The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) forms part of a collaborative community dedicated to understanding the atmosphere and the interconnected processes that make up the Earth system. NCAR supports the community of atmospheric and geoscience researchers with tools such as aircraft and radar, to observe the atmosphere, and with technology and assistance to interpret and use these observations. Research projects are collaborations between NCAR scientists and university researchers, which include the following themes:
- atmospheric chemistry – the chemical structure of healthy and polluted air
- climate – temperature, rainfall, winds, and extreme events over decades or centuries, from prehistoric times to the present and into the future
- weather ingredients – such as cloud physics, storm structure, and other keys to improved weather forecasting
- weather hazards to transportation – detection and warning systems for turbulence and icing in the air and on the ground
- interactions between the sun and earth – including solar weather
- computer science innovation – for understanding and visualising the whole Earth system
- the role of humanity – in both creating change and responding to weather and climate.