Juan Lora

My research group investigates planetary climates, with a focus on hydrologic cycles such as those of Earth and Titan. This research encompasses atmospheric dynamics, paleoclimate studies, radiative transfer, atmosphere-surface interactions, some atmospheric chemistry, and many other interdisciplinary topics. We mainly use a range of numerical simulations, in combination with observational and laboratory data, with the goal of understanding the processes occurring in the atmospheres of various planets, as well as how these have changed over time.

At the moment we are focused on three broad, overlapping areas: The climate of Titan, Earth’s changing water cycle over the last few million years, and the impact of variability in planetary atmospheres.

Much more information is available in the Research and Collaborations pages; also take a look through our Publications!

Please contact me directly if you are interested in joining my research group.

Recent Highlights:

• Baek et al. (2023): This paper in AGU Advances characterizes the role that annular modes of extratropical variability play in the variability of atmospheric rivers and and moisture transport more generally. Eos Editor’s Highlight here.
• Lombardo & Lora (2023): This paper in Icarus presents simulations of Titan’s middle atmosphere, in particular with a view to understanding the impacts of the seasonally varying composition on the circulation of the stratosphere.
• Lora et al. (2022): This paper in Icarus describes the impact of topography on the tropospheric circulation on Titan, and diagnoses its interaction with various features of the methane cycle, including the importance of orbital forcing.
• Baek & Lora (2021): This paper in Nature Climate Change shows that changes in atmospheric rivers and mid-latitude precipitation due to historical greenhouse gas emissions have largely been masked by the influence of industrial aerosols, but GHG emissions will vastly outpace this influence in the coming decades. News & Views piece here; Yale press release here.
• Battalio & Lora (2021): This paper in Nature Astronomy demonstrates that annular (symmetric along lines of latitude) modes of variability are important in the atmospheres of Mars and Titan—perhaps more so than on Earth—and may, for example, enable rudimentary forecasts of dust storms on Mars. Yale press release here.
• Menemenlis et al. (2021): This paper in Global and Planetary Change shows that differences in simulated precipitation between the mid-Pliocene and pre-industrial climates are largely due to changes in stationary waves caused by the Pliocene boundary conditions. This is also Sofia’s first publication; congratulations, Sofia!
• Faulk et al. (2020): This paper in Nature Astronomy describes the implementation of a surface and subsurface hydrology model into the Titan Atmospheric Model, and the resulting simulation of a self-consistent methane hydroclimate that matches observations.