Earth’s atmospheric circulation and its energy transport are essential for Earth’s habitability — past, present and future. Some of the most dramatic examples of the circulation’s influence include the abrupt seasonal increase of precipitation and reversal of trade winds that occur as part of the Monsoons and the seasonal migration of the storm track (region where weather systems occur most frequently) 10 degrees poleward. My research explores the physics of the atmospheric circulation from the equator to the pole and the surface to the stratosphere. I seek to improve understanding of the circulation through a combination of theory, hierarchical numerical modeling and observational data analysis. Through my research I have been able to explain why the Northern and Southern hemisphere circulations exhibit different seasonal evolutions of Monsoons and storm systems and predicting and demonstrating that moist thermodynamics exert a leading order control on the circulation response to anthropogenic climate change.
Awards and Achievements
- Sloan Fellowship ( 2015)
- NSF CAREER Award ( 2013)
- American Geophysical Union Holton Award ( 2011)