Ligin Joseph

I am a PhD researcher in physical oceanography at the University of Southampton. My work explores Indian Ocean warming, tropical rainfall, marine heatwaves and the physical drivers of monsoon change.

Research areas ↓Selected papers ↓Email me ↗
Portrait of Ligin Joseph

About

Biography

I am a final-year PhD researcher in the School of Ocean and Earth Science at the University of Southampton, based at the National Oceanography Centre Southampton. My doctoral research examines the oceanic fingerprints on changing monsoons over South and Southeast Asia.

I use observations, ocean and atmosphere reanalyses, Lagrangian diagnostics and climate model experiments to understand how changes in ocean heat and circulation affect rainfall. I was a visiting PhD researcher at the University of Cambridge in 2025. Before my PhD, I worked as a research consultant at KAUST and a senior research fellow at IIT Delhi. I hold an MSc in Ocean and Climate Physics from the University of Western Brittany, during which I completed research internships at LOCEAN in Paris.

Broadly, I am interested in the links between physical oceanography, climate dynamics and the weather extremes that affect people across monsoon regions.

Recent work

News

Research

Questions I work on

My research asks how the ocean influences regional rainfall as the climate changes. I focus on mechanisms: tracing heat and moisture, separating circulation changes from thermodynamic effects, and testing what can explain observed trends.

Monsoons and rainfall

How Indian Ocean temperatures and atmospheric circulation shape the distribution and intensity of South Asian monsoon rainfall.

Ocean warming

Why the western Indian Ocean is warming, how ocean transport contributes, and what upper-ocean heat means for the atmosphere.

Climate variability

How ENSO, marine heatwaves and ocean–atmosphere coupling interact with rainfall and extremes across the tropics.

Publications

First-author papers

  1. 2026
    Tropical precipitation response to anthropogenic climate change in recent decadesJoseph, Terray, Sooraj & Masson · Nature Communications
  2. 2026
  3. 2026
    Warming trend in the western Indian Ocean driven by oceanic transportJoseph et al. · Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans
  4. 2024

For my full publication record, see my Google Scholar profile.

Teaching

Teaching and mentoring

I have taught with Climatematch Academy and The Brilliant Club, supporting students as they learn climate science and connect foundational ideas to current research. At the University of Southampton, I have worked as a teaching assistant and demonstrator for How to Be Scientifically Literate, Large Scale Ocean Processes and Climate, and Introduction to Physical Oceanography.

I enjoy making physical concepts approachable, especially the links between ocean circulation, density, heat and climate.

Presentations

Talks and conferences

Selected conference presentations and research talks on the ocean’s role in monsoons and climate change.

Writing

Climate science for wider audiences

I write about the physical processes behind monsoon variability, cyclones and climate extremes. Read the original articles in The Conversation:

Science communication

Visual explainers

Games, comics and short analyses that make ocean and monsoon science easier to explore. Each link opens the original post on LinkedIn.

Indian Monsoon Snakes and Ladders game board illustrating monsoon drivers such as El Niño, the Indian Ocean Dipole and aerosols
Game · Indian monsoon

Monsoon Snakes and Ladders

An educational game I created to show how phenomena such as El Niño, the Indian Ocean Dipole and aerosols can shape a monsoon season. The board turns these climate influences into a game that can be used for learning and discussion.

Explore the original post ↗

Media

Coverage and mentions

Selected coverage and discussions of my research and writing.

Selected republications

My articles in The Conversation have also been republished by Scroll.in, ABC Asia and Down To Earth (Malayalam), among others.

Contact

Get in touch

I welcome enquiries about research collaborations, talks, teaching and science communication.

L.Joseph@soton.ac.uk

University profile ↗ORCID ↗GitHub ↗LinkedIn ↗