Princeton University

David Medvigy
Assistant Professor, Ph.D. Harvard University
Address:  310 Sayre Hall
Phone: (609) 258-2906
Email: dmedvigy at princeton.edu

Publications            Vita

My research focuses on understanding local-regional scale variability in climate and terrestrial biosphere, with a special focus on the processes linking these two components of the Earth system.   This includes study of the relationships between the atmospheric circulation, terrestrial ecology, and biogeochemical fluxes, and how all of these are responding (and are projected to respond) to anthropogenic forcings.   I address these issues through numerical models including variable-resolution general circulation models, mesoscale meteorological models, and mechanistic models of ecosystem composition, structure, and functioning.

Several of my recent studies have focused on the northeastern U.S.   In particular, I have investigated how meteorological variability (cloudy versus sunny days and wet versus dry days) strongly influences forest composition and carbon uptake on monthly-century time scales.   In addition, I am currently investigating the impacts of human land use and natural disturbance on the regional vegetation and hydroclimate of New York City’s primary watershed.   Along a separate line of research, I am interested in understanding tropical hydroclimate and vegetation.   Recent work has focused on the role of the Andes Mountains in modulating the interannual variability of the Amazon’s hydroclimate, and how deforestation in the Amazon is affecting continental-scale precipitation and ecosystem composition.

Medvigy, D., S.C. Wofsy, J.W. Munger, and P.R. Moorcroft (2009).   Non-linear damping of terrestrial carbon fluxes and vegetation dynamics due to short time scale meteorological variability.   Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA (in review)

Medvigy, D., S. C. Wofsy, J. W. Munger, D. Y. Hollinger, and P. R. Moorcroft (2009). Mechanistic scaling of ecosystem function and dynamics in space and time: Ecosystem Demography model version 2, J. Geophys. Res., 114, G01002, doi:10.1029/2008JG000812.

Medvigy, D., R.L. Walko, and R. Avissar (2008).   Modeling interannual variability of the Amazon hydroclimate.   Geophys. Res. Lett. 35, L15817, doi:10.1029/2008GL034941.

Albani, M., D. Medvigy, G. C. Hurtt and P. R. Moorcroft (2006). The contributions of landuse change, CO₂ fertilization, and climate variability to the Eastern US carbon sink. Global Change Biology, 12, 2370-2390.

Medvigy, D., P.R. Moorcroft, R. Avissar and R.L. Walko (2005). Mass conservation and atmospheric dynamics in the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS). Environmental Fluid Mechanics, 5, 109-134.