Oceans and Atmosphere

Climate Sciences

Climate sciences study the climate system of the earth with emphasis on the physical, dynamical, and chemical interactions of the atmosphere, ocean, land, ice, and the terrestrial and marine biospheres. The field encompasses changes on seasonal to interannual time scales and those induced by human activities, as well as paleoclimatic changes on time scales from centuries to millions of years.

Potential graduate students interested in this topic may want to apply for the Climate, Ocean, and Atmosphere MS and PhD programs or the MAS Climate Science & Policy Program.

 

Academics

Joel Norris
Professor
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Professor
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Professor
Ram Ramanathan
Professor
Verena Hormann
Associate Researcher
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Lynn Russell
Distinguished Professor
Morgan Levy
Assistant Professor
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Researcher
Art Miller
Researcher
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Emeritus
Andrew Dickson
RECALL FACULTY
Sarah Aarons
Assistant Professor
Martin Ralph
Researcher
Research Affiliate
Laurence Armi
Professor
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Sarah Gille
Professor
Shang-Ping Xie
Professor
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Assistant Professor
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Adjunct Professor
Amato Evan
Professor
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Assistant Professor
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Associate Researcher
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Research Meteorologist
Associate Professor
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Centers, Labs, and Programs

A global network of robotic floats that measure the changing state of the ocean.

Develops models and analyzes observations to understand the microphysical and chemical evolution of aerosol particles in the atmosphere.

The Scripps O2 Program measures changes in atmospheric oxygen levels from air samples collected at stations around the world.

CAICE is a Center for Chemical Innovation focused on the fundamental chemistry behind the impact of aerosol particles on our climate.

CalCOFI is a long-term, interdisciplinary, cross-sectoral ecosystem research program off the coast of California that holistically studies the physics, biogeochemistry, and biology of the marine environment to inform the sustainable management of marine resources in the context of climate change

Our mission is to advance interdisciplinary science and applications that empower people and communities to better understand climate change impacts and implement adaptation strategies.

The group focuses on observing and modeling coastal processes including beach evolution, cliff erosion, and nearshore waves.

Provide water cycle science, technology and outreach to support effective policies and practices that address the impacts of extreme weather and water events on the environment, people and the economy of western North America.

Desert meteorology and climate, with a special focus on dust storms.

The Human Ecology Laboratory groups together students and researchers to explore the relationships between people and the environment through time. In particular, the lab focuses on understanding Social Vulnerability related to Climate Change.

A daily record of global atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration.

Studies fundamental physical processes that govern terrestrial climate change, with emphasis on observations and particular attention to the Earth’s polar regions.

Leading international work on climate change understanding and policy.

Our research resides at a synergetic overlap between geophysical fluid dynamics, physical oceanography and climate dynamics. We are particularly interested in ocean mesoscale and submesoscale dynamics, air-sea interactions and sea-ice interactions.

The WECLIMA group studies relationships between regionally impactful weather extremes and large-scale climate variability and change. We also collaborate across disciplines to study impacts on public health, ecosystems, water resources, wildfire, energy, and air quality.