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.
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Recent Publications
Association between short-term exposure to air pollution and cardiovascular disease in older adults: A time-stratified case-crossover study in South Korea
Kim, M. C., Park, S. J., Lee, H., Song, J., Kim, H. J., Park, S., Kim, J., Lee, S. K., Jeong, S., Shin, H. Y., Kim, K. H. & Park, S. M., Jun 1 2025, In: Atmospheric Environment. 350, 121130.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
A comparison of the meridional meandering of extratropical precipitation during boreal winter: eddy momentum flux versus Eulerian storm tracks
Yoo, C., Jin, D., Lee, S. & Kim, D., Dec 2025, In: npj Climate and Atmospheric Science. 8, 1, 104.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Benchmark Thermodynamic Contributors to the Growth and Decay of the Regional Extreme Surface Temperature
Kim, D. W., Lee, S., Clark, J. P. & Feldstein, S. B., Apr 1 2024, In: Journal of Climate. 37, 7, p. 2347-2359 13 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Zonal Contrasts of the Tropical Pacific Climate Predicted by a Global Constraint
Lee, S., Bannon, P. R., Park, M. & Clark, J. P., Nov 2024, In: Asia-Pacific Journal of Atmospheric Sciences. 60, 5, p. 669-678 10 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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 journal › Letter › peer-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 journal › Article › peer-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 journal › Article › peer-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 journal › Article › peer-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 journal › Article › peer-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 journal › Article › peer-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 journal › Comment/debate › peer-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 journal › Article › peer-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 journal › Review article › peer-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 journal › Article › peer-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 journal › Article › peer-review