PostDoctoral Research Fellowship

Cavallo, Steven M, Denver CO

Investigators

Abstract

Past research by the PI has identified meteorological conditions favorable to the development of tropopause polar vortices (TPV) in the Arctic. These atmospheric features can be broad ((o) 10^3km) and persistent (days to months), thus potentially influencing large-scale circulation and sea ice movement. Vortex intensity is linked to atmospheric water vapor content and latent heat availability, which, in a warming, ice-free Arctic, are predicted to increase significantly. Using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, several sensitivity studies will be run to investigate the influence of surface conditions, including varied sea ice cover, sea surface temperature, turbulent flux, and dynamical scenarios, on vortex intensification. A second set of experiments will focus on understanding the changes in near-surface atmospheric circulation, predicted by the Community Atmosphere Model (CAM), in relation to TPVs, using the WRF model in combination with CAM forcings resulting from projected reductions in sea ice. The combined set of modeling activities will provide a bottom-up and top-down view of the connection between these common, but largely unexplored, upper tropospheric features and the complex motion of sea ice. Idealized warming scenarios will provide further insight into the potential intensification of these vortices.