Jim Oliveri analyzing tropical Atlantic hurricane data. Jim's master's thesis involves regression analysis of Atlantic hurricane activity indices (frequency, duration, maximum wind speed etc.) with climatologic variables from 1942 to 2007, to establish the relative significance of sea surface temperature and atmospheric wind shear on tropical storm development. Key findings so far support a strong dependence of overall tropical storm and major hurricane frequency on SST, with significant but secondary roles exerted by the Southern Oscillation and west African rainfall through their association with wind shear. Moreover these relationships appear to have changed markedly after the mid 1970s, possibly associated with a large scale climate shift in the Pacific Ocean, acceleration of global warming, and establishment of a strong warming trend in the major hurricane development region of the tropical North Atlantic.
Dan Spadaro installing band dendrometers to monitor tree
growth in the western Catskills, New York. For his master's thesis Dan
is investigating the relationship between climate and growth for
several tree species native to the Catskill region [project details here].
Stephan Joanides weighing forams in the microbalance.
Stephan's thesis topic is "Constraints on ENSO
variability during the Last Glacial Maximum from individual G. ruber d18O". Stephan has completed 250 stable isotope analyses of individual G. ruber
from core V21-30, which indicate a sizable increase in d18O variance in
the LGM relative to the late Holocene, implying amplified ENSO variability during the LGM. These
data comprise the first geologic evidence of ENSO activity during the LGM.
Macaulay Honors College students doing fieldwork in Tallman Mountain State Park, New York and Palisades Park, New Jersey
Environmental Science master's students sampling tree rings from white and red oaks in Palisades Park, New Jersey
George Olive presenting a poster of his research on El Nino variability at the 2006 Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco. George is now the recipient of a Rhodes Scholarship!
