Tropical climate dynamics

Air-sea interaction

Monsoons

Climate variability

Ocean and atmospheric dynamics

Ocean-ice interaction

Climate change

Ice shelf melting and sea level rise

Global teleconnections

Selected Publications

• Sanchez-Franks, A., Webber, B. G. M., King, B. A., Vinayachandran, P. N., Matthews, A. J., Sheehan, P. M. F., Behara A., Neema C. P. (2019). The railroad switch effect of seasonally reversing currents on the Bay of Bengal high-salinity core. Geophysical Research Letters, 46. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL082208
• Webber BGM, Heywood KJ, Stevens DP, Dutrieux P, Abrahamsen EP, Jenkins A, Jacobs SS, Ha HK,Lee SH, Kim TW (2017) ­­­Mechanisms driving variability in the ocean forcing of Pine Island Glacier, Nature Communications, 8, 14507. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms14507
• Webber, BGM, Matthews, AJ and Heywood, KJ (2010) A dynamical ocean feedback mechanism for the Madden-Julian Oscillation. Quart. J. Roy. Meteorol. Soc. 136: 740--754. https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.604

Overview

I am a lecturer in climate science in the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia. My primary research interests involve studying the physical interactions between the ocean and atmosphere and how this influences climate variability and change, with a particular focus on tropical climate. I also conduct research into ocean-ice-atmosphere interactions around Antarctica and how these influence current and future sea level rise. 

I am currently a Co-I on the FORSEA (Forecasting for South East Asia) project as part of the Met Office WCSSP South East Asia programme, which aims to improve forecasting of high impact weather in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Phillipines. Within this we will be conducting process-based evaluation of very high resolution (up to 200 m) numerical weather prediction systems run by the Met Office. 

From 2016-2017 I was a senior research associate on the joint UK-India BoBBLE project funded by NERC & MoES, at the University of East Anglia, led by Professor Adrian Matthews (UEA, UK) and Professor P N Vinayachandran (IISC, India).  I am still affiliated to the BoBBLE project, and am studying how ocean dynamics influence the variability of air-sea heat fluxes in the Bay of Bengal and the resultant impact on monsoon rainfall over India. We have quantified for the first time the heat and salt transported into the Bay of Bengal by the Southwest Monsoon Current, using a combination of in-situ observations (including Seagliders) and numerical modelling (one and three-dimensional).

Previously, I worked on the NERC iSTAR project, studying how ocean dynamics drive variability in the melt rate of rapidly melting ice shelves around the Amundsen Sea, Antarctica.

My PhD was on the dynamic ocean response to the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO), during which I demonstrated a novel feedback mechanism through which ocean Rossby waves could initiate or amplify MJO events. 

Apply for a PhD

I currently do not have funded PhD studentships available, please check again later in the year. 

I welcome enquiries from students with alternative sources of funding who are considering a PhD in tropical climate dynamics, physical oceanography, air-sea interaction or any of my other areas of interest.