RESEARCH
I am interested in better understanding the physics governing monsoon variability. Monsoons are large-scale seasonal circulations that supply more than half of the annual rainfall to land regions across the tropics, so understanding their spatial extent and timing has broad implications for society and ecosystems. Currently, I am studying the influence of land surface conditions (albedo and moisture) on monsoon circulations in an idealized modeling framework. In previous work for my thesis I investigated the mechanisms of monsoon variability using the moist static energy budget in an atmospheric general circulation model. My Ph.D. advisor is Dr. Yi Ming.
PUBLICATIONS
Smyth, J.E. and Y. Ming (2021). “Investigating the impact of land surface characteristics on monsoon dynamics with idealized model simulations and theories” Journal of Climate, 34 (19), 7943–7958, doi: /10.1175/JCLI-D-20-0954.1.
Smyth, J.E. and Y. Ming (2020). “Characterizing drying in the South American monsoon onset season with the moist static energy budget” Journal of Climate, 33 (22), 9735-9748, doi: /10.1175/JCLI-D-20-0217.1. PDF
Smyth, J.E., S.A. Hill, Y. Ming (2018). "Simulated responses of the West African monsoon and zonal-mean tropical precipitation to early Holocene orbital forcing." Geophysical Research Letters, 45, 12049–12057, doi: 10.1029/2018GL080494
Smyth, J.E., R. Russotto, and T. Storelvmo (2017). “Thermodynamic and dynamic responses of the hydrological cycle to solar dimming.” Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics: GeoMIP Special Issue, 17, 6439-6453, doi: 10.5194/acp-17-6439-2017