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Glacier Mass Balance for a rainforest

Simulate a rainforest live in your browser. This runs the real Glacier Mass Balance solver — adjust the inputs, watch it respond instantly, and export the result. No install, no account.

Milankovitch CyclesLive

Controls

Presets

Three slow changes in Earth's orbit — the stretch of its ellipse (eccentricity), the tilt of its axis (obliquity), and the wobble of that axis (precession) — combine to modulate summer sunlight at high latitudes. That insolation rhythm paces the glacial-interglacial cycles recorded in ice and ocean cores.

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Data Inspector

Eccentricity~100 kyr
Obliquity~41 kyr
Precession~23 kyr

Insolation forcing

Reading this result: With obliquity weighted highest, a ~41 kyr beat dominates — the pattern that paced glacial cycles before ~1 million years ago, when axial tilt led the forcing.

Runs locally in your browser — free forever. Scale to the cloud when reality gets heavy.

2

Energy Balance

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Planetary Energy BalanceLive
Equilibrium surface temperature
13.7°C
286.9 K

Controls

Presets

A planet warms until it radiates away exactly the sunlight it absorbs. Balancing absorbed power S(1−α)/4 against εσT⁴ gives the equilibrium temperature. An emissivity below 1 represents greenhouse gases trapping outgoing infrared, raising the surface temperature.

▶ Run in Python

Data Inspector

Absorbed power238 W/m²
No-greenhouse T-18.6 °C
Greenhouse warming+32.3 °C

Governing equation

Reading this result: Dropping emissivity below 1 mimics greenhouse gases: they add 32 °C on top of the -19 °C bare-rock temperature.

Runs locally in your browser — free forever. Scale to the cloud when reality gets heavy.

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About this simulation

The full Glacier Mass Balance tool models a rainforest with the same numerics engineers and scientists use — running entirely client-side. Change any parameter and the result updates in real time, so you can build intuition, check a design, or teach the concept without spreadsheets or installs.

More you can do with Glacier Mass Balance

Other ways to simulate a rainforest

Frequently asked questions

How do I simulate a rainforest?
Open this page and use the live Glacier Mass Balance tool below — set your inputs and the simulation runs instantly in your browser using real numerics. No install, no account needed.
Is it free?
Yes. The simulation runs free in your browser. A one-time unlock or a Pro plan adds advanced parameters, saved presets, data import, and clean exports.
Can I use my own numbers?
Absolutely — every input is adjustable, and with data import you can drive a rainforest from your own measurements.