Showing articles associated with Kristian Strommen
Dr Kristian Strommen's research is two-fold, involving climate model development on the one hand and assessment of future climate change on the other.
His work with model development is focused on how we can make climate models more realistic by simulating the impact of small-scale variability in a computationally cheap way. He then looks to understand how such model changes affect projections of future climate change, in particular with regards to the fate of the North Atlantic Jetstream.
Why is Oxford a good place to work in research related to environmental challenges?
Oxford is a particularly good place to work for environmentally focused research, because it’s at the forefront of cutting-edge research across multiple fronts, ranging from the fundamental physics of atmospheric circulation, climate model evaluation and development, and interactions with policy makers and industry. This encourages and accommodates a lot of exciting collaborations and means there are always new ideas being generated.
What is the biggest environmental challenge facing the planet right now?
Curbing carbon emissions. Many other challenges are very serious, but can in principle be fixed fairly rapidly, on the timescale of years to decades. By contrast, the long lifespan of carbon in the atmosphere, on the order of thousands of years, mean that the emissions made today will likely still be around hundreds of years from now!
Despite the challenges, are you optimistic about our future?
Yes! Climate model experiments have so far not suggested that there is a point of ‘no return’: we will always stand to gain environmental benefits by cutting emissions, whether that’s right now or in 20 years. For me, this is a source of optimism and motivation: it’s never too late to do some good for the planet.
