Dr. Mak will investigate several aspects of the effects of certain diabatic processes on the nature and evolution of baroclinic waves in cases of marine cyclogenesis. He also will explore characteristics of the so-called "storm tracks" over the oceans in the Northern Hemisphere. His approach is to look at the nonlinear dynamics. Specifically, he will look at (1) the effect of surface sensible heat flux on large-scale baroclinic waves, (2) the life cycle of diabatically destabilized short baroclinic waves, (3) the interaction between surface fluxes and moist convection and the combined effect on baroclinic waves, and (4) the nature of the observed mid-winter suppression of the Pacific storm track in the Northern Hemisphere. The primary tools for the research are a hierarchy of models of varying complexity.
All of these topics are important for better understanding the nature of marine storms and ultimately improving mid-latitude forecasting.
