Climate and atmospheric science: raising the temperature

Areas of research have a tendency to wax and wane. New discoveries, new techniques or enhanced perception of societal relevance can have a major stimulatory effect on research in specific fields leading them to be viewed as “fashionable”. On the other hand, some fields decline as they are perceived as mature or lacking major new research challenges or societal relevance. The closely related areas of climate science and atmospheric science have the attributes of both massive societal relevance and a huge list of research challenges yet to be addressed adequately.