Sukyoung Lee

Affiliate Researcher
Titles and Affiliations
Professor, Meteorology and Atmospheric Science

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.

In the News

Research Keywords

 These keywords and phrases come from the publications and other research output of this person. See other researchers related to these topics by clicking on any keyword.

Recent Publications

Reply to Comment on “Moist Static Energy Transport Trends in Four Global Reanalyses: Are They Downgradient?” by Clark et al. (2022)

Clark, J. P., Feldstein, S. B. & Lee, S., Aug 16 2023, In: Geophysical Research Letters. 50, 15, e2023GL104020.

Research output: Contribution to journalLetterpeer-review

Why does the upward surface turbulent heat flux resulting from sea ice loss over the Barents and Kara Seas last only for a few days?

Jiang, Z., Feldstein, S. B. & Lee, S., Apr 1 2023, In: Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society. 149, 752, p. 984-993 10 p.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Zonally asymmetric component of summer surface temperature trends caused by intraseasonal time-scale processes

Kim, D. W., Lee, S., Clark, J. P. & Feldstein, S. B., Dec 2023, In: npj Climate and Atmospheric Science. 6, 1, 197.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

The precipitation distribution set by eddy fluxes: the case of boreal winter

Yoo, C. & Lee, S., Dec 2023, In: npj Climate and Atmospheric Science. 6, 1, 24.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Moist Static Energy Transport Trends in Four Global Reanalyses: Are They Downgradient?

Clark, J. P., Feldstein, S. B. & Lee, S., Oct 28 2022, In: Geophysical Research Letters. 49, 20, e2022GL098822.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Dynamical Mechanism of the Summer Circulation Trend Pattern and Surface High Temperature Anomalies over the Russian Far East

Kim, D. W. & Lee, S., Oct 1 2022, In: Journal of Climate. 35, 19, p. 2781-2793 13 p.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Erratum: Relationship between boreal summer circulation trend and destructive stationary–transient wave interference in the Western Hemisphere (Journal of Climate (2021) 34 (4989-4999) DOI: 10.1175/JCLI-D-20-0530.1)

Kim, D. W. & Lee, S., Dec 15 2022, In: Journal of Climate. 35, 24, p. 4659-4660 2 p.

Research output: Contribution to journalComment/debatepeer-review

The Role of Latent Heating Anomalies in Exciting the Summertime Eurasian Circulation Trend Pattern and High Surface Temperature

Kim, D. W. & Lee, S., Jan 15 2022, In: Journal of Climate. 35, 2, p. 801-814 14 p.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

On the future zonal contrasts of equatorial Pacific climate: Perspectives from Observations, Simulations, and Theories

Lee, S., L’Heureux, M., Wittenberg, A. T., Seager, R., O’Gorman, P. A. & Johnson, N. C., Dec 2022, In: npj Climate and Atmospheric Science. 5, 1, 82.

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

On the Causes of Synoptic-Scale Eddy Heat Flux Decline

Park, M. & Lee, S., Dec 28 2022, In: Geophysical Research Letters. 49, 24, e2022GL100963.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Which is the More Effective Driver of the Poleward Eddy Heat Flux Variability: Zonal Gradient of Tropical Convective Heating or Equator-To-Pole Temperature Gradient?

Park, M. & Lee, S., 2022, In: Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences. 79, 6, p. 1713-1725 13 p.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Drivers of Global Clear Sky Surface Downwelling Longwave Irradiance Trends From 1984 to 2017

Clark, J. P., Clothiaux, E. E., Feldstein, S. B. & Lee, S., Nov 28 2021, In: Geophysical Research Letters. 48, 22, e2021GL093961.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

The role of horizontal temperature advection in arctic amplification

Clark, J. P., Shenoy, V., Feldstein, S. B., Lee, S. & Goss, M., 2021, In: Journal of Climate. 34, 8, p. 2957-2976 20 p.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Two Atmospheric Responses to Winter Sea Ice Decline Over the Barents-Kara Seas

Jiang, Z., Feldstein, S. B. & Lee, S., Apr 16 2021, In: Geophysical Research Letters. 48, 7, e2020GL090288.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Classification of wintertime atmospheric teleconnection patterns in the northern hemisphere

Kim, M., Yoo, C., Sung, M. K. & Lee, S., 2021, In: Journal of Climate. 34, 5, p. 1847-1861 15 p.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review