School of Marine Sciences

Ocean Modeling and Prediction

“A model is a purposeful and often radical abstraction. It should contain only those elements of reality that are needed to solve the problem. The least necessary model is the best possible model for the purpose.” Horace F. Judson (1980). The Search for Solutions. Henry Holt & Co., NY.

Predictions that can be tested are perhaps the most convincing hallmark of science. When the process is even moderately complex, developing a model is often the most efficient and direct means to summarize understanding and to generate novel predictions. The School of Marine Science includes faculty who work with students and colleagues toward evocative and parsimonious description of marine processes. Their approaches include an unusual diversity of numerical, analytical and analog models across an equally unusual array of scales.