Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences

Xian Lu
CIRES Visiting Fellow
2012-2013

Post-doc
Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Project: Lidar and modeling studies of atmospheric wave dynamics in Antarctica

Xian Lu is working with Xinzhao Chu’s research group and also collaborating with Timothy Fuller-Rowell in NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center. Using lidar, radar, and satellite data, she is investigating the characteristics of gravity waves and thermal tides from the lower to the upper atmosphere at the McMurdo Station in Antarctica. She will then compare them with the Whole Atmosphere Model simulations and examine their impacts on the polar dynamics. “Gravity waves and tides are the two most dominant wave activities, which drive the whole middle atmosphere away from the radiative equilibrium and affect its momentum budget and mean circulation,” she says. “Due to this importance, insufficient observations of gravity waves make it challenging to parameterize their effects and difficult to realistically simulate the middle atmosphere in climate and space weather models.” This project will provide new knowledge of gravity waves and tides in Antarctica and the observational validations of climate and space-weather models. 

While in Boulder, Lu plans to enjoy “the spectacular mountains under the blue sky, hiking and climbing with my friends, and working with many brilliant scientists,” she says.

Sponsor: Xinzhao Chu