Marina Hirota

I am currently an assistant professor of Meteorology at the Federal University of Santa Catarina. I have built up my academic career through a very interdisciplinary background with a Bachelor degree in Applied Mathematics, a MSc. in Computer Engineering, a PhD. in Meteorology and post-doc studies with theoretical ecologists.

Such variety defined my current research field in Earth System Sciences, more specifically, trying to understand the processes and interactions involved in biome shifts within tropical zones of the planet, using dynamical system concepts such as resilience, tipping points and hysteresis. Together with collaborators from Brazil and the Netherlands I am currently searching for multiscale and synergistic mechanisms within the atmosphere and the biosphere to deepening both quantitatively and qualitatively the scientific basis of tipping points in South American tropical ecosystems.