Bridging Physics and Climate Science with Dr. Morgan O'Neill: Recruiting Physicists into Climate Research

Podcast at a glance

Science Friday's Ira Flato speaks with Dr. Morgan O'Neill, an atmospheric physicist at the University of Toronto, about integrating traditional physics training with climate science. The discussion covers why climate change is a physics problem, the need for fluid dynamics in physics education, how small-scale storm physics influence large-scale climate models, and the challenges of federal funding in the United States. O'Neill also explains her role in the American Physical Society group on the Physics of Climate and her efforts to attract physicists from various subfields into climate research.

• Physics is a unifying lens for climate and planetary science.
• Small-scale storm processes matter for climate models and require physics training in fluid dynamics.
• Funding climates in the US pose barriers to climate research, while Toronto offers stability.
• The APS Physics of Climate group aims to recruit traditional physicists into climate science.

Overview

The podcast features Dr. Morgan O'Neill, an assistant professor at the University of Toronto, who has spent her career bridging classical physics and climate change research. She discusses her journey from a traditional physics path toward climate science and articulates a broader mission to invite more physicists to contribute to climate research. The conversation highlights the shared physics underpinning weather, climate, and planetary science, and argues that climate change is fundamentally a physics problem that can benefit from a physics-first approach.

From Physics to Climate Science

O'Neill explains that during college she intended to pursue theoretical astrophysics but gradually realized that the same physics principles used to understand spinning galaxies could be applied to climate science. She emphasizes that climate physics is not a separate discipline but a natural extension of physics. A key point she makes is that traditional physics departments often do not train students in fluid mechanics, a cornerstone of climate science. She argues for integrating fluid dynamics into undergraduate physics curricula, stressing that climate researchers need access to the language of climate science, much of which is fluid mechanics.

Earth and Planets: A Unified Physics Framework

The conversation draws parallels between studying Earth’s climate and the climates of other planets. O'Neill asserts that the same physical equations govern these systems, with the only differences being constants and terms. She notes that paleoclimate studies on Earth offer a way to sample a wide range of planetary climates similar to exoplanet climate studies, underscoring the complementary nature of planetary science and climate science and encouraging researchers to view climate science and planetary science as parts of a single physics ecosystem.

Research Focus: Small-Scale Physics and Large-Scale Impact

Discussing her own research, O'Neill describes herself as aspirational in climate science, focusing on the boundary between weather and climate. She is drawn to the small-scale physics of storms because these processes, when aggregated, influence climate dynamics. She explains that climate models are limited by grid box sizes (for example, 100 km by 100 km), which prevents representation of tornadoes or hurricanes. The field aims to better understand and incorporate the physics of small-scale phenomena into climate models, thereby improving predictions of extreme events and climate behavior.

Recruitment, Funding, and the Global Context

O'Neill discusses her leadership role as chair of the American Physical Society group on the Physics of Climate and describes the mission to build a home for physicists in climate research, drawing on expertise from condensed matter theory, fluid dynamics, radiation, and beyond. She candidly describes the current American funding climate as highly ideological, with concerns about federal support for climate research. She explains that proposals mentioning climate change can be keyword gutted, making it difficult for climate-focused projects to secure funding. In contrast, she notes favorable support in Canada, where the government maintains a strong emphasis on climate change science. The conversation ends with a call to action for the physics community to engage with climate research and a recognition of the value of open international collaboration.

Outlook and Call to Action

O'Neill emphasizes that the door is open for traditional physicists to contribute to climate physics and planetary science. She acknowledges the challenges but remains optimistic about the need for cross-disciplinary collaboration and the opportunities provided by a physics-centered approach to climate problems. The podcast closes with appreciation for her work and a hope that more physicists will join climate research to address urgent environmental questions.