Metamodelling and experimental design: Case study of the greenhouse effect

Abstract In this paper a model is treated of the greenhouse effect, namely the Integrated Model for the Assessment of the Greenhouse Effect, IMAGE for short. This model has been developed and used on an operational level at the Dutch National Institute on Public Health and Environmental Protection (RIVM); it supports the Dutch Government in their decision process of countering the greenhouse problem. Emphasis lies on metamodelling as a technique for sensitivity analysis, and on experimental design as a tool for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of experiments with the model.