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Research activities at COLA
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COLA is considered nationally and internationally a center of excellence with a vigorous program of climate modeling and research. The scientists at COLA work with colleagues both within the U.S. and abroad on collaborative projects, and are actively involved in a number of national and international research and planning projects. COLA scientists also serve the broader community in advisory and educational roles. Research at COLA is focused on the following themes: | ||||||||
Dynamical Seasonal Predictability |
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El Niņo and the Southern Oscillation |
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Climate Dynamics Identifying and understanding the basic mechanisms that maintain the current climate and influence climate variability on interannual and decadal time scales are critical to improving our ability to quantify predictability and convert it into useful predictions. Examples of mechanisms COLA scientists are studying include the dynamics of the atmospheric Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone, the effects of ocean mixing on the properties of time-averaged circulation, the sensitivity of the Earth's climate to feedbacks involving water vapor and clouds, and interactions between mid-latitude planetary wave transients and the Madden-Julian Oscillation. |
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Tropical Atlantic and
Indian Oceans COLA scientists are investigating whether the SST variability in the tropical Atlantic and Indian Oceans can be explained by purely local processes, that is, confined to the ocean basin under consideration, or whether a more global scope is needed. An open question being explored is the extent to which interannual climate fluctuations in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans are forced by the large ENSO variations in the Pacific versus how such fluctuations could be internally generated by regional air-sea interactions. |
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The Land Surface and Climate |
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