Katharina  Schmitt

As part of the Weather-Climate Interaction group, I am interested in interactions between (small-scale) convection and large-scale atmospheric circulation. My PhD project focuses in particular on the Pacific Walker Circulation (PWC) and its response to climate change. This response remains highly uncertain, as current climate models struggle to reproduce the observed strengthening of the PWC over recent decades.

Using high-resolution ICON simulations, I approach this problem from a different perspective by trying to understand the two-way interaction between the properties of small-scale, transient convection and the changing large-scale PWC.

In addition to my PhD focus, I am also interested in tropical cyclones and atmospheric gravity waves, reflecting my previous Master’s work in this area.