Climate science

Climate science studies long-term patterns, variability, and change in Earth's climate system, including interactions among the atmosphere, oceans, land, ice, and living things.

Earth's energy budget: The balance between energy Earth receives from the Sun and energy it reflects or radiates back to space. Its changing balance drives global warming and shapes climate variability.
Climate: The statistical description of weather conditions over a period, including averages, variability, and extremes. Climate science studies this long-term statistical character rather than individual weather events.
Climate modeling: The use of mathematical representations and computation to simulate climate processes and project climate behavior. Models test mechanisms and estimate how climate may respond to future drivers.
Eunice Newton Foote: An American scientist whose 1856 experiments showed that carbon dioxide and water vapor warm when exposed to sunlight. Her experiment was an early demonstration of atmospheric gases' warming potential.
Equilibrium climate sensitivity: The long-term global temperature response to a doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide after the climate system equilibrates. Its range captures uncertainty in the strength of long-term warming.
Greenhouse effect: The warming of a planet's surface and lower atmosphere as gases absorb and re-emit outgoing infrared radiation. Changes in greenhouse gases alter the energy escaping to space.
Weather: The state of the atmosphere at a particular time and place, including temperature, wind, and precipitation. Weather fluctuates day to day; climate concerns longer-term patterns.
Climate projection: A conditional estimate of future climate based on assumptions about emissions, forcing, and system response. Projections connect climate understanding to plausible future conditions.
John Tyndall: An Irish physicist who measured how gases absorb radiant heat and identified the importance of water vapor and carbon dioxide. His laboratory work clarified the physical basis of the greenhouse effect.
Climate tipping point: A threshold beyond which a component of the climate system can shift substantially, potentially through self-reinforcing processes. Research assesses whether warming could trigger abrupt or difficult-to-reverse changes.

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