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A Scientific Strategy for U.S. Participation in the GOALS (Global Ocean-Atmosphere-Land System) Component of the CLIVAR (Climate Variability and Predictability) Programme (1998) / Chapter Skim
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8 Empirical and Diagnostic Studies
Pages 36-38

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From page 36...
... Empirical studies proposed under GOALS should encompass a broad spectrum of activities ranging from investigations that search for empirical relationships with predictive value to investigations intended to produce a better understanding of processes leading to improved parameterizations for prediction models. In keeping with the overall objectives of GOALS, priority is accorded to diagnostics and systems studies pertaining to relationships and processes that influence the seasonal-to-interannual predictability of climate variations, first over North America and then globally.
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From page 37...
... Examples of other specific products obtainable from diagnostic studies include estimates of budgets of atmospheric mass and moisture and of atmospheric and oceanic heat; fresh water and momentum fluxes and budgets; and the movement and evolution of ocean heat content, and the surface heat balance. The new ocean data collected under GOALS, will enable the determination of the role of planetary-scale ocean waves (including the "delayed oscillator" mechanism)
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From page 38...
... But because of the limited time span of historical data record, innovative approaches are needed to address the long time scales of interest in GOALS. Empirical searches should also be made for regular behavior; very-low-frequency phenomena; and spatial, temporal, or mechanistic links between elements of the coupled system, in order to identify elements or features that may lead to improvements in prediction skill.
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Key Terms

  • empirical studies
  • convection zones
  • studies include
  • empirical relationships
  • predictive value

  • time span
  • beyond empirical
  • include quantitative
  • ocean data
  • specific products

  • products obtainable
  • remote forcing
  • processes governing
  • atmospheric variability
  • pathway connecting

  • slowly evolving
  • land surface
  • toga emphasis
  • data record
  • major land

  • heat content
  • hydrological cycle
  • studies proposed
  • atmospheric teleconnections
  • assessed empirically

  • limited time
  • basic strategy
  • extend beyond
  • composite structure
  • surface processes


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