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Tropical Climate Dynamics Lab

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 the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), marine atmospheric boundary layer clouds, the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO), the Hadley circulation, equatorial waves, tropical cyclones, El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), and tropical-extratropical interactions.  One of our primary goals is to improve understanding of observations of these complex phenomena using a hierarchy of models and observations. 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 climate science experiments to K–12 and college classrooms to mentoring middle- and high-school students and teachers on research projects, we strive to motivate a generation of future scientists.

NOAA GOES-17 imagery showing a double ITCZ, one ITCZ in each hemisphere, spanning the Pacific Ocean on 10 March 2018. Courtesy of NASA’s Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) Team.

Recent News

Welcome, Fouzia and Travis!

By Alex Gonzalez | August 23, 2021

The Tropical Atmospheric Dynamics Group welcomes new graduate students, Fouzia Fahrin and Travis Enzensperger. They both will be researching the east Pacific ITCZ and its associated climate model biases as a part of their Ph.D. and M.S. theses, respectively.

Katherine Hanson begins her Summer 2021 research on the ITCZ

By Alex Gonzalez | July 21, 2021

We welcome Urbandale High School Chemistry and Physical Sciences teacher, Katherine Hanson, to our research group for Summer 2021. Katherine will work on studying east Pacific ITCZ events that occurred from 2013 to 2019 in NASA observational and reanalysis data for northern ITCZs, southern ITCZs, and double ITCZs. Katherine is supported by one of Alex’s…

Alex hosts seminar at UNAM México City Seminar Series

By jowilly | May 25, 2021

Alex presented research entitled, “Interacciones de la dinámica y propagación de OMJ en simulaciones de modelos climáticos,” as a part of the Center for Atmospheric Sciences at UNAM México City Virtual Seminar Series (Ciencias Atmosféricas Para Quedarse En Casa). More info and seminar recording.

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