Mike Pritchard - Cloud Research

Mike Pritchard. Cloud Research. Ph.D. Candidate Scripps Institution of Oceanography University of California San Diego 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla CA, 92093-0224 Phone: 858-345-7623 Email: mikepritchard@ucsd.edu Curriculum Vitae

Education
Current Research: I have lately become captivated by a promising new technique for representing cloud processes in climate models, called "super-parameterization" (in essence replacing the conventional cumulus statistical parameterizations in an atmospheric numerical model with an interactive "cloud-system resolving" model; i.e. a reduced dimension, 4-km resolution, non-hydrostatic subdomain). I am currently exploring the diurnal cycle of precipitation variability in a prototype, next-generation super-parameterized GCM developed at Colorado State University. My research is being done at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography under the supervision of Richard Somerville in affiliation with a new NSF Science and Technology Center, The Center for Multiscale Modeling of Atmospheric Processes.; When I read papers that are particularly important to my research, or of particular interest, I like to take personal research notes on them. Check out my annotated bibliography for more details.
MSc Research: Over the course of my MSc research under Andrew Bush at the University of Alberta, I studied ice sheet-atmosphere interactions on paleoclimate timescales. During this time, I developed a coupling infrastructure to exchange state information between a dynamic ice sheet model developed by Shawn Marshall at the University of Calgary and the Community Atmosphere Model. For my MSc thesis, I explored several early phase atmosphere-ice sheet coupling issues using this new tool. Despite my current shift in focus to higher-frequency cloud-scale processes, I remain interested in low-frequency atmosphere-ice sheet interactions on millennial timescales.; I have packaged my atmosphere-ice sheet coupling script infrastructure for distribution to potential research collaborators; contact me if you are interested in it.
Refereed Publications: Pendlebury, D., T. G. Shepherd, M. S. Pritchard, and C. McLandress.; Normal mode Rossby waves and their effects on chemical composition in the late summer stratosphere.; Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussion 8 (7), 1925-1935, Apr. 2008.; Pritchard, M. S., A. B. G. Bush and S. J. Marshall.; Neglecting ice-atmosphere interactions underestimates ice sheet melt in millennial-scale deglaciation simulations.; Geophysical Research Letters 35 (1), L01503, Jan. 2008.; Pritchard, M. S., A. B. G. Bush and S. J. Marshall.; Interannual atmospheric variability affects continental ice sheet simulations on millennial time scales.; Journal of Climate, in press.
Scholarships & Awards: NSERC Postgraduate Scholarship (Masters), $18,000 CAD, Fall 2005 - Winter 2006; Harington Paleoenvironmental Scholarship, $4,500 CAD, Fall 2004; University of Toronto National Scholarship, $35,000 CAD, Fall 1999 - Winter 2004; NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award, $6,800 CAD, Summer 2003; Dickson Sciences & Mathematics Scholarship, $1,000 CAD, Fall 2002 - Winter 2003; Dickson Sciences & Mathematics Scholarship, $1,000 CAD, Fall 2000 - Winter 2001; NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award, $6,100 CAD, Summer 2001; J. S. McLean Scholarship, $500, Fall 1999 - Winter 2000
Course Notes: At Scripps, we grad students sometimes band together to run our own courses on topics of interest. Here are some links to courses that I've helped organize:; Clouds and Convection; Regional Climate Change Impacts
Recent Poster Publications: My Poster
Annotated Bibliography: Full Bibliography; Things I've Read; Things I Haven't Read
My Band: In addition to geeking out hard on clouds, I play Canadian electro-disco-funk keyboard for a local SoCal jamrock band, Guava Belly.
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