Moisture transport. Clouds and precipitation. Climate.
Our focus.
We’re interested in understanding how atmospheric dynamics affect moisture transport, how efficiently clouds form precipitation, and how moisture mixes between different layers of our atmosphere. Using the isotope ratios of water to trace moisture on its water-cycle journey, we examine the processes that influence water resources and climate. We use a variety of tools in our work, including ground-based (e.g. mountaintop) measurements, large remote-sensing datasets, specialized airborne observations, and models.
What’s new.
Toward a process-oriented understanding of water in the climate system
January 2025. Our topical review, inspired by the US CLIVAR Water Isotopes Working Group and Workshop, is out in Environmental Research – Climate. Read on to learn how isotopic tools have advanced our understanding of processes regulating hydroclimate variability and change, and don’t miss the companion review by Dee et al.
Research themes.
Large-scale dynamics and moisture transport
We study the large-scale dynamics and characteristic transport pathways that influence patterns of humidity and precipitation. Our current work is focused on estimating moisture length scales in climate models and using satellite data to test whether various regions of the world depend more on local or remote sources of moisture. We want to know how hydrological dependencies between places will change in a warmer world.
Shallow convective processes and clouds
We are currently investigating the effects of strong surface fluxes and large-scale subsidence in shaping cloud fields during cold-air outbreak conditions in the Arctic. Our work is part of the broader CAESAR mission, which made airborne measurements of low-level mixed-phase clouds and their surroundings in winter 2024. We have also been extensively involved in the EUREC4A field mission (2020), which has focused on investigating the role of mesoscale circulations and shallow convective mixing processes in regulating trade cumulus.
Precipitation efficiency
How efficiently clouds form precipitation and whether or not precipitation effectively reaches the surface are key controls on the climate system’s response to greenhouse-gas forcings. Water isotope ratios are powerful tracers of these exchange processes, providing an important indirect measure of these difficult-to-observe efficiencies.
Who we are.
Adriana Bailey
Assistant professor. Former scientist at the NCAR Research Aviation Facility and science writer. White Mountain enthusiast. More…
Ching-An Yang
First-year PhD student. Rackham Merit Fellow. Interested in cloud microphysics from airborne observations and models. More…
Claire Sheeren
Senior in Climate and Meteorology. Conducting a capstone project on Arctic cold-air outbreak conditions.
Elise Rosky
Postdoctoral Fellow. Interested in ice nucleation and mixed-phase cloud microphysics. CAESAR 2024 science team member. More…
Lauren Richards
Sophomore in Climate and Meteorology. Studying mountain precipitation processes and precipitation chemistry.
Visit us.
We’re part of the Department of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering (CLaSP), located on the University of Michigan’s North Campus.