EdGCM: A Global Climate Model for the Classroom

该奖项资助了一个试点项目，以适应目前在大型主机计算机上运行的全球气候模式(GCM)，将其用作能够在大多数高中和大学实验室常见的廉价台式计算机上运行的全尺寸、三维GCM。此外，研究小组将在一系列互动研讨会中与教育工作者会面，讨论如何最好地将气候模型练习与科学课程相结合。总体目标是为高中生和本科生提供一个研究地球气候系统的教育工具。三维GCM是气候变化研究中使用的主要工具之一。然而，大多数可操作的GCM仍然驻留在拥有大规模计算资源的机构，如拥有超级计算机的国家实验室。因此，很少有学生在研究生之前接触过GCM。在某种程度上，由于不熟悉研究气候的最基本工具和概念，人们对使用这些方法的重要科学发现产生了不信任。研究人员已经做出了一些修改，以适应GCM，并与教育工作者合作，确定如何最好地为教育服务。最初的GCM是由美国国家航空航天局(NASA)开发的，是一个完全可操作的模型，用于研究过去、现在和未来的气候。为了在课堂环境中操作GCM，研究人员开发了一个用户友好的界面，其中包括一个允许教师管理模型的数据库。此外，最初的软件包允许教师添加教学材料，如文本、图表、图形和网络链接，以适应特定的教学计划。拟议的研究通过提供方便访问用户友好的GCM来研究气候，可能对广泛的公众和更广泛的教育和研究社区产生巨大影响。在可预见的未来，气候变化很可能仍然是公众关注和科学审查的一个话题，因为它影响到从经济到环境的方方面面。这个奖项可能会扩大对气候和建模的理解，超越相对较小的专家小组的领域。因此，这可能会鼓励其他人对地球气候的运作产生新的见解。

This award funds a pilot project to adapt a Global Climate Model (GCM), currently run on large mainframe computers, for use as a full-scale, 3-dimensional GCM capable of being run on inexpensive desktop computers common to most high school and university labs. In addition, the research team will meet with educators in a series of interactive workshops to discuss how the climate model exercise can best be integrated with science curricula. The overall goal is to provide upper level high school students and undergraduate students with an educational tool to investigate Earth's climate system.The 3-dimensional GCMs are one of the primary tools used in climate change research. Most operational GCMs, however, still reside at institutions with large-scale computational resources such as national labs with supercomputers. Thus, few students have exposure to GCMs prior to graduate school. To some extent, the lack of familiarity with the most basic tools and concepts for studying climate breeds a distrust of important scientific findings that employ those methods. The researcher has already made some modifications to adapt the GCM and has worked with educators to determine how best to serve education. The original GCM was developed at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and is a fully operational model to study climates of the past, present, and future. To operate the GCM in a classroom environment, the researcher has developed a user-friendly interface that includes a database that allows the teacher manage the model. In addition, the initial software package permits the teacher to add instructional materials such as text, charts, graphics, and web links to fit specific lesson plans.The proposed research has the potential for a tremendous impact across a wide swath of the general public and the wider education and research communities by providing easy access to user-friendly GCMs to study climate. Climate change is likely to remain a topic of great public concern and scientific scrutiny in the foreseeable future since it impacts everything from the economy to the environment. Potentially, this award would expand the understanding of climate and modeling beyond the realm of a relative small group of specialists. As such, this may encourage others to develop new insights into the working of Earth's climate.