Climate Reality

Computer Models

by WT Watson



So the force of nature is mighty, but the force of the dollar happens to be mightier. The government funds global warming research and the answers that mean funding will be continued are surprisingly always found. Computer models quickly get the needed results, but they cannot be widely accepted.

I was trained in CFD which is computational fluid dynamics. Computational runs can reduce the amount of wind tunnel testing and flight testing but can never replace them. The flow of air all around the earth can be calculated through the Navier Stokes equations, but the amount of computer power would be prohibitive. Just the boundary conditions of every blade of grass and every leaf of a tree would be impossible. Even for something as simple as a wing, the calculations can be prohibitive. This does not bode well for climate model calculations which are far more complex than a simple wing.