I am a polar climate scientist whose research focuses on Antarctica’s coastal winds: their variability, drivers and representation in climate models. A goal of this research is to understand and improve projections of coastal winds for the coming decades. A realistic representation of these winds in model simulation is needed as they have a key role in Southern Ocean circulation, including transport of warmer water towards ice shelves. They also influence sea ice and coastal ecosystems.

In my doctoral research I investigated the winds responsible for emission of mineral dust from the remote central Sahara. I used infrared satellite measurements to characterise dust storms, showing the central role of convective storms and the effect of orography upon low-level jets in this dust source region of global importance.

Caton Harrison, T., Washington, R., Engelstaedter, S., Jones, R.G., Savage, N.H.. (2021) Influence of Orography Upon Summertime Low-Level Jet Dust Emission in the Central and Western Sahara. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 126. 24 pp. 10.1029/2021JD035025

Caton Harrison, T., Washington, R., Engelstaedter. (2020) Satellite-Derived Characteristics of Saharan Cold Pool Outflows During Boreal Summer. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 126. 3 pp. p.e2020JD033387

Caton Harrison, T., Washington, R., Engelstaedter. (2019) A 14‐year climatology of Saharan dust emission mechanisms inferred from automatically tracked plumes. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 124. 16 pp.9665-9690

Publications from NERC Open Research Archive

1. Antarctic Coastal Winds

   This project aimed to improve observational knowledge of winds along the Antarctic coast and use this to both evaluate the current state-of-the art climate models and help make improvements for the next model generation.

   Read more of: Antarctic Coastal Winds