Making the case for regional modeling: Tackling global environmental issues means adopting smaller, regional approach
(Phys.org) —While it is important to understand how the Earth system works from a process-level basis, it is clear that human activities are increasingly challenging assumptions about how that system works. Factor in climate change, and it is quickly apparent: one size certainly does not fit all. In their paper, "The Regional Nature of Global Challenges: A Need and Strategy for Integrated Regional Modeling," authors Dr. Kathy Hibbard and Dr. Anthony Janetos of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory make the case for integrated regional-scale analyses, where they discuss how regional dynamic interactions between human and natural systems provide insight into mitigation and adaptation strategies, their tradeoffs and consequences, and how these influence the global Earth system.