Sukyoung Lee

About

Sukyoung Lee is a Distinguished Professor of Meteorology and a John T. Ryan, Jr. Faculty Fellow in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences at Penn State. Her research specialties include Atmospheric Dynamics, Climate, and Oceanography. She holds a PhD from Princeton University. Her work focuses on understanding atmospheric processes, climate phenomena, and ocean-atmosphere interactions, contributing to the broader field of meteorology and atmospheric science.

Research topics

• Environmental science
• Geology
• Climatology
• Meteorology
• Atmospheric sciences
• Oceanography
• Geography
• Physics

Selected publications

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

  npj Climate and Atmospheric Science · 2022 · 149 citations

  1st authorCorresponding

  Abstract Changes in the zonal gradients of sea surface temperature (SST) across the equatorial Pacific have major consequences for global climate. Therefore, accurate future projections of these tropical Pacific gradients are of paramount importance for climate mitigation and adaptation. Yet there is evidence of a dichotomy between observed historical gradient trends and those simulated by climate models. Observational records appear to show a “La Niña-like” strengthening of the zonal SST gradie…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The Role of Horizontal Temperature Advection in Arctic Amplification

  Journal of Climate · 2021 · 37 citations

  Abstract The wintertime (December–February) 1990–2016 Arctic surface air temperature (SAT) trend is examined using self-organizing maps (SOMs). The high-dimensional SAT dataset is reduced into nine representative SOM patterns, with each pattern exhibiting a decorrelation time scale of about 10 days and having about 85% of its variance coming from intraseasonal time scales. The trend in the frequency of occurrence of each SOM pattern is used to estimate the interdecadal Arctic winter warming tren…

  DOI

• Classification of Wintertime Atmospheric Teleconnection Patterns in the Northern Hemisphere

  Journal of Climate · 2020 · 23 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  Abstract Energetics of the major atmospheric teleconnection patterns of the Northern Hemisphere winter are examined to investigate the role of baroclinic and barotropic energy conversions in their growth. Based on characteristics of the energetics and the horizontal structures, the patterns are classified into three general types: meridional dipole (D-type), wave (W-type), and hybrid (H-type). The primary energy conversion term that differentiates these patterns is the baroclinic energy conversi…

  DOI

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

  Geophysical Research Letters · 2021-01-26 · 21 citations

  articleSenior author

  Abstract The intraseasonal atmospheric responses to winter sea ice decline over the Barents‐Kara Seas are examined by dividing rapid sea ice decline events into two categories, based on the direction (upward vs. downward) of the anomalous surface turbulent heat flux (ASTHF) after the sea ice loss. The upward ASTHF events, which could potentially have a large impact on the overlying atmosphere, are characterized by anomalously negative total column water and surface air temperature minus skin tem…

  PublisherDOI

• The Role of Planetary-Scale Eddies on the Recent Isentropic Slope Trend during Boreal Winter

  Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences · 2021-06-30 · 12 citations

  articleSenior author

  Abstract According to baroclinic adjustment theory, the isentropic slope maintains its marginal state for baroclinic instability. However, the recent trend of Arctic warming raises the possibility that there could have been a systematic change in the extratropical isentropic slope. In this study, global reanalysis data are used to investigate this possibility. The result shows that tropospheric isentropes north of 50°N have been flattening significantly during winter for the recent 25 years. Thi…

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• The Dynamics of Westerly Jets

  NSF · $473k · 2007–2011

• The Mechanisms that Drive Summer Teleconnections: Patterns Associated with High Surface Temperatures

  NSF · $780k · 2020–2024

• The Dynamics of Jets and Waves in the Atmosphere and Southern Ocean

  NSF · $500k · 2015–2019

Frequent coauthors

• Steven B. Feldstein

  Pennsylvania State University

  71 shared

• Steven B. Feldstein

  Pennsylvania State University

  28 shared

• Kyle L. Swanson

  Stanford University

  25 shared

• Edmund K. M. Chang

  Stony Brook University

  25 shared

• Changhyun Yoo

  Ewha Womans University

  17 shared

• Christian Franzke

  Pusan National University

  15 shared

• Cory Baggett

  NOAA National Centers for Environmental Prediction

  12 shared

• Seok-Woo Son

  Seoul National University

  11 shared

Education

• PhD, Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences

  Princeton University

  1991

Awards & honors

• John T. Ryan, Jr. Faculty Fellow in the College of Earth and…

Similar researchers at Pennsylvania State University

• William H. Bruneh-99
• Jose D. Fuentesh-60
• Matthew R. Kumjianh-57