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

• 2024 –            Steering Committee: PAGES Climate Variability Across Scales (CVAS)
• 2023 –            Steering Committee: CMIP-PMIP Interglacials Work Group
• 2023 –            Associate Editor of Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology
• 2021 –            Editorial board member of  Science China – Earth Sciences
• 2019 –            Editorial board member of  Science Bulletin
• 2018 – 2019  Editor of Past Global Changes (PAGES) Magazine  “Ocean Circulation and Carbon Cycling“

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

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

• 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: