The Center is a group of uniquely qualified scientists dedicated to understanding the problem of seasonal to interannual and decadal climate fluctuations with special emphasis on the role of interactions between earth's oceans, atmosphere and land surface.
The primary goal of COLA is to foster interdisciplinary research and to increase our understanding of the physical processes in the atmosphere, at the land surface, in the oceans, and the interactions among these components. It is recognized that the interactions among atmospheric, oceanic and land surface processes are perhaps the most important determinants of the interannual variability of the present climate which affects the global and regional habitability of the planet Earth. A better understanding of interactions among these processes is essential to enable us to distinguish between the natural variability of the coupled system and changes caused by external forcing and human activities. An important objective of the Center is to study the contributions of internal dynamic processes and the slowly varying boundary conditions at the earth's surface in determining the variability and predictability of climate on the short term, and to explore the feasibility of dynamic prediction of seasonal to interannual variations. The focus of the Center is to understand the mechanisms underlying climate variations on time scales of months to years and longer and to determine the limits of predictability of climate at these time scales. The Center utilizes comprehensive physical models of atmospheric, oceanic and land surface processes to carry out sensitivity and predictability studies.
The Center has a strong capability for theoretical work on atmospheric dynamics, diagnosis of observed climate data, and computer modeling of the global ocean-atmosphere-land system.
A global general circulation model (GCM) of the atmosphere (AGCM) is used to study the sensitivity to prescribed changes in the sea surface temperature, snow cover, sea ice and soil moisture at the earth's surface. A global biosphere model has been developed and coupled with the atmospheric model. Global and basin versions of an ocean general circulation model (OGCM) are being used for studies of data assimilation and predictability of the oceans. These studies serve the dual purpose of increasing our understanding of air-sea and air-land interactions, and defining the accuracy and resolution requirements for space observing systems designed to measure these boundary conditions.
The dynamics of tropical and midlatitude droughts, and the climatic effects of deforestation and desertification are topics of interest at COLA. The Center also studies the dynamics of the Asiatic monsoon and its interactions with the planetary scale circulations such as those associated with El Niño and the Southern Oscillation. Predictability studies using a global GCM have suggested that, for seasonal to interannual time scales, the tropical atmosphere is potentially more predictable than the midlatitudes because changes in the boundary conditions produce large changes in the tropics. Since the influence of tropical anomalies can propagate to the midlatitudes, this also provides some hope for predictability in the extratropics. The midlatitude summer droughts are also potentially predictable because the variations due to internal dynamics are relatively weaker during the summer season.
COLA provides a unique opportunity for scientists engaged in atmospheric, oceanic and land surface modeling to work together in a scholarly environment towards a common objective of developing a coupled ocean-atmosphere-land model, while pursuing independent research in each of the individual areas. The current emphasis of the Center is on the physical problems of sea-air-land interaction rather than the biological or chemical aspects. Although most academic institutions specialize in the individual disciplines of meteorology, hydrology, and oceanography, it is desirable to create a nucleus of scientists with expertise in each of these fields who can work together in interdisciplinary research on ocean-atmosphere-land interactions.
The objectives of the Center are threefold:
2. To establish a theoretical basis for resolution and accuracy requirements for space observations of climate parameters including the global boundary conditions and to conduct research on integration of space and in situ observations.
3. To support the education and training of students in interdisciplinary aspects of the earth sciences with particular emphasis on air-sea, air-land and sea-air-land interactions.
The scientific research activities of COLA receive guidance from a Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) which meets annually to review progress and make recommendations for future research directions.
COLA/IGES is jointly supported by NOAA, NSF, and NASA.
last update: 23 January 1996
comments to: www@grads.iges.org