My main research interests are aimed towards an improved understanding of dynamics and transport in the atmosphere. In particular, I am interested in stratosphere-troposphere dynamical and transport coupling and their influence on surface climate. I am also in charge of the development of the high-top version of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) general circulation model ModelE and its participation in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) Phases 6 and 7.
A sample of my ongoing projects on large-scale dynamics and transport are:
1) Understanding the linearity of dynamical sensitivity in current generation climate models. This is work done in collaboration with Dr. Ivan Mitevski (former doctoral student advisee in the Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics (APAM) at Columbia University, currently at Princeton University). Sample publication.
2) Improving the representation of the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation (QBO) in general circulation models, specifically with respect to assessing the influence of ozone coupling on the QBO and identifying respective new observational constraints. This work is performed with former NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellows, Dr. Kevin DallaSanta and Dr. Molly Menzel, and in collaboration with Dr. Alison Ming (University of Cambridge, UK) through the APARC-endorsed QUOCA and International Space Science Institute INFO-QBO activities. Sample publication.
3) Developing novel observationally-based constraints of tropospheric transport timescales to improve understanding of the interhemispheric transport processes controlling ozone, ozone precursors and aerosols. This work was initially funded through NASA's Atmospheric Composition and Analysis proposal (18-ACMAP18-0024) on which I was Principal Investigator and combined recent developments in tracer inversion theory with new aircraft measurements from the NASA Atmospheric Tomography Mission (ATom) to produce novel data-constrained estimates of interhemispheric transport timescales. This work is performed in collaboration with Professor Darryn Waugh (Johns Hopkins University) and Dr. Stephen A. Montzka (NOAA). Sample publication.
4) Identifying and understanding the role of the Asian monsoon in connecting boundary layer pollution to the lower stratosphere. This work was part of a National Science Foundation funded project on which I collaborated with PI Dr. Yutian Wu at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University. Sample publication.
5) Understanding the influence of stratospheric ozone-circulation coupling on the North Atlantic ocean circulation. This work is part of a National Science Foundation funded project on which I am collaborating with PIs Professor Lorenzo Polvani (Columbia University) and Professor Darry Waugh (Johns Hopkins University) and Co-I Dr. Sally Zhang (University of Nevada, Reno). Sample publication.