RISUD Research Seminar - Atmospheric Moisture Transport, Hydrometeorological Extremes and Water Sustainability

Understanding the mechanisms behind atmospheric moisture transport is fundamental to predicting hydrometeorological extremes and ensuring water sustainability. Intensive moisture transport, as exemplified by Atmospheric Rivers (AR), and climatological moisture source-to-receptor network respectively link to extreme weathers at various locations in the world, including southeast China, a region whose climate is largely regulated by the East Asian monsoon. This talk will unfold three interlocked elements of Prof. LU’s work: (1) the development of the first East Asian AR algorithm, the subsequent creation of an extended Global AR database and catalogue, and the derived insights into the predictability of hydrometeorological extremes; (2) regional to global Lagrangian moisture source-to-receptor tracking/network for better understanding of undergoing changes in the subseasonal-to-seasonal (S2S) variability; (3) a data-physics integrated approach to unlock the interannual variability of monsoonal S2S features. Data is to discovery as Physics is to understanding. In this seminar, Prof. LU will share the journey of her research, detailing how she uncovers patterns and phenomena within the complex climate-weather-water nexus through the use of big, multisource data, and how this leads to a deeper understanding of the Earth system for a more sustainable future.