Yang Zhang

Yang Zhang

Professor, Head of the Department of Meteorology at the School of Atmospheric Sciences, Nanjing University

The focus of Yang Zhang’s research is the fundamental dynamics of atmospheric circulations, including eddy-mean flow interactions in various climate variabilities and regional weather extremes, mechanisms of extratropical air-sea interactions and planetary waves connecting polar regions and midlatitudes.

The interaction between atmospheric eddies and the atmospheric general circulation is one of the main causes of climate change and weather extremes. The highly nonlinearity and the complex multi-scale processes of the atmospheric motion challenges our understanding of the eddy-mean flow interaction. Zhang Yang’s research developed the new “finite amplitude wave activity” framework to tackle the caveat of existing dynamical theories which are mostly based on quasi-linear assumptions, and discovered the mechanism of the multi-scale interaction between atmospheric high frequency, low frequency eddies and atmospheric circulation to maintain the persistent climate anomalies.

In the past 5 years, Zhang Yang has published 30 academic papers, including 25 articles published in JAS, JCL, GRL, BAMS and other first-class SCI journals. Her work was selected as the Research Spotlight of the American Geophysical Union and reported in its newsletter Eos.org as helping to improve predictions of atmospheric circulation. Part of her research work has been applied to the climate prediction in the National Climate Center of China, and won the Award of the 13th Five-Year Outstanding Meteorological Science and Technology.

Research Funding and Awards

  • “Changjiang Scholar Award” for Faculty, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, 2023
  • “Changjiang Scholar Award” for Young Scientist, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, 2019

  • “Dengfeng Award” for Outstanding Young Faculty, Nanjing University, 2013

  • Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China (MOST), National Key Research and Development Project for International Collaboration: “Air-sea interactions in the Arctic Seas: Processes and Mechanisms”, 2022-2026, Project Manager (PI)
  • Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China (MOST), National Key Research and Development Project: “Inter-annual Variability and Predictability of East Asian Monsoon Climate”, 2018-2021, Project Manager (PI)
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC): On the mechanism of the fine structure of the North Pacific oceanic frontal zones affecting the midlatitude transient eddy activities, 2017-2020, Project Manager (PI)
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC): On the mechanism that surface processes affecting the seasonal variations of transient Eddy activities in East Asia, 2013-2016, Project Manager (PI)
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC): On the mechanism that subtropical jet affects the low-frequency variability of the midlatitude jet, 2011-2013, Project Manager (PI)