Seminar: Dr. Henrique Barbosa | UMBC Physics
In-Person PHYS 401
TITLE: The life cycle of tropical clouds
ABSTRACT: Clouds are a major driver of Earth’s energy and moisture budgets, affecting both weather and climate. In the tropics, convection dominates the picture and spans a wide range of spatial (10’s of m to 100’s of km) and temporal (min to days) scales, making it hard to observe and to model. Things are more complicated over land, where the atmosphere responds to and interacts with the surface diurnal cycle. In this talk I will give an overview of the life cycle of tropical clouds, with a focus on convective clouds developing over rainforests. I will discuss the environmental conditions and interactions that either sustain or suppress tropical storm systems, how anthropogenic activities might modify these clouds, and what the consequences might be for our climate.