David McGee, Assistant Professor of Paleoclimate
Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Participants welcome at individual sessions
Seasonally reversing atmospheric circulations known as monsoons determine the intensity and seasonality of precipitation throughout the tropics. Monsoon rains supply water for approximately two-thirds of the world's population, govern the distribution of tropical ecosystems and agriculture, and drive continental weathering in low latitudes; as a result, monsoon variability has wide-ranging impacts on human society and natural systems.
This January, EAPS' IAP seminar will explore the magnitude, drivers and impacts of changes in monsoon precipitation in the past, present and future. Featured speakers will share their research into a diverse array of topics, including past abrupt changes in the African monsoon, the role of monsoon changes in the collapse of Mayan civilization, the dynamics of monsoon-associated cyclones, and the impacts of present and future monsoon changes on societies in the Sahel region of North Africa.
Individual lectures in the series will be given in 54-915, noon to 1pm. Please check individual session listing for descriptions of each topic and the day it will be offered.
Since there is a delay in information posted to the IAP website please see <http://eapsweb.mit.edu/events/iap-2014> for up-to-date schedule information.
Sponsor(s): Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences
Contact: Vicki McKenna, 54-910, x3-3380, vsm@mit.edu
| Jan/13 | Mon | 12:00PM-01:00PM | 54-915 |
An introduction to monsoons
Paul O'Gorman - Assoc. Professor of Atmospheric Science
| Jan/15 | Wed | 12:00PM-01:00PM | 54-915 |
Potential impacts of anthropogenic aerosols on the monsoons
Chien Wang - Senior Research Scientist, EAPS, MIT
| Jan/17 | Fri | 12:00PM-01:00PM | 54-915 |
Monsoon cyclones: the dynamics of high-impact storms at the edge of the Tropics
William Boos - Asst. Prof. of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University
| Jan/22 | Wed | 12:00PM-01:00PM | 54-915, POSTPONED DUE TO STORM |
Glacial-Holocene shifts in the Atlantic ITCZ, North African climate, and culture
¿New date will be posted as soon as it is arranged.
Peter deMenocal - Professor, Earth & Environmental Sciences, LDEO/Columbia U.
| Jan/24 | Fri | 12:00PM-01:00PM | 56-154, note room change |
Re-interpreting the influence of the oceans on Sahelian climate, from daily to multi-decadal time scales
Alessandra Giannini - Research Scientist, IRI and LDEO/Columbia U.
| Jan/27 | Mon | 12:00PM-01:00PM | 54-915 |
Hazard prediction in the developing world: Tales of efforts to span the "Valley of Death"
Peter Webster - Professor, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Tech.
| Jan/28 | Tue | 12:00PM-01:00PM | 54-819, note room change |
Towards a general theory of monsoon dynamics
Peter Webster - Professor, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Tech.
| Jan/30 | Thu | 12:00PM-01:00PM | 54-915, note that this is a Thurs. talk |
Fundamental monsoon dynamics: Aquaplanet monsoons and their response to climate changes
Simona Bordoni - Asst. Professor, Geological and Planetary Sciences, CalTech
| Jan/31 | Fri | 12:00PM-01:00PM | 54-915 |
Synoptic view of past climates in the Yucatan Peninsula and the fate of the ancient Maya Kingdom
Martin Medina - Visiting Asst. Professor, Amherst College