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What is a Global Circulation Model (GCM)?
This picture shows how in a climate model, the world is broken up into many
areas. High-resolution models have millions of areas! The areas are called
gridcells. Each gridcell has a location based on its position on the,
earth and which vertical layer it's in. Vertical layers are layers of air
above the ground - like a bunch of blankets covering the earth one
upon the other. Each "blanket" would represent a vertical layer. In a model,
each layer may be a number of feet or meters thick or defined at the different
pressure levels as you go higher. In the lower
left of the picture you can see what's going on in each column of gridcells.
Next page
->
what is a GCM, continued
Links and resources
This picture shows how in a climate model, the world is broken up into many
areas. High-resolution models have millions of areas! The areas are called
gridcells. Each gridcell has a location based on its position on the,
earth and which vertical layer it's in. Vertical layers are layers of air
above the ground - like a bunch of blankets covering the earth one
upon the other. Each "blanket" would represent a vertical layer. In a model,
each layer may be a number of feet or meters thick or defined at the different
pressure levels as you go higher. In the lower
left of the picture you can see what's going on in each column of gridcells.
Next page
->
what is a GCM, continuedLinks and resources
