Bringing together observations and theory from meteorology, oceanography, physics, and chemistry, climate research explores global, regional and local weather patterns and the processes that maintain them. It also focuses on changes in these patterns over time, and how human activities influence them.
The vast and varied collection of information that scientists gather to study the Earth’s atmosphere, oceans and land—including from observing changes in wildlife and ecosystems, sampling air, drilling into ice at the North and South poles, examining tree rings and ocean sediments, and using sophisticated computer models—provides vital insights into what’s happening to our planet, why it is happening, and how to mitigate or adapt to it.
Scientists have developed a high level of confidence in the foundations of climate science, though inevitable bounds of uncertainty remain. The scientific method calls for continual testing of competing explanations, and new findings are continually bringing fresh insight.
As a result, understanding the impacts of climate change continues to grow in complexity. For example, researchers are now able to track more precise changes in the atmosphere, oceans and land. They can detect, for instance, stronger and more frequent hurricanes and accelerated melting trends in glaciers.
PNNL is committed to sharing climate research and data with the public in a way that facilitates engagement and informed community response. To this end, we annually prioritize 10 new insights in climate-change research and synthesize them into a format accessible to non-experts. This is called the 10 New Insights initiative.