What is climate science?

Question

What is the actual Science of climatology. Isn't it the ability to predict what will happen with weather in the future? Isnt that the only criteria by which to judge its validity as a science?

In Engineering we judge the science by standards like, can we predict how strong a foundation of a building is. We can test it and see if our construction is as strong as our calcuations predict.

In Biology we can test genetics easily in a lab.

In chemistry the same is true.

In physics they run experiemnts millions of times in a collider to prove their science...

How good is computer modeling in Climatology? Is it getting better? How recently has it 'gotten better'?

Answer 1

From Britannica.com:

climatology

Main branch of the atmospheric sciences concerned with both the description of climate and the analysis of the causes of climatic differences and changes and their practical consequences. Climatology treats the same atmospheric processes as meteorology , but it seeks as well to identify the slower-acting influences and longer-term changes of import, including the circulation of the oceans and the small yet measurable variations in the intensity of solar radiation.

Answer 2

Climate science has a number of sub fields or specialties,

Glaciologist's who study ice and and it history including ice cores which can be used to show a number of things about the climate going back (at the moment) 650k years including co2 content, isotopes of oxygen can show past climate, beryllium 10 can be used to study long term solar activity.

Biologists and Marine biologists who study trees rings and sediment cores also for indications of past climate.

This covers it pretty well

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climatology

Answer 3

It's the ability to predict climate.

Not the short term weather, but the average weather over a long period of time.

Yes, the science has advanced dramatically in the last 20 years.  But making predictions is MUCH easier these days, simply because natural causes are fairly unimportant, man made greenhouse gases are dominant.

This will give you some idea:

Meehl, G.A., W.M. Washington, C.A. Ammann, J.M. Arblaster, T.M.L. Wigleym and C. Tebaldi (2004). "Combinations of Natural and Anthropogenic Forcings in Twentieth-Century Climate". Journal of Climate 17: 3721-3727

summarized at:

http://www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/Ima...

Answer 4

No, you are looking more at Meteorology. Climatology is more the study of the atmosphere and how that effects weather. It is a much bigger picture than weather. The engineer can give you what might happen to a building foundation, but can you tell me how each crystal within the rebar will react with the concrete? And I do mean each crystal. Well that is what we are trying to do in climatology. We have people right now working on models but the variables are so many-it is like looking at each crystal of the rebar.

Answer 5

A fog created by Al Gore.