Modeling Large-scale Dynamical Effects on Climate

该项目将调查一些控制地球过去、现在和未来气候的基本过程。主要主题是应用于气候变化和古气候问题的中等复杂性气候模式，与水汽反馈有关的观测和理论工作，以及标量示踪剂和混合的统计理论及其在对流层和平流层的应用。这种努力的一个显著特点是强调理论认识。该项目的重点是提高对热带和温带地区之间耦合的认识。热带水汽源与温带水汽分布之间的联系（水汽可以显著影响对空间的辐射冷却）激发了大气成分混合统计力学以及哈德利单体动力学和输送的项目活动。Pierrehumbert博士将研究这些过程在气候变率和全球变化中的作用，方法是用气候模型进行实验，这些气候模型比一般的环流模型更简单、更快，但保留了足够的动力学和分辨率，可以真实地代表热输送、水汽反馈和其他物理过程。该项目将在气候变率和全球变化的背景下，推进对热带和温带地区之间动力学、热力学和化学相互作用的理论理解和建模。

The project will investigate a number of fundamental processes governing the past, present, and future climates of the Earth. The major themes are intermediate complexity climate models applied to climate change and paleoclimate problems, observational and theoretical work relating to water vapor feedback, and statistical theories of scalar tracers and mixing with applications in both the troposphere and stratosphere. A notable feature of this effort is its emphasis on theoretical understanding. The project's focus is to improve understanding of the coupling between tropical and extratropical regions. The linkage between tropical moisture sources and moisture distribution in the extratropics (where water vapor can significantly impact the radiative cooling to space) motivates project activities in statistical mechanics of the mixing of atmospheric constituents, and Hadley cell dynamics and transports. Dr. Pierrehumbert will investigate the role of these processes in climate variability and global change by conducting experiments with climate models that are simpler and faster than general circulation models but which retain sufficient dynamics and resolution to represent realistically heat transport, water vapor feedback, and other physical processes. The project will advance theoretical understanding and modeling of dynamical, thermodynamical, and chemical interactions between the tropics and extratropics, in context of climate variability and global change.