Chris Thorncroft
Professor
Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences
University at Albany
United States of America
Biography
Professor Chris Thorncroft studies tropical weather and climate. He specializes in the nature and variability of the West African monsoon, including the causes of droughts as well as how West African weather and climate impact hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean. Thorncroft currently serves as chair for the Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences.
Research Interest
My research is mainly focused on improving our understanding of the West African monsoon and how it impacts Atlantic tropical cyclone variability. The research spans a wide range of timescales from diurnal to multidecadal. At the weather scale my research is focused on understanding the physical processed that impact the nature and variability of African easterly waves (AEWs). This includes a special emphasis on how AEWs interact with the ubiquitous mesoscale convective systems and ultimately how this affects the probability that AEWs will help spawn tropical cyclones. Recent work at the weather scale has also emphasized the role of convectively coupled equatorial waves on the West African monsoon and Atlantic tropical cyclogenesis frequency. At the climate scale I am interested in better understanding the annual cycle of the West African monsoon as well as the processes that impact interannual to decadal variability and predictability of Sahel rainfall.
Publications
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Karam, D. B., Williams, E., Janiga*, M., Flamant, C., McGraw-Herdeg, M., Cuesta, J., Auby, A. and Thorncroft, C. D. 2014: Synoptic scale dust emissions over the Sahara desert initiated by a moist convective cold pool in early August 2006, Q. Jour. Roy. Meteorol. Soc., 140, 2591-2607.
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Brammer*, A. and Thorncroft, C.D. 2015: Variability and Evolution of African Easterly Wave Structure and the Relationship with Tropical Cyclogenesis over the Eastern Atlantic, Mon. Wea. Rev., 143, 4975–4995.
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Janiga*, M.A. and Thorncroft, C.D. 2016: The Influence of African Easterly Waves on Convection over Tropical Africa and the East Atlantic, Mon. Wea. Rev., 144, 171–192.
