Coupling ocean — atmosphere models

Recently, climate has become a topic of popular interest which can be discussed in both the academic and the political arena. A fundamentally important aspect to understanding climate (on Earth) lies with the coupling between the ocean and the atmosphere. This article explores the basis of the coupling and its role in helping to determine climate. The application of these principles has led to the construction and implementation of families of coupled general circulation models (CGCMs), the ubiquitous demands of which are drawing together many different branches of oceanography and meteorology.