Houghton Lecture – The Influence of Anthropogenic Emissions on the Extratropical Circulation

Featuring David Thompson, Colorado State University

Abstract:
This talk will provide an overview of research on the atmospheric circulation response to climate change and of how my observational research has contributed to the broader narrative. A range of evidence indicates that changes in the atmospheric circulation under climate change will have a pronounced effect on weather and climate over the next century. In many regions, these effects are expected to exceed the signal of global warming itself. However, much of the evidence remains inconclusive, and the key mechanisms are still unclear. The talk will begin with a review of the original evidence that climate change influences the atmospheric circulation, and will then trace how our understanding has evolved over the past several decades, including the contributions of my own research.

About this year’s Houghton Lecturer:
David Thompson is a professor in the Department of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University and in the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia, UK. His research focuses on the physical processes that govern large-scale climate variability and change, with an emphasis on analyzing and diagnosing the observed climate system. His work has examined the dynamics of extratropical climate variability, the role of the atmospheric circulation in climate change, the imprint of stratospheric ozone depletion on surface climate, the role of the stratosphere in climate variability, and atmosphere–ocean coupling.

Houghton Lecture Series

Supported by the Houghton Fund, Houghton Lecturers are distinguished visitors from outside MIT, invited by the EAPS Program in Atmospheres, Oceans and Climate (PAOC) to spend a period of time, ranging from a week to several months, as scientists-in-residence.

Contact: kbauer@mit.edu