UGA Atmospheric Scientists Publish New Research in Nature Communications

New research, led by University of Georgia Atmospheric Scientists, describes observations
linking increased warming at high altitudes and decreasing North American snow cover to
changes in the jet stream. The paper, recently published in the journal Nature
Communications, was co-authored by Jonathon Preece, Thomas Mote, John Knox, Lori
Wachowisz and Gabriel Kooperman of the University of Georgia Department of Geography,
Judah Cohen of Atmospheric and Environmental Research, as well as the paper's lead P.I.,
Marco Tedesco of Columbia University. Alan Flurry, Director of Communications for
the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences,
explores the research and speaks with the
paper's authors for a recent press release:
"One impact of the disproportionate
warming at high latitudes, particularly in
the arctic, that has occurred with climate
change could be the jet stream and its
westerly flow slowing down, causing stuck
weather patterns that produce longer
duration storms and longer lasting heat
waves," writes Flurry. "That's the question behind of a lot of emerging climate research, whether we are going to
expect to see more persistent weather extremes," said Jonathon Preece, postdoctoral
teaching and research associate in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences department
of geography and lead author on the study.