Statistical physics offers an approach to studying climate change that could dramatically reduce the time and brute-force computing that current simulation techniques require. The new approach focuses on fundamental forces that drive climate rather than on "following every little swirl" of water or air.
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Two views, two approaches to simulation. Computer-generated images of a planet’s “zonal velocity†(the west-to-east component of wind) use direct numerical simulation (the traditional approach, left) and direct statistical simulation. The latter has limits, but its development is at a very early stage. (Credit: Marston lab/Brown University)
source: internet