General circulation models are based on the fundamental laws of physics and chemistry, and they are designed to ___________.
A) determine whether places are going to experience bad hurricane seasons or droughts during the next year
B) measure urban heat islands and identify where changes need to be made in a community
C) predict the weather over periods of weeks and months
D) simulate the history of weather on earth for the last ice age
E) model climate behavior over decades

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

General circulation models are designed to model climate behavior over decades. They use the fundamental laws of physics and chemistry to simulate the complex interactions between the atmosphere, oceans, and land, allowing researchers to make predictions about how climate may change over long periods of time. They are not designed to predict short-term weather patterns or to measure specific localized phenomena like urban heat islands. They may be used to help predict the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events like hurricanes, but only over longer time frames. While general circulation models can be used to reconstruct climate patterns in the past, they are not designed to simulate historical weather patterns on a day-by-day or even year-by-year basis.

General Circulation Models Are Based on the Fundamental Laws of Physics