The large transfer of heat across the Pacific Ocean modifies the patterns of weather, storms, and air temperature around the world. ENSO also affects the frequency of hurricane landfalls in the United States. Today, the coupled ocean-atmosphere models used to understand the ENSO allow an accurate prediction of this phenomenon a year or more in advance. This success, dramatic as it is, will improve further with technological developments in computers, satellites, and ocean monitoring. Potential human impacts on the atmosphere and oceans provide an additional impetus for climate prediction research.
Humans add large amounts of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere every year.
These gases may change the average global temperature and the magnitude of climatic fluctuations. For example, higher concentrations of greenhouse gases may change the frequency of severe storms. Thus, research into the processes that control human perturbations to climate often includes a prediction component. While climate research can aid insurers, differences in culture and tradition have precluded effective communication between the two groups. To help breach these communication barriers, the RPI funds predictive climate research and creates communication tools that translate the results of climate research into a format that insurers can interpret and use.