Research Focus
My research is focused on improving our understanding of the key processes determining Earth’s climate and climate variability on a variety of timescales ranging from seasonal, to decadal, to much longer geological scales. In particular, I am interested in the climatic role of ocean general circulation, ocean-atmosphere interactions and cloud dynamics. My research efforts acknowledge that, to fully understand, model and predict changes in climate characteristics that have a large impact on society (especially temperature and precipitation patterns), a fully coupled ocean- atmosphere perspective is needed one that accounts for changes in important variables such as the thermal structure of the slowly-adjusting ocean. Complementing observations with theory, I endeavor to accompany complex simulations of climate phenomena with simple models capturing the essential dynamics required to explain unanswered questions within climate science.
Current Projects
■ Understanding cloud feedback and natural aerosol fingerprints to interpret past warm climate forcing and constrain tropical climate sensitivity
■ Examining the links between Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation and Atlantic Multidecadal Variability
■ The effect of variations in cloud versus CO2 radiative forcing on tropical SST gradients, atmospheric circulation, and rainfall patterns
■ Characterizing and simulating ocean meridional overturning circulation during the warm Pliocene
Select Publications