Tropical Meteorology Research at MIT
By comparison to the meteorology of the middle and high latitudes, our understanding of tropical meteorology is poor. Phenomena such as El Niņo, monsoons and the Madden-Julian Oscillation remain enigmatic, and there is little understanding of the processes that lead to the genesis of tropical cyclones or which control their intensity. The Tropics also play an important if not well understood role in regulating climate. For these reasons, tropical meteorology is an active and exciting field of research, commanding the attention of a number of MIT faculty, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.
Our research addresses the following topics, among others:
- Monsoons
- Tropical cyclones
- Tropical intraseasonal variability
- Tropical climate
- Cumulus convection and its parameterization
- Interaction of convection with internal waves
For more information, see the home pages of Professors Kerry Emanuel, Richard Lindzen and Alan Plumb or contact us at emanuel@texmex.mit.edu, lindzen@wind.mit.edu, and rap@rossby.mit.edu.