Research at COLA

   

Research activities at COLA
  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
The most important determinants of seasonal to interannual climate predictability are the slowly varying boundary conditions at the Earth's surface (sea surface temperature (SST), sea ice, snow, soil wetness and vegetation) that influence the transfers of moisture, heat, radiation and momentum between the atmosphere and the Earth surface. By studying the effects of SST and the land surface both together and separately through carefully designed experiments, COLA scientists are quantifying the contributions each of these processes makes to the predictability of short-term climate variations. Using controlled numerical experiments with several atmospheric general circulation models, it becomes possible to distinguish between the patterns that are forced by SST, and therefore potentially predicatable, from those that are internally generated.

   
 

El Niņo and the Southern Oscillation
COLA uses state-of-the-art coupled ocean-atmosphere general circulation models to investigate the predictability of El Niņo and La Niņa and to predict seasonal to interannual climate variations. Fundamental aspects of the ENSO phenomenon, such as the amplitude and life cycle of ENSO, decadal variations in the predictability of ENSO, the nature of how ENSO interacts with other phenomena like the Indian monsoon, and the predictability of monsoons are central to these studies.

 
The Poseidon Ocean Model The Atmospheric Model
Volume I: Formulation
The Atmospheric Model
Volume II: User's Guide
   
  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.
   
  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.
   
 

The Land Surface and Climate
The physical processes at the land surface are being scrutinized to improve understanding of land-atmosphere feedbacks and their effects on climate on a wide range of temporal and spatial scales. A primary focus is the way in which land-surface processes can locally or regionally modulate the remote response to tropical sea surface temperature fluctuations. The climatic impacts of land-use changes such as deforestation and desertification are of critical concern as well.

 
The Global Soil Wetness Project Climate Variability Over Amazonia