UROP Project

atmospheric sciences, meteorology, medicane
Research Mentor: cd21q@fsu.edu Cansu Duzgun, she/her
Department, College, Affiliation: Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Science, Arts and Sciences
Contact Email: cd21q@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:
Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 1
Relevant Majors: Students majoring in Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Science, Scientific Computing, and related STEM disciplines.
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required: Yes
Remote or In-person: Partially Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 5-10 hours,
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link: Tuesday -- canceled
Wednesday, Sept. 4 from 2:30-3:00 PM (https://fsu.zoom.us/j/92656644475)
Thursday -- canceled
Friday, Sept. 6 from 2:30-3:00 PM (https://fsu.zoom.us/j/91550490845)

Project Description

The Mediterranean basin is recognized as a climate change hotspot, where intense cyclones occur. The frequency of these cyclones is expected to increase in a warming climate. These cyclones share characteristics with both tropical cyclones (TCs, like hurricanes) and extratropical cyclones (ECs), leading to their classification as 'hybrid' or 'subtropical' cyclones, which are receiving increasing attention in the literature. Mediterranean tropical-like cyclones (TLCs), commonly known as medicanes, fall into this category: 1) they develop in environments similar to ECs, and 2) their mature stages resemble TCs. Medicanes have a calm central 'eye' surrounded by strong winds and rainbands extending from the center to the outer areas. Although generally smaller and weaker than TCs, their unique hybrid nature and significance in a changing climate make them significant.

The selected student will conduct research aimed at supporting statistical analysis and/or case comparisons. Depending on their interests and skillsets, students can explore climatological data or investigate the environmental conditions that lead to the formation of medicanes. For example, it is important to understanding the role of humidity before cyclone formation to reveal how evaporation modifies the low-level humidity and seek to identify relevant differences in selected cases.

Research Tasks: The student will review literature, and work with existing reanalysis data using coding scripts. Guidance will be provided to the student for an effective literature search and to learn more about medicanes.


Skills that research assistant(s) may need: A coding background in Python is recommended, but it is not a requirement.

Mentoring Philosophy

My mentoring philosophy is based on open communication. After giving their best effort, every researcher inevitably faces challenges. It is essential to prevent situations that could de-motivate the mentee because of a failure on a task, or vice-versa leading to overworking. It’s not just the progress of the project that matters, but the student’s effort and curiosity in the research. Regular weekly or biweekly meetings will allow me to guide the research and respond to the student’s needs and questions effectively.

Additional Information


Link to Publications


Return to Project Database