Earth is a living system that cycles many
elements necessary for life.
NCAR oceanographer Matt Long tells us more.
So, we're here at the National Center for
Atmospheric Research with NCAR scientist Matt
Long and can you tell me a little bit about
what you do here at NCAR.
My work tends to focus on the application
of Earth system models.
The primary thing that I do is work on the
development of the Community Earth System
Model and specifically I focus on the component of that model that represents the role of
the ocean in the global carbon cycle.
How did you get involved in this type of research and how does that relate to the work that
you're doing now?
So, I actually started my career as a civil,
environmental engineer designing water and
wastewater treatment plants.
And then over time I got interested in larger and larger scales and thinking about the climate problem.
Climate change is really a manifestation of a human-environmental interaction that's gone awry.
We've been using the atmosphere as, kind of a dumping ground for CO2 and what we need
to do now is develop the tools and skills
to really manage that problem.
Do you only use computer models for your investigation?
In addition to using Earth system models,
we also depend heavily on observation.
The work that I've primarily focused on at
NCAR entails observations collected from a
Gulfstream V aircraft platform and in particular we've done things like fly sorties over the
Southern Ocean to measure the distribution of oxygen and CO2.
And so, it's that interchange between extracting information out of observations of the real
system and comparing them with the model that we really advance the science.
Why is it important to study the Earth as
a system?
Yeah, so that's a really interesting question.
I think the answer is best found by considering the history of this planet.
Life evolved about 3.5 billion years ago,
but when life first evolved there was no oxygen
in the atmosphere.
But, about 2.2 billion years ago, some microorganisms developed this neat trick called "photosynthesis."
They could harvest energy from the sun and as a biproduct of that, they produced oxygen.
And that opened up a niche for organisms like humans to exist.
And so, the point there is that the natural
biosphere persists in a delicate balance and
has played a fundamental role, actually, in
controlling the nature of the planet.
And so, the challenge then is for us to really understand the delicate nature of the interconnected
networks that sustain the biosphere and sustain a habitable planet, and enable our societies
then to dovetail with those natural networks.
