Yvonne Anderson
- Email: ee22ya@leeds.ac.uk
- Thesis title: Can air-sea coupling solve the signal-to-noise paradox in climate predictions?
- Supervisors: Professor Amanda Maycock, Dr Juliane Schwendike, Dr Thomas Bracegirdle, Professor Simon Josey, Dr Doug Smith,
Profile
I am a first year PhD student part of the SENSE Earth Observation CDT.
My research project explores the nature of air-sea coupling in the North Atlantic region and its effect on predictability in climate models. The primary focus of the project is to address a significant problem known as the ‘signal-to-noise paradox’, where signal-to-noise ratios in climate models are anomalously low, resulting in low levels of predictability for several variables across multiple timescales. The signal-to-noise problem is prevalent in regions of eddy-activity, which are characterized by strong energy exchange between the ocean and atmosphere. This energy exchange is an important driver of large-scale atmospheric signals, which can offer a source of predictability in climate models. As such, the project will test the hypothesis that model underestimation of predictability is a result of poor representation of air-sea interactions. To achieve this aim, the project will compare the nature of air-sea coupling in observations and models, with a focus on the Gulf Stream region. The comparison aims to identify missing features that may amplify predictable signals, resulting in low signal-to-noise ratios in models.
Research interests
- Air-sea interactions
- Climate dynamics
- Dynamical meteorology
- Machine learning
- Earth observation
Qualifications
- MRes Climate and Atmospheric Science (University of Leeds)
- MChem Chemistry (University of Edinburgh)