When it comes to climate patterns, there are a few things to keep in mind, such as what climatologists study.
“Climatologists can take on a lot of roles,” said Zachary Handlos, senior academic professional at Georgia Tech’s School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. “It’s important to understand the difference between weather and climate.
“So weather is the study of what’s going on in the atmosphere right now. Climatology looks at data for a certain day and compares it to what’s called a climate normal. What this means is, they take a 30-year period of data for that day, and from that baseline, say, ‘Oh, the temperature today is above average or below average.’”
Climate science, also known as climatology, is the study of the Earth’s climate and how it changes over time. It’s a multidisciplinary field that includes aspects of physics, chemistry, oceanography, according to experts with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
A few duties you may not know about climatologists according to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources:
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A large part of a climatologist’s work involves developing and running computer simulations to predict future climate changes based on various factors like greenhouse gas emissions.
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Beyond just temperature and precipitation, they may study data from satellite imagery, ocean currents, ice cores, tree rings, and even pollen records to understand past climate patterns.
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Climatologists often work with scientists from fields like oceanography, ecology, geography, and atmospheric science to get a holistic view of climate systems.
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Beyond studying climate change, they also research ways communities and societies can adapt to the impacts of a changing climate.
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Their research findings can play a vital role in informing government policies and international agreements related to climate change mitigation.
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While climate change is a major focus, climatologists also research smaller-scale climate variations like regional weather patterns and seasonal changes.
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“State climatologists look at statistics about the atmosphere and report changes that may impact societal decisions to the public and stakeholders,” said Handlos. “So their climate talents will help with decisions in the agricultural and logistics industry. The statistics are also important for recording certain types of weather records when there are extreme weather events.”
Handlos said there are climatologists that lean more toward the academic route.
“You can have climatologists that are research scientists that look at climatic data and study changes in the Earth’s climate to better understand physically, dynamically why is the atmosphere (or) why the oceans are evolving in a way that’s changing climate. What factors are driven by natural things on Earth, like natural processes. How much do humans play a role in affecting changes in the climate through CO2 emissions, air pollution and things like that.”
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What is climate change?
“Climate change includes global warming and the “side effects” of warming such as melting glaciers, sea level rise, heavier rainstorms, more frequent rapid onset droughts, shifts in severe weather outbreaks, rapid intensification of tropical cyclones, ag., and human health impacts,” Bill Murphey, state climatologist at the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, told The Augusta Chronicle in an email.
Murphey added, “The main function of the Office of State Climatologist is to collect, disseminate, and interpret climate data. Our goal is to provide information to the public that is reliable and meets the highest quality standards.”
Murphey said responding to climate and meteorological data requests is one of many duties at the Georgia State Climate office.
“We also provide weekly input to the U.S. Drought monitor, assist producers with reporting agricultural impacts. In addition, we provide daily air quality forecasts for ozone and particle pollution for the state of Georgia and have been doing this year-round since 1995.”
This reporting content is supported by a partnership with several funders and Journalism Funding Partners.
Erica Van Buren is the climate change reporter for The Augusta Chronicle, part of the USA TODAY Network. Connect with her at EVanBuren@gannett.com or on X: @EricaVanBuren32.
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Things you may not know about climatologists and climate science