Welcome to the Mesoscale Dynamics Group!
Thank you for visiting the website of the Mesoscale Dynamics Group, the
research group led by Richard H. Johnson of the Department of Atmospheric
Science at Colorado State University. Please note that Dr. Johnson
is now Professor Emeritus and will no longer be taking on any new students.
Over the years, the research interests of the Mesoscale Dynamics Group have
encompassed midlatitude, tropical, and monsoon convective systems and their
coupling with the atmospheric circulation and the planetary boundary layer
over a wide range of temporal and spatial scales. A major emphasis has
been on observations of these phenomena collected from field campaigns,
e.g., WMONEX (1978), OK PRE-STORM (1985), TOGA-COARE (1992-93),
SCSMEX (1998), NAME (2004), TiMREX (2008), and CINDY/DYNAMO (2011-12).
The Mesoscale Dynamics Group continues to investigate the structure and
dynamics of convective systems both in the tropics and midlatitudes.
Among the topics being currently explored are mechanisms for extreme
rainfall-producing storms, the properties of convective systems within
African Easterly Waves, the role of the diurnal cycle in the MJO and ITCZ,
topographic effects on tropical formation over the Indian Ocean, and the
atmospheric mixed layer variability over the Indian Ocean during
CINDY/DYNAMO.
