Galvanizing these new efforts is the rise of machine learning techniques categorized as artificial intelligence. Schneider leans on AI to better incorporate the effects of clouds into climate models that use physics equations to see what’s ahead. Bretherton, worried that these equations will never fully capture clouds’ behavior, is developing new AI tools that can predict the future directly from real-world data, barely relying on physics equations at all.
While Schneider, Bretherton, and other physicists differ in their approach, they share a sense of urgency. “Climate is changing fast,” Bretherton said. “Having a perfect model in 100 years will not be useful for solving the climate crisis.”
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