Summary

I am a research climatologist with the Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium (University of Victoria, Canada), where I study the dynamics of intense extratropical cyclones (ETCs) under current and future climate conditions. Climate extremes such as intense storms, floods, or droughts have enormous impacts on societies and ecosystems around the world. To adapt societies to adverse climate change impacts, accurate projections of future climate extremes are needed. This requires a thorough understanding of the mechanisms that cause climate extreme biases and/or projections in global climate models (GCMs). Identifying these mechanisms is challenging due to the non-linear nature of extreme events. My current research focuses on the evaluation of GCM biases and projections of intense ETCs. This will provide guidance for reducing GCM uncertainties, and for making societies more resilient to adverse impacts of climate change.

Publications

Seiler C, Zwiers FW, Hodges KI, Scinocca J (2017) How does dynamical downscaling affect model biases and future projections of explosive extratropical cyclones along North America’s Atlantic coast?. Climate Dynamics, 1-16.

Rezaee S, Seiler C, Pelot R, Ghasemi A (2016) Will commercial fishing be a safe occupation in future? A framework to quantify future fishing risks due to climate change scenarios. Weather and Climate Extremes 13 (2016): 73-85.

Seiler C, Zwiers FW (2016a). How well do CMIP5 climate models reproduce explosive cyclones in the extratropics of the Northern Hemisphere?. Climate Dynamics 46 (3-4), 1241–1256

Seiler C, Zwiers FW (2016b). How will climate change affect explosive cyclones in the extratropics of the Northern Hemisphere?. Climate Dynamics 46 (11), 3633–3644

Seiler C, Hutjes RWA, Kruijt B, Hickler T (2015) The sensitivity of wet and dry tropical forests to climate change in Bolivia. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 120 (3), 399–413

Seiler C, Hutjes RWA, Kruijt B, Quispe J, Añez S, Arora VK, Melton JR, Hickler T, and Kabat P (2014) Modeling forest dynamics along climate gradients in Bolivia. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 119 (5), 758–775

Seiler C, Hutjes RWA, and Kabat P (2013) Likely Ranges of Climate Change in Bolivia. Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, 52 (6), 1303–1317

Seiler C, Hutjes RWA, and Kabat P (2013) Climate Variability and Trends in Bolivia. Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, 52 (1), 130–146

Seiler C, Moene AF (2011) Estimating Actual Evapotranspiration from Satellite and Meteorological Data in Central Bolivia. Earth Interactions, 15, 1–24

Rios-Uzeda B, Larrea-Alcázar DM, Seiler C, Cuellar S, Espinoza S (2011) Posibles escenarios de cambios climáticos en Bolivia: una comparación entre tres modelos de circulación climática y dos escenarios propuestos por el IPCC. Rev. Bol. Ecol. y Cons. Amb. 29: 73-82

Grants

2018 Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Discovery Grant (105,000 CAD)
2015 MEOPAR sponsorship program (1000 CAD)
2014 MEOPAR sponsorship program (2500 CAD)
2009-2013 The Wageningen Institute for Environment and Climate Research (WIMEK) Grant (90,000 EUR)

Teaching

I am also an Adjunct Assistant Professor with the School of Earth and Ocean Sciences at the University of Victoria where I teach a course on the earth's climate system for undergraduate and graduate students. The goal of the course is to derive, understand, and apply the governing equations that describe the fundamental processes of our climate system. The course focuses on the underlying physics of atmospheric thermodynamics, radiation, and fluid dynamics. The most recent version of this course is based on David Andrews' textbook An Introduction to Atmospheric Physics. Some of my slides for this course can be downloaded below.

Job postings

A Ph.D. position within the field of atmospheric dynamics is available at the School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Victoria, Canada. The appointment has a duration of 4 years and may begin as early as April 1, 2019. Review of applicants will start on November 1, 2018. Please send your application including a cover letter, CV, and the contact information of three professional referees to Christian Seiler, cseiler@uvic.ca, with “ATTN: Ph.D. position atmospheric dynamics” in the subject line. For more information, and to apply, see: Ph.D. position atmospheric dynamics.

Contact

Dr. Christian Seiler
Research Climatologist
Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium
University of Victoria (UH1)
PO Box 1700 STN CSC
Victoria BC V8W2Y2 Canada
cseiler@uvic.ca
http:/www.PacificClimate.org
https://cseiler.bitbucket.io