Dr. Craig Epifanio
| Title | Assistant Professor |
| Research Interests |
Mesoscale atmospheric dynamics Topographically forced waves and wakes Numerical modelling and scientific computation |
| Education | Ph. D., University of Washington |
| Office Location | Room 1017B, O&M Bldg |
| Office Phone | 979-845-9224 |
| Fax | 979-862-4466 |
| cepi@tamu.edu | |
| Mailing Address |
Department of Atmospheric Sciences Texas A&M University 3150 TAMU College Station, TX 77843-3150 |
Research Interests
My research group focuses on the idealized modeling and theory of mesoscale and meso-synoptic scale dynamical processes in the atmosphere. A particular goal of our work is to understand the waves and related circulations produced by flow of the atmosphere (or the oceans) over mesoscale hills and mountains. A second area of interest is the topic of thermally forced regional circulations, such as the land/sea breeze and mountain/valley flows.
Current Projects
Lee wakes
Atmospheric flow past a large mountain range often results in a wake of stagnant
or reversed low-level flow downstream of the range. Such lee-side wake flows
can have important implications both for the transport of pollutants in urban
areas and for the organization of weather systems
in the lee of mountains. Our current research attempts to address the basic
fluid mechanics behind lee-wake formation by combining idealized numerical
simulations with newly developed theoretical and computational
diagnostic techniques.
Multiscale flow past topography
One of the most challenging aspects of mountain meteorology is accounting for
the interactions that occur between topographic flow phenomena at a wide range
of spatial and temporal scales. We are currently exploring such
multiscale aspects of topographic flows in the context of several
simplified dynamical models, such as the propagation of a prototype weather
system past a mesoscale ridge and flow past an idealized mountain range with
terrain variations at multiple scales.
The land/sea breeze
Thermally driven flows produced by the land-sea contrast often play an important
role in shaping local circulation patterns in coastal regions. Such land/sea
breezes can have a major impact on urban air quality in coastal cities (such
as Houston, TX) and are thought to contribute significantly to determining
the diurnal cycle of precipitation observed in the tropics. Our current research
aims to develop idealized models of land/sea breeze circulations in an effort
to understand fundamental aspects of the land/sea
breeze dynamics.
Selected Publications
Qian, T., C. C. Epifanio , and F. Zhang: Linear theory calculations for sea breezes in a background wind: The equatorial case. In preparation for J. Atmos. Sci.
Epifanio, C. C., and D. J. Muraki: Resonant wave-wave instability and wave breaking in flows past simple and complex terrain. In preparation for J. Atmos. Sci.
Epifanio, C. C., and T. Qian, 2008: Wave-turbulence interactions in a breaking mountain wave. In press for J. Atmos. Sci. [PDF]
Viner, K. C., and C. C. Epifanio, 2008: An analysis of Klemp-Wilhelmson schemes as applied to large-scale wave modes. In press for Mon. Wea. Rev. [PDF]
Zhang, F., N. Bei, R. Rotunno, C. Snyder, and C. C. Epifanio, 2007: Mesoscale predictability of moist baroclinic waves: convection-permitting experiments and multistage error growth dynamics. J. Atmos. Sci., 64, 3579--3594. [PDF]
Epifanio, C. C., 2007: A method for imposing surface stress and heat flux conditions in finite-difference models with steep terrain. Mon. Wea. Rev., 135, 906--917. [PDF]
Epifanio, C. C., and R. Rotunno, 2005: The dynamics of orographic wake formation in flows with upstream blocking. J. Atmos. Sci., 62, 3127--3150. [PDF]
Aksoy, A., F. Zhang, J. W. Nielsen-Gammon, and C. C. Epifanio, 2005: Ensemble-based data assimilation for thermally forced circulations. J. Geophys. Res., 110, D16105, doi:10.1029/2004JD005718. [PDF]
Epifanio, C. C., 2003: Lee Vortices. In Encyclopedia of the Atmospheric Sciences, J. Holton, J. Pyle, and J. Curry, editors, Cambridge University Press, 1150--1160.
Epifanio, C. C., and D. R. Durran, 2002: Lee-vortex formation in free-slip stratified flow over ridges. Part II: Mechanisms of vorticity and PV production in nonlinear viscous wakes. J. Atmos. Sci., 59, 1166--1181. [PDF]
Epifanio, C. C., and D. R. Durran, 2002: Lee-vortex formation in free-slip stratified flow over ridges. Part I: Comparison of weakly nonlinear inviscid theory and fully nonlinear viscous simulations. J. Atmos. Sci., 59, 1153--1165. [PDF]
Epifanio, C. C., and D. R. Durran, 2001: Three-dimensional effects in high-drag-state flows over long ridges. J. Atmos. Sci., 58, 1051--1065. [PDF]
Selected Talks
Epifanio, C. C., and T. Qian, 2007: Wave-Turbulence Interactions in a Breaking Mountain Wave. Presented at the 12th Conference on Mesoscale Processes in Waterville Valley, NH. [PDF]
Epifanio, C. C., D. J. Muraki and Y. Lee, 2006: Unstable Wave Modes over Complex Terrain. Presented at the 12th Conference on Mountain Meteorology in Santa Fe, NM. [PDF (embedded movies)] [PDF (external movies)] [PDF (no movies)]
Epifanio, C. C. and K. C. Viner, 2006: Steep Terrain and Multiscale Flows: Some Numerical Issues in Mesoscale Modeling. Seminar presented at Texas A & M University, Department of Atmospheric Sciences. [PDF (embedded movies)] [PDF (no movies)]
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