Describing the Oceans

Imagine trying to describe the circulation and temperatures across
the vast expanse of our oceans. Good models of our oceans not only
benefit fishermen on our coasts but farmers inland as well. Until
recently, there were neither adequate tools nor enough data to
construct models. Now with new data and new mathematics,
short-range climate forecasting for example, of an upcoming El Nino
is possible.There is still much work to be done in long-term
climate forecasting, however, and we only barely understand the
oceans. Existing equations describe ocean dynamics, but solutions
to the equations are currently out of reach. No computer can
accommodate the data required to approximate a good solution to
these equations. Researchers therefore make simplifying assumptions
in order to solve the equations. New data are used to test the
accuracy of models derived from these assumptions. This research is
essential because we cannot understand our climate until we
understand the oceans. For More Information: What.s Happening in
the Mathematical Sciences, Vol 1, Barry Cipra.