Brian Mapes
Associate Professor
Meteorology and Physical Oceanography (MPO) Division,
Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (RSMAS),
University of Miami
4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, FL 33149
Voice: (305) 421-4275
FAX: (305) 421-4696
E-mail: mapes@miami.edu

Research themes and links to publications

My work began in atmospheric convection, in the larger context of tropical weather and climate. That larger picture requires understanding other processes like radiation and surface fluxes as well. Working with postdocs, students, and collaborators, I maintain a 3-pronged effort that builds from local scales (very definite and tangible, but always dependent on what lies beyond), via quantitative analysis and abstraction, up toward global scales (vast and pervasive yet evasive: everywhere and nowhere).

1. We study convective clouds and storms and local atmospheric structure (especially in the vertical) , using observations (radars, aircraft, soundings, satellites) and cloud-resolving models.

2. We study the large-scale net thermodynamic and dynamic effects of convection and related processes in the atmosphere, guided by observations; and then try to encapsulate the essence in simple models (the parameterization problem).

3. We study several large-scale weather and climate phenomena using regional and global observations and models, to lend more context and meaning to the activities described above.


Some current (2006 era - update me) research links

One particular project I am involved in is the CLIVAR
Climate Process Team on low-latitude cloud-climate feedbacks. 
This whole-group home page at the U. of Washington has more info.

Here is a page of clickable access to plots of high-resolution GCM column outputs.

A Nov 2005 presentation on column-oriented analyses of both observations and models is linked below.
[ppt - 6MB but Mac figures may fail Windows users]    [pdf - about 9MB]