Sumant Nigam's Homepage

 


  Sumant Nigam
Sumant Nigam
Professor
 Department of Atmospheric & Oceanic Science (AOSC)
Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center (ESSIC)

 Affiliations: Chemical Physics Program (CHPH/IPST)
                     Burger Program for Fluid Dynamics (BPFD)

Mailing Address:
3419 Computer & Space Sciences Bldg.
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742-2425, USA

    Voice: (301) 405-5381 (5391)
    Fax: (301) 314-9482
    E_mail: nigam@atmos.umd.edu
    WebPage: http://atmos.umd.edu/~nigam
Ph.D., Geophysical Fluid Dynamics 1984, Princeton University
M.Sc., Physics 1978, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, India

Biographical Sketch

Sumant Nigam earned his Ph.D. degree in geophysical fluid dynamics from the Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences program at Princeton University in 1984. From 1984 to 1986, he was a postdoctoral associate of Richard Lindzen in the Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences department of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He came to the University of Maryland in 1987. Sumant was director of the Large-scale Dynamic Meteorology program at the US National Science Foundation from 2000-2002. Sumant is a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society. Bio-sketch.

Course Instruction
  • HONR 238P: The Water Cycle and Water Wars of the American West (Honors Seminar offered in Fall 2007)
  • AOSC 610: Dynamics of Atmosphere and Ocean - I (Core course in Fall; Da-Lin Zhang and I alternate as instructors)
  • AOSC 617: Atmospheric and Oceanic Climate (Core course in Spring)
  • AOSC 658N: North American Hydroclimate (Elective course offered alternate years since Fall 2005; Course projects-2005)
        Preface: The course outline reflects our view of strong connections between circulation and hydroclimate and the primacy of larger scales in shaping regional hydroclimate variability. The course was developed in response to student interest in regional water cycles.
  • AOSC 671: Ocean-Atmosphere Interaction (Elective course taught in Spring 2004 & 2005 with James Carton)
  • AOSC 798: Directed Graduate Research (Sec # 2001)
  • AOSC 899: Doctoral Dissertation Research (Sec # 2001)
    • Undergraduate Research Opportunity
    Select sophomores and juniors can participate in exciting climate analysis research through the Undergraduate Research Assistant Program (URAP). My URAP project is titled Climate links between remote regions (Teleconnections): Structure and mechanisms.

    Required: Interest/expertise in statistical analysis (e.g., correlations, analysis of variance) and a GPA of at least 3.50. Familiarity with MATLAB or comparable software packages will be helpful, as will be exposure to computer programming (Fortran) and UNIX OS. Background in Physics, Applied Math, or Environmental Sciences is preferred.
    Conference/Meeting Sessions (recent)
  • Co-Convener, AGU 2006 Fall session A27: Hydroclimate Variability and Change Over the South Asian Monsoon Region: The Need for Regional Reanalysis    Abstracts
  • Co-Convener, AGU 2006 Spring session A03: Role of Circulation in Regional Hydroclimate Variability
  • Co-Chair, AMS 2007 Annual Meeting symposium: The Eugene Rasmusson Symposium;  Gene's Symposium Address
    • Research Interests
  • Asian Regional Reanalysis
  • Great Plains hydroclimate variability: Local & remote water sources; GPLLJ variability; Pacific & Atlantic linkages
  • Seasonal evolution of the subtropical anticyclone in Pacific sea-level pressure: Role of the midlatitudes
  • North American Droughts: Analysis and SST-based reconstructions; PDSI for ERA-40 and NARR reanalyses
  • Pacific Decadal Variability: A new spatio-temporal analysis
  • Atlantic surface-wind biases in climate models: From deficient rainfall over tropical South America?
  • Pacific circulation teleconnections and Arctic sea-ice: Influence of the North Pacific Oscillation
  • Aerosols and Asian monsoon hydroclimate: Delayed monsoon onset
  • Evolution of eastern tropical Pacific climate: Ocean-atmosphere coupling & stratus clouds
  • Dynamical diagnosis of climate variability in NCAR/CSM, NASA/NSIPP, and IPCC simulations
  • Diagnosis of 3D diabatic heating from ERA-40, ERA-15, and NCEP reanalyses; Monthly HEATING IS HERE
  • Structure and dynamics of the North Atlantic Oscillation, including inherent zonal/eddy coupling
  • ENSO evolution and Asian summer monsoon feedback
    • Brief CV
    1972/73:      All India Higher Secondary Examination, New Delhi (national merit list, top five)
    1973-1978:   National Science Talent Scholar, Government of India (national merit list, top five)
    1973-1978:   Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, India; M.Sc. in Physics (5-year program)
    1978-1979:   University of Washington, Seattle; Graduate studies in Atmospheric Sciences
    1979-1984:   Princeton University; Ph.D. in Geophysical Fluid Dynamics; Advisor: Isaac M. Held
    1984-1986:   Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge; Postdoc with Richard S. Lindzen
    1987-       :   University of Maryland, College Park; Research Scientist, Research Professor, Professor
    2000-2003:   US National Science Foundation; Director, Large-scale Dynamic Meteorology Program
    Committees / Honors
    2008-       :   Member, Climate Research Committee, The National Academies
    2006-       :   Fellow, American Meteorological Society
    2006-       :   Drought Working Group, US CLIVAR
    2005-2006:   Editor, Journal of Climate
    2005-2006:   Co-Chair, Phenomena, Observations and Synthesis panel, US CLIVAR.
    2005-       :   Co-Chair, Climate Variability Working Group, NCAR Community Climate System Model
    2005-2006:   US CLIVAR Committee
    2003-2005:   American Meteorological Society's Committee on Climate Variability and Change
    Other
    2008-       :   Director, ESSIC-NASA Goddard Graduate Fellowship Program in Earth System Science
    2008-       :   Member, India International Center, New Delhi, India
    Research Associates
    Dr. Sarat Kar (2007), Visiting Scientist (from NCMRWF, Government of India): South Asian Regional Reanalysis: Rationale.
    Dr. Alfredo Ruiz-Barradas (2001-present), Research Scientist : Warm-season hydroclimate variability over the Great Plains: Structure and mechanisms in observations, global and regional reanalyses, and AMIP and IPCC simulations; Atmospheric and terrestrial water-balance. Tropical Atlantic variability.
    Dr. Renu Joseph (2004-2006), Research Associate: Analysis and modeling of recurrent seasonal climate variability; dynamical diagnosis of CMIP and IPCC simulations.
    Current Students
    Massimo Bollasina (Ph.D. Candidate): Absorbing aerosols and summer monsoon evolution over South Asia.
    Wylie Dissertation Fellowship, Univ. of Maryland Graduate School, 2008-2009
    Best Student Seminar Award 2008
    Global Climate Change Fellowship from The Green Fund Foundation 2009.
    Hezekiah Carty (4th year; co-advisor Eric Smith): Diurnal variability of the spectral and vertical distribution of tropical precipitation. ESSIC-NASA Goddard Graduate Fellow
    James Reagan (2nd year; co-advisor James Carton): Arctic sea ice variability. CMPS Dean's Fellowship, University of Maryland.
    Joanne Hall (1st year)
    Yongqing Zhao (1st year)
    Theses Advised
    Doctoral
    Bin Guan (Ph.D., October 2008): Pacific decadal SST variability and North American droughts. Wylie Dissertation Fellowship, Univ. of Maryland Graduate School, 2007-2008; Univ. of Maryland Goldhaber Travel Award 2007.
    Postdoc, Water and Carbon Cycle Group, NASA/JPL, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena.
    Ching-Yee Chang (Ph.D., July 2008; advisors: Sumant Nigam & James Carton): Seasonal and interannual ocean-atmosphere variability in the tropical Atlantic: Observed structure and model representation. University of Maryland Goldhaber Travel Award 2007.
    Visiting Scholar, Department of Geography, University of California, Berkeley.
    Megan Linkin (Ph.D., May 2008): North Pacific climate variability and Arctic sea ice. AMS Global Change Travel Scholarship 2005-07; University of Maryland Goldhaber Travel Award 2006.
    Atmospheric Peril Specialist, Swiss Re, Armonk, New York.
    Steven Chan (Ph.D., April 2008): On the summertime development of the North Pacific sea-level pressure anticyclone.
    NASA Earth System Science Fellow, 2004-07; NSF East Asian-Pacific Summer Institute Fellow, 2004.
    Postdoc, COAPS, Florida State University, Tallahassee.
    Scott Weaver (Ph.D., May 2007): The Great Plains Low-level Jet: Structure, variability mechanisms & hydroclimate impacts. Center for Teaching Excellence Distinguished Teaching Assistant Award, 2004-05. 
    Research Meteorologist, Climate Prediction Center, NOAA/NWS, Camp Springs, MD.
    Alfredo R Barradas (Ph.D., May 2001; advisers: James Carton & Sumant Nigam):  Interannual-to-decadal air-sea interactions in the tropical Atlantic region. 
    Research Scientist, Dept. of Atmospheric & Oceanic Science, University of Maryland, College Park.
    Eric T DeWeaver (Ph.D., May 1999):  Zonal-eddy dynamics of the North Atlantic Oscillation and the Hemisphere zonal index.  Assistant Professor, Department of Atmospheric & Oceanic iences, University of Wisconsin, Madison (2002-2008).
    Director, Climate and Large-Scale Dynamics Program, National Science Foundation, Arlington, VA.
    Mathew Barlow (Ph.D., March 1999):  Climatological evolution and decadal variability of North American warm-season hydroclimate.  Associate Scientist, International Research Institute for Climate Prediction (IRI), Columbia University, NY (1999-2002); Staff Scientist, AER, Cambridge, MA (2002-2005).
    Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Lowell..
    Ying Dai (Ph.D., February 1999): Dynamical diagnosis of Pacific North American (PNA) variability pattern.  NOAA Postdoctoral fellow at NCEP/EMC; now with Northrop Grumman IT, McLean, VA.
    Chul Eddy Chung (Ph.D., January 1999):  ENSO Variability and Asian summer monsoon.  NASA Global Change Graduate Student Fellow (1994-97).  Research Scientist (with .V. Ramanathan), Center for Atmospheric Sciences, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD (2001-2007); Research Scientist, University of Helsinki, Finland (2007-2009).
    Associate Professor, Dept. of Env. Science & Eng., Gwangju Institute of Science & Technology, Gwangju, South Korea.

    Masters
    Nabeel Keblawi (M.S., May 2006):  Factors contributing to variability of the North American Monsoon. DC Space Grant Consortium Fellowship 2007. Horizon Wind Energy, Houston, TX.
    Bin Guan (M.S., May 2006):  Pacific decadal variability: Structure and mechanisms.
    Baoyu Yin (M.S., September 1997): Role of mountains in the generation of seasonal climate anomalies.  NASA Earth System Science Graduate Student Fellow (1996-97). Support Scientist, Goddard Modeling and Assimilation Office, NASA/GSFC, Greenbelt, MD.
    Recent Publications (2003-onward)
  • Nigam, S., and E. DeWeaver, 2003: Stationary Waves (Orographic and Thermally forced). Encyclopedia of Atmospheric Sciences; Editors: J.R. Holton, J.A. Pyle & J.A. Curry; Academic Press, Elsevier Science, London, 2121- 2137.
  • Nigam, S., 2003:Teleconnections. Encyclopedia of Atmospheric Sciences; Editors: J.R. Holton, J.A. Pyle & J.A. Curry; Academic Press, Elsevier Science, London, 2243-2269.
  • Ruiz-Barradas, A., J. A. Carton, S. Nigam, 2003: Role of the atmosphere in climate variability of the Tropical Atlantic. J. Climate, 16, 2052-2065.
  • Nigam, S., 2003: Monsoon's feedback on ENSO evolution. Weather and Climate Modeling; Editors: S.V. Singh, S. Basu & T.N. Krishnamurti; New Age International Publishing, New Delhi, 184-197.
  • Grodsky, S.A., J.A. Carton, S. Nigam, 2003: Near surface westerly jet in the Atlantic ITCZ. Geophys. Res. Lett., 30, OCE 1-4, doi:10.1029/2003GL017867.
  • DeWeaver, E., and S. Nigam, 2004: On the forcing of ENSO teleconnections by anomalous heating and cooling. J. Climate, 17, 3225-3235.
  • Ruiz-Barradas, A., and S. Nigam, 2005: Warm-season rainfall variability over the US Great Plains in Observations, NCEP and ERA-40 Reanalyses, and NCAR and NASA Atmospheric Model Simulations. J. Climate, 18, 1808-1830.
  • Ruiz-Barradas, A., and S. Nigam, 2006: Great Plains hydroclimate variability: The view from North American Regional Reanalysis. J. Climate, 19, 3004-3010.
  • Nigam, S., and A. Ruiz-Barradas, 2006: Seasonal hydroclimate variability over North America in Global and Regional Reanalyses and AMIP Simulations: Varied representation. J. Climate, 19, 815-837.
  • Ruiz-Barradas, A., and S. Nigam, 2006: IPCC's Twentieth-Century climate simulations: Varied representations of North American hydroclimate variability. J. Climate, 19, 4041-4058.
  • Joseph, R., and S. Nigam, 2006: ENSO Evolution and teleconnections in IPCC's Twentieth-Century climate simulations: Realistic representation? J. Climate, 19, 4360-4377. Intercomparion of ENSO's Spring, Summer and Fall regressions is available in this web supplement.
  • Chang, C-Y., J. A. Carton, S. A. Grodsky, and S. Nigam, 2007: Seasonal climate of the Tropical Atlantic sector in the NCAR Community Climate System Model 3: Error structure and probable causes of errors. J. Climate, 20, 1053-1070.
  • Munoz, E., A. J. Busalacchi, S. Nigam, and A. Ruiz-Barradas, 2008: Winter and summer structure of the Caribbean Low-Level Jet. J. Climate, 21, 1260-1276.
  • Weaver, S.J., and S. Nigam, 2008: Variability of the Great Plains Low-Level Jet: Large-scale circulation context and hydroclimate impacts. J. Climate, 20, 1532-1551.
  • Karnauskas, K. B., A. Ruiz-Barradas, S. Nigam, and A. J. Busalacchi, 2008: North American droughts in ERA-40 global and North American Regional Reanalysis: A Palmer Drought Severity Index perspective. J. Climate, 21, 2102-2123.
  • Linkin, M. E., and S. Nigam, 2008: The North Pacific Oscillation--West Pacific teleconnection pattern: Mature-phase structure and winter impacts. J. Climate, 21, 1979-1997.
  • Rodriguez-Puebla, C., R. T. Pinker, and S. Nigam, 2008: Relationship between downwelling surface shortwave radiative fluxes and sea surface temperature over the tropical Pacific: AMIP-II models versus satellite estimates. Ann. Geophys., 26, 785-794.
  • Guan, B., and S. Nigam, 2008: Pacific Sea Surface Temperatures in the Twentieth Century: An evolution-centric analysis of variability and trend. J. Climate, 21, 2790-2809.
  • Bollasina, M., S. Nigam, and K.-M. Lau, 2008: Absorbing aerosols and summer monsoon evolution over South Asia: An observational portrayal. J. Climate, 21, 3221-3239.
  • Chang, C-Y., S. Nigam, and J. A. Carton, 2008: Origin of the Spring-time westerly bias in equatorial Atlantic surface winds in the CAM3 model simulation. J. Climate, 21, 4766-4778.
  • Bollasina, M., and S. Nigam, 2008: Indian Ocean SST, evaporation, and precipitation during the South Asian summer monsoon in IPCC-AR4 coupled simulations. Climate Dynamics, DOI 10.1007/s00382-008-0477-4.
  • Chan, S. C., and S. Nigam, 2009: Residual Diagnosis of Diabatic Heating from ERA-40 and NCEP Reanalyses: Intercomparisons with TRMM. J. Climate, 22, 414-428.
  • Nigam, S., and S. C. Chan, 2009: On the summertime strengthening of the Northern Hemisphere Pacific sea-level pressure anticyclone. J. Climate, 22, 1174-1192.
  • Weaver, S., A. Ruiz-Barradas, and S. Nigam, 2009: Pentad evolution of the 1988 drought and 1993 flood over the Great Plains: A NARR Perspective on the atmospheric and terrestrial water balance. J. Climate, 22, 5366-5384.
  • Bollasina, M., and S. Nigam, 2009: A new pathway for absorbing aerosols' influence on the interannual variability of the South Asian monsoon. GEWEX News, February 2009, 10-11 (contd. on 20).
  • Guan, B., and S. Nigam, 2009: Analysis of Atlantic SST variability factoring inter-basin links and the secular trend: Clarified structure of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation. J. Climate, 22, 4228-4240.
  • Bollasina, M., and S. Nigam, 2009: Absorbing aerosols and pre-summer monsoon hydroclimate variability over the Indian Subcontinent: The challenge in investigating links. Atmos. Res., 94, 338-344.
  • Schubert, S., et al. (including S. Nigam and A. Ruiz-Barradas), 2009: A USCLIVAR project to assess and compare the responses of global climate models to drought-related SST forcing patterns: Overview and results. J. Climate (in press).
  • Bollasina, M., and S. Nigam, 2009: The Summertime "Heat" Low over Pakistan/Northwestern India: Evolution and Origin. (Submitted to Quart. J. Roy. Met. Soc. on 8 September.)
  • Nigam, S., and B. Guan, 2009: Atlantic Tropical Cyclones in the 20th Century: Natural Variability and Secular Change in Cyclone Count. . (Submitted to J. Climate on 12 May.)
  • Nigam, S., B. Guan, and A. Ruiz-Barradas, 2009: Reconstruction of North American droughts reveals key role for Atlantic basin temperatures. (Submitted on 18 September.)
  • Nigam, S., and M. Bollasina, 2009: Comment to "Observational relationships between aerosol and Asian monsoon rainfall, and circulation" by K.-M. Lau and K.-M. Kim. (Submitted to Geophys. Res. Lett. on 18 September.)
  • Weaver, S.J., and S. Nigam, 2009: Recurrent Supersynoptic Evolution of the Great Plains Low-Level Jet. (Submitted to J. Climate on 23 September.)
    • Science Cover (28 May 2004)
    Acknowledgements: I would like to thank Owen Thompson for his advice and help with web-page development; Owen generously provided his web-page template and photo-editing skills.