I have always been captivated by the power of the natural world. As a young child growing up in Miami, Florida, tropical storms were a near-regular occurrence. While my family and I never took a direct hit, I can remember vividly a glancing blow from Tropical Storm Bob in 1984. My parents took my brother and I down to the beach to watch (from a safe distance of course) 30′ waves as they crashed onshore. I believe it was at this time that my path toward becoming an atmospheric scientist began.
After returning to Ohio, I later heard stories from my parents of the tragic Xenia, Ohio tornado that occurred during the Super Outbreak of 1974, experienced the major U.S. drought of 1988, stayed up late watching John Hope and Jeff Marrow on the Weather Channel and their coverage of Hurricane Hugo in 1989 as it approached my family in Charleston, South Carolina, and I have been intrigued by both the extreme events and the unexpected weather surprises along the way (record highs in January, snow in May, Hurricane Ike, etc).
My graduate studies have brought me into a more polar-oriented aspect of climate research. I am proud to belong to a dedicated group of people here at the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center who are dedicated to the science of climate and climate change. There is a lot at stake in understanding climate. Climate change challenges the human population like never before, and rarely are its effects linear. A multitude of feedbacks involving the Earth’s surface; energy exchanges between the ocean and the atmosphere combine to influence weather, climate, and drive circulation patterns across the globe. Yet with all these processes occurring above, below, and around us, we often neglect what we do not directly experience. We ignore the basic principle that we are connected to the distant places through climate, and changes occurring in Antarctica and other remote regions of the world have far-reaching effects elsewhere on Earth.
Welcome to my research and blog site, one concerned with all things weather, climate, or climate change related. To me, the world of weather and climate is inescapable. I hope you find the information here to be informative and captivating. Thanks!