Website moved: https://yzhang-aos.github.io/
I am a postdoc at the University of California, Berkeley, working with Professor William Boos. I earned my PhD from Princeton University advised by Professor Stephan Fueglistaler. I study atmospheric dynamics and climate change. My dissertation synthesized long-standing theoretical ideas to develop quantitative constraints on several aspects of tropical climate. These aspects include the onset of tropical atmospheric convection, the spatial and temporal distribution of precipitation, and the sensitivity of clear-sky outgoing longwave radiation to surface warming, which is a significant component of climate sensitivity. I am interested in advancing fundamental understanding of atmospheric dynamics and the interaction between dynamics, thermodynamics, and radiative transfer, emphasizing how these physical processes constrain extreme climate variables.
Publications (Feel free to email me or use the "Contact" button above to request PDF versions)
- Zhang, Y. and W.R. Boos. "An upper bound for extreme temperatures over midlatitude land." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2023). Open Access.
- Media coverage: Physics Magazine: Predicting Heatwaves’ Highest Temperatures
- Zhang, Y., I. Held, and S. Fueglistaler. "Projections of Tropical Heat Stress Constrained by Atmospheric Dynamics." Nature Geoscience (2021). Free-to-read PDF.
- Media coverage: New York Times, Forbes, The Guardian, The Independent, New Scientist, U.S. News, Scientific American (Arabic)
- Princeton University news: Simple atmospheric dynamics foretell dangerously hot future for the tropics.
- YouTube video by Dave Borlace: Wet Bulb Temperature. Life or death?
- Zhang, Y., N. Jeevanjee, and S. Fueglistaler. "Linearity of outgoing longwave radiation: From an atmospheric column to global climate models." Geophysical Research Letters (2020).
- Zhang, Y. and S. Fueglistaler. "How tropical convection couples high moist static energy over land and ocean." Geophysical Research Letters (2020).
- Editors' Highlights: How does convection work over the tropics?
- Zhang, Y. and S. Fueglistaler. "Mechanism for Increasing Tropical Rainfall Unevenness with Global Warming." Geophysical Research Letters (2019).
- Editors' Highlights: Understanding tropical rainfall projections under climate change