Weather and Climate Dynamics Division
Tropical convection research
Atmospheric convection in the tropical regions is one of the main mechanisms of transporting solar energy from the equator to the polar regions of our planet. This pattern of warm air rising, cool air sinking is responsible for both the daily rainstorms typical of equatorial regions and heat transport away from the equator toward higher latitudes. CIRES researchers look at whether improving our understanding of tropical convection will shed light on weather-climate connections. They also continually work to improve models that explain poleward transport of heat.
