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Andrew Williams

@andrewilwilliams.bsky.social
987 followers 388 following 314 posts

Postdoc at UC San Diego | physics of climate 🌤️ 🌍 | PhD Oxford | views my own | he/him andrewilwilliams.github.io

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Andrew Williams @andrewilwilliams.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Climate Up Close is coming to North Carolina! Come along and join us as we tackle the big questions of climate change together :) www.climateupclose.org/2026-north-c...
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Andrew Williams @andrewilwilliams.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
I need some of this
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Scripps Institution of Oceanography @scrippsocean.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
🏅 Congratulations to Scripps Institutional Postdoctoral Fellow Andrew Williams on receiving @agu.org's James R. Holton Award, which honors early-career scientists. Williams studies climate dynamics, focusing on the tropical atmosphere and hydrological cycle. bit.ly/4ryZkmO
Andrew Williams outside
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Andrew Williams @andrewilwilliams.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
What's the article link?
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Andrew Williams @andrewilwilliams.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
As far as I can tell there is no *principled* reason to prefer intensity-based versus frequency-based perspective. As you say, climate change may affect both the frequency and intensity of an event. Aaron's paper adds an extra wrinkle, the perspective you choose inherently alters the cost estimate!
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Andrew Williams @andrewilwilliams.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Agree that credible damage functions are important, but I think Aaron is showing that even with perfect knowledge of the climate & damage/cost function, there is STILL an inherent ambiguity in outcomes depending on whether you look through the frequency-change or intensity-change lens.
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Andrew Williams @andrewilwilliams.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
To illustrate this inherent ambiguity, they have an elegant (& simple) example which arrives at very different attributable costs depending on whether you take a 'frequency-change' or 'intensity-change' perspective. As there is no a priori reason to choose one over the other, we have a problem...
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Andrew Williams @andrewilwilliams.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Great paper in @aguadvances.bsky.social by Aaron Match & Ben Schaffer! They show that the excess costs of an extreme weather event exacerbated by climate change are 'inherently ambiguous', with important (& unappreciated) consequences for litigation agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/...
agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
On the Inherent Ambiguity of Extreme Event Costs Attributed to Climate Change
Extreme event cost attribution is inherently ambiguous, because event alternatives can be viewed as changes in frequency or intensity Ambiguous single-event attributable costs can, in theory, be ...
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Natassa Romanou @aromanou.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Hello Physical Oceanographers! Columbia University in New York City is seeking candidates for tenure track Assistant Professor level position, with special interest for combined PhysO and AI expertise. Apply here: apply.interfolio.com/194070
apply.interfolio.com
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
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Andrew Williams @andrewilwilliams.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
I'm honored to have received the 2026 James R. Holton Early Career Award from the @agu.org ! Big thank you to the friends, family, and colleagues who have helped me get to this stage in my career, and to those who nominated me! =) www.agu.org/honors-home/...
agu.org
2026 Section Award and Lecture Recipients | AGU
Congratulations to the 2026 section award and lecture recipients.
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University of Oxford @ox.ac.uk · 23/09/2026
A new season begins in Oxford 🍂🍁 #AutumnEquinox 📷 Instagram | OxfordStory, Magdalen College, EstherJohnsonPhotography and Spiralling_Oxford
Exeter College: View of the Radcliffe Camera framed by green autumn leaves, with fallen leaves covering the garden and benches in the foreground.Magdalen College: Magdalen College in warm autumn sunlight, framed by branches of red leaves against a clear blue sky.All Souls College: All Souls College quad beneath a bright blue sky, with vivid red ivy cascading over a stone wall in the foreground.Merton College: Merton Tower illuminated by golden sunlight, with autumn foliage and fallen leaves in the foreground.
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Andrew Williams @andrewilwilliams.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
The LMDG model also predicts a local maximum in climate sensitivity in the ≈310-320 K range. To the extent that the max in climate sensitivity and the max in precipitation should coincide (a very reasonable prior), this is another relevant data point www.nature.com/articles/nat...
nature.com
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Andrew Williams @andrewilwilliams.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
I mean, you get the same result in two very different cloud resolving models as well. My prior would be to trust the cloud feedbacks in cloud-resolving models more than in GCMs. I'm sure clouds play some role, but ≈350-360 K is not currently supported by any numerical experiments.
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Andrew Williams @andrewilwilliams.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Liu et al. analyze a range of comprehensive 3D GCM / CRM simulations with cloud radiative effects, none of which have a peak in precipitation above 330-340 K. www.science.org/doi/full/10....
science.org
Hydrologic cycle weakening in hothouse climates
Climate models predict that mean precipitation is a nonmonotonic function of temperature and weakens under hothouse climates.
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Andrew Williams @andrewilwilliams.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Physically, the maximum precipitation occurs when the water vapor window becomes optically thick, which happens at ≈310-330 K for reasonable relative humidities. So I'm quite skeptical of the paper's claim of a peak at ≈350-360 K...
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Bob Kopp @bobkopp.net · 19/08/2026
59. NSF touting call for core geoscience research representing a >80% cut from prior funding levels (reported Aug. 19, 2026)
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Mark Parrington @mparrington.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Increasing Indonesia fire emissions & regional smoke transport since 1 August 2026 at the start of a potentially extreme fire season enhanced by El Niño, visualised by #CopernicusAtmosphere Fire Emissions Watch apps.atmosphere.copernicus.eu/fire-emissio... @copernicusecmwf.bsky.social @ecmwf.int
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Celeste Labedz @celestelabedz.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Some think it's purely about altitude alone, but as a geoscientist, the real advantage of the west is that the geology is just way more easily visible.
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Andrew Williams @andrewilwilliams.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
@zekehausfather.com do you have this plot but for the RONI? Very striking!
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Andrew Williams @andrewilwilliams.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxAe... teorth.github.io/tao-web/slid...
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Andrew Williams @andrewilwilliams.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
I think we should also measure our success by whether what we do "enables people to understand and think more clearly and effectively about the world around us." I think that climate science was *already* struggling to measure success in this way, and the advent of LLMs will make this harder!
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Andrew Williams @andrewilwilliams.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
He highlights this quote which is very helpful: "We are not trying to meet some abstract production quota of definitions, theorems and proofs. The measure of our success is whether what we do enables people to understand and think more clearly and effectively about math." William Thurston, (1994)
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Andrew Williams @andrewilwilliams.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
A really thoughtful talk by Terence Tao on "Mathematics in the age of AI", which touches on many of the issues which I think are increasingly relevant for our own field. What is the real purpose of our work? Are we simply machines for generating plots/papers (for mathematicians, proofs)?
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Andrew Williams @andrewilwilliams.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
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Project Drawdown @projectdrawdown.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
🚨 Scientists have been warning for more than a century that catastrophic weather events were inevitable if humanity kept emitting GHG's. But is it worse than even they expected? Climate scientist @drkatemarvel.bsky.social shares her expert perspective in our latest Insights: bit.ly/4wsYPMw
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Andrew Williams @andrewilwilliams.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Really exciting paper by Nathaniel Tarshish in @natclimate.nature.com ! "Multi-century cooling after net-zero greenhouse gas emissions" www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Multi-century cooling after net-zero greenhouse gas emissions - Nature Climate Change
How global temperatures change after net-zero emissions are reached is highly uncertain. Here the authors constrain this response and find that net-zero GHG emissions lead to multi-century cooling of ...
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Andrew Williams @andrewilwilliams.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Really enjoyed this paper by Denis Shum. Builds nicely on insights from Jake Seeley & @davidromps.com in 2016 to show that increased cloud buoyancy in response to aerosol can only ever be a transient phenomena (because WTG ensures the environment will adjust quickly) www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Deep convection only temporarily intensified by aerosols - Nature Geoscience
A sudden rise in aerosols makes clouds more active for about a day. Then the effect fades as the atmosphere adjusts and warms aloft, reducing the contrast that helps clouds grow, according to cloud-re...
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Andrew Williams @andrewilwilliams.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
WHY IS THERE A TORNADO WATCH IN NYC
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Robin Wordsworth @rdword.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Very proud of my student Collin Cherubim for his discovery of an atmosphere on the habitable-zone exoplanet LHS 1140 b! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... www.nytimes.com/2026/07/16/s...
nytimes.com
Astronomers Find an Atmosphere on a Nearby Earthlike Planet
It’s the first potentially habitable world known to host an atmosphere, making it a lead contender in the search for life beyond our solar system.
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Andrew Williams @andrewilwilliams.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Thanks Canada
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The Weather & Climate Livestream @wclivestream.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
It's deadline day for the OMB rules! Submit your comment by 11:59PM EST (you can be anonymous): www.regulations.gov/commenton/OM... Need inspiration? Tune in at 7PM EST - we're having an impromptu livestream, with 🎶 piano music 🎵 to help you write, performed by Solon Gordon: wclivestream.com/watch
regulations.gov
Regulations.gov
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Andrew Williams @andrewilwilliams.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
Am I reading this correctly? Are there really over 278,000 comments posted on the proposed OMB ruling? If so, that's incredible! www.regulations.gov/docket/OMB-2...
regulations.gov
Regulations.gov
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Andrew Williams @andrewilwilliams.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Hahahaaa love it
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Andrew Williams @andrewilwilliams.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
@egu.eu STOP SENDING ME EMAILS
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Daniel Swain @weatherwest.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Countless scientific and professional societies in the United States have already issued public statements of alarm, and many have submitted formal public comment to the federal government--as have thousands of individuals. You can, too, directly via: www.regulations.gov/...
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Daniel Swain @weatherwest.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
I just submitted my formal comment on the disastrous proposal to transform essentially all U.S. federal grantmaking--affecting every sector of American science, technology, education, & health--into an overtly partisan political process. Full text here: weatherwest.com/wp-c...
Screenshot of page 1 of my letter (see link in post for full text).Screenshot of page 2 of my letter (see link in post for full text).Screenshot of page 3 of my letter (see link in post for full text).Screenshot of page 4 of my letter (see link in post for full text).
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Andrew Williams @andrewilwilliams.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
www.istheweatherweird.com
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Andrew Williams @andrewilwilliams.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Can confirm it is HOT in NYC
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The Weather & Climate Livestream @wclivestream.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Your reps voted to maintain science funding, but instead the NSF is cutting many fields by 20-30%, and apparently using that money for "X-Labs." This great talk from @climateflavors.bsky.social on the 2026 Western US snow drought is the sort of science we could lose www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzOi...
youtube.com
50 Hours to Save America’s Forecasts, Weather and Climate Livestream Part 6
YouTube video by The Weather & Climate Livestream
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Itai Yanai @itaiyanai.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
🔥 Published today, and just in time for summer conferences, here are your guidelines for presenting badly www.nature.com/articles/s41... rdcu.be/fqa92
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Jacquelyn Gill @jacquelyngill.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Don’t forget to take action on the proposed OMB rules! Public comments, contacting your societies or environmental nonprofits, contacting your Congresspeople, etc.
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Jeffrey Mervis @policyhound.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Been wondering why NSF isn't spending most of its FY26 appropriation? A $1.5B tech initiative may be the reason. And big cuts to hundreds of research programs could be just the beginning of the bad news. www.science.org/content/arti...
science.org
Exclusive: NSF slashes research programs to support new tech initiative, insiders say
Unexpected shift in funds has meant sharp drop in grants this fiscal year
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Andrew Williams @andrewilwilliams.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Great! Now #SaveNCAR
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Elise Cutts @elisecutts.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Precarious employment is a problem for academics basically everywhere. But it seems REALLY bad in Germany and Austria. In Austria, the vast majority (~75%) of researchers are on short-term contracts — often under conditions that would be illegal for workers not employed at universities. 🧪
Grouped horizontal bar chart titled "75% of Austrian researchers don't have permanent contracts," comparing temporary versus permanent staff across six academic position types. Senior roles (Full Professor, Associate/Assistant Professor, Senior Lecturer/Scientist) are mostly permanent, while the far more numerous lower-ranked roles are overwhelmingly temporary: Project Staff (~11,000) and Lecturer (~10,000) are almost entirely fixed-term, and Postdoc and Predoc staff number about 6,500 temporary versus ~1,500 permanent. Source: 2023 Universitätsbericht. Chart by Elise Cutts.
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The Weather & Climate Livestream @wclivestream.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Got 10 minutes? Want to learn about how we model the risk posed by hurricanes? In honor of the first tropical storm of the Atlantic season, here's Dr. Sydney Kramer (@sydkramer12.bsky.social)'s excellent talk, hosted by her sister Dr. Samantha Kramer (& her cat)! www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX-v...
youtube.com
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Andrew Williams @andrewilwilliams.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
journals.ametsoc.org/view/journal...
journals.ametsoc.org
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Andrew Williams @andrewilwilliams.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
:(
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Andrew Williams @andrewilwilliams.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
On June 3rd, Syl Foisy completed his walk from NYC to DC and was greeted on the steps of Capitol Hill by members of Congress! Watch the full press conference below. It was an honor to be a part of this moment.
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Kate Marvel @drkatemarvel.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Sentient prion Russ Voght wants to destroy US science. Submit your comment on the proposed rules by July 13 👇 www.standupforscience.net
standupforscience.net
STAND UP FOR SCIENCE
Science activists and allies mobilizing to save science, health and democracy itself from the Trump administration's dismantlement and privatization.
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Adam Sobel @adamsobel.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
A plea to submit comments on the new proposed OMB rule that would put all U.S. science funding totally at the whim of political appointees, framed by a recap of the Weather and Climate Livestream a couple weeks ago. deepconvection.substack.com/p/speak-out-...
deepconvection.substack.com
Speak out against the proposed OMB rule attacking U.S. science
A call to action following the Weather and Climate Livestream.
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