding of cloud dynamics and how we can improve cloud representation in climate models. Isaac Davis and MAPP-funded researcher Brian Medeira of the National Center for Atmospheric Research assessed cloud behavior in the Community Earth System Model, version 2 (CESM2), a crucial tool for understanding climate change. MAPP supported this project to work toward constraining and understanding climate sensitivity, or the amount of future warming, with process-oriented diagnostics. Brian Medeira also served as a co-lead of MAPP’s Climate Sensitivity Task Force, working to reduce overall uncertainties in future climate projections of phenomena like precipitation, extremes, sea level, sea ice, and more.