Climate Modelling Beyond the Complexity: Challenges in Model-Building

Abstract

Among the most interesting and fascinating phenomena (that are predictable) are the complex ocean/atmosphere/land dynamical system called weather and its long time average climate. This complex dynamical system can be described in a simplified manner by the following features: (a) it evolves in time according to a set of rules; (b) the present conditions determine its future; (c) the rules governing them are usually non-linear; and (d) there may be many interacting variables describing it as a whole. It is widely accepted that the climate and the chemical composition on the Earth have been and are maintained at the steady state by the presence of life itself. Therefore, the climate can be considered through modelling processes on the environmental interface that is defined as an interface between two either abiotic or biotic environments which are in relative motion, exchanging energy through biophysical and chemical processes and fluctuating temporally and spatially regardless of its space and time scale. This interface as a complex system is a suitable area for occurrence of the chaotic irregularities in temporal variation of some physical or biological quantities describing their interaction. In this paper we consider some issues which are important from the point of view of the current climate modelling attempts. We deal with the following points: (i) overview of the results achieved until the present time, (ii) discussion of the term predictability beyond the complexity and (iii) numerical investigation of the system of two coupled logistic representing energy exchange of two interacting environmental interfaces relevant for providing insight into the properties of the Earth’s climate.