Shreya Dhame
| Department | Climate Variability |
| Group | Director's Research Group (CVR) |
| Position | Postdoc |
| phone | +49 40 41173-310 |
| shreya.dhame@mpimet.mpg.de | |
| Room | B 232 |
Research Interests
I use climate models and statistical analysis of large data sets to understand large-scale atmospheric and oceanic circulation changes.
Ocean warming patterns
The observed ocean temperatures in the eastern tropical Pacific have increased less than in other parts of the tropics, a change that is not well represented in climate models. The trends in sea surface temperatures across the Pacific are important not only for estimating extreme weather risk and evolution of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) under a changing climate but also estimates of climate sensitivity. I am using large ensembles, models of varying resolution, and machine learning to identify causes and impacts of global surface temperature trends with the overall aim to constrain future climate projections.
Interbasin climate interactions
Tropical ocean basins are an interconnected system with strong feedbacks between the oceans that affect variability of an individual ocean basin on multiple timescales. The Indian Ocean warmed rapidly and notably at a faster rate than the other tropical ocean basins in the latter half of the twentieth century. I used pacemaker simulations along with pattern recognition methods and heat budget analysis to quantify the role of a warming Indian Ocean in regulating the tropical and extratropical atmospheric circulation trends, and the interannual variability (ENSO and Atlantic Niño) in the tropical Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
Science and Art
A scenario of ocean futures, I am working on an immersive mixed reality experience to remind us of the importance of oceans as climate regulators. It is a combination of sound and immersive experience which melds visualizations of local extreme weather events in various locations across the planet with interview recordings. The mixed bag of storylines utilise science fiction prototyping of climate scenarios and evolve based on the collective decision making of the audience.
Publications
Dhame, S., Van Loon, S., Rugenstein, S., Barnes, E., Predicting Earth's energy imbalance from surface temperature patterns (in prep)
Dhame, S., Taschetto, A., Santoso, A., Liguori, G., Meissner, K., Changes in the tropical Pacific and Atlantic oceans due to a warming Indian Ocean (in prep)
Dhame, S., Olonscheck, D., Rugenstein, M. Higher resolution does not consistently improve equatorial Pacific sea surface temperature pattern across climate models (submitted)
Rugenstein, M., Dhame, S., Olonscheck, D., Wills, R. J., Watanabe, M., & Seager, R. (2023). Connecting the SST Pattern Problem and the Hot Model Problem. Geophysical Research Letters. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL105488
Dhame, S., Taschetto, A. S., Santoso, A., & Meissner, K. J. (2020). Indian Ocean warming modulates global atmospheric circulation trends. Climate Dynamics. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-020-05369-1
Dhame, S., Kumar, A., Ramanathan, A. L., & Chaudhari, P. (2016). Elemental composition, distribution and control of biogenic silica in the anthropogenically disturbed and pristine zone inter-tidal sediments of Indian Sundarbans mangrove-estuarine complex. Marine pollution bulletin. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.07.027
Education
PhD in Climate Science, 2022
University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
MSc in Environmental Science, 2015
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
BSc in Geology, 2013
St. Xavier's College, Mumbai, India
Work Experience
Postdoctoral Scientist, 2022-2024
Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Hamburg, Germany
Senior Climate Specialist, 2021-2022
Deloitte, Sydney, Australia
Atmospheric Perils Specialist/Catastrophe Analyst, 2016-2017
Willis Towers Watson, Mumbai, India