2025: Influence of Long-Term Trends in Tropical Pacific Sea Surface Temperatures on Atmospheric Rivers and their Impacts in Western North America
Atmospheric rivers are important drivers of regional hydroclimate variability in Western North America, providing moisture for municipal water use, irrigation, and hydropower – but they also pose a flood and landslide risk due to their excessive precipitation. Better understanding the response of atmospheric rivers to climate change would enable us to better characterize and ultimately constrain the future risk of floods and droughts in Western North America. In this project, student researchers will use a new set of climate model simulations designed to more comprehensively sample atmospheric variability associated with different sea surface temperature trend patterns. The research will deliver a more robust description of the influence of climate change on atmospheric rivers, providing new insights into regional flood and drought risk that can inform adaptation planning.
Faculty Lead: Flavio Lehner, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Cornell CALS
Graduate Student Mentor: Yan-Ning Kuo, Ph.D. Student, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences