Skip to main content
DEI in GPS
Access
Directory
Quick Links Click here to open the "Quick Links" submenu Down arrow
Quick Links for Faculty Quick Links for Staff Quick Links for Students
Caltech Logo
Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences
People
Professorial Faculty
Emeritus Faculty
Research Faculty
Visiting Faculty and Visitors
Postdoctoral Scholars
Graduate Students
Undergraduate Students
JPL Scientist
Research Staff
Support Staff
Research
Research Programs Open Research Programs Submenu
Geology Geobiology Geochemistry Geophysics Planetary Sciences Environmental Science and Engineering
Research Centers Open Research Centers Submenu
The Bruce Murray Lab Caltech Center for Comparative Planetary Evolution (3CPE) Climate Modeling Alliance (CliMA) Geomechanics and Mitigation of Geohazards (GMG) The Linde Center Seismological Laboratory Terrestrial Hazards Observation and Reporting (THOR)
Research Lab Schedule
Research Facilities - On Campus
Research Facilities - Off Campus
Research Administration
Academics
Undergraduate Program Open Undergraduate Program Submenu
Program Requirements GPS Minor
Graduate Program Open Graduate Program Submenu
Program Requirements Grad Program FAQs Admissions Advising Information for new grad students Master's Degree Doctoral Degree
Student Resources
Courses Open Courses Submenu
Course Offerings 2020-2021 Course Descriptions Setup a Class Website GPS Courses (2020-21)
Field Trips Open Field Trips Submenu
Contact Information Form for Class Field Trips Contact Information Form for Research Field Trips Field Vehicle Availability
Resources
DEI in GPS Open DEI in GPS Submenu
DEI Committee DEI Funding DEI Comment Form DEI Meeting Agendas and Minutes References on DEI in Geosciences Related Activities
Libraries Open Libraries Submenu
GPS Library Caltech Library Mineral Collection
Meeting Facilities Open Meeting Facilities Submenu
GPS Patio Tables
Safety Resources Open Safety Resources Submenu
GPS Emergency Procedures Emergency Action Plan (PDF) Safety Contacts Workplace Safety Checklist Evacuation Map
Quick Links
News & Events
GPS Events this Week Open GPS Events this Week Submenu
GPS Group Calendar
Award Announcements
News
Calendar
About
GPS History
GPS at a Glance
Contact Open Contact Submenu
Administrative and Grants Management Contact List (PDF) GPS Directory (PDF) Academic Leadership
Visit
Positions Available Open Positions Available Submenu
Faculty Positions Postdoctoral Positions Staff Positions
Support
In the News
Open search form
Menu Main Menu
Close
People Click here to open the "People" Submenu
Research Click here to open the "Research" Submenu
Academics Click here to open the "Academics" Submenu
Resources Click here to open the "Resources" Submenu
News & Events Click here to open the "News & Events" Submenu
About Click here to open the "About" Submenu
DEI in GPS
Access
Directory
Quick Links
Quick Links for Faculty Quick Links for Staff Quick Links for Students
People
Back
Professorial Faculty Emeritus Faculty Research Faculty Visiting Faculty and Visitors Postdoctoral Scholars Graduate Students Undergraduate Students JPL Scientist Research Staff Support Staff
Research
Back
Research Programs Geology Geobiology Geochemistry Geophysics Planetary Sciences Environmental Science and Engineering Research Centers The Bruce Murray Lab Caltech Center for Comparative Planetary Evolution (3CPE) Climate Modeling Alliance (CliMA) Geomechanics and Mitigation of Geohazards (GMG) The Linde Center Seismological Laboratory Terrestrial Hazards Observation and Reporting (THOR) Research Lab Schedule Research Facilities - On Campus Research Facilities - Off Campus Research Administration
Academics
Back
Undergraduate Program Program Requirements GPS Minor Graduate Program Program Requirements Grad Program FAQs Admissions Advising Information for new grad students Master's Degree Doctoral Degree Student Resources Courses Course Offerings 2020-2021 Course Descriptions Setup a Class Website GPS Courses (2020-21) Field Trips Contact Information Form for Class Field Trips Contact Information Form for Research Field Trips Field Vehicle Availability
Resources
Back
DEI in GPS DEI Committee DEI Funding DEI Comment Form DEI Meeting Agendas and Minutes References on DEI in Geosciences Related Activities Libraries GPS Library Caltech Library Mineral Collection Meeting Facilities GPS Patio Tables Safety Resources GPS Emergency Procedures Emergency Action Plan (PDF) Safety Contacts Workplace Safety Checklist Evacuation Map Quick Links
News & Events
Back
GPS Events this Week GPS Group Calendar Award Announcements News Calendar
About
Back
GPS History GPS at a Glance Contact Administrative and Grants Management Contact List (PDF) GPS Directory (PDF) Academic Leadership Visit Positions Available Faculty Positions Postdoctoral Positions Staff Positions Support In the News
Open search form
Simona Bordoni
Office: 239 Linde+Robinson Laboratory
Phone: 626-395-2672
Email: bordoni@gps.caltech.edu
Mail Code: MC 131-24
Administrative Assistant
Leilani L. Rivera-Dotson
Email: leilani@caltech.edu
Phone: 626-395-8724
link Research Website
link Personal Website
Home  /  People  /  Simona Bordoni

Simona Bordoni (on leave 2019 - 2021)

Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering
Dipl., University of Rome Tor Vergata, 1996; M.S., University of California (Los Angeles), 2003; Ph.D., 2007. Moore Postdoctoral Fellow, Caltech, 2007; Assistant Professor, 2009-17; Professor, 2017-.
  • Profile
  • Publications
  • Teaching
Research Summary
Monsoons; tropical circulations; interactions between mesoscale and larger-scale circulations.

Research Options

Environmental Science and Engineering; 

My research interests are in atmospheric dynamics, with a special emphasis on the use of observations and models to develop a theoretical understanding of important processes and balances that influence weather and climate. My work to date has been rooted in the tropics and has emphasized two particular scales (mesoscale and large-scale), but I find it difficult to attribute a particular interest to a specific scale. I am particularly interested in monsoons, because of the variety of scales they embody and the exciting research avenues they provide. By means of observations and modeling, my research on monsoons aims at understanding fundamental dynamical mechanisms which are implicated in their existence, their location and different geographical features, and which might help understand how monsoons change with changing climates.

Please see my research page for my publications list.

ESE 133. Global Atmospheric Circulations. 9 units (3-0-6); second term, 2020-21. Prerequisites: ESE 130 or instructor's permission. Introduction to the global-scale fluid dynamics of atmospheres, beginning with a phenomenological overview of observed circulations on Earth and other planets and leading to currently unsolved problems. Topics include constraints on atmospheric circulations and zonal winds from angular momentum balance; Rossby wave generation, propagation, and dissipation and their roles in the maintenance of global circulations; Hadley circulations and tropical-extratropical interactions; energy cycle and thermodynamic efficiency of atmospheric circulations. The course focuses on Earth's atmosphere but explores a continuum of possible planetary circulations and relationships among them as parameters such as the planetary rotation rate chance. Not offered 2020-21.
Instructor: Staff
ESE 133. Global Atmospheric Circulations. 9 units (3-0-6); second term, 2019-20. Prerequisites: ESE 130 or instructor's permission. Introduction to the global-scale fluid dynamics of atmospheres, beginning with a phenomenological overview of observed circulations on Earth and other planets and leading to currently unsolved problems. Topics include constraints on atmospheric circulations and zonal winds from angular momentum balance; Rossby wave generation, propagation, and dissipation and their roles in the maintenance of global circulations; Hadley circulations and tropical-extratropical interactions; energy cycle and thermodynamic efficiency of atmospheric circulations. The course focuses on Earth's atmosphere but explores a continuum of possible planetary circulations and relationships among them as parameters such as the planetary rotation rate chance. Not offered 2019-20.
Instructor: Staff
ESE 130. Atmosphere Dynamics. 9 units (3-0-6); first term, 2018-19. Prerequisites: ESE 101 or instructor's permission. Introduction to geophysical fluid dynamics of large-scale flows in the atmosphere. Governing equations and approximations that describe these rotation and stratification dominated flows. Topics include: conservation laws, equations of state, geostrophic and thermal wind balance, vorticity and potential vorticity dynamics, shallow water dynamics, atmospheric waves.
Instructor: Bordoni
ESE 132. Tropical Atmosphere Dynamics. 9 units (3-0-6); third term, 2017-18. Prerequisites: ESE 130 or instructor's permission. Phenomenological description of tropical atmospheric circulations at different scales, and theories or models that capture the underlying fundamental dynamics, starting from the large-scale energy balance and moving down to cumulus convection and hurricanes. Topics to be addressed include: large-scale circulations such as the Hadley, Walker, and monsoonal circulations, the intertropical convergence zone, equatorial waves, convectively coupled waves, and hurricanes.
Instructor: Bordoni
ESE 135. Topics in Atmosphere and Ocean Dynamics. 6 (2-0-4); third term, 2015-16. Prerequisites: ESE 101/102 or equivalent. A lecture and discussion course on current research in atmosphere and ocean dynamics. Topics covered vary from year to year and may include global circulations of planetary atmospheres, geostrophic turbulence, atmospheric convection and cloud dynamics, wave dynamics and large-scale circulations in the tropics, marine physical-biogeochemical interactions, and dynamics of El Niño and the Southern Oscillation.
Instructors: Bordoni, Thompson
Caltech Torch
Caltech Logo
California Institute of Technology
map marker
1200 East California Boulevard
Pasadena, California 91125
Contact Us Report a Copyright Infringement Website Feedback Privacy Notice Site Content Copyright © 2021 Log In