This experiment uses a computer model to try to calculate what the climate will be like in the future. However, small changes to the model can have large effects on the predictions that result.
There's only one way to get around this problem. The results of a single model cannot be gauged for accuracy. From many thousands of models, patterns emerge. Some results will be wildly inaccurate and predict warming or cooling outside what the Earth is likely to see. But if a significant percentage of results fall within a smaller range, the researchers can get a feel for how the climate might be changing.
In the BBC experiment, each computer ran one individual climate model. The model calculated the climate, year by year, from 1920 right through to 2080.
Check out the results (very cool experiment if I must say so myself):
BBC - Science & Nature - Climate Change
The BBC and the Oxford University research team are no longer running the joint climate change experiment. It has closed to new participants.
If you have already installed the BBC climate experiment on your computer, it will continue to run to completion. There is no deadline and every day that your computer is running adds to the research. Whenever your individual model finishes, its results will be sent to Oxford and will contribute to the climate science.
The Oxford team is still welcoming volunteers to their own experiments but – please note – theirs are aimed at experienced computer users. They are available for download from
climateprediction.net.
Climate Change Experiment
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