Impact of Topography on Atmospheric Flow: Implications for weather, climate and human health

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The objective of my research program is to improve our understanding of the influence that topography has on weather, climate and human health; especially in polar regions. Mountains are of interest for a variety of reasons: they act as barriers to atmospheric flow that can impact the weather and climate in their immediate vicinity as well as downstream; the precipitation that falls on their slopes serves as a valuable source of water; their glaciers serve as important archives of past climate variability; indigenous persons and visitors to these regions experience a number of physiological stresses including hypothermia and hypoxia that are exacerbated by meteorological factors. In addition, polar and mountainous regions are both remote regions where data collection is a challenge and where our knowledge of atmospheric processes is limited. There is also evidence that these regions are experiencing accelerated climate change. A crucial and unique component of my research therefore involves data collection in mountainous and polar regions. My group uses this data along with other instrumental and paleoclimate datasets as well as numerical weather prediction models to improve our knowledge of the workings of the climate system and its impact on human health.1) Mountain Meteorology In the past, my research focus in this area has been on the interpretation of climate signals in high elevation ice cores from Mount Logan in the Yukon and from Mount Shishapangma in the Himalaya. I have also participated in 3 field seasons that have yielded unique information on the weather conditions at high elevations on Mount Everest as well as on the atmospheric pathways through elevated levels of ozone reach the region. I propose to continue this work that will improve our knowledge of the climate signals in these ice cores. In addition, field work will be undertaken in the Mount Everest region that builds upon a pilot study that shows that climbers who experience Acute Mountain Sickness have biomarkers in their bloodstream for exposure to ozone that is of stratospheric origin. 2) Air-Sea Interaction and Topographically Forced JetsI have expanded my research in this area from a focus on Greenland into regions such as the Bering and Barents Seas as well as Madagascar where new topographically forced jets have been identified. In the upcoming grant cycle, I propose to exploit the very high spatial resolution of new Arctic reanalyses to improve our understanding of the role that the Bering and Barents Sea jets play in air-sea interaction and oceanographic circulations in these climatologically important marginal seas of the Arctic Ocean. I also propose to use the new high resolution global reanalyses to investigate the role that Madagascar flow distortion plays in modulating moisture transport into East Africa. I have also played a lead role in the identification of new low-level jets over Greenland that are the result of localized meridional thermal gradients arising from the cold and high surface of the ice sheet. I propose to explore the role that these jets play in transporting moisture to Greenland ice core sites. In addition, I will participate in a new atmospheric-oceanographic field project known as the Iceland Sea Project. The international scientific leadership of the very successful Greenland Flow Distortion Experiment, including myself as the Canadian representative, is involved in the planning of the project that is scheduled to take place during the winter of 2016. The campaign will focus on understanding the role that atmospheric processes play in forcing a new oceanographic pathway that contributes to the Denmark Strait Overflow Water and the lower limb of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation.