Description:

Quantum mechanics plays a crucial, albeit often overlooked, role in our understanding of the Earth's climate. In this talk three well known aspects of quantum mechanics are invoked to present a simple physical picture of what will happen as the concentrations of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide continue to increase. Historical and paleoclimatic records are interpreted with some basic astronomy, fluid mechanics, and the use of fundamental laws of physics such as the conservation of angular momentum. And, as a consequence of the rotation of the Earth that breaks time reversal symmetry, equatorially trapped Kelvin and Yanai waves emerge as topologically protected edge modes. Thus amazingly the oceans and atmosphere of Earth naturally share basic physics with topological insulators. I conclude by discussing some ways that physics might be able to contribute to a deeper understanding of climate change.

Seminar Speaker: Brad Marston, Brown University

 Host: Sauls

Keywords: Physics, Astronomy, Seminar, Colloquium