Research Topics

Atmosphere dynamics, stratosphere/mesosphere, climate

My research is currently involved in four distinct research areas supported through grants from NSF and NASA, all of which are trying to better understand various atmospheric phenomena.

These topics are as follows: (1) to better understand what controls upwelling through the tropical tropopause and its effect on stratospheric water vapor; (2) using high resolution radiosonde data to characterize atmospheric gravity wave activity and better understand the sources for this activity; (3) using high vertical-resolution and conventional radiosonde data, together with modeling, to investigate the nature of the extratropical tropopause; and (4) to see the influence of the quasi-biennial oscillation on deep tropical convection.

Recent Ph.D dissertations done under my supervision include the following diverse topics: (1) using mechanistic modeling to understand the controls on upwelling through the tropical tropopause; (2) using high vertical-resolution radiosonde data to get information on gravity waves in the troposphere and lower stratosphere; and (3) using diagnostic procedures, idealized models, and numerical experiments to explain some shortcomings in constituent transport by winds from data assimilations.