A workshop on tropical cyclones and climate will be held March 27-29, 2006 at the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) in Palisades, NY. This grant supports the travel of 10 young scientists (graduate students and/or postdocs) to participate in the workshop. They will be selected by the workshop organizing committee based on their applications. They will be from institutions other than Columbia University.
Hurricanes and typhoons, more generally known as tropical cyclones, can cause billions of dollars in losses in Asia and North America each year. A better understanding of the variability of tropical cyclones and how they relate to the larger-scale climate variability could lead to better forecasts and could potentially reduce these losses. Much research has looked at the influence of climate variability on tropical cyclones properties, for instance, the MJO (Madden- Julian Oscillation) phase may suppress or enhance the formation of tropical cyclones. Not as much attention has been given to the influence of tropical cyclones on the larger-scale climate. The workshop will focus on four somewhat distinct research areas: 1. The influence of climate variability on tropical cyclones, 2. The influence of tropical cyclones on large-scale climate, 3. Paleotempestology (a new field of paleoclimate research, which involves reconstructing tropical cyclones' impacts in the relatively distant past), 4. Predictability, risk management and impacts.
Broader Impacts. Better understanding of the natural variability of tropical cyclone activity is fundamental to reduce the losses in life and in the economy. By having graduate students and post-doctoral scientists attending the workshop, they will have a chance to interact with other young scientists and specialists in the area and on this topic. As a broader impact, the presence of these young scientists in the workshop will influence some of them to do research in this important area.
