Project Leader:
Dr. Samar Khatiwala
Earth Institute Contact: Dr. Samar Khatiwala
Description:
This project will quantify and interpret the dependence of the spatial and temporal characteristics of atmospheric flow regimes, focusing on events bearing non-gaussian distributions. The work is expected to contribute to the understanding of low-frequency atmospheric variability and changes in weather extrema, and the sensitivity of such events to small variations in climate forcing. A hierarchy of numerical models will be employed, ranging from a baroclinic, quasi-geostrophic scheme to a simplified global climate model. This novel strategy will be applied to investigate the anthropogenic forcing (such as the doubling of carbon dioxide) on regime persistence time via probability density functions. This project addresses a topic likely to provide useful information on extreme weather conditions, and how they impact the climate system. It is anticipated that the results will be of interest to forecasting the breakdown of persistent regimes, and be relevant to society at large for mitigating the effects of unusual weather conditions. Statistical and diagnostic tools developed as part of this study will be made available to the scientific community.
EI Unit:
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO)
Core Disciplines:
Earth Sciences
Funding Agency:
National Science Foundation
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