NASA releases dataset of global climate change predictions up to 2100
By Chris Wood
June 10, 2015 
The new data combines historical measurements with
climate simulations models to provide forecasts for global temperature
and precipitation changes
(Credit: NASA)
NASA has released a dataset setting out how rainfall and
temperature patterns are likely to change in the coming decades. The
data covers 21 climate models, mapping how our environment could change
due to growing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
The information for the dataset was compiled as part of
the NASA Earth Exchange (NEX) – a collaborative analytical platform that
harnesses the power of state-of-the-art supercomputing, combining it
with NASA remote-sensing data to provide scientists with direct access
to huge pools of data. Essentially, the idea is to help scientists
better understand and make contingency plans for the multiple risks
presented by changes to the climate, from drought and floods, to heat
waves and agricultural issues.The dataset itself is available to the public, allowing users to view the potential environmental changes on a daily timescale and in great detail – from globally down to individual towns and cities. The climate projections provide a view of future precipitation and temperature patterns at a 25 km (15.5 mile) resolution, spanning the years 1950 to 2100. To build the tool, NASA combined real world historical measurements with climate simulation data from the international Fifth Coupled Model Intercomparison Project – a global, collaborative effort to study and better understand our changing climate. The predictive models range from "business as usual" scenarios up to worst-case conditions with hugely elevated greenhouse gas emissions. The agency believes that the dataset will provide scientists and planners with a much better understanding of the risks facing our fragile world. "NASA is in the business of taking what we’ve learned about our planet from space and creating new products that help us all safeguard our future," said NASA scientist Ellen Stofan. "With this new global dataset, people around the world have a valuable new tool to use in planning how to cope with a warming planet." The dataset can be downloaded here. Source: NASA 
Chris specializes in mobile technology for Gizmag, but also
likes to dabble in the latest gaming gadgets. He has a degree in
Politics and Ancient History from the University of Exeter, and lives in
Gloucestershire, UK. In his spare time you might find him playing
music, following a variety of sports or binge watching Game of Thrones.
All articles by Chris Wood================================================= NASA released a ton of data to help developing nations prepare for global warming
Image: NASA
The NASA data, which includes simulations from 21 different computer models, is part of the Obama administration's effort to push climate adaptation policies forward at the same time as it works to cut emissions of global warming pollutants like carbon dioxide, thereby lessening the magnitude of warming. The idea behind opening up these resources is that it will help developing countries that are far more vulnerable to many climate impacts than industrialized countries are, largely because of a lack of capacity to anticipate and withstand such effects, including sea level rise. The NASA data includes information from 21 different computer models, including how temperature and precipitation patterns may shift depending on greenhouse gas emissions through 2100. The data has an extremely high resolution of 15.5 miles, which allows the projections to shed light on potential conditions down to the scale of individual cities and towns. NASA says this information will help scientists and planners conduct climate risk assessments to better understand extreme events such as droughts, floods, heat waves and swings in agricultural output. 
Image: NASA
The models consider two different futures, one in which emissions increase in a roughly business as usual scenario, and one in which emissions of global warming pollutants, chiefly carbon dioxide, are dramatically curtailed. The new data comes from NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California. Broader White House climate resilience goals rolled outThe NASA initiative is part of a broader climate resilience program the White House announced on Tuesday, which includes $34 million in financial and in-kind contributions from the U.S. government and partner institutions such as the American Red Cross, Google, Esri, the Skoll Global Threats Fund and the British government.Known as the Climate Services for Resilient Development initiative, the program is aimed at supporting countries that lack the capacity to anticipate the impacts of global warming-related severe weather extremes, sea level rise and other phenomena. The initiative is proceeding to a pilot stage with programs to support climate-resilience set to launch in Colombia, Ethiopia and Bangladesh, the White House said in a fact sheet to reporters. 
Image: NASA
NASA's data and analysis tools are available to the public through the OpenNEX project, which is a cooperative program between NASA and Amazon to improve the public's access to climate information. In announcing the broader climate resilience initiative, White House officials pointed to the fact that climate information needs and capabilities vary from one country to the nextWhite House officials pointed to the fact that climate information needs and capabilities vary from one country to the next in the developing world. "The Partnership that is launching today recognizes that no single entity is capable of addressing the vast needs for improved climate services across the world’s developing nations — and that needs may vary from country to country and region to region," Brian Deese, a senior advisor to the president, and John Holdren, the president's science advisor, wrote in a blog post. So, while Ethiopia and Bangladesh cannot afford to devote billions of dollars into climate science programs at agencies like the Energy Department, NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), now its scientists and government ministers can reap the benefits of state of the art climate research.
Climate and Land Use Change Research and Development Program
National Climate Change Viewer (NCCV) HomeHome | Viewer | Tutorial (PDF) | Updates05-05-2014: The application now includes watersheds and new water-balance variables (snow water equivalent, runoff, soil water storage and evaporative deficit) 
The USGS National Climate Change Viewer (NCCV) includes the historical and future climate projections from 30 of the downscaled models for two of the RCP emission scenarios, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5. RCP4.5 is one of the possible emissions scenarios in which atmospheric GHG concentrations are stabilized so as not to exceed a radiative equivalent of 4.5 Wm-2 after 2100, about 650 ppm CO2 equivalent. RCP8.5 is the most aggressive emissions scenario in which GHGs continue to rise unchecked through the end of the century leading to an equivalent radiative forcing of 8.5 Wm-2, about 1370 ppm CO2 equivalent. To create a manageable number of permutations for the viewer, we averaged the climate and water balance data into four climatology periods: 1950-2005, 2025-2049, 2050-2074, and 2075-2099. We have used the air temperature and precipitation data from the 30 CMIP5 models as input to a simple water-balance model to simulate changes in the surface water balance over the historical and future time periods on the 800-m CONUS grid. Combining the climate data with the water balance data in the NCCV provides further insights into the potential for climate-driven change in water resources. The NCCV allows users to visualize projected changes in climate (maximum and minimum air temperature and precipitation) and the water balance (snow water equivalent, runoff, soil water storage and evaporative deficit) for any state, county and USGS Hydrologic Units (HUC). USGS HUCs are hierarchical units associated with watersheds and analogous to states and counties that span multistate areas such as the California Region and telescope down in area to subregions such as the California-Northern Klamath-Costal HUC4, and HUC8 subbasins such as Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon. The viewer provides a number of useful tools for characterizing climate change including maps, climographs (plots of monthly averages), histograms that show the distribution or spread of the model simulations, monthly time series spanning 1950-2099, and tables that summarize changes in the quantiles (median and extremes) of the variables. The application also provides access to comprehensive, summary reports in PDF format and CSV files of the temperature and precipitation data for each geographic area. Users interested in the water balance variables should consult the tutorial for a discussion of the model and the limitations in this application. A detailed description of the application and its use can be found in the NCCV Tutorial (PDF). 
U.S. Department of the Interior |
U.S. Geological SurveyURL: http://www.usgs.gov/climate_landuse/clu_rd/nex-dcp30.asp Page Contact Information: Website Manager Page Last Modified: Tuesday, May 06, 2014 |
NASA releases dataset of global climate change predictions up to 2100
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