William Boos | Research UC Berkeley

Research Expertise and Interest

atmospheric science, climate dynamics, monsoons, Earth's hydrological cycle

Research Description

William Boos' research focuses on the fluid dynamics of Earth’s tropical atmosphere. One emphasis is monsoon circulations, which deliver water to billions of people in socially vulnerable, agricultural economies. Despite the importance of monsoon rainfall, there is no established theory that explains the observed variability of monsoons, and climate models make disparate predictions for next-century changes in monsoon rainfall. In his work, he pays particular attention to the treatment of phase changes of water that result in precipitation, as the interaction between precipitation and planetary-scale flow is one of the central unresolved problems of tropical meteorology. To this end, he combines theory, observational analyses, and numerical models, frequently using computationally intensive, high resolution simulations to explicitly represent precipitating atmospheric convection.

In the News

young man spraying water on himself to cool off

Record-Breaking Heat and Humidity Predicted for Tropics This Summer

Berkeley professor uses statistical analysis of the interaction between El Niño and rising global temperatures to help regions prepare for extreme heat events and protect humans, livestock and crops.

graphic showing major part of monsoon over Mexico

Summer Rains in American Southwest Are Not Your Typical Monsoon

The months-long rainy season, or monsoon, that drenches northwestern Mexico each summer, reaching into Arizona and New Mexico and often as far north as Colorado and Northern California, is unlike any monsoon in the world, according to a new analysis by an earth scientist from the University of California, Berkeley.