Prof. Timothy Merlis

Timothy Merlis

Atmospheric and Climate Dynamics

Office: Burnside Hall 815
Tel.: (514) 398-3140
Fax.: (514) 398-6115
timothy.merlis [at] mcgill.ca (E-Mail)
Website


Research interests

We research atmospheric circulations and their role in climate changes.

Our goal is to elucidate physical mechanisms underlying the response of atmospheric circulations, surface temperature and precipitation, and tropical cyclones to changes in radiative forcing. Systematic experimentation with numerical climate models allows us to develop climate theories that encompass not only Earth's current and future climate, but also the broader range of possible climates. A few illustrative examples of this research are described here.


Some recent publications

  • Defforge, C. L. and T. M. Merlis, 2017: Evaluating the evidence of a global sea surface temperature threshold for tropical cyclone genesis. Journal of Climate, 30, 9133-9145.  
  • Viale, F. and T. M. Merlis, 2017: Variations in tropical cyclone frequency response to solar and CO2 forcing in aquaplanet simulations. Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems, 9, 4-18, doi:10.1002/2016MS000785.  
  • Defforge, C. L. and T. M. Merlis, 2017: Observed warming trend in sea surface temperature at tropical cyclone genesis. Geophysical Research Letters, 44, 1034-1040, doi:10.1002/2016GL071045.  
  • Seo, J., S. Kang, and T. M. Merlis, 2017: A model intercomparison of the tropical precipitation response to a CO2 doubling in aquaplanet simulations. Geophysical Research Letters, 44, 993-1000, doi:10.1002/2016GL072347.  
  • Feldl, N., S. Bordoni, and T. M. Merlis, 2017: Coupled high-latitude climate feedbacks and their impact on atmospheric heat transport. Journal of Climate, 30, 189-201. 

For a complete list of publications for all our faculty, please click here.

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