Sukyoung Lee

Research Summary

Lee’s research interests are on the large-scale circulation of the atmosphere, oceans and planetary atmospheres. Her atmospheric research focuses on mid-latitude storm tracks, westerly jet streams, the tropopause and the stratospheric circulation. She studies climate and climate change from the perspective of general circulation theories, specifically on how the equator-to-pole temperature gradient is maintained, and why the east-west gradient in tropical convective heating is likely to increase as the climate warms. She also studies circulations in the Southern Ocean, including the deep mixed layers that are important for carbon and heat exchanges between the atmosphere and the ocean. For planetary atmospheric research, her primary interest is the origin of the eddies and jets in Jupiter’s atmosphere.