Dr. Xiangdong Zhang

Dr. Xiangdong Zhang is a professor of climate and atmospheric sciences. He is currently teaching Atmospheric Radiation and Weather (Synoptic) Analysis and Forecast. He has conducted integrative research on Arctic and Northern Hemisphere climate variability and changes, including atmospheric circulation dynamics, storm track dynamics, atmosphere-sea ice-ocean-hydrology interactions, and extreme climate, weather, and hydrology events, Arctic Ocean heat and freshwater cycle, and Arctic sea ice mass balance. His research has been published at Nature Climate Change, Nature Geoscience, Nature Communications, and other highly regarded journals, many of which have been well cited in the scientific community, and reported and highlighted by media agencies. He has served as a member of the Phenomena, Observations, and Synthesis (POS) panel of the U.S. CLIVAR program, the Arctic Freshwater Synthesis Initiative of the WCRP’s Climate and Cryosphere (CliC) project, and the Regional Processes and Transports Working Group of the International Arctic Systems for Observing the Atmosphere (IASOA). He recently co-chaired the U.S. CLIVAR Working Group on Arctic Change and Possible Influence on Midlatitude Climate and Weather, and is now serving as a member and a task team co-lead of the CliC-CLIVAR Northern Oceans Region Panel (NORP). He is also an editor of the journal Advance in Atmospheric Sciences and a editorial board member of Nature’s Scientific Reports.

Curriculum Vitae (PDF)

Courses Taught

 ATM F413/613 - PHYS F413/613: Atmospheric Radiation

ATM F444/644: Weather (Synoptic) Analysis and Forecast

ATM F697: Arctic Water and Energy Cycle (Individual Study)

Select Publications

 
Park, H., E. Watanabe, Y. Kim, I. Polyakov, K. Oshima, X. Zhang, J. S. Kimball, and D. Yang, 2020: Increasing riverine heat influx triggers Arctic sea-ice decline and oceanic and atmospheric warming.
Tao, W. J. Zhang, and X. Zhang, 2017: The Role of Stratosphere Vortex Downward Intrusion in a Long-lasting Late-summer Arctic Storm.
 
Matsumura, S., X. Zhang, and K. Yamazaki, 2014: Summer Arctic atmospheric response to spring Eurasian snow cover and its driving role in accelerated sea ice decrease.
 
Basu, S., X. Zhang, I. Polyakov, and U. S. Bhatt, 2013: North American winter-spring storms: Modeling investigation on tropical Pacific sea surface temperature impacts.
 
Zhang, X., C. Lu, and Z. Guan, 2012: Weakened cyclones, intensified anticyclones, and the recent extreme cold winter weather events in Eurasia.
 
Cohen, J., X. Zhang et al.: Divergent consensus on the influence of Arctic Amplification on mid-latitude severe winter weather
 
Zhang, P., Y. Wu, I. R. Simpson, K. Smith, X. Zhang, B. De, and P. Callaghan: A stratospheric pathway linking a colder Siberia to Barents-Kara Sea sea ice loss
 
Screen, J. A., C. Deser, D. M. Smith, X. Zhang et al.: Consistency and discrepancy in the atmospheric response to Arctic sea-ice loss across climate models
 		  
Huang, J. X. Zhang et al.: Recently amplified arctic warming has contributed to a continual global warming trend
Kim, B.-M., S.-W. Son, S.-K. Min, J.-H. Jeong, S.-J. Kim, X. Zhang, T. Shim, and J.-H. Yoon: Weakening of the stratospheric polar vortex by Arctic sea-ice loss
 
Zhang, X et al.: Enhanced poleward moisture transport and amplified the northern high-latitude wetting trend
Zhang, X., A. Sorteberg, J. Zhang, R. Gerdes, and J. C. Comiso: Recent radical shifts in atmospheric circulations and rapid changes in Arctic climate system
Zhang, X., and J. E. Walsh: Toward a seasonally ice-covered Arctic Ocean: Scenarios from the IPCC AR4 model simulations
Zhang, X., J. E. Walsh, J. Zhang, U. S. Bhatt, and M. Ikeda: Climatology and interannual variability of Arctic cyclone activity, 1948-2002
Zhang, X., M. Ikeda, and J. E. Walsh: Arctic sea-ice and freshwater changes driven by the atmospheric leading mode in a coupled sea ice-ocean model


Research

Arctic Climate Variability and Changes, Arctic-lower latitude interactions, storm dynamics, extreme events, Arctic heat and freshwater cycle and pathways, atmosphere-sea ice-ocean-hydrology interactions, sea ice mass balance. 

Experimental high-resolution short and mid term weather prediction for Alaska and surrounding seas (with Dr. Jing Zhang)

Weather Forecast Page

Service

  • Member of the CliC/CLIVAR Northern Oceans Region Panel and Co-lead of the task team on Advancing the Understanding of Climate Variability Due to Arctic-midlatitude Linkages
  • Co-Chair of the Arctic-Midlatitude Working Group, the U.S. Climate Variability and Predictability (CLIVAR) Program
  • Member of Regional Processes and Transports Working Group, International Arctic Systems for Observing the Atmosphere (IASOA)
  • Co-Chair of the Organizing Committee for the Workshop on Arctic Change and Its Influence on Midlatitude Climate and Weather, U.S. CLIVAR Arctic-Midlatitude Working Group
  • Co-Chair of the Workshop on Understanding the Causes and Consequences of Polar Amplification, Aspen Global Change Institute
  • Member of the Phenomena, Observations and Synthesis (POS) Panel, the US Climate Variability and Predictability (CLIVAR) Program

  • Member of Technology and Operations Subgroup, National Petroleum Council

Awards

  • AAS Special Issue Editor Award, Advance in Atmospheric Science 2018
  • Frontier Award for Outstanding Achievement, Frontier Research System for Global Change, Japan, 2003
Professional website