The Stanley P. Hayes Center for the Study of Climate Variability consists
of two separate elements: (1) a postdoc and visitors program administered
by the JISAO senior fellows and subsidized by the University of Washington
through the waiver of indirect costs, and (2) an integrated University of
Washington / JISAO / PMEL directed research project focusing on the
variability of the coupled atmosphere-ocean system, with primary emphasis
on the seasonal to interannual time-scale.
The funding received through the Hayes Center for postdocs and visitors is
pooled with the ongoing funding from the EPOCS program to provide salary,
support services and travel for a total of 2-3 postdocs and one
distinguished visitor in residence at any given time, plus 20-30 short term
visitors per year. JISAO postdocs are selected on the basis of the
compatibility between their research interests and the scientific thrusts
of the programs that are providing their support. However, once selected,
the postdocs enjoy the same freedom as faculty members to define their own
research objectives.
The directed research of the Hayes Center can be viewed as consisting of
three components:
- applied research and service in support of the U.S. effort to observe
and predict climate variations on seasonal to interannual time scales
- diagnostic studies of seasonal to interannual variability based on
observational data; and
- modeling of the coupled atmosphere/ocean system.
The distinguishing characteristic of the Hayes Center is its focus on
analysis of observations and model simulations of the atmosphere and Ocean
in the tropical Pacific in support of the modeling and prediction of short
term climate variability. Phenomena of interest include, but are not
necessarily limited to intertropical convergence zone, the equatorial cold
tongue in sea-surface temperature and its interaction with the overlying
atmospheric planetary boundary layer, El Niņo, the Southern Oscillation,
the climatological mean annual cycle, the Madden Julian Oscillation, and
equatorially trapped planetary waves in the atmosphere and ocean. The
domain of interest ranges from the base of the thermocline to the
tropopause.
The work of the Hayes Center will include (1) observing system simulation
system experiments with ocean general circulation models, (2) validation
and intercomparison of new satellite and ground based data sets for fields
such as surface wind, wind stress and precipitation, (3) support of
national efforts to develop effective data assimilation procedures for
coupled climate models, (4) verification of the performance of climate
models and experimental climate prediction models, (5) development of more
effective ways of organizing and displaying climate data and model output
(6) efforts to improve our understanding of the physical processes that
need to be represented in climate models, with emphasis on the coupling
between the atmosphere and ocean.
The Hayes Center is one of the Applied Research Centers (ARC's) sponsored
by the NOAA Office of Global Programs