AC (Anna) Huitema, MSc

PhD candidate in Meteorology studying the future change in extreme precipitation caused by mesoscale convective systems (MCS). Interested in the interaction between the Amazon rainforest with the atmosphere in a changing climate. 

Mesoscale convective systems are large clustered deep convective systems, which can cause substantial damage trough extreme rainfall, severe winds and hail. The systems are considered crucial for the water transport in the South American basin, where they produce 40-80 % of the yearly precipitation. However, it remains unclear how the frequency and intensity of the systems will change due to climate change. I will use local and global scale models to investigate the effects of climate change on the frequency, intensity and drivers of these storm clusters in tropical South America.