James Bassford

Profile

I am a postgraduate researcher at the Institute for Climate and Atmospheric Science (ICAS), working in the Atmospheric and Cloud Dynamics group. I am researching the interactions between convection and large-scale moisture and circulation in the tropics. I am also interested in how these interactions are represented in NWP and GCM models. I am working with km-scale model data to investigate the effects of explicitly resolving convection on scale interactions in regional and pan-tropical domains.

By better understanding processes of scale-interaction, and by better representing them in models, we will be able to contribute to improving forecasts on multiple scales in the tropics. Poor representations of the critical coupling between moisture and dynamics in many models leads to large uncertainty in the response of clouds and precipitation patterns to climate change. Reducing this uncertainty can then further constrain predictions of future energy budget changes, particularly at regional-scales in the tropics. Quantifying these changes is essential for timely adaptation.

Research interests

• Kilometer-scale weather and climate modelling
• Tropical moisture dynamics
• Patterns in tropical convection including self-organisation
• Mesoscale convective systems

Qualifications

• BSc Mathematical Studies
• MRes Climate and Atmospheric Science

Research groups and institutes

• Institute for Climate and Atmospheric Science