Researcher finds small scales aren’t just drops in the ocean

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Model behavior

Resolving small-scale activity will require computers more powerful than those available today.  When they come on line, Kurien wants the computers to run models that incorporate the physics she studies.

“You can throw all the big computers on this problem that you want, but if you don’t put the right equations and physics in, you’re not going to take advantage of what this additional computing ability can give you,” she adds.

Kurien got into the physics of climate after studying turbulence for her doctoral dissertation at Yale University.  Since becoming a full-time Los Alamos staff member in 2004, she’s gotten a better idea of the impact her research can have.  That’s a change from graduate work, which focuses heavily on a specific subject or problem.

Kurien may not personally insert her group’s characterization of small-scale ocean phenomena into climate models.  Yet, she hopes to work with those who do design and code the large models.

“I know that this new physics has to be in the models,” she adds.  “And the person who puts it into the model doesn’t necessarily research the physics of it, and so somebody has to work on the physics piece.”

Understanding how her work fits into the larger mission of DOE and climate research is one of the things Kurien likes about working in a national laboratory.  The India native thought she would work in academia, but her postdoctoral experience – and exposure to New Mexico’s natural beauty – changed her mind.

“I really liked the people I was working with,” she says, adding “I was given a lot of freedom to pursue my interests, and had very good mentoring.”

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