CW3E Scientist Dr. Mike DeFlorio Participates in 2nd Meridional Modes Workshop and High School Science Outreach Activity

December 16, 2019

CW3E scientist Dr. Mike DeFlorio recently participated in the 2nd Meridional Modes Workshop, hosted by Professor Zhengyu Liu at The Ohio State University in Columbus, OH. The purpose of the workshop was to discuss the current state of research on meridional modes (coupled ocean-atmosphere modes in the tropical/subtropical regions) and potential linkages between meridional modes and seasonal predictability of ridging and precipitation over North America and other regions.

The workshop began with a presentation by Dr. Dillon Amaya (UCSD-Scripps), who gave a review of the Pacific Meridional Mode and its relationship to the Blob 2.0 warm SST anomaly pattern in the North Pacific. CW3E scientist Dr. Mike DeFlorio then gave a presentation on North Pacific ridging events, their relationship to western U.S. drought, and potential sources of predictability (including the Pacific Meridional Mode). His presentation highlighted results led by Dr. Peter Gibson (NASA JPL/CalTech), whose paper on North Pacific ridging is now in press at Journal of Climate and was written with co-authors Dr. Duane Waliser (NASA JPL), Dr. Bin Guan (UCLA), Dr. Mike DeFlorio, CW3E Director Dr. F. Martin Ralph, and Dr. Daniel Swain (UCLA/NCAR). The final presentation of the morning was given by Dr. Emanuele Di Lorenzo (Georgia Tech), who spoke about meridional modes and tropical decadal variability under projected climate change scenarios.

The workshop concluded with three afternoon talks, the first of which was given by Dr. Jason Furtado (University of Oklahoma) on the potential usage of the Pacific Meridional Mode to improve forecasts of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Improved forecasts of ENSO have the potential to benefit water management over the western U.S. through the well-known teleconnection between ENSO and boreal winter western U.S. precipitation. Dr. Sarah Larson (NC State) then spoke about the South Pacific Meridional Mode and its relationship to ENSO. The workshop concluded with a presentation from Dr. Zhengyu Liu on the extent to which extratropical circulation anomalies can impact ENSO in the tropics.

Figure 1: Group photo at 2nd Annual Meridional Modes Workshop, hosted by Professor Zhengyu Liu at The Ohio State University in Columbus, OH.

After the workshop, Dr. Mike DeFlorio and Dr. Art Miller (UCSD-Scripps) participated in an outreach event at Lutheran High School East (LHSE) in Cleveland, OH. Dr. Miller gave a presentation to LHSE Honors Academy students about potential careers in science. Dr. Mike DeFlorio contributed to this talk by offering his experience working at CW3E on science problems that impact resource management and society.

Figure 2: Group photo at outreach event for Lutheran High School East Honors Academy students in Cleveland, OH, featuring talk by Dr. Art Miller.

Amaya, D.J. (2019), The Pacific Meridional Mode and ENSO: a Review. Curr Clim Change Rep, 5, 296–307. doi:10.1007/s40641-019-00142-x.

Amaya, D. J., M. J. DeFlorio, A. J. Miller, and S.-P. Xie (2017), Wind-Evaporation-SST feedback and the Atlantic Meridional Mode: an observational analysis with CMIP5 comparisons. Cli Dyn, 49: 1665. doi:10.1007/s00382-016-3411-1.

Gibson, P. B., D. E. Waliser, B. Guan, M. J. DeFlorio, F. M. Ralph, and D. L. Swain (2020), Ridging associated with drought in the Western and Southwestern United States: characteristics, trends, and predictability sources. J Climate, in press.