Courtney Batterson

Affiliation: Bay Area Environmental Research Institute (BAERI)

Division: Space Science and Astrobiology Division (ST)

Branch: Planetary Systems Branch (STT)

Email: courtney.m.batterson@nasa.gov

Phone: 650-604-0489

Websites: MCMC Homepage | GitHub | BAER Biography

Read Courtney Batterson‘s Interview

Professional Biography

I have been a member of the Mars Climate Modeling Center (MCMC) at NASA Ames since 2016. My career has grown from an undergraduate internship under Dr. Melinda Kahre into a full-time position as a research scientist with the Mars Climate Modeling Center (MCMC) at Ames. I graduated from Creighton University in 2017 with a B.S. in Environmental Science and have since earned an M.S. in Meteorology at SJSU under Drs. Alison Bridger (SJSU) and Melinda Kahre (NASA). My work is two-fold: my research concerns the physics and dynamics of Martian dust storms, and my technical work includes co-developing the Community Analysis Pipeline (CAP), a software tool for working with output from the NASA Ames Mars Global Climate Model (MGCM), and model development for the MGCM. In my free time, On the weekend, you can find me golfing along the California coast with my lifelong partner, Alex, or snuggling up with my dog, Mabel, and a good book.

Education

M.S. Meteorology, San Jose State University – 2021 (Thesis: Observational Analysis and Modeling of the “B” Regional Dust Storm on Mars)

B.S. Environmental Science, Creighton University – 2017 (Minors: Communication, Meteorology)

Research Interests

Planetary atmospheres, Mars dust storms, numerical modeling, and software development

Select Publications

Campbell, C.L., Guzewich, S.D., Battalio, J.M., Robbins, S.J. & Batterson, C.M.L. (2025). Martian south polar summer dust storms in observations, reanalyses, and modeling. JGR, 130(12). doi:10.1029/2025JE009268

Kahre, M.A., Haberle, R.M., Wilson, R.J., Urata, R.A., Steakley, K.E., Brecht, A.S., Bertrand, T., Kling, A.L.M., Batterson, C.M.L., Hartwick, V., Harman, C.E., & Gkouvelis, L. (2023). The NASA Ames legacy Mars global climate model: Radiation code error correction and new baseline water cycle simulation. Icarus, 400. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2023.115561 

Batterson, C.M.L., Kahre, M.A., Bridger, A.F.C., Wilson, R.J., Urata, R.A., & Bertrand, T. (2023). Modeling the “B” regional dust storm on Mars: Dust lofting mechanisms predicted by the new NASA Ames Mars GCM. Icarus, 400. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2023.115542 

Kahre, M.A., Haberle, R.M., Wilson, R.J., Urata, R.A., Steakley, K.E., Brecht, A.S., Bertrand, T., Kling, A.L.M., Batterson, C.M.L., Hartwick, V.L., & Harman, C.E. (2023). The NASA Ames legacy Mars global climate model: Radiation code error correction and new baseline water cycle simulation. Icarus, 400. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2023.115561 

Batterson, C.M.L. (2021). Observational analysis and modeling of the “B” regional dust storm on Mars. Master’s Theses, SJSU Scholarworks, 5174. doi:https://doi.org/10.31979/etd.tfdn-ykx7

Batterson, C.M.L. (2015). “Feminism” and feminism: A rhetorical criticism of Emma Watson’s address to the United Nations. Quest: A Journal of Undergraduate Research, 5. pp. 1-12. doi:10.17062/qjur.v5.i1.p1

Technologies & Software

NASA Ames MCMC (2024, December 6). Ames Mars GCM (Version 3.2) [Computer software]. NASA GitHub. doi: 10.25966/ty4s-w176

NASA Ames MCMC (2024, January 17). Ames Mars GCM (Version 3.1) [Computer software]. NASA GitHub. doi: 10.25966/ty4s-w176

NASA Ames MCMC (2023, November 29). Ames Mars GCM (Version 3.0) [Computer software]. NASA GitHub. doi: 10.25966/ty4s-w176

NASA Ames MCMC (2025). Community Analysis Pipeline (Version 4.0) [Computer software]. NASA Planetary Science GitHub.

NASA Ames MCMC (2024, August 14). Data Portal Web Interface [Web tool]. NASA Ames Research Center, NASA.

NASA Ames MCMC (2023, April 12). NASA Ames Legacy Mars Global Climate Model [Computer software]. NASA GitHub. doi: 10.25966/3tpw-nt26

NASA Ames MCMC (2023). Beta Output Release 1 [Data set]. NASA Ames Mars Climate Modeling Center Data Portal. doi: 10.25966/rjgg-r639

NASA Ames MCMC (2023). Legacy Output Release [Data set]. NASA Ames Mars Climate Modeling Center Data Portal. doi: 10.25966/3tpw-nt26

Select Seminars & Conference Presentations

Brecht, A.S., Harman, C.E., Kahre, M.A., Urata, R.A., Wilson, R.J., Batterson, C.M.L., Gkouvelis, L. & Kling, A.L.M. (2025). Advancements in Vertically Extending the NASA Ames Mars Global Climate Model [Abstract]. Presented at the AGU Fall Meeting, New Orleans, LA.

Brecht, A.S., Harman, C.E., Kahre, M.A., Urata, R.A., Wilson, R.J., Batterson, C.M.L., Gkouvelis, L. & Kling, A.L.M. (2025). Modeling approaches for the climate of Mars [Abstract]. Presented at the AGU Fall Meeting, New Orleans, LA.

Steakley, K.E., Kahre, M.A., Urata, R. A., Hartwick, H., Batterson, C.M.L. & Wilson, J. R. (2025). Upcoming Release of Early Mars Physics for the NASA Ames Mars Global Climate Model [Abstract]. Presented at the AGU Fall Meeting, New Orleans, LA. 

Batterson, C.M.L., Kahre, M.A., Urata, R.A., Brecht, A.S., Steakley, K.E., Wilson, R.J., Hartwick, V.L., Kling, A.L.M., & Harman, C.E. (2024). Open Science Initiatives by the Mars Climate Modeling Center [Abstract]. Presented at the NASA Ames Space Science & Astrobiology Division Open Science Workshop, Moffett Field, CA.

Batterson, C.M.L., Kling, A.L.M., Hartwick, V.L., Urata, R.A., Kahre, M.A., Wilson, R.J., Steakley, K.E., Brecht, A.S. & Harman, C.E. (2024). Increasing Access to Mars Planetary Global Climate Models (GCMs) with the Community Analysis Pipeline (CAP) [Abstract]. LPI Contributions, 3007. Presented at the Tenth International Conference on Mars, Pasadena, CA.

Kahre, M.A., Wilson, R.J., Urata, R.A., Brecht, A.S., Steakley, K.E., Batterson, C.M.L., Hartwick, V.L., Kling, A.L.M., Harman, C.E. & Mester, M. (2024). The Mars Climate Modeling Center at NASA Ames Research Center: Overview of Recent Science, Model Development, and Progress Making Tools Publicly Available and Accessible [Abstract]. LPI Contributions, 3007. Presented at the Tenth International Conference on Mars, Pasadena, CA.

Kahre, M.A., Wilson, R.J., Urata, R.A., Batterson, C.M.L., Kling, A.L.M., Brecht, A.S., Steakley, K.E., Hartwick, V.L. & Harman, C.E. (2023). The NASA Ames Mars Global Climate Model: Benchmarking Publicly Released Source Code and Model Output [Abstract]. Presented at the AGU Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA.

Batterson, C.M.L., Kahre, M.A., Bridger, A.F.C., Wilson, R.J. & Urata, R.A. (2022). Modeling the B Regional Dust Storm on Mars: Observations and Simulated Dust Plumes (Invited) [Abstract] (Vol. 2022). Presented at the AGU Fall Meeting, Chicago, IL.

Batterson, C.M.L., Kahre, M.A., Bridger, A.F.C., Wilson, R.J. & Urata, R.A. (2022). The B Regional Dust Storm in the New NASA AMES Mars GCM [Abstract]. Presented at the Seventh International Workshop on the Mars Atmosphere: Modelling and Observations, Paris, France.

Awards & Others

Invited Talk: Processes in the Present Day Atmosphere of Mars, AGU Fall Meeting (2022)

Monteverdi Scholarship, San Jose State University (2019–2020)

Invited Talk: Women in Data Science Conference, SAP Silicon Valley (2018)

Outstanding Research in Environmental Science, Environmental Science Department, Creighton University (2016–2017)

Minor of the Year, Communication Studies Department, Creighton University (2016–2017)

Paul W. Douglas Scholarship, Creighton University (2016–2017)

Mark & Karen Rauenhorst Scholarship, Creighton University (2016–2017)

Outstanding Paper of the Year, Communication Studies Department, Creighton University (2015–2016)

Freshman Presidential Scholar, Creighton University (2013–2014)