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Earth science: The climate machine

Nature volume 463, pages 1014–1016 (2010)Cite this article

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A new generation of sophisticated Earth models is gearing up for its first major test. But added complexity may lead to greater uncertainty about the future climate, finds Olive Heffernan.

The government building in the south of England looks open and airy with its three-storey glass facade. But security measures such as guards stationed at the front serve as a reminder that this Ministry of Defence property is carrying out sensitive work important to the nation's future. Deep in the building's basement, two adjoining rooms house 27 big black boxes that churn through a million lines of computer code every hour to gaze into the future of Earth and its 7 billion inhabitants.

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  1. Olive Heffernan
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Olive Heffernan is the editor of Nature Reports Climate Change.

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Nature reports climate change

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Hadley Centre

Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory

National Center for Atmospheric Research

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Heffernan, O. Earth science: The climate machine. Nature 463, 1014–1016 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/4631014a

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