There is a great deal of technical jargon on the FAQ pages about these climate models but I just want a layman\'s description of what it is my sulphur model is trying to do and what the timescale is for the receding and then increasing icecaps etc. In other words how do I describe it to my children?

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This may not quite meet your need, but there are links to resources for schools on the site here. And within the climate science pages some are much more technical than others.

But the sulphur model is more complcated than the first ones run under his project, called often called \'slab\' (though confusingly the sulphur are also slab but just have a few more bits). Unfortunately the sulphur experiments have not yet been written up in the same way. I\'ve no doubt though that somebody more skilled than I will offer more links or have a go at a simple guide. I agree that it would be helpful to users. The trouble is, the world is a complicated place - if it were not we would not need to run these experiments.

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This may not quite meet your need, but there are links to resources for schools on the site here. And within the climate science pages some are much more technical than others.

But the sulphur model is more complcated than the first ones run under his project, called often called \'slab\' (though confusingly the sulphur are also slab but just have a few more bits). Unfortunately the sulphur experiments have not yet been written up in the same way. I\'ve no doubt though that somebody more skilled than I will offer more links or have a go at a simple guide. I agree that it would be helpful to users. The trouble is, the world is a complicated place - if it were not we would not need to run these experiments.

Reply by R U Todd.
Thank you, but when for example I see the Arctic ice-cap on my world recede and then start to reform is the timescale over which this is happening measured in months, years, or centuries?
It seems very strange that there isn\'t an associated website that explains to the non-scientific but enthusiastic amateur what is going on. More user-friendly info might get more users of climateprediction.

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This sort of problem / question is better asked on our community forum <a href=\"http://www.climateprediction.net/board/index.php\"> here.</a>
Perhaps in <a href=\"http://www.climateprediction.net/board/viewforum.php?f=18\"> this</a> section.

This will attract lots of people with answers long and short, and references to info in other places for you to read.

However, for a short answer, there are two possibilities:
1. The time scale should be visible in the info at the bottom of your model.
If you see the ice cap start to grow, look at the date. Then, when it starts to receed again, look at the date again.

2. Or are you talking about the screen saver?
This is wasting processor time if you are running it a lot just to see the spinning globe. The recommendation is to have the screen go blank instead.
When you want to see how the model is doing, use the Show graphics button in the Work tab. You have to click on the model name first.