GFDL - Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory

Videos & Audio Podcasts Produced by Others that Feature Our Scientists

Giving interviews for television and radio news programs, documentaries, video and audio podcasts – providing members of the media high-end graphics and animations – these are some of the ways that NOAA GFDL's Climate Change, Variability, and Prediction group members communicate about our scientific research to the public.

On this page we provide links to some examples of videos and podcasts produced by organizations other than NOAA GFDL, that feature our group's scientists. We invite you to can download, view or listen to them from your computer.

[  CLICK HERE ] to go to our group's main
electronic media web page.

Video Podcasts & On-Line Videos
Produced by Others

Audio Podcasts & mp3 Downloads
Produced by Others

Climate Model Fundamentals

Tom Delworth and Keith Dixon discuss climate modeling in a set of three Headline: Earth programs.

• How Climate Models Work
  [5:41]
  
  
• Replicating The Past To Predict The Future
   [4:48]
  
  
• Do Climate Models Work?
   [6:38]
  

In the first two videos, Keith Dixon and Tom Delworth answer some climate model FAQ, describing how the big and complex computer programs known as climate models are the best way we have to capture and express mathematically what is known scientifically about the physical mechanisms that comprise the global climate system. They cover the key role that climate models play both in advancing the scientific understanding of how our planet's climate system works and in projecting future climate changes. And they summarize how the models are assembled, tested, and their credibility assessed.

In the third video, Tom and Keith talk about some of the strengths and weaknesses of the current generation of climate models, how some climate change conclusions are more certain than others, as well as how progress is made via increased scientific knowledge and additional computer power.

Note: Headline: Earth host Katie Fehlinger opens with some news items before more lengthy interview segments begin. To skip the news items, fast forward to the 1:45 mark of each of the videos.

In the Exploring Time TV documentary, Tom Delworth is featured in the segment on decadal climate change.

• Studying Climate Change Over Decades
   [2:45]

Tom Delworth appears in the segment that explores changes that occur on decadal time scales. His portion focuses upon decadal scale variability associated with fluctuations of the Atlantic Ocean and the computer modeling of these phenomena here at NOAA GFDL.

The ExploringTime.org official web site contains additional information and video segments.

The program first aired on The Science Channel in 2007.

Hurricanes & Global Warming

• Hurricane Risk
   [2:41]
  

NJN reporter Ed Rodgers describes an event designed primarily for insurance executives concerned with windstorm and flood risk in the Northeast United States. Tom summarizes the state of the science - an example of how GFDL research serves to inform decision makers.

The event was also reported on in a DailyRecord.com online newspaper article.

Tom Knutson's NOAA GFDL web pages provide more information on this research topic.

• How Will Climate Change Affect Hurricanes?
   [5:34]
  

Climate Central host Andrew Freedman interviews GFDL's Tom Knutson and MIT's Kerry Emmanuel to get their perspectives on the hurricane - climate change connection... an exciting and open research question that is being addressed by analyzing observations, refining theories, and conducting computer modeling experiments such as those done by Tom and his colleagues.

Early in the video, Tom explains how his research suggests that global warming might not lead to a greater number of hurricanes, but that the intensity of hurricanes could increase.

For more information on this hot topic, check out Tom Knutson's NOAA GFDL web pages.

Following the publication of a paper in Nature Geoscience, Tom Knutson appears on NJN News explaining his investigation of how the strength and frequency of Atlantic hurricanes may change as the climate warms.

• Hurricane Future
   [2:41]
  

The GFDL model does a very good job of reproducing the year by year number of hurricanes that were observed to occur from 1980 to 2006. That same computer model projects that the number of hurricanes will not increase by the end of the 21st century, though the intensity may increase. Tom describes to New Jersey Network News science and technology reporter Patrick Regan how his work aims to unravel the model-simulated mechanisms that lead to decreasing Atlantic hurricane frequency and increased hurricane intensity in a warmer climate.

More information on this topic can be found on Tom Knutson's NOAA GFDL Homepage.

Researchers at NOAA GFDL's Climate Change, Variability, and Prediction group have been interviewed for short audio reports assembled by EarthSky communications, inc. Below you will find a list of some of these 90 second radio podcasts.

• "Study predicts more intense, but fewer, hurricanes" with Tom Knutson, NOAA GFDL.
  [1:30] EarthSky web page for program 5577
  
  
• "Modeling past hurricanes with eye to future" with Tom Knutson, NOAA GFDL.
  [1:30] EarthSky web page for program 5329
  
  
• "Global Warming said to slow trade winds" with Gabriel Vecchi, NOAA GFDL.
  [1:30] EarthSky web page for program 4895
  
  
• "Drier climate predicted for African Sahel" with Thomas Delworth, NOAA GFDL.
  [1:32] EarthSky web page for program 4816
  
  
• "An inadvertent, great, global experiment" with Thomas Knutson, NOAA GFDL.
  [1:30] EarthSky web page for program 4810
  
  

Nature's Chris Smith interviews GFDL's Gabriel Vecchi, introducing Gabe as having "evidence that the Pacific's Walker circulation, a tropical wind current, is getting weaker and the blame, it seems, lies firmly at our feet."

• Podcast Transcript
  Note: Gabriel's interview segment begins at the 14:50 mark of the podcast.
  

Related Content: GFDL's "A Tropical Atmospheric Circulation Slow-Down" summary