In the race to stay ahead of the curve in the world of climate-change research, there are few things as thrilling to scientists as a new tool to improve efficiency in their data collection and sense-making efforts.

Local and regional climate scientists got just such a thrill this week with the unveiling of the Scientific Platform for Applied Research and Knowledge Sharing (SPARKS), labeled ‘a big deal’ and as ‘a game changer’ by Professor Michael Taylor, who heads the Climate Studies Group at Mona.