About the Lab
Welcome to the tropical climate dynamics research group at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI)! We are interested in atmospheric and oceanic processes in the tropics and their interactions with higher latitudes.
We study a variety of topics, including air-sea interaction, the coupling between clouds and atmospheric circulations, extreme rainfall, and marine meteorology. Phenomena of interest include the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO), the Hadley circulation, equatorial waves, tropical cyclones, and El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO).
Our primary goal is to improve physical understanding of these complex phenomena using a hierarchy of models and observations, including our own atmospheric instrumentation. With this improved understanding, weather and climate prediction can be guided in the right direction.
We are also involved in science education and outreach, particularly at WHOI and in the local Cape Cod community. From bringing hands-on rotating tank experiments to K–12 and college classrooms, to conducting teacher workshops on atmospheric and oceanic science education, we strive to motivate a generation of future scientists.
Recent News
On 6 August, Zenon Davidson presented his Summer Student Fellowship research on clouds and air-sea interaction at the WHOI visiting student poster session, entitled, “Autonomous Characterization of Marine Clouds from Ship-Based All-Sky Imagery: Cloud Radiative Effects during the South Asian Summer Monsoon.” Congrats, Zenon!
On 8 August, a proposal submitted by Alex G., Alex K., and James Edson (WHOI, Applied Ocean Engineering and Physics) was funded by WHOI’s Access to the Sea Program, from September 2026–August 2028. The project will focus on observing marine fog in coastal Martha’s Vineyard via existing air-sea instrumentation, new cloud instrumentation, and weather balloons…
On 2 July, Fouzia successfully defended her Ph.D. dissertation at Iowa State University entitled, “What Shapes Tropical Rainfall over the East Pacific? Insights from Low Clouds and Convectively Coupled Equatorial Waves.” A big congrats to Fouzia!
On 24 June, Fouzia orally presented her research at the Joint MPAS/WRF Users Workshop 2026 entitled, “Assessing kilometer‐scale MPAS‐A performance in representing the East Pacific ITCZ and convectively coupled equatorial waves.” More information: https://www.mmm.ucar.edu/events/133496/agenda. Video recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AC2L5mi7r7A.
On 2 June, Alex G hosted the WHOI’s Department of Physical Oceanography weekly seminar entitled, “Vertical momentum mixing in the atmospheric boundary layer and its role in tropical Pacific Ocean winds and rainfall.” Abstract: Earth system models have severe rainfall biases over the tropical Pacific Ocean, with a zonal rainfall band in the Southern Hemisphere…