Hi, my name is Finley Hay-Chapman (he/him); I am originally from Madison, WI, and received a B.S. in Applied Math, Engineering and Physics from the University of Wisconsin in 2019. After that, I did my PhD in Climate Dynamics at George Mason University (received 2024), where my research focused on land-atmosphere interactions in the climate system and how these processes are simulated in state-of-the-art global climate models (GCMs). Working under Dr. Paul Dirmeyer, I developed a new method for quantifying the day-to-day sensitivity of atmospheric properties (convection, cloud formation, precipitation, etc.) to shifts in available energy at the land surface coupling interface within the Community Earth System Model (CESM). Changes in the magnitude and spatial distribution of surface variables like soil moisture, land cover/land use, vegetation cover and greenness, surface roughness and orography can lead to large, and sometimes opposite changes weather and climate, such as locally prolonging/exacerbating drought or invigorating passing by mesoscale convective systems. Current GCMs operate with spatial grid resolutions on the order of ~100km and are unable to resolve many of these interactions, which often take place on much smaller scales and can be highly heterogeneous. Because of this, their effects on a GCM grid cell must be approximated with smaller models (called parameterizations) that are embedded within the full model. During the second half of my PhD, I used a novel application of metrics from Information Theory to measure the performance of several convection/turbulence parameterizations when compared to a more realistic, high-resolution cloud resolving model, the Weather Research Forecasting large-eddy simulation model (WRF-LES). This approach allowed us to objectively evaluate GCM performance due to changes in parameterization methods, as well as recommend improvements and insights for future parameterization development.
Now, I am beginning a postdoc working with Dr. Daniel Horton in the Climate Change Research Group (CCRG), where I am working on a project to develop a heat vulnerability index for the city of Chicago. This index will help to identify neighborhoods and populations in the city which are most susceptible to the adverse health effects caused by extreme heat events. With the changing climate, extreme heat and drought are projected to become more frequent and intense, and so it is especially important be proactive and identify deficiencies in our current climate adaptation plan now, so that we can allocate resources and infrastructure to those most in need before the situation gets worse. Furthermore, those most vulnerable to extreme heat are often the most marginalized, such as BIPOC, the unhoused, and the elderly, and getting these communities the help they need is an important part of environmental justice and climate mitigation. I am very excited to be able to apply my technical skills and knowledge of the climate system to help those who need it most, and look forward to collaborating with local communities and city officials to help make Chicago a safer and more equitable place in our uncertain climate future.
