Matthew Pereira-Wilson
Position
Indo-Pacific Scholarship Recipient
School of Earth and Ocean Sciences
Area of expertise
Singapore
Bio
My name is Matthew Pereira Wilson, and I'm a third year PhD candidate with the School of Earth and Ocean Sciences at UVic, where I study the atmospheric processes that drive extreme heat, and evaluate how well these dynamics are reproduced in long term climate projection simulations. Previously, I have received a B.Sc. in Physics and Astronomy from the University of Waterloo, and a M.Sc. in Astronomy from the University of Victoria. I also love hiking and snorkeling, and I'm an active member in the SEOS graduate student community (GEOS).Research Project
Extreme heat is one of the deadliest weather-related hazards, and its risks are increasing as the climate warms. However, there is still uncertainty about how well climate models represent the physical processes that produce the most severe events. For my PhD research, I'm investigating how large scale atmospheric circulation, subsidence, heat transport, and other processes cause heat to build up during Pacific Northwest heatwaves. Through the IPSFC scholarship, I will work with researchers at the Centre for Climate Research Singapore to expand this study to the Indo-Pacific region. Tropical heat extremes develop in a humid environment shaped by monsoons, organized convection, and sea-surface temperature anomalies, which make them physically distinct from midlatitude heatwaves. This project will compare the regional mechanisms between midlatitude and tropical heatwaves to develop a broader process-based framework for evaluating how well extreme heat events are reproduced in climate models.