Speaker: Dr. Cristian Proistosescu, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Title: "Numerical and analytical model hierarchies for the distribution of mid-latitude temperature distributions"
Abstract:
We do not experience the “mean” temperature.
The distribution of near-surface daily temperatures is non-Gaussian, with important implications for understanding the severity and frequency of temperature extremes. Despite the importance of these non-Gaussian features, there is a marked lack of basic theories for what determines the basic shape of the distribution of daily temperatures and how this distribution might change as the climate changes.
In this talk I will introduce a research program to understand the controls of mid-latitude temperatures distributions in a hierarchy of analytical models and idealized numerical simulations.
We look at the moments of temperature distributions in a two-layer Quasi-Geostrophic model, an idealized Held-Suarez atmospheric model, and comprehensive General Circulation Models (GCMs). We then use simple analytically tractable stochastic models to derive analytical solutions for the mean, variance, skewness and kurtosis of near-surface temperatures, and how these higher order moments might change in the future.
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In person attendance at this seminar is only open to Columbia University affiliates.
