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Understanding el Niño

Rosenstiel Award recipient providing pivotal data on climate change prediction

VIRGINIA KEY, FL (April 5, 2007) — The University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science will present its 33rd Annual Rosenstiel Award for Outstanding Achievement and Distinction in Oceanographic Science to Dr. Axel Timmermann, an associate professor of oceanography at the University of Hawaii, in an award ceremony on April 24. As this year's Rosenstiel Award recipient, Timmermann will also present two lectures on his unique, influential work in El Niño and climate change.

The Rosenstiel Award is designed to honor scientists who, in the past decade, have made significant and growing impacts in their field. It's an award targeted for researchers who, in their early to mid-career stages, are already making outstanding scientific contributions.

Timmermann already is well known for his seminal modeling study predicting increased El Niño frequency in response to future greenhouse warming is widely cited and is part of his large collection of papers that seek to understand the fundamental mechanisms of ENSO operating in the past, present and future. His more recent work has revealed mechanisms that link climate variability in the Pacific with the Atlantic on decadal and longer timescales, and his ideas have contributed to a new integrated view of the global climate system. Timmermann is known not only for his innovative ideas and methodologies, but also for the curiosity and enthusiasm that he brings to scientific discussions.

He has published extensively on a wide range of topics, including El-Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) dynamics, climate predictability, stochastic climate modeling, thermohaline circulation stability, paleoclimatic variations, biophysical interactions in the ocean, and coral bleaching.

Timmermann was a co-author of three chapters in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 3rd Assessment Report. He currently chairs the International Pacific CLIVAR Panel and is a member of the American Meteorology Society's Air-Sea Interaction Committee. He was an organizer of the International Workshop on Dynamical System Concepts in Climate Dynamics (De Bilt Netherlands 2000) and co-chair of the International Society for Optical Engineering's 's International Asia-Pacific Symposium on Remote Sensing of the Atmosphere, Ocean, Environment, and Space (Hangzhou China, 2002). He recently organized a World Climate Research Program workshop on “Multi-Decadal to Centennial Climate Variability” (Honolulu, Nov 2006).

Timmermann earned his Ph. D. in natural sciences from the Max Planck Institute of Meteorology in Hamburg and completed his undergraduate work in physics at the University of Marburg in Germany.

He will present two lectures during a special visit to Rosenstiel School to accept the award. On Tuesday, April 24, he will present a public lecture, “Bio-physical Interactions on Interannual to Millennial Timescales,” 1-3 p.m. in the Rosenstiel School auditorium. On Wednesday, April 25, he will speak on “Dynamics of the Ice Ages: What can Computer Models Tell Us.” This will be directed to the Virginia Key Rosenstiel School/NOAA research community.

The Rosenstiel Award, created through an endowment from the Rosenstiel Foundation, recognizes outstanding scientists for their contributions to marine science. It is awarded annually to one individual on a rotating basis for achievements in six broad disciplinary areas: marine geology and geophysics; meteorology and physical oceanography; marine and atmospheric chemistry; marine biology and fisheries; applied marine physics; and marine affairs. This year's award to Dr. Timmermann falls within the discipline of meteorology and physical oceanography.

Rosenstiel School is part of the University of Miami and, since its founding in the 1940s, has grown into one of the world's premier marine and atmospheric research institutions.  See http://www.rsmas.miami.edu.

Media Contacts:
Ivy Kupec, Communications Director, University of Miami
Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science
305/421-4704 (o) 305/984-7107 (m)
E-mail: ikupec@miami.edu

Chuck Colgan or Cindy Clark, Scripps Communications Office
Scripps Institution of Oceanography/UC San Diego
Phone: 858-534-3624
Email: scrippsnews@ucsd.edu