Sun Yat-sen UniversityAtmospheric Chemistry and Earth System Modeling Group
中文中

Research

The group centers on atmospheric chemistry and its interaction with climate, combining observations, satellite retrievals, emission inventories, numerical models, and machine learning to support clean air, greenhouse gas mitigation, and climate action.

Abstract atmospheric chemistry and Earth system modeling visual
大气边界层、臭氧廓线和城市污染传输的抽象研究视觉

Sources, Evolution, and Physicochemical Processes of Air Pollution

We track the distribution and long-term evolution of ozone, fine particles, reactive nitrogen, radicals, and other atmospheric constituents, quantifying their natural and anthropogenic sources, chemical transformation, regional transport, deposition, and response to pollution control.

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Why it matters

Air pollution, especially ozone and fine particulate matter, remains a major environmental challenge in China and around the world. Pollutants and their precursors undergo emissions, chemical transformation, transport, dispersion, and deposition under changing sunlight, temperature, and meteorological conditions. Our research follows these changes, identifies the human and natural processes behind them, and provides scientific evidence for understanding pollution formation and designing more effective air-quality policies.

Topic

Trends in Air Pollutants and Atmospheric Oxidation

We integrate ground, aircraft, ozonesonde, satellite, and chemical model evidence to track long-term changes in ozone, radicals, and other key components of atmospheric oxidation.

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Our contributions

  • The group has identified substantial tropospheric ozone increases globally and over East Asia, divergent surface ozone trends across Northern Hemisphere cities, and rapid strengthening of nighttime atmospheric oxidation.
Paper
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2024-01National Science Review

Deciphering decadal urban ozone trends from historical records since 1980

Wang, Haolin, Lu, Xiao, Palmer, Paul I, Zhang, Lin, Lu, Keding, Li, Ke, Nagashima, Tatsuya, Koo, Ja-Ho, Tanimoto, Hiroshi, Wang, Haichao, Gao, Meng, He, Cheng, Wu, Kai, Fan, Shaojia, Zhang, Yuanhang

Representative work for Trends in Air Pollutants and Atmospheric Oxidation.

Air Pollution FormationTrends in Air Pollutants and Atmospheric Oxidation
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2025-07-28Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics

Tropospheric ozone trends and attributions over East and Southeast Asia in 1995–2019: an integrated assessment using statistical methods, machine learning models, and multiple chemical transport models

Lu, Xiao, Liu, Yiming, Su, Jiayin, Weng, Xiang, Ansari, Tabish, Zhang, Yuqiang, He, Guowen, Zhu, Yuqi, Wang, Haolin, Zeng, Ganquan, Li, Jingyu, He, Cheng, Li, Shuai, Amnuaylojaroen, Teerachai, Butler, Tim, Fan, Qi, Fan, Shaojia, Forster, Grant L., Gao, Meng, Hu, Jianlin, Kanaya, Yugo, Latif, Mohd Talib, Lu, Keding, Nédélec, Philippe, Nowack, Peer, Sauvage, Bastien, Xu, Xiaobin, Zhang, Lin, Li, Ke, Koo, Ja-Ho, Nagashima, Tatsuya

Air Pollution FormationTrends in Air Pollutants and Atmospheric Oxidation
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2022-01Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics

Global tropospheric ozone trends, attributions, and radiative impacts in 1995–2017: an integrated analysis using aircraft (IAGOS) observations, ozonesonde, and multi-decadal chemical model simulations

Wang, Haolin, Lu, Xiao, Jacob, Daniel J., Cooper, Owen R., Chang, Kai-Lan, Li, Ke, Gao, Meng, Liu, Yiming, Sheng, Bosi, Wu, Kai, Wu, Tongwen, Zhang, Jie, Sauvage, Bastien, Nédélec, Philippe, Blot, Romain, Fan, Shaojia

Representative work for Trends in Air Pollutants and Atmospheric Oxidation.

Air Pollution FormationTrends in Air Pollutants and Atmospheric Oxidation
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Xiao Lu portraitXiao LuPI / ProfessorGuowen He portraitGuowen HePostdoctoral FellowXiang Weng portraitXiang WengPostdoctoral FellowGanquan Zeng portraitGanquan ZengPh.D. studentHaofan Wang portraitHaofan WangPh.D. studentJiayin Su portraitJiayin SuPh.D. studentShuai Li portraitShuai LiPh.D. studentYangyang Cao portraitYangyang CaoPh.D. student
Natural and Anthropogenic Sources and Chemical Transformation of reactive tracers

We quantify natural and human sources of precursors for PM, ozone, and related pollutants, and evaluate how they shape atmospheric chemical formation and evolution.

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Our contributions

  • The group has revealed the influence of soil reactive nitrogen in China and wildfire emissions in Africa and the United States on global atmospheric chemistry and regional air quality.
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2021-08-18Nature Communications

The underappreciated role of agricultural soil nitrogen oxide emissions in ozone pollution regulation in North China

Lu, Xiao, Ye, Xingpei, Zhou, Mi, Zhao, Yuanhong, Weng, Hongjian, Kong, Hao, Li, Ke, Gao, Meng, Zheng, Bo, Lin, Jintai, Zhou, Feng, Zhang, Qiang, Wu, Dianming, Zhang, Lin, Zhang, Yuanhang

Representative work for Natural and Anthropogenic Sources and Chemical Transformation.

Air Pollution FormationNatural and Anthropogenic Sources and Chemical Transformation of reactive tracers
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2023-08-19Environmental Science & Technology

Soil Emissions of Reactive Nitrogen Accelerate Summertime Surface Ozone Increases in the North China Plain

Wanshan Tan, Haolin Wang, Jiayin Su, Ruize Sun, Cheng He, Xiao Lu, Jintai Lin, Chaoyang Xue, Haichao Wang, Yiming Liu, Lei Liu, Lin Zhang, Dianming Wu, Yujing Mu, Shaojia Fan

Representative work for Natural and Anthropogenic Sources and Chemical Transformation.

Air Pollution FormationNatural and Anthropogenic Sources and Chemical Transformation of reactive tracers
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Xiao Lu portraitXiao LuPI / ProfessorGuowen He portraitGuowen HePostdoctoral FellowXiang Weng portraitXiang WengPostdoctoral FellowGanquan Zeng portraitGanquan ZengPh.D. studentHaofan Wang portraitHaofan WangPh.D. studentJiayin Su portraitJiayin SuPh.D. studentShuai Li portraitShuai LiPh.D. studentYangyang Cao portraitYangyang CaoPh.D. student
Meteorological Impacts on Air Pollution

We study how meteorological factors, boundary-layer processes, and synoptic-scale weather regulate the evolution and structure of regional air pollution.

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Our contributions

  • The group has clarified mechanisms behind the strong temperature-ozone relationship and examined how enhanced boundary-layer mixing, subtropical highs, and typhoon peripheral circulation affect surface pollution.
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2023-01Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics

Nighttime ozone in the lower boundary layer: insights from 3-year tower-based measurements in South China and regional air quality modeling

He, Guowen, He, Cheng, Wang, Haofan, Lu, Xiao, Pei, Chenglei, Qiu, Xiaonuan, Liu, Chenxi, Wang, Yiming, Liu, Nanxi, Zhang, Jinpu, Lei, Lei, Liu, Yiming, Wang, Haichao, Deng, Tao, Fan, Qi, Fan, Shaojia

Representative work for Meteorological Controls on Air Pollution.

Air Pollution FormationMeteorological Impacts on Air Pollution
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Xiao Lu portraitXiao LuPI / ProfessorGuowen He portraitGuowen HePostdoctoral FellowXiang Weng portraitXiang WengPostdoctoral FellowGanquan Zeng portraitGanquan ZengPh.D. studentHaofan Wang portraitHaofan WangPh.D. studentJiayin Su portraitJiayin SuPh.D. studentShuai Li portraitShuai LiPh.D. studentYangyang Cao portraitYangyang CaoPh.D. student
卫星观测、排放清单和温室气体羽流反演的抽象研究视觉

Greenhouse Gas Budget Inversion and Attribution

We combine ground observations, satellite retrievals, emission inventories, and inverse modeling to evaluate methane, carbon dioxide, and other greenhouse gas sources and sinks, diagnose regional inventories, explain concentration changes, and identify mitigation opportunities.

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Why it matters

Methane and carbon dioxide are central drivers of global warming. Their atmospheric concentrations have increased markedly since the industrial era, yet diverse sources and uncertain emissions make it difficult to determine how much is released and why concentrations are changing. By tracking atmospheric concentrations with satellites and in-situ observations and inferring emissions with numerical models, we test inventories, identify priority sources, and support more credible carbon accounting and mitigation decisions.

Topic

Global Methane Budget Inversion and Attribution

We develop atmospheric inversion algorithms and combine satellite, surface, and isotopic observations to resolve global methane sources and sinks and explain concentration changes.

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Our contributions

  • The group has developed inversion approaches that integrate satellite, near-surface methane, and isotope observations, quantifying the contributions of wetland and anthropogenic sources to methane growth.
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2021-03-25Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics

Global methane budget and trend, 2010–2017: complementarity of inverse analyses using in situ (GLOBALVIEWplus CH4 ObsPack) and satellite (GOSAT) observations

Lu, Xiao, Jacob, Daniel J., Zhang, Yuzhong, Maasakkers, Joannes D., Sulprizio, Melissa P., Shen, Lu, Qu, Zhen, Scarpelli, Tia R., Nesser, Hannah, Yantosca, Robert M., Sheng, Jianxiong, Andrews, Arlyn, Parker, Robert J., Boesch, Hartmut, Bloom, A. Anthony, Ma, Shuang

Representative work for Global Methane Budget Inversion and Attribution.

Greenhouse Gas Sources and SinksGlobal Methane Budget Inversion and Attribution
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Xiao Lu portraitXiao LuPI / ProfessorJingyu Li portraitJingyu LiPh.D. studentXiaodong Huang portraitXiaodong HuangPh.D. studentTianze Li portraitTianze LiMaster studentXiyao Bai portraitXiyao BaiMaster student
Regional Greenhouse Gas Evolution and Emission Inventories

We evaluate national and regional inventories and diagnose the magnitude and evolution of oil-and-gas, industrial, and urban emissions.

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Our contributions

  • The group has developed and optimized high-resolution regional and point-source greenhouse gas inversion methods, revealing large biases in fossil-fuel emission estimates.
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2023-04-17Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Observation-derived 2010-2019 trends in methane emissions and intensities from US oil and gas fields tied to activity metrics

Xiao Lu, Daniel J. Jacob, Yuzhong Zhang, Lu Shen, Melissa P. Sulprizio, Joannes D. Maasakkers, Daniel J. Varon, Zhen Qu, Zichong Chen, Benjamin Hmiel, Robert J. Parker, Hartmut Boesch, Haolin Wang, Cheng He, Shaojia Fan

Greenhouse Gas Sources and SinksRegional Greenhouse Gas Evolution and Emission Inventories
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2022-01-12Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics

Methane emissions in the United States, Canada, and Mexico: evaluation of national methane emission inventories and 2010–2017 sectoral trends by inverse analysis of in situ (GLOBALVIEWplus CH4 ObsPack) and satellite (GOSAT) atmospheric observations

Lu, Xiao, Jacob, Daniel J., Wang, Haolin, Maasakkers, Joannes D., Zhang, Yuzhong, Scarpelli, Tia R., Shen, Lu, Qu, Zhen, Sulprizio, Melissa P., Nesser, Hannah, Bloom, A. Anthony, Ma, Shuang, Worden, John R., Fan, Shaojia, Parker, Robert J., Boesch, Hartmut, Gautam, Ritesh, Gordon, Deborah, Moran, Michael D., Reuland, Frances, Villasana, Claudia A. Octaviano, Andrews, Arlyn

Representative work for Regional Greenhouse Gas Evolution and Emission Inventories.

Greenhouse Gas Sources and SinksRegional Greenhouse Gas Evolution and Emission Inventories
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2026-03-17ACS ES&T Air

Reconciling Bottom–Up and Top–Down Approaches to Quantify Sub-Regional Methane Emissions with Improved Inventory and Three-Year High-Resolution Satellite Measurements

Cheng He, Xiao Lu, Shihua Li, Xiaodong Huang, Han Xiao, Chaoqing Song, Tianze Li, Wenping Yuan, Shaojia Fan

Representative work for Regional Greenhouse Gas Evolution and Emission Inventories.

Greenhouse Gas Sources and SinksRegional Greenhouse Gas Evolution and Emission Inventories
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Xiao Lu portraitXiao LuPI / ProfessorJingyu Li portraitJingyu LiPh.D. studentXiaodong Huang portraitXiaodong HuangPh.D. studentTianze Li portraitTianze LiMaster studentXiyao Bai portraitXiyao BaiMaster student
气候变化、大气化学和生态系统交换过程的抽象研究视觉

Climate-Chemistry-Ecosystem-Energy Interactions

We examine how climate variability shapes atmospheric composition and chemistry, and how ozone, methane, aerosols, and related constituents feed back onto climate, the carbon cycle, ecosystems, and energy systems.

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Why it matters

Air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and climate change are tightly coupled. Weather and climate alter natural emissions, transport, and chemical processes, while ozone, methane, aerosols, and other atmospheric constituents influence radiation, clouds, precipitation, and ecosystems, and further affects clean energy. By using Earth system models that couple climate, chemistry, and ecosystems, our research clarifies these interactions and supports integrated responses to clean-air and climate challenges.

Topic

Effects of Global Warming and Climate Variability on Atmospheric Composition

We investigate how climate systems influence large-scale atmospheric composition and the mechanisms governing atmospheric chemistry under global warming.

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Our contributions

  • The group has shown how poleward Hadley circulation expansion, ENSO, the South Asian summer monsoon, and other climate systems affect tropospheric ozone.
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2019-03Science Bulletin

Surface and tropospheric ozone trends in the Southern Hemisphere since 1990: possible linkages to poleward expansion of the Hadley circulation

Xiao Lu, Lin Zhang, Yuanhong Zhao, Daniel J. Jacob, Yongyun Hu, Lu Hu, Meng Gao, Xiong Liu, Irina Petropavlovskikh, Audra McClure-Begley, Richard Querel

Representative work for Effects of Global Warming and Climate Variability on Atmospheric Composition.

Climate-Chemistry FeedbacksEffects of Global Warming and Climate Variability on Atmospheric Composition
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Xiao Lu portraitXiao LuPI / ProfessorYunbo Lu portraitYunbo LuPostdoctoral FellowHaofan Wang portraitHaofan WangPh.D. studentJingyu Li portraitJingyu LiPh.D. studentKe Yin portraitKe YinPh.D. studentShuai Li portraitShuai LiPh.D. studentXiao Yang portraitXiao YangMaster studentXinyu Yin portraitXinyu YinMaster student
Feedbacks of Atmospheric Constituents on Climate, Vegetation Carbon Cycling, and Energy

We examine how ozone, fine particles, and related constituents influence radiation, clouds, precipitation, vegetation carbon cycling, and energy systems such as wind and solar power.

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Our contributions

  • The group has explored how aerosols influence lightning and China's photovoltaic potential, and how ozone effects on tropical vegetation can amplify coupled climate-chemistry-carbon feedbacks.
Paper
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Xiao Lu portraitXiao LuPI / ProfessorYunbo Lu portraitYunbo LuPostdoctoral FellowHaofan Wang portraitHaofan WangPh.D. studentJingyu Li portraitJingyu LiPh.D. studentKe Yin portraitKe YinPh.D. studentShuai Li portraitShuai LiPh.D. studentXiao Yang portraitXiao YangMaster studentXinyu Yin portraitXinyu YinMaster student
大气化学模式、卫星资料同化和地球系统模拟的抽象研究视觉

Earth System Models and AI-Enabled Development

We develop and improve Earth system models, atmospheric chemistry transport and air-quality models, particle dispersion models, and hybrid methods that combine machine learning with numerical simulation for Earth system research and air-quality prediction.

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Why it matters

Numerical models connect observations, emissions, chemical mechanisms, and climate processes, making them essential for understanding air pollution and climate change, evaluating policy scenarios, and predicting air quality. Yet these systems are highly complex and some processes remain difficult to parameterize. Our research advances atmospheric chemistry modules in Chinese Earth system models and applies machine learning to constrain atmospheric composition, improve forecasts, correct model mechanisms, and develop new parameterizations.

Topic

Atmospheric Chemistry Modules in Earth System Models

We develop atmospheric chemistry modules for China Meteorological Administration Earth system models, improving atmospheric composition simulation and coupling with other Earth system components.

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Our contributions

  • The group has developed the first and second generations of the BCC-GEOS-Chem atmospheric chemistry modules, BCC-GEOS-Chem v1.0 and v2.0.
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2026-03-16Geoscientific Model Development

Development of the global chemistry-climate coupled model BCC-GEOS-Chem v2.0: improved atmospheric chemistry performance and new capability of chemistry-climate interactions

Sun, Ruize, Lu, Xiao, Lin, Haipeng, Wu, Tongwen, Ye, Xingpei, Shen, Lu, Wang, Xuan, Wang, Haolin, Li, Jingyu, Lu, Ni, Su, Jiayin, Zhang, Jie, Zhang, Fang, Xin, Xiaoge, Liu, Xiong, Yang, Xiao, Zhang, Lin

Representative work for Atmospheric Chemistry Modules in Earth System Models.

Models and AI DevelopmentAtmospheric Chemistry Modules in Earth System Models
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2020-08-31Geoscientific Model Development

Development of the global atmospheric chemistry general circulation model BCC-GEOS-Chem v1.0: model description and evaluation

Lu, Xiao, Zhang, Lin, Wu, Tongwen, Long, Michael S., Wang, Jun, Jacob, Daniel J., Zhang, Fang, Zhang, Jie, Eastham, Sebastian D., Hu, Lu, Zhu, Lei, Liu, Xiong, Wei, Min

Representative work for Atmospheric Chemistry Modules in Earth System Models.

Models and AI DevelopmentAtmospheric Chemistry Modules in Earth System Models
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Xiao Lu portraitXiao LuPI / ProfessorXiang Weng portraitXiang WengPostdoctoral FellowGanquan Zeng portraitGanquan ZengPh.D. studentJingcheng Lai portraitJingcheng LaiMaster studentZifeng Rao portraitZifeng RaoUndergraduate student
Hybrid Numerical Modeling and Machine Learning

We develop AI algorithms that work with numerical models to improve simulations of radicals, ozone, and other reactive constituents, and to advance AI-enabled air-quality prediction.

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Our contributions

  • The group has used machine learning to identify and correct ozone-chemistry biases in air-quality models.
Paper
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Xiao Lu portraitXiao LuPI / ProfessorXiang Weng portraitXiang WengPostdoctoral FellowGanquan Zeng portraitGanquan ZengPh.D. studentJingcheng Lai portraitJingcheng LaiMaster studentZifeng Rao portraitZifeng RaoUndergraduate student