Larry Peterson, Ph.D., associate professor of Marine Geology, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. Dr. Peterson focuses his research on the reconstruction of past oceans and climates from evidence in the fossil record. He is available to discuss climate history.
Phone: (305) 361-4692 or (305) 284-6821
Email: lpeterson@rsmas.miami.edu

John Southam, Ph.D., professor of Geology in the College of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Southam uses his extensive physics and mathematics background to model such geologic phenomena as: the development of carbonate platforms, anoxic events in the world’s ocean, changes in chemistry and circulation of oceans, burning of fossil fuels and the effects on climate, and the variations in rate of sedimentation due to climate changes and changes in distributions of ancient land masses.
  Phone: (305) 284-1898
Email: jsoutham@miami.edu

Harold R. Wanless, Ph.D., Professor and Department Chair of Geological Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Wanless has an active research program, funded by the National Park Service, the National Biological Survey, and NOAA to document hurricane effects on coastal environments; also to document the Holocene and historical evolution of the mangrove coastal wetlands and anthropogenic effects on coastal and shallow marine environments. He has studies Florida’s geology ad it relates to sea level rise.
Phone: (305) 284-4253
Email: hwanless@miami.edu

Amy C. Clement, Ph.D., assistant professor of Meteorology and Physical Oceanography at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. Her research interests focus on the fundamental questions about the behavior of the climate system. How sensitive is the Earth’s climate to external forcing? Is abrupt change a characteristic of the climate? What are the mechanisms of climate change? Several of these questions arise out of the paleoclimate record. In addition to observed major swings in global ice volume over the past 600,000 years (the so-called ``Ice Ages’‘), there are superimposed abrupt changes that can happen on the order of decades. The paleoclimate record gives us an idea of the dramatic range of climate behavior that is ‘natural.’ It is essential to understand the mechanisms behind these changes in order to put our present climate into the proper context, and to understand and predict how the climate may change in the future as anthropogenic greenhouse gases increase.
Phone: (305) 361-4846
Email: aclement@rsmas.miami.edu

Brian Soden, Ph.D., associate professor of Meteorology and Physical Oceanography at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. Dr. Soden’s research strives to better understand the role of atmospheric hydrologic processes in governing climate and climate change through the use of satellite observations and mathematical models of Earth’s climate.

This research is motivated by the need to better understand how human activities are altering Earth’s climate. The response of the climate system to an increase in greenhouse gases is governed by a complex superposition of feedback processes. Differences in the way these feedbacks are represented in models are the primary contributor to uncertainties in model projections of future climate change.

Because of their ability to provide global observations, remotely-sensed measurements are a key focus of his research. Satellite observations of water vapor, clouds, and precipitation are used to understand the mechanisms which drive changes in the hydrological cycle and evaluate their representation in climate models. Results from these comparisons provide key guidance which is necessary to assess model projections of future global warming.

Phone: (305) 421-4916
Email: bsoden@rsmas.miami.edu

Andrew C. Baker, Ph.D., assistant professor of Marine Biology and Fisheries at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. Dr. Baker studies the symbiotic relationship between corals-algae with specific objectives of understanding corals adaptive response to climate change. In addition, his research strives to better understand the biology and ecology of coral reef ecosystems for improved conservation efforts. His current geographic areas of study include: western Atlantic (Florida, Brazil, Belize, Bermuda, Bahamas), Indian Ocean (Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Zanzibar), Red Sea and Arabian Gulf (Israel, Saudi Arabia), western Pacific (Australia, Indonesia, Japan), central Pacific (Hawaii, American Samoa, Line Islands, Fiji), far eastern Pacific (Panama, Galapagos).
Phone: (305) 421-4642
Email: abaker@rsmas.miami.edu

Andrew Bakun, Ph.D., professor of marine biology and fisheries at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. Dr. Bakun studies the physical-biological interaction in the ocean with the specific interest of quantifying the effects of climate variability on marine ecosystems and populations and designing effective multidisciplinary fisheries—environment research approaches.
Phone: (305) 421-4986
Email: abakun@rsmas.miami.edu

Chris Langdon, Ph.D., research associate professor of Marine Biology and Fisheries at theRosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. Dr. Langdon studies coral and algae primary production, respiration and calcification and response of corals and coral reefs to global change tropical marine ecosystems. He recently co-authored a NCAR report on acidification of the oceans and its effect on coral reef ecosystems.
Phone: (305) 421-4614
Email: clangdon@rsmas.miami.edu

Sharon L. Smith, Ph.D., professor of marine biology and fisheries at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. Dr. Smith studies the ecology of zooplankton in highly productive ecosystems and strongly physically forced oceanic environments such as upwelling areas, polar regions and coastal zones. These studies include population dynamics, community structure and spatial distribution of zooplankton in the Bering Sea, East Greenland Sea, Arabian Sea and California Current; feeding ecology of crustacean omnivores in the New York Bight; reproductive biology and life history strategies of copepods in the New York Bight, California Current, Greenland Sea and Arabian Sea. Smith is also known for her climate change research involving zooplankton and consequent food web changes in the warming Arctic. Dr. Sharon Smith, received a Fulbright Scholar Award to spend nine months in Oman teaching and studying zooplankton changes during the monsoon season, especially as they relate to global warming models that forecast important changes to the marine food web there.
Phone: (305) 421-4819
Email: ssmith@rsmas.miami.edu

Leonel Sternberg, Ph.D., professor of biology in the College of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Stenberg studies the question of whether tropical forests are carbon sinks or sources of carbon. His research strives to better understand predictions on whether or not tropical forests will become sources or sinks with climate change and how photosynthesis and respiration will change with climate.
Phone: (305) 284-6436
Email: l.sternberg@miami.edu

Douglas O. Fuller, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Geography and Regional Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Fuller specializes in remote sensing, geographic information systems (GIS), land-cover change, and human-environment interactions mainly in Southeast Asia and Africa. He uses imagery from weather and other satellites to examine climatic change, natural hazards, and patterns of biodiversity and habitat loss. His recent research projects include mapping desertification trends in West Africa, analysis fires and deforestation in Indonesia, and the use of high-resolution satellite imagery for characterizing urban/suburban environments.
Phone: (305) 284-6695
Email: dofuller@miami.edu

Shouraseni Sen Roy, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Geography and Regional Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Sen Roy research includes the study of long term trends in different climatic variables. Over the past few years, she has been working on the spatio-temporal patterns of precipitation across the Indian subcontinent. She uses advanced statistical analysis and GIS techniques to analyze trends in different climate variables. Research projects include: The impact of global teleconnections on the summer precipitation in India; The trends in the occurrence of extreme precipitation events in India; Diurnal patterns in the timing of winter precipitation occurring over United States; Impact of cloud cover on the diurnal temperature range in India.
Phone: (305) 284-4820
Email: ssr@miami.edu

Rana A. Fine, Ph.D., professor of Marine and Atmospheric Chemistry at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. The objective of Dr. Fine’s research group is to understand the role of the oceans in climate change occurring on time scales of up to decades. The research involves understanding the physical processes that determine the capacity of the oceans to take up atmospheric constituents, such as carbon-dioxide. On time scales of decades, there are two main physical processes that affect the way the oceans and atmosphere interact. First is by direct air-sea exchange, where we use satellite and direct oceanographic observations to map the global air-sea flux of carbon dioxide. Then once the atmospheric gases are in the oceans, we study how fast they mix. We participate in several international Global Change programs. Our contribution includes the measurements of two chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) to study the rate at which the world’s oceans circulate. Although the major fate for CFCs is the stratosphere, a small amount dissolves as a gas in the surface waters of the ocean. The CFC concentrations are used to infer the rate at which atmospheric gases are mixed into the ocean interior.
Phone: (305) 421-4722
Email: rfine@rsmas.miami.edu

Joseph M. Prospero, Ph.D., professor of Marine and Atmospheric Chemistry at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. Dr. Prospero’s aerosol group focuses on the aerosol chemistry of the marine atmosphere and the biogeochemical effects of the long range atmospheric transport of materials from the continents to the ocean environment. Starting 35 years ago, we pioneered in the study of mineral aerosol (soil dust) transport, showing that huge quantities of dust were carried by winds from arid regions to the oceans. Dust has a great impact on the chemistry of the atmosphere, oceans and sediments. Indeed, our work served as the foundation for the recent interest in the role of windborne iron as an important limiting nutrient in many ocean regions. Working with modelers and using satellite remote sensing, we are developing a much better picture of dust sources, dust properties, and the effects of climate on dust transport.
Phone: (305) 421-4159
Email: jprospero@rsmas.miami.edu

Kenny Broad,Ph.D., assistant professor of marine affairs and policy in the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. Dr. Broad studies ecological anthropology, climate and society interaction, and environmental policy. He holdsajoint research scientist appointment at Columbia Universityand was named the 2006 National Geographic Emerging Explorer.
Phone: (305) 421-4851
Email: kbroad@rsmas.miami.edu