Charles Powell

PDRA @ ICCS & DAMTP, University of Cambridge.

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cwp29@cam.ac.uk

G2.07, Centre for Mathematical Sciences

University of Cambridge

Hi! I’m a post-doctoral research associate at the Institute for Computing in Climate Science and the Atmosphere & Ocean Dynamics group at the University of Cambridge, working with Dr. Alison Ming. I am also a Bye-Fellow at Emmanuel College, Cambridge.

I am interested in all aspects of atmospheric fluid dynamics, with a particular focus on convection. My PhD addressed hydration of the tropical tropopause layer by overshooting deep convection. To get to grips with the mechanisms at play, we studied the idealised fluid dynamical problem of convective penetration of a buoyant plume into a stably stratified layer, using numerical simulations.

My current research focuses on coupling between large-scale stratospheric dynamics (the QBO) and convection in the troposphere, either directly via modification of the lower stratosphere or indirectly via modulation of patterns of convection such as the MJO.

Beyond my research, I have two main pastimes: rowing and amateur meteorology/cloudspotting. See here for my cloudspotting log.

selected publications

  1. jfm_2025_ga.jpg
    Internal waves generated by a plume impinging on a stratified fluid
    Charles Powell, Bruce Sutherland, Peter Haynes, and 1 more author
    Journal of Fluid Mechanics, Mar 2025
  2. jfm_2024_ga.jpg
    Diagnosing tracer transport in convective penetration of a stably stratified layer
    Charles Powell, Peter Haynes, and John Taylor
    Journal of Fluid Mechanics, Oct 2024
  3. climdyn24_poster.png
    Poster: Minimal moisture models in convective penetration of a stably stratified layer
    Charles Powell, Peter Haynes, and John Taylor
    In UK Climate Dynamics Workshop , Bath, UK, Jul 2024
  4. wgn-472.png
    Automated Spectrogram Analysis for Meteor Head Echoes
    Charles Powell
    WGN, Journal of the International Meteor Organization, Apr 2019
  5. wgn-454.png
    Temporal and Spatial Variation of Meteor Flux in Radio Data
    Charles Powell, and Kristina Veljkovic
    WGN, Journal of the International Meteor Organization, Aug 2017