Xu Zhang

Earth System Ice Sheet Modeller

Xu Zhang

Team

General enquiries

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Xu Zhang

Biography

I investigate mechanisms of Quaternary climate changes across millennial to orbital timescales, such as Dansgaard-Oeschger events and Glacial cycles, with the goal of enhancing our understanding to better assess and improve model performance on abrupt climate changes. My research involves extensive interdisciplinary collaborations and utilizes a range of tools, including proxy records, numerical models and mathematical statistics. These methods enable me to gain a comprehensive understanding of the governing dynamics of these changes, their impacts, and feedback mechanisms within the climate system.

I began my role as a Senior Scientist specializing in Earth system and ice sheet modelling at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) in 2024, with a focus on roles of Antarctic  changes in the climate system. Prior to this position, I served as a tenured professor in China from 2018 onward, following a four-year postdoctoral fellowship at the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany. I earned my PhD in Environmental Physics with highest honors (summa cum laude) from the University of Bremen in 2014, after finishing my MSc and BSc studies in Ocean University of China in 2010 and 2007, respectively.

Research interests:

  • Antarctic forcing and feedback to climate changes
  • Quaternary millennial-to-orbital time scale climate variability (i.e. Dansgaard-Oeschger events, glacial cycles)
  • Global core climate tipping elements and cascade effects (e.g. Atlantic ocean circulation)
  • Hydroclimate and water isotopes
  • Paleoclimate Date Assimilation
  • Carbon cycle

I openly welcome inquiries from prospective students and collaborations interested in relevant topics.

See full publications in Google Scholar & Research Gate

Current postgraduate students :

  • Mr Yu’ao Zhang, PhD candidate (ITPCAS/UCAS, CN).
  • Ms Siqi Li, Master student (ITPCAS/UCAS, CN).

Previous PhD candidates:

  • Dr. Shuo Hao (2021-2024) (ITPCAS/UCAS, CN)
  • Dr. Øyvind Flataker Lien (2019-2023),  co-supervised with Prof. Berit Oline Hjelstuen (University of Bergen, NO).
  • Dr. Zhenqian Wang (2018-2022) (Uni Lanzhou, CN)
  • Dr. Yuchen Sun (2018-2022) (AWI, DE)

Current major projects: 

  • Co-PI, National Key Research and Development Projects of China, institute and WP lead,  “Mechanism, impacts and feedback of global core tipping elements”  [Ongoing]

Professional activities

Research interests

Collaborations

Honorary Professor, ITP-CAS/University of CAS, CN  (2024- )

Guest Scientist, Paleoclimate Dynamics, Alfred Wegener Institute, DE (2018- )

Publications from NERC Open Research Archive

2025

Hao, Shuo, Zhang, Xu ORCIDORCID record for Xu Zhang, Duan, Yanwu, Gowan, Evan J., Zhu, Jiang, Cauquoin, Alexandre, Chen, Jie, Werner, Martin, Chen, Fahu. (2025) Model seasonal and proxy spatial biases revealed by assimilated mid-Holocene seasonal temperatures. Science Bulletin, (). pp. doi:10.1016/j.scib.2025.03.039 (In Press)

Gowan, Evan James ORCIDORCID record for Evan James Gowan, Tomita, Tomohiko, Nishioka, Daiki, Zhang, Xu ORCIDORCID record for Xu Zhang, Sun, Yong, Shi, Xiaoxu, Knorr, Gregor, Krebs-Kanzow, Uta, Gierz, Paul, Lohmann, Gerrit, Obase, Takashi, Kuniyoshi, Yuta, Abe-Ouchi, Ayako. (2025) Impact of topographic change on the East Asian monsoon in Japan and Eastern Asia during the Last Glacial Maximum. Progress in Earth and Planetary Science, 12 (). 19 pp. 10.1186/s40645-024-00681-4

Gao, Qinggang ORCIDORCID record for Qinggang Gao, Capron, Emilie, Sime, Louise C. ORCIDORCID record for Louise C. Sime, Rhodes, Rachael H., Sivankutty, Rahul, Zhang, Xu ORCIDORCID record for Xu Zhang, Otto-Bliesner, Bette L., Werner, Martin. (2025) Assessment of the southern polar and subpolar warming in the PMIP4 last interglacial simulations using paleoclimate data syntheses. Climate of the Past, 21 (). pp. 10.5194/cp-21-419-2025

Yan, Xinwei ORCIDORCID record for Xinwei Yan, Zhang, Xu ORCIDORCID record for Xu Zhang, Liu, Bo, Mithan, Huw T. ORCIDORCID record for Huw T. Mithan, Hellstrom, John ORCIDORCID record for John Hellstrom, Nuber, Sophie ORCIDORCID record for Sophie Nuber, Drysdale, Russell ORCIDORCID record for Russell Drysdale, Wu, Junjie ORCIDORCID record for Junjie Wu, Lin, Fangyuan ORCIDORCID record for Fangyuan Lin, Zhao, Ning ORCIDORCID record for Ning Zhao, Zhang, Yuao, Kang, Wengang, Liu, Jianbao ORCIDORCID record for Jianbao Liu. (2025) Asynchronicity of deglacial permafrost thawing controlled by millennial-scale climate variability. Nature Communications, 16 (). 12 pp. 10.1038/s41467-024-55184-z

2024

Xiong, Zhifang, Zhang, Xu ORCIDORCID record for Xu Zhang, Qi, Di, Zhao, Jun, Algeo, Thomas J.. (2024) Editorial: Role of the Southern Ocean in atmospheric pCO2 change: observations, simulations and paleorecords. Frontiers in Marine Science, 11 (). 4 pp. doi:10.3389/fmars.2024.1531887

Li, Siqi, Zhang, Xu ORCIDORCID record for Xu Zhang, Lu, Zhengyao, Ni, Jian, Lu, Jianhua. (2024) Progress of vegetation modelling and future research prospects. Science China Earth Sciences, 67 (). 21 pp. 10.1007/s11430-023-1367-1

An, Zhisheng, Zhou, Weijian, Zhang, Zeke, Zhang, Xu ORCIDORCID record for Xu Zhang, Liu, Zhonghui, Sun, Youbin, Clemens, Steven C., Wu, Lixin, Zhao, Jiaju, Shi, Zhengguo, Ma, Xiaolin, Yan, Hong, Li, Gaojun, Cai, Yanjun, Yu, Jimin, Sun, Yuchen, Li, Siqi, Zhang, Yu’ao, Stepanek, Christian, Lohmann, Gerrit, Dong, Guocheng, Cheng, Hai, Liu, Yu, Jin, Zhangdong, Li, Tao, Hao, Yifei, Lei, Jing, Cai, Wenju. (2024) Mid-Pleistocene climate transition triggered by Antarctic Ice Sheet growth. Science, 385 (). 6 pp. 10.1126/science.abn4861

Selected Publications before 2024:

  • Abrupt climate change/millennial-scale climate variability:

Zhang X.*, S, Barker, G. Knorr, G. Lohmann, R. Drysdale, Y. B. Sun, D. Hodell and F. H. Chen, 2021: Direct astronomical influence on abrupt climate variability, Nature Geosci., 14, 819-826, doi: 10.1038/s41561-021-00846-6

Knorr G.*, S. Barker, X. Zhang, G. Lohmann, X. Gong, P. Gierz, C. Stepanek and L. Stap, 2021: A salty deep ocean as a prerequisite for glacial termination, Nature Geosci. 14, 930-936, doi:10.1038/s41561-021-00857-3

Maier E.*, X. Zhang*, A. Abelmann, R. Gersonde, S. Mulitza, M. Werner, M. Méheust, B. Chapligin, J. Ren, H. Meyer, R. Stein, R. Tiedemann, and G. Lohmann, 2018: North Pacific freshwater events linked to glacial ocean circulation changes, Nature, 559, 241-245, doi: 10.1038/s41586-018-0276-y

Zhang X.*, Knorr, G. Lohmann, and S. Barker, 2017: Abrupt North Atlantic circulation changes in response to gradual CO2 forcing in a glacial climate state, Nature Geosci., 10, 518-523, doi:10.1038/ngeo2974

Zhang X.*, Lohmann, G. Knorr and C. Purcell, 2014: Abrupt glacial climate shifts controlled by ice sheet changes, Nature, 512, 290-294, doi: 10.1038/nature13592.

  • Glacial cycle and Deglacial climates:

Nuber S.*, J. W.B. Rae, X. Zhang, M. B. Andersen, M. D. Dumont, Y.C. Sun, H.T. Mithan, B. de Boer, I. Hall and S. Barker, 2023: Indian Ocean Salinity build-up primes Deglacial Ocean Circulation Recovery, Nature, 617, 306-311, doi:10.1038/s41586-023-05866-3

Starr A.*, I. R. Hall, S. Barker, T. Rackow, X. Zhang, S. R. Hemming, H.J.L. van der Lubbe, G. Knorr, M. A. Berke, G. R. Bigg, A. Cartagena, F. J. Jimenez- Espejo, X. Gong, J. Gruetzner, N. Lathika, L. J. LeVay, R. S. Robinson, M. Ziegler and Exp. 361 Science Party, 2021: Melting Antarctic Icebergs Reorganize Ocean Circulation During Pleistocene Glacials, Nature, 589, 236-241, doi:10.1038/s41586-020-03094-7

Du J. L., Y. Ye, X. Zhang*, C. Voelker and J. Tian, 2022: Southern Control of Interhemispheric Synergy on Glacial Marine Carbon Sequestration, Geophys. Res. Lett., 49, e2022GL099048

Barker, S.*, X. Zhang, L. Jonkers, S. Lordsmith, S. Conn and G. Knorr. 2021: Strengthening Atlantic Inflow across the Mid-Pleistocene Transition, Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology, 36, e2020PA004200, doi: 10.1029/2020PA004200

Dong L.*, X. Zhang, G. D. Jia, Y. Du, L. Li and Q. Y. Li, 2020: CO2-induced decoupling of Tropical Surface and Thermocline Water Temperature at the onset of interglacials,
Geophys. Res. Lett., 47, e2020GL088805

Zhang, X.*, Lohmann, G. Knorr and X. Xu, 2013: Different ocean states and transient characteristics in Last Glacial Maximum simulations and implications for deglaciation. Clim. Past, 9, 2319-2333, doi:10.5194/cp-9-2319-2013

  • Holocene climate:

Zhang X.* and H. Chen, 2021: Non-trivial role of internal climate feedbacks on interglacial temperature evolution. Nature, 600, E1–E3.doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03930-4

Liu Z.*, J. Zhu, Y. Rosenthal, X. Zhang, B.-L. Otto-Bliesner, A. Timmermann, R. S. Smith, G. Lohmann, W. P. Zheng and O. Timm, O., 2014: The Holocene temperature conundrum. PNAS, 111, E350-E3505, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1407229111

  • Tropical hydroclimate:

Zhang H.W.*, X. Zhang*, Y. Cai, A. Sinha, C. Spötl, J. Baker, G. Kathayat, Z. Liu, Y. Tian, J, Lu, Z. Wang, J. Zhao; X. Jia; W. Du; Y. Ning; Z. An; L. R. Edwards and H. Cheng, 2021: A data-model comparison pinpoints Holocene spatiotemporal pattern of East Asian summer monsoon, Quat. Sci. Rev., 261, 106911, doi:1 0.1016/j.quascirev.2021.106911

Zhang, Y.*, X. Zhang, C. Chiessi, S. Mulitza, X. Zhang, G. Lohmann, M. Prange, H. Behling, M. Zabel, A. Govin, A. Sawakuchi, F. Cruz and G. Wefer, 2016: Equatorial Pacific forcing of western Amazonian precipitation during Heinrich Stadial 1, Scientific Reports, doi:10.1038/srep35866

  • other selected papers:

Lien Ø. F., B. O. Hjelstuen, X. Zhang and H. P. Sejrup, 2022: Late Plio-Pleistocene evolution of the Eurasian Ice Sheets inferred from sediment input along the northeastern Atlantic continental margin, Quat. Sci. Rev., 292, 107433, doi: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2022.107433

Hinck S.*, E. Gowan, X. Zhang and G. Lohmann, 2022: PISM-LakeCC: Implementing an adaptive proglacial lake boundary in an ice sheet model, The Cryosphere, 16, 941–965, doi:10.5194/tc-16-941-2022

Gowan E.*, X. Zhang, S. Khosravi, A. Rovere, P. Stocchi, A. L. C. Hughes, R. Gyllencreutz, J. Mangerud, J. I. Svendsen and G. Lohmann, 2021: A new global ice sheet reconstruction for the past 80000 years, Nature Comm., 1-9, doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-21469-w

Werner, M., B. Haese, X. Zhang, M. Butzin and G. Lohmann, 2015: Glacial–interglacial changes of H218O, HDO and deuterium excess – results from the fully coupled Earth System Model ECHAM5/MPI-OM, Geosci. Model Dev., 9, 647-670, doi: 10.5194/gmd-9-647-2016

See full publications in Google Scholar & Research Gate