Welcome!

I am a climate scientist specializing in dynamics and impacts of large-scale climate variability and change.

I have a broad interest in understanding the multi-scale interactions of the Earth system, encompassing the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere, and land surface. Additionally, I explore the societal implications of climate teleconnections and their effects on regional climates and extreme events. Leveraging our understanding of the physical mechanisms governing these interactions, we aim to enhance our ability to predict future climate changes and their impacts. For more details on my research, see Research and Publications.

My tools include theoretical approaches, statistical analysis, machine learning and hierarchies of climate modeling, ranging from simple models to the state-of-the-art earth system models.

Interests
  • Climate Dynamics and Predictability
  • El Niño–Southern Oscillation
  • Pantropical Climate Interactions
  • Atmospheric Waves & Teleconnections
  • Paleoclimate
Education
  • PhD in Meteorology, 2016

    Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences

  • BS in Atmospheric Sciences, 2011

    Lanzhou University

Professional Experience

 
 
 
 
 
**School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, UH Mānoa**
Assistant Researcher
Nov 2021 – Present Hawaii, USA
Research on the tropical climate dynamics and sea-level science with Prof. Fei-Fei Jin, Prof. Philip Thompson, Prof. Christina Karamperidou and Prof. Malte Stuecker
 
 
 
 
 
**Department of Atmospheric Sciences, UH Mānoa**
Postdoctoral Fellow
Oct 2016 – Oct 2021 Hawaii, USA
Research on ocean-atmosphere coupled dynamics for El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and its diversity, tropical interbasin interactions, and seasonal predictions under the supervision of Prof. Fei-Fei Jin
 
 
 
 
 
**Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences**
Research Assistant
Sep 2011 – Jul 2016 Beijing, China
Research on the dynamics of atmospheric teleconnections and Rossby wave propagation on a horizontally non-uniform basic flow under the supervision of Prof. Jianping Li

Presentations

Understanding Lead Times of Warm-Water-Volumes to ENSO Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies

Dynamics and Implications for ENSO's Subsurface Ocean Temperature Vertical Dipole Anomalies in the Central Equatorial Pacific

Recent classification of El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) into two types, Eastern (EP) and Central (CP) events, has highlighted the …

Advancing Understanding of ENSO’s Relationship with Equatorial Pacific Thermocline

Abstract: Equatorial Pacific thermocline plays an important role in El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycles. On one hand, …

A robust assessment of the Bjerknes-Wyrtki-Jin indices for ENSO growth rate and periodicity

Abstract: Quantifying coupled ocean-atmosphere feedback processes for El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is important for advancing …

Contact

Sen Zhao