Postdoctoral Fellow, 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
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!