The Global Atmospheric Research Program

Abstract

Four years ago, our report on the Global Atmospheric Research Program (Perry, 1975) was written while an observational armada assembled for the GARP Atlantic Tropical Experiment (GATE). Now, the data resulting from that massive effort have been archived and serve as raw material for a still‐growing body of research on the tropical atmosphere. Again we write on the eve of a still more audacious adventure: The Global Weather Experiment, as we now term the First GARP Global Experiment (FGGE). Designed to advance our ability to predict weather and our understanding of climate, this massive international undertaking will similarly nourish research throughout the world in the global problems of weather and climate.

Global Change: From Rhetoric to Reality

“…For the most part, these programs focused on one or another component of our complex planet and primarily involved the scientific disciplines specialized to address that component. For example, the Global Atmospheric Research Program (GARP) [Perry, 1975; Perry and O'Neill, 1979; Fein et al, 1983] addressed the large‐scale circulation of the atmosphere, and involved principally meteorologists and oceanographers. These programs not only advanced our understanding of the processes involved, but also demonstrated the power of modern observing technology, particularly satellites.…”

Modeling stream discharge and nitrate loading in the Iowa-Cedar River basin under climate and land use change

“…These equations were otherwise known as the first law of thermodynamics, Newton's second law of motion, the continuity equation, and the ideal gas law. Yet a formal definition of climate emerged only two decades after the first GCM, defined by the Global Atmospheric Research Program (GARP) of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) as a system composed of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, land surface, and biosphere (Perry, 1975). While the history of climate models started from the most complex type in the GCMs, the difficulties in prediction, forecast, and computation prevented their wide adoption (Ferraro et al, 2003;Edwards, 2001).…”