Tiffany Shaw

Prof. Shaw’s research focuses on the physics of the atmosphere and climate system past, present and future. She seeks to understand the underlying mechanisms controlling the response to climate changes so that we can have greater confidence in future projections. Her approach combines theory (primarily conservation laws), numerical modeling across a hierarchy of complexity and observational data analysis. Using this approach Prof. Shaw has shown moist thermodynamics can explain why climate zones shift latitudinally in response to anthropogenic emissions and surface albedo changes can explain why the atmospheric circulation weakens in response to Arctic sea ice loss.