Yafang Zhong

Research Scientist, Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC), University of Wisconsin-Madison

Yafang is a research scientist at the Space Science and Engineering Center of University of Wisconsin – Madison. Her research interests include climate change and variability, climate dynamics, global and regional climate modeling, paleoclimate modeling, flash droughts, and data assimilation. She is an experienced climate modeler and proficient in both global and regional climate models such as the NCAR Community Earth System Model (CESM), UW Fast Ocean Atmosphere Model (FOAM), ITCP Regional Climate Model Version Four (RegCM4), Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF), and NASA Unified Weather Research and Forecasting Model (NU-WRF).

Yafang works for GLISA as a part of the regional climate modeling group developing dynamically downscaled climate projections in the Great Lakes region. Yafang and colleagues previously generated a dynamically downscaled dataset for this region using ITCP RegCM4 and initial and boundary conditions from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase Five (CMIP5). As a progress of the downscaling efforts, the group has interactively coupled NU- WRF to the Finite Volume Community Ocean Model (FVCOM) to represent 3-D lake circulation and ice motion. The group will develop the next generation of dynamical downscaling product for the Great Lakes region using this newly coupled NU-WRF/FVCOM and initial and boundary conditions from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase Six (CMIP6).

Yafang Zhong
Email: yafangzhong@wisc.edu
Phone: (608)263-3210