Liam Thompson recently received the Bob Glahn Scholarship in Statistical Meteorology from the National Weather Association Foundation.
The Bob Glahn Scholarship in Statistical Meteorology was established by Dr. Bob (Harry R.) Glahn in 2012 to aid students in their final two years of undergraduate studies, enrolled in a program of meteorology or atmospheric science with a demonstrated interest in statistical meteorology.
Congratulations, Liam!
The School of Meteorology and the Center for Analysis and Prediction of Storms at the University of Oklahoma invite applications for two fully funded full-time Postdoctoral Researcher positions focused on the modeling of air quality and/or greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the urban environment. Areas of focus include but are not limited to:
Both positions are based in Norman, OK, and will be working with Dr. Chenghao Wang and Dr. Xiao-Ming Hu.
Salary will be commensurate with the applicant’s experience. Full-time employment comes with OU research staff benefits, including generous paid leave, health insurance, and retirement savings plans. The successful candidates will work in the National Weather Center, with numerous opportunities to collaborate with world-leading academic and operational partners both on and off campus, such as the Center for Analysis and Prediction of Storms (CAPS) and National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). The University of Oklahoma and City of Norman offer a vibrant college town atmosphere with numerous recreational and cultural activities. Norman is just 20 miles away from Oklahoma City, which provides all the amenities of a larger city. Norman also has a low cost of living compared to most cities in the U.S.
Qualifications: Applicants must have earned a Ph.D. in Atmospheric Sciences, Engineering, Earth Science, Computer Science, or a closely related field by the time of appointment. Candidates should have demonstrated experience with numerical 3D air quality models, such as WRF-Chem, CMAQ, HYSPLIT, GEOS-Chem, and LES models, be proficient in programming languages commonly used in models (Fortran) and data analytics (MATLAB, Python, R, or NCL), and possess strong oral and written communication skills, evidenced by their publication record and presentations at scientific meetings.
Applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. To apply, interested individuals should submit electronically:
(1) A cover letter explaining their interest and qualifications for the position.
(2) A curriculum vitae.
(3) Two to three representative publications (journal articles, conference papers, or preprints).
(4) Contact information for three professional references.
Please submit your application through http://apply.interfolio.com/150611 by Sep 30, 2024. Applications will be reviewed as received and will continue until the positions are filled. For questions regarding these two positions, please contact Dr. Chenghao Wang (chenghao.wang@ou.edu) or Dr. Xiao-Ming Hu (xhu@ou.edu).
Dr. Wang was recently awarded the NASA Early Career Investigator Grant titled “Compound Heat and Ozone Pollution Episodes in the Urban Environment: Dynamics, Mechanism, and Mitigation with Nature-Based Solutions”.
See OU News here: https://www.ou.edu/news/articles/2024/july/researcher-receives-nasa-funding-to-study-ozone-pollution.
Yuqi Huang was selected to attend the NCAR Advanced Study Program Summer Colloquium. The topic of this year’s ASP Colloquium is Integrating Atmospheric and Social Approaches to Improve Urban Air Quality.
Every year, the Advanced Study Program hosts a summer colloquium designed for graduate students on subjects that represent new or rapidly developing areas of research for which good course material may not yet be available. The colloquium brings together lecturers and graduate students to NSF NCAR and generally includes about 25 student participants, and several lecturers from NSF NCAR and the community at large. (source: NCAR ASP)
Congratulations, Yuqi!
Our new paper, “The potential of urban irrigation for counteracting carbon-climate feedback“, is published in Nature Communications (IF: 16.6).
The paper and its supplement can be downloaded at https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-46826-3.
Authors: Peiyuan Li, Zhi-Hua Wang, and Chenghao Wang
Abstract: Global climate changes, especially the rise of global mean temperature due to the increased carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration, can, in turn, result in higher anthropogenic and biogenic greenhouse gas emissions. This potentially leads to a positive loop of climate–carbon feedback in the Earth’s climate system, which calls for sustainable environmental strategies that can mitigate both heat and carbon emissions, such as urban greening. In this study, we investigate the impact of urban irrigation over green spaces on ambient temperatures and CO2 exchange across major cities in the contiguous United States. Our modeling results indicate that the carbon release from urban ecosystem respiration is reduced by evaporative cooling in humid climate, but promoted in arid/semi-arid regions due to increased soil moisture. The irrigation-induced environmental co-benefit in heat and carbon mitigation is, in general, positively correlated with urban greening fraction and has the potential to help counteract climate–carbon feedback in the built environment.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-46826-3
Our new paper, “Enhanced observations from an optimized soil-canopy-photosynthesis and energy flux model revealed evapotranspiration-shading cooling dynamics of urban vegetation during extreme heat“, is published in Remote Sensing of Environment (IF: 13.5).
The paper and its supplement can be downloaded at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0034425724001093. The Share Link to download a copy is https://authors.elsevier.com/c/1ikad7qzT3Dj5 (valid through Apr 30, 2024).
Authors: Zhaowu Yu, Jiaqi Chen, Jike Chen, Wenfeng Zhan, Chenghao Wang, Wenjuan Ma, Xihan Yao, Siqi Zhou, Kai Zhu, and Ranhao Sun
Abstract: Previous studies on the cooling of urban vegetation mainly focused on its transpiration or shading effect separately, neglecting to explore the combined evapotranspiration-shading cooling. Further, accurate quantification of evapotranspiration-shading cooling remains challenging due to heterogeneity of urban landscapes, which limits understanding of its high-resolution spatiotemporal patterns. Here, we integrate high-precision remote sensing data and the Soil-Canopy-Observations of Photosynthesis and Energy Fluxes (SCOPE) model to propose an optimized quantitative approach. The approach was used to investigate changes in evapotranspiration-shade cooling during extreme heat. Taking Shanghai metropolitan as case, the results show: (1) The cooling capacity of urban vegetation in nighttime (18:00–6:00) is enhanced during extreme heat, which is attributed to accumulated effect of shading and enhanced evapotranspiration due to elevated vapor-pressure deficit. (2) In densely built-up areas with limited vegetation, there is a significant lack of thermal regulation, especially in the early morning (7:00) and late evening (17:00), thus exacerbating thermal stress. (3) At midday (11:00–13:00) there was a slight decrease in evaporative cooling, probably caused by the behaviour of the stomatal closure at high temperatures. Concurrently, high radiation causes the shading effect of vegetation to become more prominent, amplifying the cooling contrast between areas with dense and sparse vegetation cover. Moreover, the study also highlights that grassland with >50% cover can provide cooling effects similar to that of forest land. Overall, our study not only enhances the understanding of urban vegetation’s cooling effects but also underscores the importance of strategic urban vegetation planning in mitigating urban heat, particularly under the escalating frequency and intensity of heat waves.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2024.114098
Kihong Park recently joined the Sustainable URban Futures (SURF) Lab as a visiting Ph.D. student. Welcome!
Kihong Park is a Ph.D. student majoring in Water Resources and Coastal Engineering from Chung-Ang University, Republic of Korea. He joined the SURF lab in Feb 2024. Before coming to OU, Kihong completed his master’s degree in Civil Engineering at Chung-Ang University. His previous research focused on the spatial and economic analysis of wastewater treatment plants, specifically the application of wastewater heat and risk analysis related to urban floods.
Kihong’s research interests include hydrology, meteorology, and disasters in the urban environment. His Ph.D. research focuses on the risk analysis of urban compound disasters using a multivariate probabilistic approach.
Our new paper, “Megacities are causal pacemakers of extreme heatwaves“, is published in npj Urban Sustainability.
The paper and its supporting information can be downloaded at https://www.nature.com/articles/s42949-024-00148-x.
Authors: Xueli Yang, Zhi-Hua Wang, Chenghao Wang, and Ying-Cheng Lai
Abstract: Global climate change has been shown to cause longer, more intense, and frequent heatwaves, of which anthropogenic stressors concentrated in urban areas are a critical contributor. In this study, we investigate the causal interactions during heatwaves across 520 urban sites in the U.S. combining complex network and causal analysis. The presence of regional mediators is manifest in the constructed causal networks, together with long-range teleconnections. More importantly, megacities, such as New York City and Chicago, are causally connected with most of other cities and mediate the structure of urban networks during heatwaves. We also identified a significantly positive correlation between the causality strength and the total populations in megacities. These findings corroborate the contribution of human activities e.g., anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases or waste heat, to urban heatwaves. The emergence of teleconnections and supernodes are informative for the prediction and adaptation to heatwaves under global climate change.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42949-024-00148-x
Jessica Leffel recently joined the Sustainable URban Futures (SURF) Lab as an M.S. student in Meteorology. Welcome!
Prior to coming to OU, Jessica graduated from Barrett the Honors College at Arizona State University with a bachelor’s degree in Meteorology-Climatology. Her previous research analyzed the relationship between tropospheric ozone pollution and synoptic conditions in Phoenix, Arizona. In addition, Jessica worked as a meteorologist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/National Weather Service Phoenix office.
Jessica’s research interests include applied climatology, energy, urban meteorology, climate variability, and synoptic meteorology. Advised by Dr. Chenghao Wang, her research at OU will aim to enhance urban building energy use predictions with the development of an integrated modeling framework that accounts for local and regional meteorological conditions. This will combine building stock models with urban meteorological models to create more accurate predictions of city-level building energy use.
Our new paper, “Extreme fire weather in Chile driven by climate change and El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO)“, is published in Scientific Reports (IF: 4.6).
The paper and its supporting information can be downloaded at https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-52481-x.
Authors: Raúl R. Cordero, Sarah Feron, Alessandro Damiani, Jorge Carrasco, Cyrus Karas, Chenghao Wang, Clarisse T. Kraamwinkel, and Anne Beaulieu
Abstract: A string of fierce fires broke out in Chile in the austral summer 2023, just six years after the record-breaking 2017 fire season. Favored by extreme weather conditions, fire activity has dramatically risen in recent years in this Andean country. A total of 1.7 million ha. burned during the last decade, tripling figures of the prior decade. Six of the seven most destructive fire seasons on record occurred since 2014. Here, we analyze the progression during the last two decades of the weather conditions associated with increased fire risk in Central Chile (30°–39° S). Fire weather conditions (including high temperatures, low humidity, dryness, and strong winds) increase the potential for wildfires, once ignited, to rapidly spread. We show that the concurrence of El Niño and climate-fueled droughts and heatwaves boost the local fire risk and have decisively contributed to the intense fire activity recently seen in Central Chile. Our results also suggest that the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean variability modulates the seasonal fire weather in the country, driving in turn the interannual fire activity. The signature of the warm anomalies in the Niño 1 + 2 region (0°–10° S, 90° W–80° W) is apparent on the burned area records seen in Central Chile in 2017 and 2023.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-52481-x
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