Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL)

The Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) is an internationally-recognized climate research laboratory of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), part of the U.S. Department of Commerce. GFDL's mission is to be a world leader in the production of timely and reliable knowledge and assessments on natural climate variability and changes caused by human activity, and in the development of the necessary earth system models to successfully carry out this research.

GFDL works cooperatively in NOAA to advance its expert assessments of changes in national and global climate through research, improved models, and products. It is engaged in comprehensive long lead-time research fundamental to NOAA's mission.

The goal of this research is to expand the scientific understanding of the physical processes that govern the behavior of the atmosphere and the oceans as complex fluid systems. These systems are modeled mathematically and their phenomenology is studied by computer simulation methods.

The scientific work of the Laboratory encompasses a variety of disciplines including meteorology, oceanography, hydrology, classical physics, fluid dynamics, chemistry, applied mathematics, and numerical analysis. Research is also facilitated by the Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Program (AOSP), which is a collaborative program at GFDL with Princeton University. Under this program, regular Princeton faculty, research scientists, and graduate students participate in theoretical studies, both analytical and numerical, and in observational experiments in the laboratory and in the field. The program is supported in part by NOAA funds. AOSP scientists may also be involved in GFDL research through institutional or international agreements.