Acronyms Site Map

What Is a Coupling Process and How Is It Related to Climate?

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Dr. Lagerloef completed a Ph.D. in Physical Oceanography at the University of Washington in 1984. In 1995, he co-founded Earth and Space Research, a non-profit scientific research institute in Seattle where he has developed several research projects devoted to studies of the upper ocean dynamics and climate variability using satellites.

The Aquarius satellite mission was launched to study global ocean salinity from space - allowing scientists to observe large-scale patterns of ocean saltiness, something never been done before. One way this data is being used is to better understand how the ocean and atmosphere interact: how they "couple" to create processes we experience on a daily basis like evaporation and precipitation. Dr. Lagerloef explains these interconnected processes and how complex they can become.

Full webinar: How Would You Summarize the Effects of Sea Surface Salinity on Ocean Circulation?

Click here for a transcript of this clip (PDF, 43.2 KB).

• Energy and the Water Cycle
• The Water Cycle (Photorealistic)
• The Water Cycle
• The Water Cycle in Coastal Zones
• Hydrologic Cycle Diagram
• The Water Cycle: Surface and Ground Water
• Water Cycle Overview
• The Water Cycle
• Water, Water Everywhere: Water Cycle & Climate Change
• Aquarius & the Water Cycle
• Water Cycle: Flow of Atmospheric Water Vapor
• Precipitation Changes: Trends Over Land from 1900 to 1994
• Global Precipitation Rates
• Global Precipitation and Seasons on Earth
• Water, Water Everywhere: Condensation & Precipitation
• Water Cycle: Precipitation
• Sources of Aerosols
• Sedimentary Records Link Himalayan Erosion Rates and Monsoon Intensity Through Time
• How Much More Rain Will Global Warming Bring?
• Exploring Regional Differences in Climate Change
• Watch a Raindrop Travel Through the Water Cycle

• Analyzing and Interpreting Data. Scientific investigations produce data that must be analyzed in order to derive meaning. Because data patterns and trends are not always obvious, scientists use a range of tools - including tabulation, graphical interpretation, visualization, and statistical analysis - to identify the significant features and patterns in the data. Scientists identify sources of error in the investigations and calculate the degree of certainty in the results. Modern technology makes the collection of large data sets much easier, providing secondary sources for analysis.
• Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions. The goal of science is the construction of theories that provide explanatory accounts of the world. A theory becomes accepted when it has multiple lines of empirical evidence and greater explanatory power of phenomena than previous theories.