Zachary Labe

Looking for Arctic climate change visualizations? Start here!

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My name is Zack, and I am an Associate Research Scholar working at NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory and the Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Program at Princeton University. My current research interests explore the intersection of climate variability, extreme events, decadal prediction, and data science methods. In addition to academic research, I am very passionate about improving science communication, accessibility, and outreach through engaging data visualizations.

I received my Ph.D. in May 2020 from the Department of Earth System Science at the University of California, Irvine. Under the supervision of Dr. Gudrun Magnusdottir, my thesis focused on using observations and global climate model experiments to identify linkages between Arctic climate change (especially due to sea-ice loss) and the extratropical large-scale atmospheric circulation. Thereafter, I completed a postdoc working with Dr. Elizabeth Barnes in the Department of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University on applications of explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) methods for detecting regional patterns of climate change and variability. I completed my undergraduate degree at Cornell University and received a B.Sc. in Atmospheric Sciences in 2015. During my time at Cornell, I was president of our American Meteorological Society Chapter, CCAMS, where we focused on severe weather emergency management, forecasting techniques, and community outreach.

At any one time, you can probably find me buried away forecasting the weather, making climate visualizations on Twitter, trying the local diner, watching scary movies, or enjoying a day in the woods. Please reach out or check out my monthly blog!