Climate Dynamics

The Climate Dynamics Program in the Jackson School of Sciences is a collaboration between faculty and researchers in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, and researchers at the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics. We investigate a broad range of climate processes with numerical models, mathematical diagnosis, and observational analysis. Some projects are aimed at advancing our fundamental knowledge of how climate works, and others are more applied with an eye toward prediction and impacts.

Some primary general areas of research are as follows:

Global and regional climate modeling (Cook, Dickinson, Jackson, Okumura, Vizy, Yang)
Climate variability and extremes (Banner, Cook, Dickinson, DiNezio, Okumura, Partin, Wei, Yang, Vizy)
Land-atmosphere interactions (Dickinson, Wei, Yang)
Ocean-atmosphere interactions (Cook, DiNezio, Okumura, Partin, Vizy)
Ice-climate interactions (Catania, Jackson, Levy, Okumura)

Prospective Graduate students: The Graduate Program in Climate Dynamics is actively seeking strong graduate students for participation in our Graduate Program. Please see the “Education” tab for additional information.

Climate Dynamics News

May 6, 2020

Climate Change Could Reawaken Indian Ocean El Niño

Global warming is approaching a tipping point that during this century could reawaken an ancient climate pattern similar to El Niño in the Indian Ocean,…

February 2, 2015

Study Supplies Insight into Behavior of African Monsoon

Think of the Sahara and you will conjure images of a vast desert landscape, with nothing but sand as far as the eye can see. …

October 1, 2014

Evolving Plumbing System Beneath Greenland Slows Ice Sheet as Summer Progresses

A team led by scientists at the University of Texas at Austin’s Institute for Geophysics has for the first time directly observed multiple parts of…

January 6, 2014

Water Forum Highlighted Challenges and Opportunities of Ongoing Drought

As the bitter 2011 Texas drought stretched on into its third year, the Jackson School of Geoscience’s Center for Integrated Earth System Science (CIESS)…

October 21, 2013

Risk of Amazon Rainforest Dieback is Higher Than IPCC Projects

A new study suggests the southern portion of the Amazon rainforest is at a much higher risk of dieback due to stronger seasonal drying…

More News

Faculty

	Kerry H Cook Climate dynamics, atmospheric dynamics, global climate change, paleoclimate, climate and weather of Africa and South America, climate system modeling, climate change in Texas
	Patrick Heimbach Heimbach's research group (Computational Research in Ice and Ocean Systems -- (CRIOS)), in the Oden Institute is engaged in a number of projects, with main funding from NASA, NSF, and ONR. (1)
	Ashley M Matheny Ecohydrology, Bio- and Micro-meteorology, Vegetation Hydrodynamics, Watershed Hydrology, Land-Atmosphere Interactions, Biogeochemistry, Water and Carbon Cycles, and Modeling
	Dev Niyogi Research Group: The University of Texas Extreme weather and Urban Sustainability "TExUS" Lab. Research seeks to significantly contribute to our understanding of the Earth system, particularly the urban and agricultural landscapes, and the dynamic role of coupled land surface processes on regional hydroclimatic extremes. Translate the scientific work undertaken into ...
	Geeta Persad Atmospheric Aerosols, Climate Change, Climate Modeling, Air Pollution, Global Hydrologic Cycle, Monsoon Systems, Western U.S. Climate Impacts, Climate Policy and Decision-Making
	Timothy M Shanahan climate variability, climate change, paleoclimatology, geochemistry, stable isotopes, organic geochemistry, sedimentology, environmental science If you are interested in learning more, please visit research website.
	Zong-Liang Yang Dr. Yang's primary research interest is to understand the exchanges of momentum, radiation, heat, water, carbon dioxide, and other materials between the atmosphere and the Earth surface spanning from small (short) to very large (long) scales. This includes analysis of in-situ and remotely-sensed data for the Earth's surface, and modeling ...

Lecturers

Edward "Ned" K Vizy

climate dynamics, atmospheric dynamics, climate change, extreme weather events, climate system modeling, hurricanes, paleoclimate, mesoscale modeling

Affiliated Faculty

Kathy Ellins

Geoscience education; Discipline Based Education Research (DBER); teacher professional development; geoscience curriculum development; undergraduate geoscience teacher preparation; climate literacy; geoscience, art and design engagement

Emeriti

Robert E Dickinson

Climate, Global Warming, Land Surface Processes, Remote Sensing, Hydrological Cycle, Carbon Cycle, and Modeling.

Research Scientists

Pedro Di Nezio

climate change

Research Staff

Edward "Ned" K Vizy

climate dynamics, atmospheric dynamics, climate change, extreme weather events, climate system modeling, hurricanes, paleoclimate, mesoscale modeling

Graduate Students

	Patrick C Andrews My research centers on Africa's Congo Basin and modifying our understanding of the processes that underlie its rainfall from the synoptic to the climatic scale, especially in relation to MCS's, such as to evaluate the potential for future change to the climate.
	Chiara Ballam
	Sophia Bautista Sophia Bautista is a PhD student in the Shanahan Lab. Her doctoral research aims to better understand drivers of southern hemisphere hydroclimate over the past glacial-interglacial cycle. She uses geochemical proxies, such as br-GDGTs as a paleotemperature indicators and hydrogen isotopes of leaf waxes as a proxy for precipitation. Her ...
	Cameron Cummins Hello! My name is Cameron, I am a first year Master's student and a UT Austin alumni after earning my Bachelor's Degree in Computational Engineering in May of 2023. As a member of the Persad Aero-Climate Lab, I specialize in using big ...
	Alexander Janelle I am a Ph.D. student with experience studying chemical and physical processes in karst aquifers through downstream riparian and coastal ecosystems. I am interested in using speleothem paleoenvironmental proxies to better understand how past climate changed during the last deglaciation and predict future water availability in central Texas.
	Mrittika Kabir Environmental Conservation and Renewable Energy
	Nicholas J Montiel
	Margaret Murakami
	Mikayla A Pascual
	Kevin W Shionalyn ice-ocean interactions, glaciology, machine learning, acoustics, geophysics
	Kayla White

In addition to contributing courses to the undergraduate major in Geosciences, the Climate Dynamics group offers a comprehensive graduate education program. For graduate students, research projects and coursework are both essential elements of a successful graduate career. Here we provide information about selecting a mentor and research direction within the Climate Dynamics Program, and about our course offerings.

Selecting the right graduate program is a much more individual endeavor than selecting an undergraduate school. It is important that your research interests and working style are good matches for those of your major professor. We encourage you to connect with prospective major professors within the Climate Dynamics Program as a first step in the application process. Explore the research topics of each professor and researcher in the program, and send one or more an informed email discussing your overlapping interests and goals to begin a dialog.

Graduate Student Research

Faculty and researchers in the Climate Dynamics Program generally have ongoing research projects in more than one area. These projects may be highly disciplinary and individual, or broadly interdisciplinary involving colleagues in related fields of study.

As a start for your explorations of graduate study at this large and diverse university, we list the members of the Climate Dynamics Graduate Program who make primary contributions to graduate teaching in addition to their research programs. Click the links to individual web pages for more detailed information about ongoing projects. Contact these researchers for more information about their research programs, current availability of support for graduate students, and their advice about other potential good matches for your interests.

Jay L Banner
Professor, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
Isotopic methods, groundwater, oceans, ancient oceans, climate change, aquifers, caves, environmental science, geochemistry, paleoclimatology

Kerry H. Cook
Professor, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
Climate dynamics, atmospheric dynamics, global and regional climate change, climate modeling, observational analysis, climate prediction and impacts

Robert E Dickinson
Professor, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
Climate change, land surface processes, remote sensing, hydrological cycle, carbon cycle, climate modeling

Pedro DiNezio
Research Associate, Institute for Geophysics
Tropical oceans and climate, climate variability, climate prediction, paleoclimate

Patrick Heimbach
Associate Professor, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
Ocean dynamics, climate variability, Earth system modeling, ice-ocean interactions, inverse modeling, adjoint methods, uncertainty quantification

Charles S. Jackson
Research Scientist, Institute for Geophysics
Global warming, abrupt climate change, sea level rise, ocean mixing, Bayesian Inference, inverse modeling, simulation, climate projections, uncertainty quantification

Yuko M. Okumura
Research Associate, Institute for Geophysics
Climate dynamics, climate variability and change, large-scale ocean-atmosphere interactions, atmospheric teleconnections, paleoclimate and thermohaline circulation

Terrence M Quinn
Professor, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
Director, Institute for Geophysics
Paleoclimate, climate change, climate dynamics, paleoceanography, sedimentary geology and geochemistry

Timothy M Shanahan
Associate Professor, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
Paleoclimatology, paleoceanography, paleolimnology, sedimentary geology and geochemistry, organic geochemistry, isotope geochemistry, compound-specific

Edward K Vizy
Research Scientist Associate V/ Lecturer, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
Climate dynamics, atmospheric dynamics, climate change, extreme weather events, climate system modeling, hurricanes, mesoscale modeling

Jiangfeng Wei
Research Engineering/ Scientist Associate IV/Lecturer, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
Land-atmosphere interactions, hydrology, water cycle

Zong-Liang Yang
Professor, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
Land-surface atmosphere interactions, climate and hydrology, regional climate modeling

Coursework

To earn the doctoral degree, we currently require a minimum of 18 semester hours of coursework (generally 6 classes) within the Climate Dynamics discipline, and supporting coursework of 9 credit hours (3 classes) outside the discipline to broaden students’ knowledge and skill base. (Please see the Graduate Student Handbook for additional information about degree requirements.)

Below we provide a list of classes offered the Climate Dynamics program. Keep in mind, however, that course offerings change year-to-year and selections are made with individual interests and goals in mind.

Climate Dynamics Discipline Courses

Physical Climatology	Z.-L. Yang
Climate System Physics	R. Dickinson
Geophysical Fluid Dynamics I: Atmospheres and Oceans	K. Cook
Geophysical Fluid Dynamics II: Waves and Instability	K. Cook
Paleoclimatology	T. Shanahan
Climate Variability and Change	Y. Okumura, P. diNezio
Climate System Modeling	E. Vizy
Land Atmosphere Interaction Dynamics	Z.-L. Yang
Global Warming	K. Cook
Modeling the Global Oceans	P. Heimbach
Climate Change: Current Literature	R. Dickinson
Hypothesis Testing in the Climate Sciences	C. Jackson/J. Partin
Coupled Earth System Modeling	J. F. Wei
Physical Oceanography	P. Heimbach
Tools for Earth System Modeling	M. Shaikh

Research opportunities are available for both current UT undergraduate students and prospective graduate students.

Undergraduates: First review the research programs of the Climate Dynamics faculty and researchers (see the "People" and "Education" tabs), and then contact individuals concerning the availability of undergraduate research opportunities for theses and projects. Different research opportunities will require different backgrounds, and it’s important to find a good match for your interests and future goals.

Prospective Graduate Students: Availability of supported graduate student positions varies from year to year depending on funding. Under the "Education" tab you will find information about potential areas of research.

Center for Integrated Earth System Science

The Center for Integrated Earth System Science (CIESS) is a cooperative effort between the Jackson School of Geosciences and the Cockrell School of Engineering. The center fosters collaborative study of Earth as a coupled system with focus on land, atmosphere, water, environment, and society.

Center for Planetary Systems Habitability

The Center for Planetary Systems Habitability is an interdisciplinary research center at UT and is the result of a partnership between the Jackson School, the College of Natural Sciences, and the Cockrell School of Engineering. The center advances our ability to search for life on other planets by collaborating on research that helps better understand where habitable zones develop and how they evolve within planetary systems.

Gulf Coast Carbon Center

The Gulf Coast Carbon Center (GCCC) seeks to apply its technical and educational resources to implement geologic storage of anthropogenic carbon dioxide on an aggressive time scale with a focus in a region where large-scale reduction of atmospheric releases is needed and short term action is possible.

Land, Environment & Atmospheric Dynamics

The LEAD group consists of graduate research assistants, postdoctoral fellows, research scientists and visiting scholars. We view the earth system in a holistic way, linking the atmosphere, ocean, biosphere, cryosphere, and solid earth as an integrated system. We use powerful methodologies such as satellite remote sensing and supercomputing simulations which are now profoundly changing research in earth system sciences. We place a strong emphasis on the societal impact of the research in earth system sciences.

Remote Sensing of Earth and Planetary Surface and Environment Program

This program will bring visibility to satellite remote sensing research at JSG among funding agencies and peers, and attract students with strong physics and engineering background and interests in using satellite remote sensing technology to study earth-atmosphere processes.

Affiliated UT Programs & Centers

Center for Space Research

The University of Texas at Austin, Center for Space Research was established in 1981 under the direction of Dr. Byron D. Tapley. The mission of the Center is to conduct research in orbit determination, space geodesy, the Earth and its environment, exploration of the solar system, as well as expanding the scientific applications of space systems data.

Environmental Science Institute

The Environmental Science Institute is a multi-disciplinary institute for basic scientific research in environmental studies founded by The University of Texas at Austin. The Institute serves as a focal point on campus for a wide scope of interdisciplinary research and teaching involving the complex interactions of the biosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere in the Earth system, as well as the human dimensions of these interactions.

Texas Advanced Computing Center

The Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) at The University of Texas at Austin is one of the leading centers of computational excellence in the United States. Located on the J.J. Pickle Research Campus, the center's mission is to enable discoveries that advance science and society through the application of advanced computing technologies.

UT Austin Energy Institute

The Energy Institute has been established at the University of Texas at Austin to provide the State of Texas and the Nation guidance for sustainable energy security through the pursuit of research and education programs - good policy based on good science. The Institute will determine the areas of research and instruction in consultation with an Institute Advisory Board, faculty and staff at the University of Texas at Austin, the private energy sector, public utilities, non-governmental organizations, and the general public. The economic future of the State of Texas, and our Nation, depends upon the viability of sustainable energy resources. The mission of the Energy Institute is to provide the transformational changes through research and instruction that are required for this State's and Nation's sustainable energy security.