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
During July 2023, Alex Gonzalez and the DIYnamics team co-convened a session at the ninth annual Earth Educators’ Rendezvous (EER) in Pasadena, CA entitled, “Teaching Atmosphere, Ocean, and Climate Dynamics with Interactive Demonstrations.” (https://serc.carleton.edu/earth_rendezvous/2023/program/morning_workshops/w4/index.html). The theme of this year’s workshop was on the atmospheric rivers that slammed California during the winter of 2022–2023. There…
On June 18, Alex’s grant entitled, “Collaborative Research: The Relationship between the Trade Wind Inversion Layer and the Seasonal Development of the Southeast Pacific Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ)” was awarded by the National Science Foundation’s Climate & Large-Scale Dynamics Program. Funding for this project will be for three years beginning in July 2023. See more…
In early June, Indrani Ganguly and Alex Gonzalez traveled to the State University of New York, University at Albany to present research at the 10th Northeast Tropical Workshop (https://www.atmos.albany.edu/facstaff/tang/NETropical/index.html). Indrani presented a poster entitled, “Investigating double-ITCZ biases in climate models: Role of daily-resolved air-sea interactions.” Alex presented a poster entitled, “Dynamical importance of the trade…
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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