Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder

Michael Gallagher

Research Interests

Michael is a postdoctoral research scientist working for the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at CU Boulder within the NOAA Earth System Research Laboratories. His research is centered around studying the atmosphere in the Arctic and its central role in the coupled climate system. This includes the following research topics:

  • atmospheric boundary layer dynamics
  • clouds, radiation, and their relationship to surface energy budget
  • applied machine learning and computational algorithms
  • ground and space based remote sensing of the atmosphere

Current Research

Since finishing his PhD he has been primarily doing field research with MOSAiC (Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate), dedicating the majority of 2019 and 2020 to gathering high quality in situ atmospheric observations in the Arctic ice pack. When not in the field his research is generally focused on coupling atmospheric process to the broader climate system in the Arctic.

Check out these blog posts to see a bit what that's about:

Rescuing and repairing remote station destroyed by sea ice movement

Nature's beauty and ferocity: A mini update from the MOSAiC field campaign

What's it like to spend four-plus months locked in the Arctic ice?

These researchers spent a winter trapped in Arctic ice to capture key climate data



Some maintenance of instruments on the atmospheric flux observation tower, February 2019 at ~ 87.83N, 41.54E

View Publications

  • Cummins DP; Guemas V; Cox CJ; Gallagher MR; Shupe MD. (Aug 2023). Surface turbulent fluxes from the MOSAiC campaign predicted by machine learning. 10.22541/essoar.169109590.03058929/v1
  • Adler B; Wilczak J; Bianco L; Bariteau L; Cox CJ; de Boer G; Djalalova I; Gallagher M; Intrieri JM; Meyers T. (Jun 2023). Impact of seasonal snow‐cover change on the observed and simulated state of the atmospheric boundary layer in a high‐altitude mountain valley. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres. 10.1029/2023jd038497
  • Persson O; Cox C; Gallagher M; Shupe M; Hutchings J; Watkins D; Perovich D. (May 2023). Arctic Cyclone Cloud and Boundary-Layer Features Producing Thermodynamic and Dynamic Impacts on Arctic Sea Ice During MOSAiC. 10.5194/egusphere-egu23-17554
  • Neff W; Shupe M; Cox C; Gallagher M. (May 2023). Atmospheric Rivers and Surface Melt Events Over the Greenland Ice Sheet. 10.5194/egusphere-egu23-3690
  • Lac J; Chepfer H; Gallagher MR; Arouf A. (May 2023). Low opaque clouds formed over Baffin Sea enhances Greenland's west coast surface cloud warming. 10.5194/egusphere-egu23-14718
  • Nomura D; Kawaguchi Y; Webb AL; Li Y; Dall'osto M; Schmidt K; Droste ES; Chamberlain EJ; Kolabutin N; Shimanchuk E. (May 2023). Meltwater layer dynamics in a central Arctic lead: Effects of lead width, re-freezing, and mixing during late summer. Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene , 11(1). 10.1525/elementa.2022.00102
  • Adler B; Wilczak JM; Bianco L; Bariteau L; Cox C; Boer GD; Djalalova IV; Gallagher MR; Intrieri J; Meyers T. (Jan 2023). Passive remote sensing of the atmospheric boundary layer in Colorado's East River Valley during the seasonal change from snow-free to snow-covered ground. 10.22541/essoar.167397441.12698034/v1
  • Abdulameer NJ; Acharya U; Aidala C; Ajitanand NN; Akiba Y; Akimoto R; Alexander J; Alfred M; Alibordi M; Aoki K. (Jan 2023). Measurement of φ-meson production in Cu+ Au collisions at s N N= 200 GeV and U+ U collisions at s N N= 193 GeV. Physical Review C , 107, 014907-014907. 10.1103/PhysRevC.107.014907
  • Nandan V; Willatt R; Mallett R; Stroeve J; Geldsetzer T; Scharien R; Tonboe R; Yackel J; Landy J; Clemens-Sewall D. (Jan 2023). Wind redistribution of snow impacts the Ka-and Ku-band radar signatures of Arctic sea ice. The Cryosphere , 17, 2211-2229. 10.5194/tc-17-2211-2023
  • Stroeve J; Nandan V; Willatt R; Dadic R; Rostosky P; Gallagher M; Mallett R; Barrett A; Hendricks S; Tonboe R. (Oct 2022). Rain on snow (ROS) understudied in sea ice remote sensing: a multi-sensor analysis of ROS during MOSAiC (Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate). The Cryosphere , 16(10), 4223-4250. 10.5194/tc-16-4223-2022
  • Kawaguchi Y; Koenig Z; Nomura D; Hoppmann M; Inoue J; Fang Y; Schulz K; Gallagher M; Katlein C; Nicolaus M. (Jul 2022). Turbulent Mixing during Late Summer in the Ice–Ocean Boundary Layer in the Central Arctic Ocean: Results from the MOSAiC Expedition. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans. 10.1029/2021jc017975
  • Arouf A; Chepfer H; Vaillant de Guélis T; Chiriaco M; Shupe MD; Guzman R; Feofilov A; Raberanto P; L'Ecuyer TS; Kato S. (Jul 2022). The surface longwave cloud radiative effect derived from space lidar observations. Atmospheric Measurement Techniques , 15(12), 3893-3923. 10.5194/amt-15-3893-2022
  • Stroeve J; Nandan V; Willatt R; Dadic R; Rotosky P; Gallagher M; Mallett R; Barrett A; Hendricks S; Tonboe R. (Feb 2022). Supplementary material to "Rain-on-Snow (ROS) Understudied in Sea Ice Remote Sensing: A Multi-Sensor Analysis of ROS during MOSAiC". 10.5194/tc-2021-383-supplement
  • Shupe MD; Rex M; Blomquist B; Persson POG; Schmale J; Uttal T; Althausen D; Angot H; Archer S; Bariteau L. (Feb 2022). Overview of the MOSAiC expedition—Atmosphere. Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene , 10(1). 10.1525/elementa.2021.00060
  • Gallagher MR; Shupe MD; Chepfer H; L'Ecuyer T. (Feb 2022). Relating snowfall observations to Greenland ice sheet mass changes: an atmospheric circulation perspective. The Cryosphere , 16(2), 435-450. 10.5194/tc-16-435-2022
  • Acevedo M; Blackburn A; Blinov N; Shuve B; Stone M. (Sep 2021). Multi-track displaced vertices at B-factories. The Journal of High Energy Physics , 2021(9). 10.1007/jhep09(2021)154
  • Acharya U; Aidala C; Ajitanand NN; Akiba Y; Akimoto R; Alexander J; Aoki K; Apadula N; Asano H; Atomssa ET. (Dec 2020). Production of pi(0) and eta mesons in U plus U collisions at root S-NN=192 GeV. Physical Review C , 102(6). 10.1103/PhysRevC.102.064905
  • Gallagher MR; Chepfer H; Shupe MD; Guzman R. (May 2020). Warm Temperature Extremes Across Greenland Connected to Clouds. Geophysical Research Letters , 47(9). 10.1029/2019GL086059
  • Cox, CJ; Stone, RS; Douglas, DC; Stanitski, DM; Gallagher, MR. (Jul 2019). The Aleutian Low-Beaufort Sea Anticyclone: A Climate Index Correlated With the Timing of Springtime Melt in the Pacific Arctic Cryosphere. GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS , 46(13). 10.1029/2019GL083306
  • Aidala C; Ajitanand NN; Akiba Y; Akimoto R; Alexander J; Alfred M; Aoki K; Apadula N; Asano H; Atomssa ET. (Nov 2018). Production of pi(0) and eta mesons in Cu plus Au collisions at root S-NN=200 GeV. Physical Review C , 98(5). 10.1103/PhysRevC.98.054903
  • Gallagher, MR, MD Shupe and NB Miller. (Nov 2018). Impact of Atmospheric Circulation on Temperature, Clouds, and Radiation at Summit Station, Greenland, with Self-Organizing Maps. JOURNAL OF CLIMATE , 31(21). 10.1175/JCLI-D-17-0893.1
  • Adare A; Aidala C; Ajitanand NN; Akiba Y; Akimoto R; Alexander J; Alfred M; Aoki K; Apadula N; Aramaki Y. (Aug 2018). Cross section and longitudinal single-spin asymmetry A(L) for forward W-+/- -> mu(+/-)nu production in polarized p plus p collisions at root s=510 GeV. Physical Review D , 98(3). 10.1103/PhysRevD.98.032007
  • Aidala C; Ajitanand NN; Akiba Y; Akimoto R; Alexander J; Alfred M; Andrieux V; Aoki K; Apadula N; Asano H. (Dec 2017). B-meson production at forward and backward rapidity in p plus p and Cu plus Au collisions at root s(NN)=200 GeV. Physical Review C , 96(6). 10.1103/PhysRevC.96.064901
  • Aidala C; Ajitanand NN; Akiba Y; Akimoto R; Alexander J; Alfred M; Aoki K; Apadula N; Asano H; Atomssa ET. (Jun 2017). Cross section and transverse single-spin asymmetry of muons from open heavy-flavor decays in polarized p plus p collisions at root s=200 GeV. Physical Review D , 95(11). 10.1103/PhysRevD.95.112001
  • Aidala C; Ajitanand NN; Akiba Y; Akimoto R; Alexander J; Alfred M; Aoki K; Apadula N; Asano H; Atomssa ET. (May 2017). Measurements of B -> J/psi at forward rapidity in p plus p collisions at root s=510 GeV. Physical Review D , 95(9). 10.1103/PhysRevD.95.092002
  • Adare A; Aidala C; Ajitanand NN; Akiba Y; Akimoto R; Alexander J; Alfred M; Andrieux V; Aoki K; Apadula N. (Apr 2017). Nonperturbative-transverse-momentum effects and evolution in dihadron and direct photon-hadron angular correlations in p plus p collisions at root s=510 GeV. Physical Review D , 95(7). 10.1103/PhysRevD.95.072002
  • Adare A; Aidala C; Ajitanand NN; Akiba Y; Akimoto R; Alexander J; Alfred M; Aoki K; Apadula N; Asano H. (Nov 2016). Measurements of directed, elliptic, and triangular flow in Cu plus Au collisions at root sNN=200 GeV. Physical Review C , 94(5). 10.1103/PhysRevC.94.054910
  • Adare A; Aidala C; Ajitanand NN; Akiba Y; Akimoto R; Alexander J; Alfred M; Aoki K; Apadula N; Aramaki Y. (Mar 2016). Measurement of parity-violating spin asymmetries in W-+/- production at midrapidity in longitudinally polarized p plus p collisions. Physical Review D , 93(5). 10.1103/PhysRevD.93.051103
  • Adare A; Aidala C; Ajitanand NN; Akiba Y; Akimoto R; Alexander J; Alfred M; Aoki K; Apadula N; Asano H. (Mar 2016). Forward J/psi production in U plus U collisions at root S-NN=193 GeV. Physical Review C , 93(3). 10.1103/PhysRevC.93.034903
  • Adare A; Aidala C; Ajitanand NN; Akiba Y; Akimoto R; Alexander J; Alfred M; Al-Ta'ani H; Andrews KR; Angerami A. (Feb 2016). phi meson production in the forward/backward rapidity region in Cu plus Au collisions at root s(NN)=200 GeV. Physical Review C: Nuclear Physics , 93(2). 10.1103/PhysRevC.93.024904
  • Adare A; Afanasiev S; Aidala C; Ajitanand NN; Akiba Y; Akimoto R; Al-Bataineh H; Alexander J; Alfred M; Al-Jamel A. (Feb 2016). Transverse energy production and charged-particle multiplicity at midrapidity in various systems from root s(NN)=7.7 to 200 GeV. Physical Review C , 93(2). 10.1103/PhysRevC.93.024901
  • Adare A; Aidala C; Ajitanand NN; Akiba Y; Akimoto R; Alexander J; Alfred M; Aoki K; Apadula N; Aramaki Y. (Jan 2016). Inclusive cross section and double-helicity asymmetry for pi(0) production at midrapidity in p plus p collisions at root s=510 GeV. Physical Review D , 93(1). 10.1103/PhysRevD.93.011501
  • Adare A; Aidala C; Ajitanand NN; Akiba Y; Akimoto R; Alexander J; Alfred M; Aoki K; Apadula N; Aramaki Y. (Dec 2014). Nuclear matter effects on J/psi production in asymmetric Cu plus Au collisions at root S-NN=200 GeV. Physical Review C: Nuclear Physics , 90(6). 10.1103/PhysRevC.90.064908