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Terry Kubar

Photo of Terry Kubar

Address:

4800 Oak Grove Drive
M/S 233-300

Pasadena, CA 91109

Phone:

818.354.0145

Fax:

818.354.5148

Curriculum Vitae:

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Member of:

Aerosols And Clouds

Employed By

UCLA / JIFRESSE

Biography

Dr. Kubar is an Assistant Research Scientist at JIFRESSE at UCLA, working remotely at Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the Aerosols and Clouds Group. His research interests include satellite remote sensing of clouds, precipitation, and convection using multi-sensor A-Train data, and he has published papers on the vertical structure of tropical clouds, radiative forcing of tropical high clouds, high-topped cloud and rain rate relationships, and controlling factors of deep convective and cirrus clouds. He was the PI of a selected three-year NASA ROSES project in 2014, titled "Radiative and Large-Scale Forcing of Tropical Clouds and Their Controls on High SST Environments Using Multi-Sensor Aqua and ECMWF-Reanalysis Datasets."

Dr. Kubar also analyzes low cloud heights and PBL depths from MODIS and GPS-RO data, using joint distributions of cloud and PBL heights in different low cloud regimes to aid in novel evaluation of three versions of CAM5, including two versions with a new subgrid low cloud parameterization (CAM5-CLUBB). Low cloud parameterization to first order, and increased vertical resolution to second order, provide significant improvement in simulations of cloud height and PBL depth. Current work on this topic includes evaluating how model climate sensitivity may be related to low cloud top biases, the ratio of shallow cumulus to stratocumulus clouds, and PBL decoupling. The importance of properly simulating regional subsidence in low cloud regions also has been shown to coincide with improved joint cloud and PBL height distributions.

Some of Dr. Kubar's latest research interests include characterizing SST and atmosphere interactions over tropical oceans, particularly high SST regions also referred to as SST hot spots, using Lokta-Volterra (LV) equations, which historically have been used to explain ecological predator-prey interactions. In the ocean-atmosphere system, however, the LV equations can describe the intrinsic lag of deep convection to very high SSTs; in this way deep convection, absent other feedbacks, is a stabilizing mechanism on SST hot spots on a variety of spatial and temporal scales, with forecasting skill using the predator-prey system of equations of deep convection ranging from subseasonal to seasonal variability of SST over the Eastern Warm Pool (160°E-180°; 0°-10°S), to synoptic-scale over the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. In the latter case study, the evolution of high SST days before the development of Tropical Storm Cindy in June 2017 served as a precursor to enhanced upward heat fluxes and deep convection, and in conjunction with high-resolution remote sensing of the ocean surface, SST through the LV system of equations may be considered more broadly for improvement of tropical cyclone forecasting.

Education

  • Ph.D. University of Washington (Atmospheric Sciences), 2008
  • B.S. San Jose State University, (Major: Meteorology, Minor: Applied Mathematics), 2003

Professional Experience

  • Joint Institute for Regional Earth System Science and Engineering at UCLA (affiliated with Aerosols and Clouds Group at Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA)
    • Assistant Research Scientist (2014 – present)
  • Department of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University (affiliated with Climate Physics Group at Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA)
    • Research Scientist (2011 – 2014)
  • Climate Physics Research Group Earth Science Division – Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA
    • Caltech Postdoctoral Research Scholar (2010 – 2011)
  • Climate Physics Research Group Earth Science Division – Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA
    • Postdoctoral Research Associated/NASA Fellow (2008 – 2010)

Selected Awards

Special Recognition

Dr. Kubar was a group member on the team awarded the Group Achievement NASA Award in September 2017 supporting the student group projects for JPL Center for Climate Sciences Summer School.

Selected Awards

  • (2016): Was invited and served on the proposal review panel of approximately 20 members for the Atmospheric System Research Program with the Department of Energy's Office of Science for the Convective and Boundary Layer/Mixed-phase Cloud Processes Panel near Washington, D.C. in North Bethesda, MD
  • (2015): Was invited and served on the proposal review panel of approximately 20 members for the Atmospheric System Research Program within the Department of Energy’s Office of Science for the Convective Processes Panel near Washington, D.C. in Rockville, MD. 
  • (2014):  Selected Award for NASA ROSES as Principal Investigator of the Science of Terra and Aqua, entitled: “Radiative and Large-Scale Forcing of Tropical Clouds and Their Controls on High SST Environments Using Multi-Sensor Aqua and ECMWF-Reanalysis Datasets”, with funding for three years
  • (2010-2011): Caltech Postdoctoral Scholar,
  • (2008-2010): NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellowship Award Recipient
  • (2005): University of Washington Department of Atmospheric Sciences forecasting competition champion
  • (2003): Graduate School Top Scholar Award recipient
  • (1999-2003): President’s Scholar (five awards per year), San Jose State University
  • (2001-2003): Golden Key International Honour Society Member
  • (2001-2003: Dean’s Scholar, San Jose State University

Selected Publications

  1. Kubar, T. L.; Xie, F.; Ao, C. O.; Adhikari, L: An assessment of PBL heights and low cloud profiles in CAM5 and CAM5-CLUBB over the southeast Pacific using satellite observations. 2020, 47(2), https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL084498.
  2. Kubar, T. L.; Jiang, J. H., Net cloud thinning, low-level cloud diminishment, and Hadley circulation weakening of precipitating clouds with tropical West Pacific SST using MISR and other satellite and reanalysis data. Remote Sens., 2019, 11(10), 1250; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11101250.
  3. Kubar, T. L., G. L. Stephens, M. Lebsock, V. E. Larson, and P. A. Bogenschutz, 2015: Regional assessments of low clouds against large-scale stability in CAM5 and CAM-CLUBB using MODIS and ECMWF-Interim reanalysis data. J. Climate, 28, 1685-1706.
  4. Terai, C. R., R. Wood, and T. L. Kubar, 2015: Satellite estimates of precipitation susceptibility in low-level marine stratiform clouds. J. Geophys. Res., 120, 8878-8889.
  5. Li, J.-L.F.,W.-L. Lee, T. Lee, E. Fetzer, J.-Y. Yu, T. L. Kubar, and C. Boening, 2015: The impacts of cloud snow radiative effects on Pacific Ocean surface heat fluxes, surface wind stress, and ocean temperatures in coupled GCM simulations. J. Geophys. Res., 120, 2242-2260.
  6. Jiang, X., T. L. Kubar, S. Wong, W. S. Olson, and D. E. Waliser, 2014: Modulation of marine low clouds associated with the tropical intraseasonal variability over the eastern Pacific. J. Climate, 27, 5560-5574.  
  7. Kubar, T.  L., D.  E. Waliser, J.-L. Li, and X. Jiang, 2012: On the annual cycle, variability, and correlations of oceanic low-topped clouds with large-scale circulation using Aqua MODIS and ERA-Interim. J. Climate, 25, 6152-6174.
  8. Li, J.-L. F., D. E. Waliser, W.-T. Chen, B. Guan, T. L. Kubar, G. Stephens, H-Y Ma, D. Ming, L. Donner, C. Seman, and L. Horowitz, 2012: An observationally based evaluation of cloud ice water in CMIP3 and CMIP5 GCMs and contemporary reanalyses using contemporary satellite data., J. Geophys. Res., 117, D16105, doi:10.1029/2012JD017640.
  9. Lee, J.-E., B. R. Lintner, J. D. Neelin, X. Jiang, P. Gentine, C. K. Boyce, J. B. Fisher, J. T. Perron, T. L. Kubar, J. Lee, and J. Worden, 2012: Reduction of tropical land region precipitation variability via transpiration. Geophys. Res. Lett., 39, L19704, doi: 10.1029/2012GL053417.
  10. Kubar, T. L., D. E. Waliser, and J.-L. Li, 2011: Boundary layer and cloud structure controls on tropical low cloud cover using A-Train satellite data and ECMWF analyses. J. Climate, 24, 194-215.
  11. D. M. Winker, J. Pelon, J. A. Coakley Jr., S. A. Ackerman, R. J. Charlson, P. R. Colarco, P. Flamant, Q. Fu, R. M. Hoff, C. Kittaka, T. L. Kubar, H. Le Treut, M. P. McCormick, G. Mégie, L. Poole, K. Powell, C. Trepte, M. A. Vaughan, and B. A. Wielicki, 2010: The CALIPSO Mission: A Global 3D View of Aerosols and Clouds. Bull. Amer. Met. Soc., 91, 1211-1229.
  12. Kubar, T. L., D. L. Hartmann, and Wood, R., 2009: Understanding the Importance of Microphysics and macrophysics for Warm Rain in Marine Low Clouds - Part I. Satellite Observations. J. Atmos. Sci.,66, 2953-2972.
  13. Wood, R., T. L. Kubar, and D. L. Hartmann, 2009: Understanding the importance of microphysics and macrophysics for warm rain in marine low clouds. Part II: Heuristic models of rain formation. J. Atmos. Sci., 66, 2973-2990.
  14. Lopez, M. A., D. L. Hartmann, P. N. Blossey, R. Wood, C. S. Bretherton, and T. L. Kubar, 2009: A test of the simulation of tropical convective cloudiness by a cloud-resolving model. J. Climate, 22, 2834-2849.
  15. Kubar, T. L. and D. L. Hartmann, 2008: Vertical structure of tropical oceanic convective clouds and its relation to precipitation. Geophys. Res. Lett., 35, L03804, doi: 10.1029/2007GL032811.
  16. Kubar, T. L., D. L. Hartmann, and R. Wood, 2007: Radiative and convective driving of tropical high clouds. J. Climate, 20, 5510-5526.