SURF interns contribute to CliMA Science at Caltech

Over a 10-week summer period, the CliMA project welcomed three Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) interns. These undergraduate students were mentored by CliMA project scientists and software engineers on individual research projects that contributed to our model development. Thanhthanh Noel Nguyen, a second-year Caltech undergraduate, collaborated with Software Engineer Julia Sloan and the Land team. Her…

https://clima.caltech.edu/2025/10/07/surf-interns-contribute-to-clima-science-at-caltech/

Rethinking Vegetation Optics in Climate Models

By Renato Braghiere Vegetation plays a critical role in regulating Earth’s climate by absorbing sunlight, exchanging moisture with the atmosphere, and sequestering carbon. Yet, how vegetation is represented in climate models has remained surprisingly static for decades. Most climate models use a simplified classification called plant functional types (PFTs) — broad categories like “tropical trees” or “grasses” — and assign…

https://clima.caltech.edu/2025/07/03/rethinking-vegetation-optics-in-climate-models/

Constraining 21st century ocean circulation changes

The ocean contains a system of currents that connects different ocean basins. A significant feature of this system is found in the Atlantic Ocean basin and often referred to as the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC). The AMOC is crucial because it transports warm water northward and helps circulate water between the deep ocean and the surface. As a result, the AMOC plays a vital role in regulating both…

https://clima.caltech.edu/2025/06/02/constraining-21st-century-ocean-circulation-changes/

High-level, high-resolution ocean modeling at all scales with Oceananigans

https://clima.caltech.edu/2025/04/30/high-level-high-resolution-ocean-modeling-at-all-scales-with-oceananigans/