Shang-Ping Xie

Distinguished professor of climate science

Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego

Research Interest:

My research centers on ocean-atmosphere interactions and their role in climate formation, variability, and change. The ocean's importance for climate is evident from the facts that most of solar radiation absorption occurs at the Earth surface and that the ocean occupies seventy percent of the Earth surface. Examples of ocean-atmosphere interaction effects are abundant, including the spontaneous generation of El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO), and the northward-displaced tropical rain band called the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) in the eastern Pacific and Atlantic. My research contributes to answering such fundamental questions as what determines the spatial distributions of climate, why it varies in time, how preferred patterns of climate variability form, and how predictable climate is.

I carry out both diagnostic and modeling studies, using observations and numerical models of the ocean, atmosphere, and their coupled system. Geographically, my work covers all three major oceans of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian, and monsoons of Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Our research has led to the formulation of wind-evaporation-sea surface temperature (WES) feedback mechanism and the Indian Ocean capacitor effect, the "warmer-get-wetter" idea for rainfall change in global warming, and the discovery of what Science magazine called the longest island wake of the world. The WES feedback is important for the northward displacement of the ITCZ and the tropical meridional mode. For more information, please see a narrative overview.

Research highlights: Regional patterns of global warming, Dynamics of Meiyu-Baiu rainband, Mysterious summer rains in East Asia, and more

Full List of Publications

New textbook just published

New Publications

Selected Publications

Review Articles

Editorials and Commentaries

Professional experience

Professor and leader of Indo-Pacific Climate Theme, Internal Pacific Research Center, University of Hawaii, 2002-2012 Associate professor and leader of Indo-Pacific Climate Theme, Internal Pacific Research Center, University of Hawaii, 1999-2002 Associate Professor, Graduate School of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University, Japan, 1994-1999
Research Associate, JISAO, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 1993-1994
Visiting Scientist, AOS Program, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 1991-1993

Education

D.Sc., Tohoku University, Japan, 1991
M.Sc., Tohoku University, Japan, 1988
Dalian College of Foreign Languages, China, 1984-85
B.Sc., Shandong College of Oceanography, China, 1984

Honors

  • China Ministry of Education Oversea Scholarship, 1985-1986
  • Japan Ministry of Education (Monbusho) Scholarship, 1986-1991
  • The Yamamoto-Shyono Medal for the 1994 Tellus paper on coupled ocean-atmospheric modeling of the Pacific ITCZ, Meteorological Society of Japan, 1996
  • The Society Medal for contributions to understanding air-sea interaction and its role in climate formation and variability, Meteorological Society of Japan, 2002
  • Roger Rvelle Chair, 2012-; Distingguished Professor, 2019-, UCSD
  • National Science Foundation Special Creativity Award, 2013
  • ESI Highly Cited Researcher based on Web of Science, 2014, 2016-2023
  • Elected fellow, American Geophysical Union, 2016
  • Elected fellow, American Meteorological Society, 2017
  • Sverdrup Gold Medal, American Meteorological Society, 2017
  • Distinguished Lecture (Atmospheric Sciences), Asia Oceania Geosciences Society, 2017
  • Distinguished Lecture (Ocean Sciences), Asia Oceania Geosciences Society, 2020
  • Elected fellow, California Academy of Sciences, 2021
  • The Society Medal for research on large-scale ocean-atmosphere interaction and its role in climate formation, variability and change, Oceanographic Society of Japan, 2023
  • The Fujiwara Medal for "advancing mechanistic understanding of climate variability and change, promoting international collaborations and mentoring next-generation climate dynamists", Meteorological Society of Japan, 2023
  • Professional Service

  • Lead author, United Nations Intergovenmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC and Al Gore won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize) Fifth Assessment Report (Summary for Policy Makers, Technical Summary & Chapter 14), 2010-2013; invited IPCC plenary participant, Stockholm, September 2013
  • Member, Overall Planning Committee, AMS 2023 Annual Meeting, 2021-
  • Member, UCAR President's Advisory Committee on University Relations, 2016-
  • Co-chair, NCAR CESM Climate Variability and Change Working Group, 2013-2021
  • Member, International CLIVAR Climate Dynamics Panel, 2015-2020
  • Councilor, the Oceanographical Society of Japan, 2007-2014
  • Member, US CLIVAR - OCB Working Group on "Oceanic Carbon Uptake in the CMIP5 Models", 2012-2014
  • Member, AGU Roger Revelle Medal Committee, 2010-2012
  • Member, NOAA Climate Prediction Program for the Americas (CPPA) Science Panel, 2006-2008
  • Member, US CLIVAR Process Studies and Model Improvement Panel, 2005-07
  • Member, US CLIVAR Pan American Implementation Panel, 2000-2004
  • Member, PIRATA Scientific Steering Committee, 2001-
  • Contributing author, United Nations Intergovenmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Third Assessment Report
  • Session convener, American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting (2012, 2010, 2005, 2002), AGU Spring Meeting (2004), Ocean Sciences Meeting (2014, 2012, 2006), AGU Western Pacific Geophysical Meeting (2010, 2008, 2006, 2004, 2000), American Meteorological Society Climate Variability and Change Conference (2015), IAMAS 2013, IUGG 2015, Asia Oceania Geosciences Society Annual Meeting (2014, 2013), Meteorological Society of Japan Spring Meeting (2006, 2004), Oceanographical Society of Japan Spring Meeting (2010)
  • Proposal review for US NASA, NSF, NOAA, DOE, NOPP; NSF of China, Chiese Academy of Sciences; Indian National Monsoon Mission; UK Natural Environment Research Council; Royal Society of New Zealand Rutherford Discovery Fellowship Program; Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
  • Panelist, NOAA GFDL Five-Year Lab Review, 2014, 2019
  • Panelist, NOAA National Multi-Model Ensemble Project review, 2014
  • Long-term visitor (Earth and Planetary Dynamics), Tohoku Forum for Creativity, 2016

    Editorial Service

  • Associate Editor, Science Advances, 2020 -
  • Editor, Advances in Atmospheric Sciences, 2016 -
  • Associate Editor, Science Bulletin, 2018 - 2022
  • Section Editor, Current Climate Change Reports, 2019
  • Academic editor, PLOS ONE, 2014 - 2017
  • Editor, Journal of Climate, 2006 - 2010
  • Guest editor, Journal of Oceanography (special section on mode water, editorial), 2010 - 2011
  • Editor, Journal of Meteorological Society of Japan (-->Free access to journal papers), 2000-2006
  • Volume editor, AGU Geophysical Monograph (Vol. 147, pp. 414) entitled "Earth Climate: The Ocean-Atmosphere Interaction", 2003-2004
  • ( Table of Contents and Preface + Book cover)
  • Peer reviewer for journals (Acta Oceanologica Sinica, Advances in Atmospheric Sciences, Advances in Meteorology, Annales Geophysicae; Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research; Atmosphere, Atmosphere-Ocean, Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Letters, Atmospheric Research, Atmospheric Science Letters, Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, Chinese J. Oceanology and Limnology, Climate Dynamics, Climate of the Past, Climatic Change, Continental Shelf Research, Current Climate Change Reports, Deep Sea Research (Part I and Part II), Dynamics of Atmospheres and Oceans, Earth-Science Reviews, Earth's Future, Environmental Research Letters, Environmental Science and Pollution Research, Frontiers in Science, Geophysical and Astrophysical Fluid Dynamics, Geophysical Research Letters, Global and Planetary Change, Insciences Journal, International J. Climatology, International J. Remote Sensing, Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems, J. Applied Meteorology, J. Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, J. Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics, J. Atmospheric Sciences, J. Climate, J. Geophysical Research-Atmospheres, J. Geophysical Research-Oceans, J. Marine Systems, J. Meteorological Society of Japan, J. Oceanography, J. Ocean Universiy of China, J. Operational Oceanography, J. Physical Oceanography, J. Water and Climate Change, Marine Geodesy, Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics, Monthly Weather Review, National Science Review, Nature, Nature Climate Change, Nature Communications, Nature Geoscience, npj Climate and Atmospheric Science, Oceanologica Acta, Ocean Dynamics, Ocean Engineering, Ocean Modeling, Ocean Science, Paleoceanography, PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Progress in Oceanography, Remote Sensing of Environment, Quarterly J. of Royal Meteorological Society, Quaternary Research, Quaternary Science Reviews, Reviews of Geophysics, Science, Science Advances, Science China Earth Sciences, Scientific Online Letters on the Atmosphere, Tellus A, Theoretical and Applied Climatology, Water Resources Research, WIREs Climate Change, Weather and Forecasting); book chapters (Cambridge University Press, Elsevier Science, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Springer Nature, World Scientific Publishing)

    Funded Projects

    Students

    Cordelia's art gallery


    E-mail: sxie at ucsd.edu

    Mailing address:

    Scripps Institution of Oceanography
    University of California, San Diego
    9500 Gilman Drive, MC 206
    La Jolla, CA 92093-0206

    Office: MESOM Building Room 323, 8885 Biological Grade, La Jolla --> Map (at the northern SIO campus)

    Phone: 858-822-0053; Fax: 858-534-9820