CICS Research Themes

Satellite picture of a phytoplankton bloom in the Southern Ocean induced by iron fertilization during the SOIREE experiment.

The Cooperative Institute for Climate Science (CICS) plays a central role in fulfilling the demand for basic and applied research on climate variability and change, environmental impacts, mitigation options and response strategies, as well as training future scientists in these areas and disseminating research results to policy makers, public school teachers, business leaders, and the general public. The strength that the Cooperative Institute brings to bear on these problems is the combination of a world-class applied research program on climate variability and change at the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) partnered with a comprehensive multidisciplinary venue for education and research on climate, technology, and societal interactions found at Princeton University in the Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Program (AOS) and in the Princeton Environmental Institute (PEI). The core of the education program is provided by the AOS Program, which was created in 1967 and has trained many of the leading climate scientists in the world.

CICS research is divided among three integrated themes. Ongoing research is represented by the Earth System Modeling and Analysis, Data Assimilation and Earth System Modeling Applications. Climate policy research is integrated into all of these themes.

Earth System Modeling and Analysis
Data Assimilation
Earth System Model Applications

A key aspect of all three CICS research themes is the synergistic effect of each on the others. This leveraging effect across themes enhances the prospect that this research will prove of critical importance to the community of scientists and decisions makers concerned with impacts between Earth systems and human systems.