Justin J. Wettstein

Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research

Allégaten 55, 5007 Bergen Norway

mobile: (+47) 40 28 82 93

office: (+47) 55 58 98 17

fax: (+47) 55 58 43 30

justin.wettstein (at) bjerknes.uib.no


last update: April 27, 2010 (WettsteinCV_revised042710.pdf)

 

Education:


Ph.D.  Atmospheric Sciences,  University of Washington,  2007

M.P.A.  Evans School of Public Affairs,  University of Washington,  2007

M.S.  Atmospheric Sciences,  University of Washington,  2003

M.S.  Environmental Engineering and Science,  Stanford University,  1998

B.S.  Environmental Engineering,  University of Oklahoma,  1997

Publications and Manuscripts in final preparation:


2010    Wettstein, J.J.  The Evolution, Persistence and Dynamical Forcing of Jet Variability Associated with Day-to-day Storm Track Variability.  In final preparation for submission to J. Atmos. Sci.


2010    Wettstein, J.J., J.S. Littell, J.M. Wallace and Z. Gedalof.  Coherent Climate Signals in Northern Hemisphere Tree Ring Widths.  Submitted to J. Climate. Manuscript pdf           Supplemental Information pdf  


2010    Wettstein, J.J. and C. Li.  Eddy-driven and Subtropically-influenced Jet Variability Structures in the Observed Three-dimensional Zonal Wind Field. submitted to J. Climate.


2010    Athanasiadis, P.J., J.M. Wallace and J.J. Wettstein.  Patterns of Jet Stream Wintertime Variability and Their Relation to the Storm Tracks. J. Atmos. Sci. 67: 1361-1381. JAS Link


2010    Wettstein, J.J. and J.M. Wallace.  Observed Patterns of Month-to-Month Storm Track Variability and Their Relationship to the Background Flow. J. Atmos. Sci. 67: 1420-1437. JAS link


2009    Pausata, F.S.R., C. Li, J.J. Wettstein, K.H. Nisancioglu and D.S. Battisti. Changes in Atmospheric Variability in a Glacial Climate and the Impacts on Proxy Data: A model intercomparison. Climate of the Past 5: 489-502.  Climate of the Past Link


2007    Wettstein, J.J.  Storm Track Variability and Interaction with the Background Flow on Daily, Interannual and Climate Change Time Scales.  Ph.D. thesis, University of Washington.  Dissertation PDF


2003    Wettstein, J.J.  A Physically Consistent Long-term Reconstruction of the Northern Annular Mode Using Tree Rings.  M.S. Thesis, University of Washington.  Thesis PDF.


2002    Wettstein, J.J. and L.O. Mearns.  The Influence of the North Atlantic--Arctic Oscillation on Mean, Variance and Extremees of Temperature in the Northeastern United States and Canada. J. Climate 15: 3586--3600.  J. Clim. Link


Future Directions:


A few projects I am currently working on:


  1. 1)Altered ‘’storminess’’ and climate variability patterns in different climates

    - In collaboration with: Camille Li, Francesco Pausata, Nils Gunnar Kvamstø, David Battisti


This project is intended as a test of the relationship between the canonical modes of climate variability and the intensity of the extratropical storm tracks in basins of each hemisphere.  Based on the results of my dissertation and the associated manuscripts, observed storm track variability appears to be systematically linked to the dominant climate modes on both interannual and daily time scales.  This project is investigating the coherence of these relationships and examining eddy-mean flow interactions on climate change time scales using a variety of simulations from fully-coupled ocean-atmosphere general circulation models.


  1. 2)Dynamic climate sensitivity in the high latitudes

    - In collaboration with:

  1.    Camille Li, Kerim Nisancioglu, Nils Gunnar Kvamstø, Tore Furevik, David Battisti


The first part of this project aims to confirm the magnitude and reproduceability of the under-prediction of high-latitude climate sensitivity in a suite of fully-coupled general circulation models (GCMs).  Relative to surface temperature proxy records from the last glacial maximum (LGM) and during very warm intervals of the deep past (e.g., the Eocene), it seems climate models are generally unable to capture the magnitude of high-latitude cooling during the LGM or high-latititude warming in greenhouse climates.  Comparison of the proxy records and GCMs implies the underprediction is most severe in Northern Hemisphere winter, suggesting an important role for dynamics.  Climate change alterations to extratropical storm development and resultant effects on heat and momentum transports by the atmospheric eddies could be important.


3) Water vapor and its influence on jet structures and storm life cycles

    - In collaboration with:

    Nils Gunnar Kvamstø, Solbjørg Apeland, Kristen Ravnestad, Camille Li


Because of the reduced surface temperature gradient expected for a greenhouse-gas forced world, we anticipate a slower growth rate for high-frequency disturbances on a warmer Earth.  Many atmospheric models, however, show increases in bulk diagnostics of the strength of the midlatitude storm tracks, suggesting storm development is more complex than suggested by growth rate calculations.  Building on previous work, we hope to investigate if latent heat release by increased atmospheric moisture content can alter the characteristics of storm development.

Manuscripts in preparation:


2010    Li, C. and J.J. Wettstein. Teleconnections as a Result of Changed Storm Tracks and Jets in a Variety of Simulated Climates.  In preparation: J. Climate.


2010    Wettstein, J.J., F. Codron and C. Li.  The Seasonality of Observed Coupled Storm-Jet Interactions in the North Pacific and Southern Hemisphere. In Preparation: J. Atmos. Sci.

professional interests:


  1. ๏    The atmospheric general circulation and its variability

  2. ๏    Interaction of atmospheric waves with the background flow

  3. ๏    The influence of water vapor in the dynamical evolution of climate

  4. ๏    “Paleo-dynamics”: to investigate changes to the general circulation within fully-coupled models’ simulation of very different climate states