De-Zheng Sun, PHD
Birth Date
Education
- Ph.D., Meteorology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, September, 1992
- M.S., Physical Oceanography, Academia Sinica, Beijing, China, July 1987.
- B.S., Meteorology, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China, July 1985.
Experience
- NOAA/Earth System Research Laboratory & CU/CIRES/Climate Diagnostics Center, Boulder, CO.
Research Scientist III, 05/2004-present
- NOAA-CIRES Climate Diagnostics Center , Boulder, CO.
Research Scientist II, 03/1997-04/2004
- Advanced Study Program, National Center For Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO.
Program Scientist, 04/1995-02/1997
- Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ.
Visiting Scientist, 09/1992-03/1995
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA.
Research Assistant, 09/1988-09/1992
- Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA.
Research Assistant, 03/1988-08/1988
Research Interests
Teaching Interests
Courses Taught at CU
Postdoctoral students advised
Recent Research Grants:
- Title: The role of water vapor in the large-scale ocean-atmosphere interaction in the tropical Pacific region.
- Agency/program: NOAA Office of Global Programs/Pan American Climate Study.
- Duration: 1 May 1998--- 30 April 2001
- Funding Level: $143,722
- Principal Investigator: De-Zheng Sun
- Status: awarded
- Title: El Niño and the tropical maximum SST
- Agency/program: NSF Climate Dynamics Program
- Duration: 1 June 2000--- June 30, 2004
- Funding Level: $199,894
- Principal Investigator: De-Zheng Sun
- Status: awarded
- Title: The influence of the warm-pool SST over the magnitude of El Niño warming
- Agency/program: NOAA CLIVAR PACIFIC Program
- Duration: 1 February 2003-- 31 January 2006
- Funding Level: $197,943
- Principal Investigator: De-Zheng Sun
- Status: awarded
- Title: Understanding the Causes of the Excessive Cold-tongue in the NCAR CCSM
- Agency/program: NSF Climate Dynamics Program
- Duration: December 15 2003--- May 31, 2007
- Funding Level: $131056
- Principal Investigator: De-Zheng Sun
- Status: awarded
- Title: The Role of Extratropical Cooling in Determining the Level of ENSO Activity
- Agency/program: NSF/Climate and Large-Scle Dynamics Program & & Physical Oceanography Program
- Duration: 1 April 2006----31 March 2009
- Funding Level: $365,029
- Principal Investigator: De-Zheng Sun
- Co-Principal Investigators: Sang-Ik Shin and Amy Solomon
- Status: Awarded
- Title: The Effects of ENSO on the Mean Climate State of the Tropical Pacific
- Agency/programs: NSF/Climate and Large-Scale Dynamics Program & Physical Oceanography Program
- Duration: 1 March 2009--- 29 February 2012
- Funding Level: $410,736
- Principal Investigator: De-Zheng Sun
- Status: Awarded
- Title: Decadal Variability in the Tropical Pacific SST: A Consequence of Scale Interaction
- Agency/Program: NOAA/Climate Variability and Predictability Program
- Duration: 1 June 210---31 May 2012
- Funding Level: $361,054
- Principal Investigator: De-Zheng Sun
- Status: Pending
- Title: Understanding Tropical Pacific Climate Change During the Last 1500 Years: The Role of Extratropical--Tropical Interaction.
- Agency/Program: NSF/Paleo Perspectives on Climate Change (P2C2)
- Duration: 1 May 2010--- 30 April 2013
- Funding Level: $363,061
- Principal Investigator: De-Zheng Sun
- Co- Principal Investigators: Kim M. Cobb and Nicholas Graham
- Status: Pending
- Title: The Role of Deep Convection in the Large-Scale Tropical Ocean-Atmosphere Interaction
- Agency/Program: NSF/Climate and Large-Scale Dynamics
- Duration: 1 May 2010--- 30 April 2013
- Funding Level: $338,641
- Principal Investigator: De-Zheng Sun
- Co- Principal Investigators: Richard B. Neale
- Status: Being Revised
Principal Refereed Publications
- Sun, D.-Z., 2008: The Diabatic Aspects of El Nino Southern Oscillation. To appear in "Climate Dynamics: Why Does Climate Vary?". AGU Geophysical Monograph, Edited by D.-Z. Sun and F. Bryan, AGU.
- Penland C., D.-Z.Sun, and A. Capontondi, 2008: An Introduction to El Nino and La Nina. To appear in "Climate Dynamics: Why Does Climate Vary?". AGU Geophysical Monograph, Edited by D.-Z. Sun and F. Bryan, AGU.
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Wu, C., T. Zhou, and D.-Z. Sun, 2008: Atmospheric Feedbacks over the Tropical Pacific in Observations and Atmospheric General Circulation Models: An Extended Assessment. J. Climate, Submitted.
- Zhang, T.,D.-Z. Sun, R. Neal, and P. Rasch, 2008: An Evaluation of ENSO Asymmetry in the
Community Climate System Models: A View from the Subsurface. J.Climate, Accepted.
- Yu, Y., and D.-Z. Sun, 2008: Response of ENSO and the Mean State of the Tropical Pacific to Extratropical Cooling/Warming: A Study Using the IAP Coupled Model. J. Climate, Accepted.
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Wu, C., T. Zhou, R. Yu, and D.-Z.Sun, 2008: Regime behavior in the SST-cloud forcing relationships over the Pacific cold-tongue region. J. Climate, Submitted.
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Sun, D.-Z., Y. Yu, and T. Zhang, 2009: Tropical Water Vapor and Cloud Feedbacks in Climate Models: A Further Assessment Using Coupled Simulations. J. Climate, 22, 1287-1304.
- Zhang, T., and D.-Z. Sun, 2008: What Causes the Excessive Response of the Clear-Sky Greenhouse Effect to El Niño Warming in the NCAR Community Atmosphere Models? J. Geophys. Research, 113, D02108, doi:10.1029/2007JD009247.
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Sun, D.-Z., 2007: The Role of ENSO in Regulating its Background State. In "Nonlinear Dynamics in Geosciences", pages 537-555, Springer New York, 604 pages, Edited by J. Elsner and A. Tsonis.
- Sun, D.Z. and T. Zhang 2006: A Regulatory Effect of ENSO on the Time-Mean Thermal Stratification of the Equatorial Upper Ocean. Geophys. Res. Lett., Vol. 33, L07710, doi:10.1029/2005GL025296.
- Sun, D.-Z., T. Zhang, C. Covey,S. Klein, W.D. Collins, J.J. Hack, J.T. Kiehl, G.A. Meehl, I.M. Held, and M. Suarez, 2006 : Radiative and Dynamical Feedbacks Over the Equatorial Cold-tongue: Results from Nine Atmospheric GCMs J. Climate , 19 , 4059-4074.
- Zhang, T. and D.-Z. Sun, 2006 :Response of water vapor and clouds to El Niño warming in three NCAR models J. Geophys. Res.,111 , D17103, doi:10.1029/2005JD006700 .
- Sun, D.-Z., 2004: The Control of Meridional Differential Heating Over the Level of ENSO activity: A Heat-Pump Hypothesis. In Earth's Climate: The Ocean-Atmosphere Interaction, AGU Geophysical Monograph, Vol. 147, 414 pages. Edited by C. Wang, S.-P. Xie, and J. Carton.
- Sun, D.-Z., T. Zhang, and S.-I. Shin, 2004 : The effect of subtropical cooling on the amplitude of ENSO: a numerical study. J. Climate , 17, 3786-3798.
- Sun, D.Z., J. Fasullo, T. Zhang, and A. Roubicek, 2003:On the Radiative and Dynamical Feedbacks over the Equatorial Cold-tongue. J. Climate, 16. 2425-2432
- Sun, D.Z., 2003:A Possible Effect of An Increase in the Warm-pool SST on the Magnitude of El Niño Warming. J. Climate, 16, 185-205
- Sun, D.-Z., C. Covey, and R.S. Lindzen,
2001: Vertical correlations of water vapor in GCMs. Geophys. Res. Lett., 28 , 259-262.
- Fasullo, J., and D.-Z. Sun , 2001: Radiative sensitivities to tropical water vapor under all-sky conditions. J. Climate, 14, 2798-2807.
- Sun, D.Z., 2000b: The heat sources and sinks of the 1986-87 El Niño,
J. Climate, 13, 3533-3550.
- Sun, D.Z., 2000a: Global climate change and ENSO: a theoretical framework.
El Niño:
Historical and Paleoclimatic Aspects of the Southern Oscillation, Multiscal variability and Global and Regional Impacts . Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, edited by Diaz H. F. and V. Markgraf, 443-463
- Sun, D.Z. and K.E. Trenberth, 1998 : Coordinated heat removal from the equatorial Pacific during the 1986-87 El Niño.
Geophys. Res. Lett., , 25, 2659-2662
- Sun, D.Z., 1997: El Niño: a coupled response to radiative heating? Geophys. Res. Lett., 24, 2031-2034.
- Sun, D.Z. and Z. Liu, 1996 : Dynamic ocean-atmosphere coupling: a thermostat
for the tropics. Science, 272, 1148-1150.
- Sun, D.Z. and I.M. Held, 1996 : A comparison of modeled and observed relationships
between interannual variations of water vapor and temperature. J. Climate,
9, 665-675.
- Sun, D.Z. and A.H. Oort, 1995 : Humidity-temperature relationships in the tropical
troposphere. J. Climate, 8, 1974-1987.
- Sun, D.Z. and R.S. Lindzen, 1994 : A PV view of the zonal mean distribution
of temperature and wind in the extratropical troposphere. J. Atmos. Sci.,
51, 757-772.
- Sun, D.Z. and R.S. Lindzen, 1993a : Distribution of tropical tropospheric
water vapor. J. Atmos. Sci., 50, 1643-1660.
- Sun, D.Z. and R.S. Lindzen, 1993b: Water vapor feedback and the ice age snowline
record. Ann. Geophys., 11, 204-215.
- Wallace J.M., X. Cheng, and D.Z. Sun, 1991: Does low-frequency atmospheric
variability exhibit regime-like behavior? Tellus, 43 AB, 16-26.
Recent Invited Talks and Lectures
- "Some Fundamental Problems about the Earth's Climate System". Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xian, China, October 30, 2008.
- "An Introduction to Earth's Climate System". School of Human Settlement and Civil Engineering, Xian Jiaotung University, Xian, China, October 28-29, 2008.
- "Understanding the Impact of Global Warming on the Level of ENSO activity", Beijing University, Beijing, China, October 27, 2008.
- " The Role of ENSO in Regulating its Background State", Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, April 17, 2008.
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"The Role of ENSO in Regulating its Background State: Implications for Strategies to Understand Climate Changes in the Tropical Pacific", Climatic Changes in the Last 1500 Years: Their Impact on Pacific Islands, Honolulu, Hawaii, November 12-14, 2007.
- "The Role of ENSO in Regulating its Background State: Implications for Decadal Variability", The 7th Workshop on Decadal Variability, Waikoloa, Hawaii, April 30--May 3, 2007.
- "Water Vapor and Clouds Feedbacks in Climate Models", University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA. April 5, 2007.
- " The Role of ENSO in Regulating its Background State", University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA. April 4, 2007.
- "Water Vapor and Cloud Feedbacks in Climate Models", Guest Lecture in ATOC-7500 "Human Impacts on Weather and Climate". Duane 126, CU Campus, Boulder, CO. March 4, 2007.
- "Atmospheric Feedbacks Over the Pacific Cold-tongue: Results from Models and Observations", Chinese Meteorological Administration, Beijing, China. July 28, 2006.
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"A Regulatory Effect of ENSO on the Time-Mean Thermal Stratification in the Equatorial Upper Ocean", Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. July 28, 2006.
- "El Nino and the SST of the Western Pacific Warm-Pool", AGU's Western Pacific Meeting. Beijing, China. July 24-27, 2006.
- " The Role of ENSO in Regulating its Background State", Key Note Talk in "20 Years of Nonlinear Dynamics in Geosciences". Ixia, Rhodes, Greece. June 11-16, 2006.
- " A Regulatory Effect of ENSO on the Time-mean Stratification of the Equatorial Upper Ocean", Guest Lecture in ATOC-7500 "The Art of Climate and Environment Modeling".Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, April 11, 2006.
- "The role of ENSO in regulating the stability of the tropical Pacific climatology", Korea Ocean Research and Development Institute, Korea, September 21, 2005.
- "Understanding the causes of the excessive cold-tongue in coupled GCMs", Korea Ocean Research and Development Institute, Ansan, Korea. September 22, 2005.
- "The Role of ENSO in Regulating the Stability of the Tropical Pacific Climatology",Invited Seminar, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, March 28, 2005.
- "The Role of ENSO in Regulating the Stability of the Tropical Pacific Climatology". Tropical-Extratropical Climatic Teleconnections, A Long-Term Perspective, University of Hawaii, Honlulu, Hawaii, USA. February 8-11, 2005.
- "Feedbacks in Climate Models", NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD. August 26, 2004.
- "The Effect of Subtropical Cooling on the Amplitude of ENSO: A Numerical Study", Laboratory of Dynamical Oceanography and Climatology (LODYC), Paris, France. May 4, 2004.
- "A Heat-Pump Hypothesis for ENSO", International Pacific Research Center, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii. August 13, 2003.
- "Validating and Understanding Feedbacks in GCMs", Tropical Biases Workshop, GFDL, Princeton, NJ. 19 May 2003.
- "Climate Feedbacks in NCAR CAM1 and CAM2", Atmospheric Model Working Group Meeting, Boulder, CO. 6 March 2003.
Honors and Awards
- February 2009: Grant Award From National Science Foundation (ATM-0852329) ($410,736).
- June 2008: "Tengfei" Guest Professor, Xian Jiaotung University, Xi'an, China
- December 2007: Certificate of Appreciation, CIRES, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO.
- April 2006: Grant Award From National Science Foundation (ATM-0553111) ($365,029).
- December 2005: Grant Award From National Science Foundation (ATM--0602488)($49,604).
- December 2003: Grant Award From National Science Foundation (ATM--0331760)($81,452).
- February 2003: Grant Award From National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admistration ($197,943).
- December 2002: Certificate of Appreciation, Program in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO.
- June 2000: Grant Award From National Science Foundation (ATM-9912434)($199,894).
- May 1998: Grant Award From National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admistration ($143,722).
- December, 1996: Nominee for the UCAR Outstanding Performance-Outstanding Publication Award, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, USA.
- December, 1994: Postdoctoral fellowship from the Advanced Study Program, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, USA.
- December, 1991: Postdoctoral and visiting scientist fellowship from the Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Program, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey,USA.
- December, 1987: Scholarship for graduate study abroad from K.C. Wang Education Foundation, Hong Kong, China.