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Research Interests
My research is on global climate change with a particular emphasis on the hydrologic cycle, how it affects the climate system, and how it might change in the future in response to increasing greenhouse gases. My recent focus has been on the role of climate feedbacks on enhanced warming rates at high latitudes and high altitudes, including snow/albedo, water vapor, and cloud feedbacks. The regional focus has been on analysis of climate feedbacks in the Arctic region and in two high altitude regions–the Tibetan Plateau and the San Juan Mountains in southwestern Colorado. Combined with another focus on the impact of climate change on river flow, this work has implications for future water resources which are likely to be one of the major stressors on human civilization during the 21st century.
Short History
Prior to coming to Rutgers, I had postdoctoral appointments at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, CO and the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York City, where I began to work with global climate models. This work has continued to evolve toward trying to understand and quantify the impact of different climate feedbacks on enhanced warming rates in the Arctic and at high elevations. Climate change has also been incorporated into much of my teaching as a way of introducing students to the complex interactions within the earth system.
Teaching Efforts
My research provides context for all of my teaching, especially in my freshman seminar on water resources and climate change and in my upper level interdisciplinary course on earth system science.
Physical Oceanography (11:628:451; 16:712:501) (50%)
Remote Sensing of the Ocean and Atmosphere (11:670:451: 16:712:552) (30%)
Earth System Science Colloquium: Global Warming (11:015:401) (50%)
Byrne Seminar: Water Resources and Climate Change (11:090:101) (100%)