This research is motivated by the knowledge that there are important interactions between Antarctic sea-ice and the large-scale extratropical circulation that have to be properly represented in our climate models because these interactions have regional as well as global consequences. Within the twentieth century, large-scale changes have been recorded in the atmospheric circulation of the Southern Hemisphere and in the Antarctic sea-ice. Therefore the major scientific goal of the research is that of determining the accuracy of the models - the Community Climate System Model (CCSM3), the Goddard Institute for Space Sciences (GISS) model and the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) model - with respect to their representations of the Southern Hemisphere large-scale circulation and the Antarctic sea-ice, and their interaction. To accomplish this goal, the study will compare satellite-observed sea-ice data and surface and mid-tropospheric observations with the equivalent data generated by the model simulations.
The work has significant broader impacts. It will establish research collaboration between two women in science at two institutions - The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Additionally, it will help educate and train a graduate student at UCLA. The results of the research will be disseminated at conferences, workshops and in the scientific literature.
