Michael R. Needham
About
I am a Ph. D. student working with Professor David Randall in the Department of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University. My current research investigates the different ways that heat and moisture are moved around within the earth system. I joined CSU in August 2018 and defended my M.S. thesis in January 2021 on the interactions between clouds, radiation, humidity, and tropical precipitation. Before that, I received my B.S. in Physics from Loyola University Chicago (of recent NCAA Men's basketball fame). I grew up in Kansas City, Missouri, and I currently live in Fort Collins, Colorado, with my wife Kelsey.
Research Interests
Analysis of large ensembles of climate model simulations to reduce statistical noise and better understand the model’s response to climate forcings (e.g., greenhouse gases, industrial pollutants).
Documenting the historical change in global-scale energy transport in the atmosphere and oceans due to anthropogenic aerosol emissions in the latter half of the twentieth century.
Using original isotope-enabled climate model simulations and paleoclimate proxy data to infer past hydroclimate changes over continental Eurasia.
Understanding the interactions between clouds, radiation, and humidity in the tropics
Programming Experience
Proficient in Python for data science applications, with experience using packages including:
Numerical and statistical analysis of varied datasets with NumPy
Dask for scaling python analysis to terabytes of data on High Performance Systems
Data visualization and figure preparation with MatPlotLib
Publications
Needham, M. R. & Randall, D. A. (In Press). Anomalous Northward Energy Transport due to Anthropogenic Aerosols during the 20th Century. Submitted to Journal of Climate
Needham, M. R., & Randall, D. A. (2021). Riehl and Malkus revisited: The role of cloud radiative effects. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 126, e2021JD035019 https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JD035019
Needham, M. R., & Randall, D. A. (2021). Linking atmospheric cloud radiative effects and tropical precipitation. Geophysical Research Letters, 48, e2021GL094004 https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL094004
A full list of publications and presentations can be seen by viewing my Curriculum Vitae, above.