Research

The research topics of the group revolve around large-scale climate dynamics, as well as tropical and Mediterranean hydro-climate variations. 

We use climate models at varying complexity of the atmospheric and oceanic components. These include idealized models of the atmosphere and oceans amenable to mathematical analysis, an intermediate-complexity general circulation model with parameterized Ekman ocean energy transport (Afargan-Gerstman and Adam, 2020), a hierarchy of global ocean  models coupled to CESM1 (Hsu et al. 2022), comprehensive climate models (CESM2), the variable resolution Ocean Land Atmosphere Model (OLAM), as well as the analysis of modern climate models participating in the climate models intercomparison project (CMIP). We also aim to anchor the research in observations. To handle the large variety of observational and modeling datasets, we use the GOAT (Geophysical Observation Analysis Tool) data management tool.

Current research projects include:

  • Processes controlling seasonal migrations of the ITCZ
  • The effect of continent distribution on tropical climate
  • Dynamic and energetic constraints on tropical precipitation and the Hadley circulation
  • Origin and nature of the double ITCZ bias in modern climate models
  • Variations of the tropical rain belt in the present and past climates
  • Origin of ENSO heat anomalies
  • Improving sub-seasonal prediction in the eastern Mediterranean using coupled models
  • Effect of Saharan dust on the Atlantic Niño
  • Effect of the sea of Galilee on local Meteorology

Ongoing grants and projects


  1. ISF 1022/21. Granted 2021 for 4 years. “Dynamic and energetic constraints on seasonal and regional variations of the tropical rain belt and the wind-driven ocean circulation
  2. Israel Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology, grant 4749. Granted 2022 for3 years. “Using ocean dynamics to improve prediction of Eastern Mediterranean weather systems in a changing climate.”

Previous grants and projects


  1. ISF 1185/17. Granted 2017 for 4 years (+ 1 year extension). “Relating the Intertropical Convergence Zone to the atmospheric energy budget: Energetic constraints and mechanisms for variations on seasonal or longer timescales.”
  2. Israel Ministry of Science and Technology. Grant 61793. Lead PI: Dr. Chaim Garfinkel. “Understanding projections of a drier Eastern Mediterranean: from global-scale mechanisms to synoptic and local scale impacts on precipitation.”
  3. US CLIVAR “Changing width of the tropical belt
  4.  The Tropical Width Diagnostics working group hosted by ISSI:Tropical Width Impacts on the Surface and STratosphere (TWISST), a continuation of the Tropical Width Diagnostics Intercomparison Project (TWDIP).
  5. “Climate and Wave Dynamics” Workshop, Sep.22-26, Eilat, Israel.
    • Israel Science Foundation, grant 2834/19
    • Israel Ministry of Science, grant 48/2018-2019
    • The BatSheva de Rothschild Fund
    • The Hebrew University