HR: 1340h
AN: B33A-0252    [Abstracts]
TI: Tropical Systems Research at the Universtiy of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS)
AU: * Ginsburg, R N
EM: rginsburg@rsmas.miami.edu
AF: RSMAS/University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Cswy., Miami, FL 33149-1098 United States
AU: Rankey, E
EM: grankey
AF: RSMAS/University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Cswy., Miami, FL 33149-1098 United States
AU: Zhang, C
EM: czhang@rsmas.miami.edu
AF: RSMAS/University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Cswy., Miami, FL 33149-1098 United States
AU: Mooers, C N
EM: cmooers@rsmas.miami.edu
AF: RSMAS/University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Cswy., Miami, FL 33149-1098 United States
AB: The global significance of the tropics is unquestionable. The tropical seas are the engine of earth's atmosphere and hydrosphere; they are the locus of major biodiversity; and most of the world's five billion inhabitants live in the tropics. At the same time these environments strongly influence both social and economic activities in various ways. Yet, in many ways, understanding of tropical systems lags that of other regions. To meet this need, RSMAS is developing an expansion of its already substantial focus on tropical systems. From its beginnings in the 1940s, the School's focus on the tropics was a natural result of its location adjacent to the Tropical Atlantic. During the subsequent decades, research interests have broadened and include the coupling between the two halves: the tropics and extratropics. The Faculty's involvement with the tropics spread to the Pacific and Indian Oceans, the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf and beyond to higher latitudes. In the last five years, a majority of the Faculty have explored some aspect of the tropical hydrosphere, biosphere, atmosphere, or geosphere in this important region. At present, all divisions, themes, and centers are involved significantly in the tropics. Over the years, research approaches have evolved from exploration and description to analysis, numerical simulation and inter-disciplinary integration. Now the Faculty is faced with the challenge of further integrating our science and applying some of the results to societal problems. To address these challenges, the present research foci build on existing strengths and develop novel and integrated research and a new and challenging curriculum focused on scientific, societal and economic aspects of the global tropics. Existing strengths in air-sea interaction and ocean-atmosphere coupling provides the platform for an expanded research program on hurricanes, the roles of the tropics in the global climate system, and coastal ocean-atmosphere-land interactions. Here also is a special opportunity to direct the results of research to societal problems; such as, the impacts of climate change, hurricanes and other hazards. Similarly existing strengths in fisheries, coral reefs, and physical-ecological connectivity are the basis for developing new research initiatives to understand these systems and their resources so as to guide their protection and wise use.
UR: http://www.rsmas.miami
DE: 4810 Corrosion
SC: Biogeosciences [B]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting