Mireia Ginesta-Fernandez (ESR 8)
What does your project focus on?
My project aims to attribute extreme extratropical cyclones to climate change, as part of the Extreme Event Attribution (EEA) field. EEA is an emerging field that evaluates how global warming has influenced extreme events such as heat waves, droughts, floods and extratropical cyclones. In this project, we give tools to determine how the human contribution to climate change has affected observed extreme extratropical cyclones, specifically those leading to wet and windy European extremes.
What sparked your interest in climate/weather extremes?
I was very concerned about how climate change can have devastating consequences by modifying the atmospheric and oceanic circulation and changing the frequency and intensity of extreme events. Human influence on climate does not only consist of adding around 2 degrees to the mean earth temperature uniformly; it modifies the configuration of the fluid dynamics surrounding us. Understanding the mechanisms of such changes and being able to improve our knowledge and predictions of extreme events were crucial for me.
What book, paper or movie has been most influential to your career and why?
I watched climate-related films that contributed to my interest in the subject. For example, “The day after tomorrow” (2004) is a science fiction film about irreversible and abrupt climate change. It tells how global warming suddenly stops Atlantic Meridional overturning circulation (AMOC), an oceanic current that transports heat northward by moving warm water from lower to higher latitudes. In the film, an almost overnight ice age occurs, with New York City frozen solid when the AMOC stops. Despite the film being safely in the realm of science fiction, because in reality the AMOC collapse would occur on the scale of decades at the very fastest, the AMOC might slow down due to global warming. This film was one of the first that sparked my interest in climate dynamics.
What makes you happy when you are not working on your project?
I enjoy walking the streets of Paris, visiting art museums, attending parties with my friends, reading a book in a park, and doing “pique-piques” in the beautiful French gardens. I also enjoy practicing sports, including artistic roller skating, dancing and running.
What would you advise someone who wants to apply for a PhD or has just recently got a PhD position?
To be engaged and committed, but most importantly, to have a healthy work-life balance; having activities and people that satisfy you outside of work is essential to avoid stress as far as possible and to remind you that work is not everything. And if you are a woman, especially in STEM, do not underestimate yourself and try to be surrounded only by people who do not underestimate your capacity. Look for role models and aim high.
Sohan Suresan (ESR 6)
What does your project focus on?
My research focuses on understanding and predicting extreme dynamical events and specifically when the jet stream and storms in the North Atlantic behave in a very unusual way for a relatively long period. Such a rare state of the flow occurred for example during the winter of 2009-10 when the usually separate Atlantic and African jets merged into one zonal jet, more typical of the Pacific jet stream, resulting in unusually cold and wet conditions in North America, Europe and even China. In my research, I apply a novel rare event algorithm to produce an ensemble of model runs of similar winter flow conditions, to study both the dynamics of these events and their predictability using dynamical systems tools. My project aims to: (i) study the physical processes underlying rare merging events of the Atlantic and African jets; (ii) characterize precursors to the merging by analogy with instanton theory in statistical mechanics; and (iii) use the latter to improve our predictive capabilities for the associated weather extremes, such as surface temperature and precipitation extremes.
What sparked your interest in climate/weather extremes?
During my bachelor’s study in 2018, my home state of Kerala, India was hit by one of the worst flood reported in the state in nearly a century. It got me thinking of the direct and indirect effects of climate/weather extremes and sparked my interest in studying atmospheric science. Then later during my PhD at EDIPI, when I got a chance to study extreme weather events, I didn’t have to think twice.
What book, paper or movie has been most influential to your career and why?
The book Wings of Fire (1999), by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, and the movie The Man from Earth (2007) directed by Richard Schenkman have been very influential in my career. The former is an autobiography which made me believe in the power of belief, dreams and hope. The book has something for both academic and non-academic readers. It describes the journey of a great scientist/engineer and his passion for science and the development of his country.
As for the movie, it really encourages one to question and think over every idea and theory and never to rest on easy assumptions and comfortable ideas that support our preconceived beliefs, but to remain open-minded and tolerant. I strongly believe these are some very important qualities one should hold together while pursuing a scientific career.
What makes you happy when you are not working on your project?
While I am not working, I enjoy watching movies, reading comics, listening to music and occasional travelling with friends and family.
What would you advise someone who wants to apply for a PhD or has just recently got a PhD position?
First and foremost advice is to pick a field and problem that excites you. Sometimes one might feel lost, but I believe PhD is an interesting yet complex journey. Hence one needs to constantly try to find the right balance, brush up the basics and keep moving forward.
Valeria Mascolo (ESR 3)
What does your project focus on?
Currently, I work on two projects. The first one is a more data analysis oriented project focusing on the role of the Atlantic Multidecadal Variability and of the Southern Europe May soil moisture on the occurrence of heat waves in Europe. The other project focuses on developing the theory and the methodology to compute climate extreme events using rare event algorithms applied to extreme heat waves. When dealing with extremes, two major challenges arise: the lack of data and the cost of computation. We aim at tackling both challenges using a rare event algorithms coupled with machine learning, to have more and better representative data of heat wave events.
What sparked your interest in climate/weather extremes?
Coming from a background on complex systems modeling, I have been captured by the different layers of complexity embedded in our planet. I would say that there is not a more complicated and interconnected system on both time and spatial scale than the Earth. This degree of complexity is the one that suits me and my interests. Moreover, dedicating my time as researcher in studying climate and weather extremes is for me the best way to concretely help science and people to understand and mitigate the climate crisis.
What book, paper or movie has been most influential to your career and why?
Personally, I have been influenced majorly by two modules I took during my MSc. studies, which dealt with statistical physics and dynamical analysis of complex systems. They spoke my curiosity in a truly unexpected way and encouraged me to pursue my career as a PhD candidate.
What makes you happy when you are not working on your project?
Outside from work, I enjoy cooking very much. My passion is baking. I love preparing brioches, homemade bread and trying recipes from different countries of the world. Beside that, I write novels and poetry in my mother tongue, Italian. This is a passion I have been cultivating since high school. In the last year, I re-started reading books, with a particular interest for classics of Eastern European authors. In the future I would like to explore more the world of music, learning playing an instrument, and eventually dig more the world of psychology.
What would you advise someone who wants to apply for a PhD or has just recently got a PhD position?
If the person just got a PhD position, the first thing would be: big congratulations! In general, what I would advise is to first carefully think of what you really want to investigate and then try to connect to people, especially to peers, that are in that field to concretely understand their daily working routine. Understanding the daily routine is, in my opinion, a great test bench to avoid idealizations and, at the same time, to connect to what you truly aspire to do in your career as researcher.
Moreover, finding a PhD advisor with whom you can have a good and respectful relationship is another important point. I would say fundamental when it comes with periods of bad mood or poor results, which are part of the path. If you have the opportunity to visit the future city I would absolutely suggest you to do so. That city could became your home place for some years: it is fundamental to physically being in a place that smells and feels like home.
Inovasita Alifdini (ESR 12)
What does your project focus on?
My project focus on the impacts and risks of European windstorm in a changing climate, allowing end users to make informed decisions on possible changes in market losses, together with the associated uncertainties. My doctoral project consisted of 3 work packages:
- Investigating the historical windstorm events affecting Europe under recent climate conditions.
- Assessing the risks and impacts of windstorms on society and infrastructure.
- Estimating the possible changes in risk of European windstorms in future climate projections relative to the present day.
Historical windstorms and possible changes in risk of windstorms in future climate projections relative to the present day are investigated by using the CMIP6 and EURO-CORDEX 0.11°. The Aon storm model will be used to quantify the impacts on infrastructure and estimate the potential losses. High-resolution, convection-permitting regional climate model simulations for selected historical periods will be used to estimate the windstorm damage risk at high spatial resolution (3 km). The analysis of windstorm climate will be compared between climate change scenarios. The following question will be addressed to conclude this study: How are the risks of windstorms in a changing climate?
What sparked your interest in climate/weather extremes?
Severe storms caused billions of losses over Europe, and anthropogenic climate change may trigger this situation. Extreme weather events affect not only people’s ways of life but also threaten our livelihoods. There are some possibilities that there will be an increase in extreme weather events. Thus, understanding extreme weather events become an essential study to optimize our preparedness for current and future weather extremes.
What book, paper or movie has been most influential to your career and why?
When I was a junior high school student, I had a dream to study abroad. I was inspired by a film with the title Laskar Pelangi (English: The Rainbow Troops) which tells the true story of students and their inspirational teachers as they struggle with poverty and develop hopes for the future in a small village, in Indonesia. A few years later, one of the students received a scholarship to study in Europe, until now he becomes a famous novelist in Indonesia. This film inspired me because even though you come from a small village, a poor economy, and limited educational access, it doesn’t mean you don’t have chances to be a successful person. And always thanks to the teachers who have taught you to be a great person.
What makes you happy when you are not working on your project?
I like to have a good time with my family and friends. Because my family lives far away there in Indonesia, I love to talk with them using video calls. Cooking and traveling with my friends are also nice. Nowadays, I am happy to draw some illustrations on my iPad.
What would you advise someone who wants to apply for a PhD or has just recently got a PhD position?
Applying for Ph.D. positions is like applying for jobs. Sometimes it is not easy. You might be rejected for some positions, but always believe that you will get the best position in the end. Just keep trying, and don’t lose hope. And make sure that you apply for a Ph.D. position that interests you or you want to learn for it. Doing a Ph.D. sometimes goes up and down, but try to keep progressing to achieve your targets. If you need a break, take a break. Then, you can continue again your work with a better motivation. Love the work you are doing.
Aleksa Stankovic (ESR 1)
Doctoral Project: EXPLOSIVE CYCLONE INTENSIFICATION IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC DRIVING EUROPEAN WINDSTORMS
Host University: Stockholm University
Main Supervisor: Rodrigo Caballero
What does your project focus on?
Extreme winds lead to extreme devastation if they hit the continents. A better understanding of why they form could also be important for better forecasts and projections of their changes in the future. Those winds are often caused by extratropical cyclones, and my PhD project aims to understand such cyclones. I am mainly interested in the dynamical meteorology perspective, which includes taking a look at storm tracks and various meteorological fields, starting from the surface and going up in height.
What sparked your interest in climate/weather extremes?
Their display of the power that nature can have is something I find fascinating and intriguing. Another thing is the potential negative impact they can have on societies.
What book, paper or movie has been most influential to your career and why?
Hoskins et al. 1985, On the use and significance of isentropic potential vorticity maps, and Wernli et al. 2002, Dynamical aspects of the life cycle of the winter storm ‘Lothar’ and The Scientific Attitude by Lee McIntyre.
The first article established the foundations for my understanding of potential vorticity, a variable that is really important in the field. The second article showed me the fascinating ways in which we can use this variable to better understand one of the most severe winter storms that has hit Europe. The last thing on my list is a book which has introduced me to the philosophy of science, made me more critical while doing my work, and helped me understand the relations between science and pseudoscience.
What makes you happy when you are not working on your project?
Spending time with my friends, watching movies, reading books, going to museums, and walking in nature.
What would you advise someone who wants to apply for a PhD or has just recently got a PhD position?
First, be sure that you want to spend a couple of years doing research. Then dive in and try to enjoy it as much as you can. And don’t forget to take some time for yourself (regular fika can help – google it if you have never heard of this before).