Ice Component of Models

CLIMATE MODELS HAVE developed from mathematical formulas used in the 19th century to try to predict the weather. The lack of accurate and comprehensive data and the need to rely on manual calculation techniques made these approaches very difficult, and ultimately, they were abandoned as it became clear that the results of the equations did not match real-world conditions. During World War II, military expediencies demanded that more data be collected about the atmosphere, and this capacity remained in force after the war. The quantity of data available enabled researchers to check their calculations against real-world conditions. The advent of computers reduced the time needed to complete calculations.

The result is that climate models were refined and developed to a far more sophisticated degree than had ...