Global Climate Program
Our Global Climate Program investigates the operation of Earth’s climate system over a range of timescales, encompassing the study of Earth’s climate system past, present, and future. We use diverse techniques, ranging from geochemical measurements that provide indirect ‘proxy’ evidence for past changes in climate to high-resolution, global satellite and in-situ data to constrain changes in the modern climate system. We develop, apply, and interrogate a variety of numerical climate models, from Earth system models of intermediate complexity that represent the key physical and biogeochemical processes operating on the planet, to the state-of-the-art coupled ocean and atmosphere models that inform detailed future climate change projections.
Below, we outline major themes in our current research.
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Climate Dynamics
Our climate dynamics research focuses on how external drivers of climate change impact large-scale atmospheric and oceanic circulation. This includes widening of the tropical belt and expansion of the subtropical dry zones; dynamical and thermodynamical perturbations to mid-latitude storm tracks and the corresponding impacts on hydrology and extreme events; and changes in the ocean conveyor belt, otherwise known as the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). We also seek to understand how climate change impacts prominent modes of naturally occurring climate variability, including the North Atlantic Oscillation and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. Much of our climate dynamics research focuses on the role of near-term climate forcers (e.g., sulfate and black carbon aerosol).
- Atmospheric Aerosols
- High-latitude climates
- Climate and Biogeochemistry
- Past Climate Reconstruction