Dr. Isidoro Orlanski

Affiliation

• Mesoscale Dynamics Group at GFDL – Goals: To produce accurate numerical simulations of winter storms, cyclones and fronts in order to understand the role that planetary and synoptic scale parameters play in their generation and evolution. To better model the interaction of cyclones and fronts with orography. To clarify the effect of internal gravity waves on the larger-scale circulation and to improve their representation in numerical models. To develop more accurate and physically realistic numerical models for improve storm-scale simulations.
• Atmospheric and Ocean Sciences Program at Princeton University – The Program is a cooperative effort between Princeton University and the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration(GFDL/NOAA). It is also part of a University-wide coalition dedicated to environmental studies. The Program is intended for students seeking the Ph.D. degree with the aim of pursuing careers in atmospheric and oceanic sciences.
• Centro de Investigaciones para el Mar y la Atmosfera – CIMA (The Center for Sea and Atmosphere Research), supported by CONICET (Research Council for Science and Technology of Argentina), is an associated laboratory with the Department of Atmospheric Sciences of the University of Buenos Aires. It is located in the main campus of the University of Buenos Aires, close to the Department of Atmospheric Sciences, near Buenos Aires City.

Research Topics

• The Future of Water-isla Victoria Workshop
• The Dynamics of Atmospheric and Oceanic Waves: Planetary Scale – Mechanisms for Climate Variability and Change: Lecture 1, Lecture 2, Lecture 3, Lecture 4
• A New Look to the Pacific Storm Track Variability
• Bifurcation in eddy life-cycles: Implications for storm track variability
• ZETANC – A new Weather Prediction Model
• Dynamics of Winter Storms: Blizzards, Mountains, Storm Tracks, Seasons, El Nino/La Nina

Courses

• Atmospheric and Ocean Wave Dynamics: AOS 572 – Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Princeton University

A 24 hours simulation with a Global Mesoscale Circulation Model (GMCM)

Animations: Avi (1MB) Mov (46MB)

We at the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) have recently completed Project TERRA. Project TERRA was conceived as a 1-day simulation with the cloud-resolving nonhydrostatic ZETAC. This model is the first Global Mesoscale Circulation Model (GMCM) run at GFDL and perhaps the first global cloud-resolving model run anywhere that uses a grid resolution of 10-12Km. Cloud distributions are of great importance in weather and climate. The correct distribution of latent heat produced by the moist convection feeds directly into the dynamics that generate weather systems. The vertical distribution of clouds is also of paramount importance in determining the radiative characteristics of the atmosphere, which critically affect climate and climate change. The figure shows the instantaneous liquid water content in the column (click for large version).

The evolution of the cyclone-frontal system over 7 days (every 2 hours) can be seen in this animation. The cloud evolution along the frontal system can be seen in this short animation.

Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
Forrestal Campus, Princeton University
201 Forrestal Road
Princeton, NJ 08542 USA
Phone: 609-258-1319Email: Isidoro.Orlanski@noaa.govMy Publications