Our scientists are working on improving models of wildfire behavior, using research aircraft and other tools to explore the air quality impacts of smoke plumes, understanding how wildfires may change in a warming climate, and much more.

NSF NCAR provides the atmospheric and related Earth system science community with state-of-the-art resources, including supercomputers, research aircraft, sophisticated computer models, and extensive data sets.

The hundreds of scientists who work here research all things atmospheric — which includes everything from the microphysics of cloud formation and the chemistry of air pollution to large-scale planetary waves and the impact of increased greenhouse gases on our climate.

Our visitor center at NSF NCAR's iconic Mesa Lab in Boulder, Colorado, is open 363 days a year and offers state-of-the-art exhibits, a variety of public tour options, and custom school field trips.

These efforts span a wide range of applications, such as numerical weather prediction, decadal prediction, atmospheric composition and air quality, the middle atmosphere, hydrology, land-surface studies, reanalyses, solar dynamics, and making observations more amenable for assimilating into models.

Today, NSF NCAR provides scientists across the United States — and the globe — with a host of tools, from community models to research aircraft to supercomputers to workshops. NSF NCAR's in-house scientists collaborate with their peers in academia, government, and the private sector to build, refine, and expand NSF NCAR's community ...

In 1960, NSF NCAR began operations in Boulder, Colorado, as a program of the U.S. National Science Foundation managed by the nonprofit University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. At the time, NSF itself had been in existence only 10 years.

The digital assets encompass NSF NCAR's vast store of knowledge about the atmospheric, solar, and related Earth system sciences in categories such as publications, models and tools, support software, images, and measurements from satellites, airborne, and ground-based instruments.

From earlier severe storm warnings to more detailed seasonal precipitation forecasts, improved weather prediction capabilities are critically important for public safety, economic growth, and national security.

3090 Center Green Dr. Boulder, CO 80301. Email. Get in touch using our contact form. Public tours and exhibits