Xuanyu Chen
Position
Research Associate
Division
Atmosphere-Ocean Processes and Predictability
Affiliation
Contact
About
I am a physical oceanographer interested in understanding ocean's imprints on the atmospheric boundary layer and in improving their representations in numerical weather prediction and climate models.
Imprints of the ocean can be generated by dynamical features (e.g., ocean surface gravity waves, ocean currents) or thermodynamical features (e.g., sea surface temperature fronts, ocean eddies). I had the chance to appreciate the first aspect through ocean surface gravity waves during my Ph.D. training at GSO/URI. I investigated how shoaling waves modulate air-sea momentum flux in finite waters during landfalling hurricanes and its subsequent impacts on storm surge prediction. At CIRES/PSL, I now pivot to the second aspect and have been investigating the impacts of weak submesoscale to mesoscale SST spatial anomalies on atmospheric shallow convection and mesoscale trade cumulus organization using both observations and numerical models.
Imprints of the ocean can be generated by dynamical features (e.g., ocean surface gravity waves, ocean currents) or thermodynamical features (e.g., sea surface temperature fronts, ocean eddies). I had the chance to appreciate the first aspect through ocean surface gravity waves during my Ph.D. training at GSO/URI. I investigated how shoaling waves modulate air-sea momentum flux in finite waters during landfalling hurricanes and its subsequent impacts on storm surge prediction. At CIRES/PSL, I now pivot to the second aspect and have been investigating the impacts of weak submesoscale to mesoscale SST spatial anomalies on atmospheric shallow convection and mesoscale trade cumulus organization using both observations and numerical models.
Research Interests
- Air-Sea Interactions
- Ocean Surface Waves
- Shallow Convection
- Numerical Modeling
Education
- Ph.D., Physical Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, Aug 2020
- B.S., Marine Science, Ocean University of China, Jun 2015
Selected Publications
- Chen, X., J. Dias, B. Wolding, R. Pincus, C. DeMott, G. Wick, E. J. Thompson, and C. W. Fairall, 2023: Ubiquitous Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies Increase Spatial Heterogeneity of Trade Wind Cloudiness on Daily Time Scale. J. Atmos. Sci., 80, 2969–2987, https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-23-0075.1.
- Chen, X., T. Hara, & I. Ginis (2020). Impact of shoaling ocean surface waves on wind stress and drag coefficient in coastal waters: 1. Uniform wind. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 125(7), e2020JC016222.
- Chen, X., I. Ginis, & T. Hara (2020). Impact of shoaling ocean surface waves on wind stress and drag coefficient in coastal waters: 2. Tropical Cyclones. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 125(7), e2020JC016223.
- Chen, X., I. Ginis., & T. Hara (2018). Sensitivity of offshore tropical cyclone wave simulations to spatial resolution in wave models. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 6(4), 116.
Presentations
- Chen, X., Dias, J., Wolding, B., Pincus, R., DeMott, C., Wick, G., Thompson, E.J., and Fairall, C. (2023). Trade Cumulus Cloudiness Modulated by Weak Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies during Atlantic Tradewind Ocean-Atmosphere Mesoscale Interaction Campaign. 103rd Amer. Meteor. Soc. Anually Meeting, Denver, CO, 8-12 January.
- Chen, X., Dias, J., Wolding, B., Pincus, R., DeMott, C. (2023). Understanding the Impact of SST Spatial Anomalies on Shallow Mesoscale Cloud Organization with Large Eddy Simulations. 103rd Amer. Meteor. Soc. Anually Meeting, Denver, CO, 8-12 January.
- Chen, X., Ginis, I., Hara, T. (2021). Impacts of Shoaling Ocean Surface Waves on Wind Stress and Drag Coefficient. DHS Coastal Resilience Center 6th Annual Meeting. Virtual, Apr 21.