Gang Chen

Professor, Dept. of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles

Math Sci Building 7149, Los Angeles, CA 90095

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The focus of my research group is the fundamental dynamics in atmospheric circulation and chemical transport. Through a combination of theory and numerical modeling, we develop toolboxes to understand the global circulation of the atmosphere, from tropical Hadley cell circulations to extratropical storm systems, from tropospheric extreme weather to stratospheric polar vortex breakdown events, and from transport of water vapor to stratosphere-troposphere exchange of ozone. These processes are instrumental to our understanding of weather extremes (e.g. winter blizzards or heat waves), hydrological extremes (e.g., drought or flooding), or extreme air pollution. Our research can be categorized in two interrelated themes.

• Global atmospheric circulation and regional weather extremes
• Transport of atmospheric moisture and chemical species

Recent Publications

• Mohima Sultana Mimi, Wei Liu, Weiming Ma and Gang Chen, 2026: Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation Slowdown Modulates Atmospheric Rivers in a Warmer Climate, Nature Communications, doi:10.1038/s41467-026-72555-w.
• Bowen Ge, Gang Chen and Kezhou Lu, 2026: Mechanisms of Southern Hemisphere Midlatitude Surface Air Temperature Variability under Climate Warming in the CESM2 Large Ensemble (LENS2), Journal of Climate, e250435, doi:10.1175/JCLI-D-25-0435.1.
• Weiming Ma, Nicole Feldl, Hailong Wang, Gang Chen, Sandro W. Lubis, Yun Qian and Bryce E. Harrop, 2026: Model-Observation Discrepancies in Arctic Moisture Intrusions: Causes and Pathways for Improved Simulation, npj Climate and Atmospheric Science, doi:10.1038/s41612-026-01400-0.
• Lei Wang, Jian Lu, Melissa L. Breeden, Gang Chen, Stephanie A. Henderson, Veeshan Narinesingh, Isla R. Simpson, Tim Woollings, Yanjun Hu and Sandro W. Lubis, 2026: Gaps and Ways Forward in Atmospheric Blocking and Extreme Weather Research, Nature Communications, 17, 2873, doi:10.1038/s41467-026-70487-z.
• Bingjie Lv, Shuguang Wang, Gang Chen and Baoqiang Xiang, 2026: Precipitation and Soil Moisture Coupling Constrains Subseasonal Predictability of a Prolonged Extreme Heatwave, Communications Earth & Environment, 7, 323, doi:10.1038/s43247-026-03341-1.