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.
Recent News
On February 16, Alex, Indrani, Marissa and co-authors (Gregory Cesana and Charlotte DeMott) published a paper entitled, “Dynamical Importance of the Trade Wind Inversion in Suppressing the Southeast Pacific ITCZ” in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres (https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2023JD039571). Congrats to everyone involved! The three key points of the paper are: East Pacific ITCZ surface wind…
On January 28–February 1, Alex and Fouzia attended the 104th American Meteorological Society (AMS) Annual Meeting in Baltimore, MD. Alex had an oral presentation entitled, “Dynamical Importance of the Trade Wind Inversion in Suppressing the Southeast Pacific ITCZ” (https://ams.confex.com/ams/104ANNUAL/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/427237) and a poster presentation entitled, “Different flavors of horizontal moisture advection influence equatorial Rossby wave and…
On December 6, Alex and co-authors (Lisan Yu, Yanxu Chen, Chidong Zhang, and Gregory R. Foltz) published a paper entitled, “Dry Air Outbreak and Significant Surface Turbulent Heat Loss During Hurricane Ian: Satellite and Saildrone Observations” in Geophysical Research Letters: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2023GL105583. Congrats, Alex! The three key points of the paper are: Hurricane Ian triggered a…
;
Many marine gastropods, including conchs and sea slugs, spend their early lives as plankton. Translucent membranes called velum help them maintain buoyancy and capture food particles, but disappear once the animal becomes a bottom-dweller.
📸 by Jialing Cai/homoplankton.com
Many marine gastropods, including conchs and sea slugs, spend their early lives as plankton. Translucent membranes called velum help them maintain buoyancy and capture food particles, but disappear once the animal becomes a bottom-dweller.
📸 by Jialing Cai/homoplankton.com
Like many of us "of a certain age," there are rumors about whether or not #Alvin has had any work done... after all, the deep sea sub doesn't exactly look 60!
📣 Find out all you ever wanted to know (and more) about ALVIN: http://go.whoi.edu/alvin60
Like many of us "of a certain age," there are rumors about whether or not #Alvin has had any work done... after all, the deep sea sub doesn't exactly look 60!
📣 Find out all you ever wanted to know (and more) about ALVIN: http://go.whoi.edu/alvin60