Since it is not possible to perform climate experiment "in situ", scientists developed computer simulators based on dynamical and thermodynamical equations. These simulators are capable of reproducing the main characteristics of the climate system. However, the complexity of this representation is dependent upon both the requirements needing to be fulfilled as well as the computer power available.
Amongst the wide variety of climate models developed worldwide, the Canadian Regional Climate Model (CRCM) developed at UQAM is based on the latest and most performant numerical techniques in numerical simulations. This model is capable of producing climate simulations at high resolution, where the distance between each horizontal gridpoint is smaller than 45km, and with time step of 15 min.
These simulators are developed to answer many questions relating to our climate and which impact the economy and the daily life of the population. Resources such as agriculture, energy, forest and fish are particularly sensitive to extreme and variation of the climate system.
This section presents the main idea behind the climate simulators as well as major contributions from network scientists.