Earth System Dynamics Lab
We combine atmospheric dynamics, paleoclimatology and glaciology with a hierarchy of numerical models — from idealized theory to fully coupled Earth system models — to understand how climate has evolved and where it is heading.
Three themes, one Earth system
Climate modeling
Developing and evaluating Earth system models — from linear steady-state models to CESM2 with an interactive Greenland ice sheet — and diagnosing their biases.
Dynamic meteorology
The interactions that shape the planetary-scale circulation: flow over topography, diabatic heating, Rossby-wave breaking and reflection, and jet stream and storm track dynamics.
Paleoclimate dynamics
How continental ice sheets and the atmospheric circulation shaped each other — from glacial inception and the Last Glacial Maximum to the warm Pliocene.
Lab news
- Oct 2026
Dr. Lofverstrom gave the Bjerknes talk at the Univeristy of Bergen
- Fall 2026
Dr. Lofverstrom is on a research sabbatical
- May 2026
Kendall Wilde graduated with a MS degree
- May 2026
Dr. Asiya Badarunnisa graduated with a PhD
- Apr 2026
Asiya Badarunnisa defended her PhD
- Feb 2026
Asiya Badarunnisa published a paper as a first author
Earlier news
- Jan 2026
Catherine Malone joined the lab as an undergraduate researcher.
- May 2025
Congratulations to Kay Poonawala on graduating with a BS in Geosciences.
- Apr 2025
Marcus Lofverstrom was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure.
- Mar 2025
Asiya Badarunnisa won Best Graduate Poster at GeoDaze.
- Mar 2025
Kay Poonawala won Best Undergraduate Presentation at GeoDaze and the department’s Excellence in Undergraduate Research Award.
- Jan 2025
Kay Poonawala won Best Undergraduate Poster at the AMS Annual Meeting.
- Oct 2024
Benjamin Bucey joined the lab as an undergraduate researcher.
- Jul 2024
Holly Thomas attended the NCAR CESM Tutorial.
- May 2024
Congratulations to Vicente Lopes and Gigi Giralte on graduating with BS degrees in Geosciences and Atmospheric Sciences.
- Mar 2024
Kay Poonawala won Best Undergraduate Poster at GeoDaze; Gigi Giralte won Best Undergraduate Poster at El Día.
- Jan 2024
Vicente Lopes joined the lab as an undergraduate researcher.
- Apr 2023
Asiya Badarunnisa passed her comprehensive exam.
- Mar 2023
Holly Thomas won Best Overall Talk at GeoDaze; Kay Poonawala was runner-up for Best Undergraduate Poster; Asiya Badarunnisa received the Mélange Scholarship.
- Jan 2023
Michelle Uddin joined the lab as an undergraduate researcher.
- Oct 2022
New paper in JAMES on grids and dynamical cores in CESM2.2 and the Greenland Ice Sheet surface mass balance.
- Jun 2022
New papers in Nature Geoscience (Canadian Arctic Gateways and Scandinavian glaciation) and PNAS (ecological cascades in the Galápagos highlands).
- Apr 2022
Allison Berry, Holly Thomas, Asiya Badarunnisa, Brenna Freeman and Tyrel Malmgren presented at GeoDaze.
- Mar 2022
Hope Simonoko accepted an MS position in the lab.
- Feb 2022
New paper in AGU Advances on Galápagos corals under warming and acidification.
Recent publications
All research→Metabolic processes dictate corals’ capacity to upregulate their internal growth medium
Thompson D., J. D’Olivo, M. Lofverstrom et al. Encyclopedia of Climate System Science · InvitedInteractive cryosphere coupling in earth system models
Lofverstrom ScienceRecent strengthening of eastern Pacific ENSO in the last millennium paleorecord
Cole, Thompson, Dyez, … Lofverstrom, et al. JGR: AtmospheresTowards a realistic representation of katabatic storms in Greenland in reanalysis data and global Earth System Models
Lofverstrom, Herrington, Born & Beadling Journal of Climate · Student ledCMIP6 models under the lens: evaluating the representation of tropical South American summer precipitation
Badarunnisa, Lofverstrom, Thompson, et al.Join the lab
We welcome undergraduate researchers, MS and PhD students, and postdocs interested in dynamic meteorology, climate and paleoclimate, and climate modeling.