News

Our new paper, “Compound heat and ozone pollution in the urban environment“, is published in Urban Climate (IF: 6.9). The paper can be downloaded at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.uclim.2025.102511. Authors: Chenghao Wang, Xiao-Ming Hu, Sarah Feron,… Read more: New paper on compound heat and ozone pollution published in Urban Climate

Our new paper, “Ultrafine-resolution urban climate modeling: Resolving processes across scales“, is published in Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems (IF: 4.6). The paper can be downloaded at https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2025MS005053. Authors: Chenghao Wang,… Read more: New paper on ultrafine-resolution urban climate modeling published in Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems

Cathleen Simatupang recently joined the Sustainable URban Futures (SURF) Lab as a postdoctoral researcher. Welcome! Before coming to OU, Cathleen completed her dual Ph.D. degrees in Environmental and Water Resources… Read more: Cathleen Simatupang joined our group. Welcome!

Our new paper, “Enhancing climate-driven urban tree cooling with targeted nonclimatic interventions“, is published in Environmental Science & Technology (IF: 10.9). The paper can be downloaded at https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.4c14275. Authors: Zhaowu Yu, Siheng Li,… Read more: New paper on global urban tree cooling published in Environmental Science & Technology

Our new paper, “Satellite-driven evidence of forest-induced temperature variability and its biophysical and biogeochemical pathways across latitudes“, is published in Ecological Indicators (IF: 7.0). The paper can be downloaded at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X25004753. Authors: Zhaowu… Read more: New paper on global forest temperature variability published in Ecological Indicators

Our new paper, “Observation and simulation of methane plumes during the morning boundary layer transition“, is published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres (IF: 3.8). The paper can be downloaded at https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2024JD042317.… Read more: New paper on WRF-LES methane plume modeling published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres

Liam Thompson was recently selected as the 2025 Goldwater Scholar. His essay was based on the continental-scale model evaluation work recently published in Urban Climate. The Goldwater Foundation is a… Read more: Liam Thompson named a 2025 Goldwater Scholar

Our new paper, “Assessment of convection-permitting hydroclimate modeling in urban areas across the contiguous United States“, is published in Urban Climate (IF: 6.0). This work was led by undergraduate student Liam Thompson.… Read more: New paper on continental-scale urban hydroclimate modeling evaluation published in Urban Climate

Our new paper, “Impact of urban trees on carbon dioxide exchange: Mechanistic pathways, environmental controls, and feedback“, is published in Journal of Environmental Management (IF: 8.0). The paper can be downloaded at… Read more: New review paper on CO2 exchanges of urban trees published in Journal of Environmental Management

Our new paper, “CHUWD-H v1.0: a comprehensive historical hourly weather database for U.S. urban energy system modeling“, is published in Scientific Data (IF: 5.8). The paper can be downloaded at https://www.nature.com/articles/s41597-024-04238-4. Authors: Chenghao… Read more: New paper on an urban weather database published in Scientific Data

Our new paper, “Cooling efficacy of trees across cities is determined by background climate, urban morphology, and tree trait“, is published in Communications Earth & Environment (IF: 8.1). The paper can be… Read more: New paper on the cooling effect of urban trees published in Communications Earth & Environment

Liam Thompson recently won the First Generation Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (UReCA) Fellowship. This fellowship offers financial support to OU students who would like to undertake a project over… Read more: Liam Thompson won the First Generation UReCA Fellowship

We have multiple presentations at AGU24 Annual Meeting (https://www.agu.org/annual-meeting) in Washington, D.C., December 9-13, 2024: B11I-1442 The Global Hydrogen Budget Presenter: Zutao Ouyang. 08:30-12:20, Monday, Dec 9, 2024. Hall B-C… Read more: Upcoming presentations at AGU24 Annual Meeting

Liam Thompson recently won first place in the GIS Day Undergraduate Poster Competition. He presented his work on continental-scale evaluation of convection-permitting hydroclimate simulation in urban areas. The annual GIS… Read more: Liam Thompson won first place in the GIS Day Undergraduate Poster Competition

Our new paper, “Rapid decline in extratropical Andean snow cover driven by the poleward migration of the Southern Hemisphere westerlies“, is published in Scientific Reports (IF: 3.8). The paper can be downloaded… Read more: New paper on Andean snow cover published in Scientific Reports

Our new paper, “The water balance representation in Urban-PLUMBER land surface models“, is published in Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems (IF: 4.4). The paper can be downloaded at https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2024MS004231. Authors: H.… Read more: New paper on urban land surface model intercomparison published in Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems

Our new paper, “South America is becoming warmer, drier, and more flammable“, is published in Communications Earth & Environment (IF: 8.1). The paper can be downloaded at https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-024-01654-7. Authors: Sarah Feron, Raúl R.… Read more: New paper on climate change in South America published in Communications Earth & Environment

Our new paper, “Unraveling the discrepancies between Eulerian and Lagrangian moisture tracking models in monsoon- and westerly-dominated basins of the Tibetan Plateau“, is published in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (IF: 5.2). The… Read more: New paper on moisture tracking model comparisons published in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics

Our new paper, “Improving estimation of diurnal land surface temperatures by integrating weather modeling with satellite observations“, is published in Remote Sensing of Environment (IF: 11.1). The paper can be downloaded at… Read more: New paper on surface temperature estimation published in Remote Sensing of Environment

Yu Ding recently joined the Sustainable URban Futures (SURF) Lab as a Ph.D. student in Meteorology. Welcome! Before coming to OU, Yu Ding completed her master’s degree in Hydrology and… Read more: Yu Ding joined our group. Welcome!

Bohong Li recently joined the Sustainable URban Futures (SURF) Lab as a visiting M.Sc. student. Welcome! Bohong Li is an M.Sc. student majoring in Atmospheric Science from the University of… Read more: Bohong Li joined our group. Welcome!

Our new paper, “Methane dynamicsaltered by reservoir operations in a typical tributary of the Three Gorges Reservoir“, is published in Water Research (IF: 11.4). The paper and its supplement can be downloaded… Read more: New paper on reservoir CH4 emission published in Water Research

Our new paper, “A modeling framework to assess fenceline monitoring and self-reported upset emissions of benzene from multiple oil refineries in Texas“, is published in Atmospheric Environment X (IF: 3.8). The paper… Read more: New paper on benzene emissions published in Atmospheric Environment X

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… Read more: Liam Thompson received the Bob Glahn Scholarship in Statistical Meteorology

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… Read more: Open postdoctoral researcher positions in urban air quality and GHG modeling

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… Read more: Dr. Wang received the NASA Early Career Investigator Grant

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.… Read more: Yuqi Huang selected to attend the NCAR ASP Summer Colloquium

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… Read more: New paper on urban irrigation published in Nature Communications

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).… Read more: New paper on the cooling dynamics of urban vegetation published in Remote Sensing of Environment

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… Read more: Kihong Park joined our group. Welcome!

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,… Read more: New paper on urban causal interactions under heat waves published in npj Urban Sustainability

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… Read more: Jessica Leffel joined our group. Welcome!

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… Read more: New paper on extreme fire weather published in Scientific Reports

Dr. Wang was recently awarded a single-PI National Science Foundation (NSF) grant. The grant titled “An Integrated Urban Meteorological and Building Stock Modeling Framework to Enhance City-level Building Energy Use… Read more: Dr. Wang received a single-PI NSF grant

Our new paper, “Worldwide scaling of waste generation in urban systems“, is published in Nature Cities. The paper and its supporting information can be downloaded at https://www.nature.com/articles/s44284-023-00021-5. Data collected and compiled… Read more: New paper on urban waste production published in Nature Cities

The Sustainable URban Futures (SURF) Lab in the School of Meteorology and the Department of Geography and Environmental Sustainability at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma, USA is seeking multiple doctoral students who… Read more: Open Ph.D. positions at the SURF Lab (2024 Fall admission) – updated

Our new paper, “Wastewater-influenced estuaries are characterized by disproportionately high nitrous oxide emissions but overestimated IPCC emission factor“, is published in Communications Earth & Environment (IF: 7.9). The paper and its supporting… Read more: New paper on N2O emissions from urban wastewater-influenced estuaries published in Communications Earth & Environment

Our new paper, “Evaluation of 30 urban land surface models in the Urban-PLUMBER project: Phase 1 results“, is published in Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society (IF: 8.9). This paper is… Read more: New paper on urban land surface model intercomparison published in Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society

Our new paper, “Impacts of climate change, population growth, and power sector decarbonization on urban building energy use“, is published in Nature Communications (IF: 16.6). The paper and its supplement can be… Read more: New paper on urban building energy use published in Nature Communications

The Sustainable URban Futures (SURF) Lab in the School of Meteorology and the Department of Geography and Environmental Sustainability at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma, USA is seeking two doctoral students who… Read more: Open Ph.D. positions at the SURF Lab (2024 Fall admission)

Dr. Wang recently presented the research conducted by the SURF Lab at the 11th International Conference on Urban Climate (ICUC11) in Sydney, Australia.

Yuqi Huang recently joined the Sustainable URban Futures (SURF) Lab as a Ph.D. student majoring in Meteorology. Welcome! Before coming to OU, Yuqi completed his master’s degree in civil engineering… Read more: Yuqi Huang joined our group. Welcome!

The Sustainable URban Futures (SURF) Lab in the School of Meteorology and the Department of Geography and Environmental Sustainability at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma, USA is seeking two doctoral students who… Read more: Open Ph.D. positions at the SURF Lab (2024 Spring or Fall admission)

Sarah Henry has recently accomplished a successful National Weather Center REU project. Congratulations, Sarah! Throughout a 10-week journey, she investigated the spatial and temporal patterns of compound heat wave and… Read more: Sarah Henry successfully completed her REU project. Congratulations!

Our new paper, “Compound climate-pollution extremes in Santiago de Chile“, is published in Scientific Reports (IF: 4.996). The paper and its supplement can be downloaded at https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-33890-w. Authors: Sarah Feron, Raúl R. Cordero,… Read more: New paper on compound urban heat-ozone pollution published in Scientific Reports

Our new paper, “Finding causal gateways of precipitation over the contiguous United States“, is published in Geophysical Research Letters (IF: 5.576). This paper is from the collaboration with the Urban… Read more: New paper on causal networks of precipitation published in Geophysical Research Letters

Our new paper, “Spatial distribution of oceanic moisture contributions to precipitation over the Tibetan Plateau“, is published in Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (IF: 6.617). The paper and its supplement… Read more: New paper on moisture sources of precipitation in the Tibetan Plateau published in Hydrology and Earth System Sciences

Come to our presentations at AGU Fall Meeting in Chicago! GC15D-04: Heterogeneous Response of City-level Building Energy Use to Future Climate Change, Socioeconomic Development, and Power Sector Decarbonization Time: 3:20… Read more: Upcoming presentations at AGU Fall Meeting 2022

Our new paper, “Vegetation dynamics influenced by climate change and human activities in the Hanjiang River Basin, central China“, is published in Ecological Indicators (IF: 6.263). The Share Link to… Read more: New paper on vegetation response to climate change and human activities published in Ecological Indicators

Dr. Chenghao Wang will teach a new course, GEOG/METR 4970-004: Urban Climatology, in spring 2023.

Our new paper, “Realistic representation of city street-level human thermal stress via a new urban climate-human coupling system“, is published in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews (IF: 16.799). This paper… Read more: New paper on urban thermal stress modeling published in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

The Sustainable URban Futures (SURF) Lab in the School of Meteorology and the Department of Geography and Environmental Sustainability at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma, USA is seeking… Read more: We are seeking Ph.D. students to join our lab!

We are running a Special Issue entitled “Using Remote Sensing and GIS Methods to Study Current Urbanization Issues” with the journal Remote Sensing (IF: 5.349, ISSN 2072-4292). This special issue… Read more: We are organizing a Special Issue “Using Remote Sensing and GIS Technique/Methods to Address Current Urbanization Issues” in Remote Sensing

Our new paper, “Detecting the causal influence of thermal environments among climate regions in the United States“, is published in Journal of Environmental Management (IF: 8.910). This paper is from… Read more: New paper on causal urban climate network published in Journal of Environmental Management