Media advisory: Lab's 'science on saturday'lecture looks at climate models and the weather around us

WHO: Lab scientist Dean Willliams, and teachers Roger Johnson and Tiffany Burkel, will present "Withstanding Climate Change: You Can Change the World."

WHAT: This presentation is designed to give middle- and high-school students a basic understanding of what climate models are and how they function. The evolution of the resolution and complexity of climate models from the mid 1970s to the present will be discussed, as well as the changes in data set size. Methods for testing climate models against a variety of benchmarks such as historical climate changes or seasonal changes will be explained. The presentation shows that various climate models have different strengths and weaknesses and that the average of a number of models produces the best results. Several key issues arising from global climate change will be highlighted followed by suggestions for student actions that will help them limit their carbon dioxide emissions.

WHEN: Saturday, Feb. 19, 2011

Session I: 9:30 a.m.

Session II: 11:15 a.m.

WHERE: Bankhead Theater, 2400 First St., Livermore.

NOTE: Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis; there is no pre-registration. Directions, maps and a complete list of lectures are available on the Science on Saturday Website. Science on Saturday is presented by LLNL's Science Education Program.