Research Associate, Dept. of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University
jacob_seeley@fas.harvard.edu
My research connects the basic building blocks of atmospheric physics to the emergent phenomena of planetary climate, using a hierarchy of tools ranging from pencil-and-paper theory to numerical simulation. I am particularly interested in clouds, radiative transfer, and severe weather.
In my current position, I am working with Prof. Robin Wordsworth to understand convective clouds in very warm and moist atmospheres approaching the "runaway greenhouse" state.
I got my PhD in December 2018 from the Dept. of Earth and Planetary Sciences at UC Berkeley, where my advisor was David Romps. Prior to graduate school, I studied physics and philosophy at Haverford College.
News
March 2024
Robin Wordsworth, Keith Shine, and I have a new paper out in the Planetary Science Journal that derives the "triangular" shape of the CO2 15-micron band from the molecule's underlying quantum mechanics. By combining this new understanding with results from prior work (here and here), we derive a first-principles analytical estimate of CO2 radiative forcing.
November 2023
I'm a coauthor on two recent papers: The first, led by Guy Dagan of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, shows that the "episodic deluge" convective regime persists in large domains and in the presence of a large-scale overturning circulation; The second, led by Matthew Henry of Exeter University, shows that changes in the distribution of relative humidity flatten the "bump" in climate sensitivity seen in simpler models.
February 2023
Out now in Planetary Science Journal: my new paper with Robin Wordsworth, which shows that moist convection in planetary atmospheres is most vigorous when the condensible component (e.g., water vapor) makes up about 10% of cloud-base air.
January 2022
Over winter break, I traveled to the Florida panhandle to do climate science outreach with Climate Up Close. Check out this local news story about our events!
November 2021
Out now in Nature: we simulated hothouse climates in a cloud-resolving model and obtained a fascinating, intensely episodic hydrological cycle. Check out the paper to learn why this happens and what the implications might be!