Interaction of atmospheric deep convection with the tropical circulation

This is a mathematical and theoretical project which will explore the relationship between deep convective storms and the circulation of the tropical atmosphere. These storms are known to dominate the energy balance of the tropics, but their coupling with the circulation represents one of the foremost uncertainties in global prediction, with significance for severe weather and for climate change. As a result of these uncertainties, numerical predictions of rainfall over the tropical continents have substantial biases, in regions such as India and Africa, where large populations are vulnerable to fluctuations in the climate. The project will exploit the new generation of numerical modelling products, in the form of very high resolution atmospheric simulations with an operational weather prediction model. These model simulations will be used to test and develop mathematical models for the ways in which latent heating in clouds, on scales of a few kilometres, controls the dynamics of tropical waves and jets, on scales of many thousand kilometres. The project will benefit from links with the Met Office as well as other ongoing research projects, and the student will have the opportunity to contribute to the INCOMPASS field campaign in India in the summer of 2016.