What is a Climatologist
Author: Ezra Drissman

A climatologist is someone who studies climates. Although
often confused with meteorology, climatology is quite a
different profession. Think of it this way. A meteorologist
studies the climate just in the short term.

The career outlook for a Climatologist is favorable. They
make on average $55-$95 thousand a year.

He or she predicts what the weather is going to do,
including the winds, and the amount of precipitation we are
going to have.

By contrast, a climatologist studies trending climate over
the long term. For example, the climate you live in depends
on where you live geographically. If you live in the South
of the United States, for example, your weather is
generally going to be much warmer overall that it will be
if you live in the Midwest or in the northeastern region of
the United States. This "climate" is what a climatologist
studies, not short-term weather patterns predicting what's
going to happen today, tomorrow or next week in the weather
so that you can wear a raincoat out the next time you go to
work or school, for example.

What climate determines

The climate you live in determines several things about the
area you live in. The type of plants that grow there, are
one example of what climate affects. As a climatologist,
you study the climate in a particular area and then try to
forecast what's going to happen in the long term. What will
happen with climate over the long term affects everything,
from food production, to survival of endangered species, to
energy usage, even health, life expectancy, or the very
survival of the human race itself.

Becoming a climatologist

If you become a climatologist, you'll need to study
physical and biological sciences and get a degree in
atmospheric science or something similar. In general,
you'll start working with other climatologists who are more
experienced than you are. As you advance in your
profession, you can specialize in what you feel most
comfortable with, such as in the lab doing data analysis or
in the field collecting research.

What does being a climatologist have to do with being
"green"?

As a climatologist, you not only study the long-term trends
in climate within a given area, but you also try to
forecast what's going to happen over the long-term with the
climate in a given area based upon several characteristics.
Among the things you study, for example, are the effects
pollution has on climate both now and in the future. For
example, you study what's called "atmospheric aerosol
content," which are microscopic particles NOT made of gas
but that nonetheless affect climate like greenhouse gases
do. These types of particles can be both natural and
man-made. Some examples include mineral dust, ammonium
sulfate, pollen, carbon or soot emissions, and so on.

By studying these things, you as a climatologist can help
predict how our human behavior is affecting the earth
either negatively or positively in regard to climate. You
can also work with other scientists to make recommendations
as to changes humans can make so that we positively affect
our climate and therefore our very survival.

For example, climatologists were among the instrumental
scientists who discovered global warming and told us what
we can do about it so as to slow it down and therefore
protect the health of the planet, other animals' survival,
and our own survival, too.

In other words, you as a climatologist can absolutely give
humans the knowledge we need to change how we behave so
that we protect the planet, ourselves, and the other
species that live here.


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