About COAPS
The Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies (COAPS) in the College of Arts and Sciences officially formed in August 1996 by the Florida Board of Regents. COAPS is a center of excellence performing interdisciplinary research in ocean-atmosphere-land-ice interactions to increase our understanding of the physical, social, and economic consequences of climate variability.
COAPS was founded by Dr. James J. O'Brien, the Robert O. Lawton Professor of Meteorology
and Oceanography. He is internationally known for mentoring young scientists and under his
guidance 40 students have completed their Ph. D. degree and over 80 students have completed
their M.S. degree. He also has supervised more than 25 post-doctoral assistants. Dr.
O'Brien's early emphasis was in ocean modeling which led to new breakthroughs in
understanding coastal upwelling, El Niño, La Niña, and hurricane effects on
the ocean. His most recent research interest is on the impact of climate variability on our
everyday life.
With Dr. O'Brien retiring in December 2006, Dr. Eric Chassignet, from the University of
Miami, has moved to Tallahassee to become the new COAPS director. His expertise is on
high-resolution ocean modeling and ocean prediction. Dr. Chassignet's current research
interest is on the role of the ocean in climate variability using coupled ocean-atmosphere
numerical models.
Mission Statement
To be a center of excellence which promotes interdisciplinary research in air-sea interaction, the coupled ocean-atmosphere-land-ice earth system, and climate prediction on scales of weeks to decades in order to increase our understanding of the physical, social, and economical consequences of coupled ocean-atmospheric variations.
© Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies (COAPS), Florida State University,
2035 E. Paul Dirac Dr., 200 RM Johnson Bldg., Tallahassee, FL 32306-2840
Phone: (850) 644-4581, Fax: (850) 644-4841
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