Dr. Ronan McAdam is a Junior Scientist specialising in climate variability, forecasting, and extreme events. His research combines physical oceanography and climate science with innovative machine learning approaches to improve the prediction of climate extremes and develop user-relevant applications.

Since joining CMCC in 2019, Ronan has established himself as an expert in marine and terrestrial heatwaves. He advanced the validation of essential ocean variables in short-term and seasonal forecasting systems, conducted the first global-scale validations of marine seasonal forecasts, and developed novel subsurface marine heatwave indicators. His work bridges the gap between fundamental research and practical climate services.

Ronan currently leads multiple research initiatives focused on data-driven detection and prediction of extreme events. A Task Leader in projects such as CLINT (Climate Intelligence) and ObsSea4Clim, he also contributes to the CMCC’s state-of-the-art high-resolution physical ocean models and reanalyses. He regularly contributes to scientific outreach, and is a member of the OceanPredict Artificial Intelligence Task Team.

Ronan obtained his PhD in Physical Oceanography from Imperial College London in 2019, with a thesis on ocean current transport, floating plastic, and Lagrangian analysis techniques.