Climate models become more reliable 

Climate models are numerical representations of the Earth's climate system and are used to predict how the climate will change in response to various man-made factors such as greenhouse gas emissions, she explains. 

Research has indicated that the outcome of climate models depends far more on input parameters - such as cloud properties – than the computer equipment used, observes Dumé. 

One such climate model, climateprediction.net, uses computing time donated by the general public in that once installed on a personal computer, it runs in the background when the computer is idle. 

Previous results from this model have shown that average global temperatures could rise by 11 degrees Celsius by the middle of the 21st century unless drastic steps are taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, remarks Dumé. 

The most recent results show that the 'distributed' climate modelling approach is much more reliable than previously thought, and opens up new possibilities for researchers as it increases confidence in using the computer time that people across the world are willing to donate, explains the author. 

The results have also highlighted the relative importance of specific aspects of the models in deciding how sensitive they are to carbon dioxide, concludes Dumé – suggesting that it will be possible to focus future improvements to the models on predicting the effect of carbon dioxide on climate.