Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere

About Me:

Dr. Lixin Lu received her BSc (1990) in Environmental Engineering from Tsinghua University, MS (1993) in Atmospheric Physics from Peking University, and PhD (1999) in Atmospheric Science from Colorado State University. Her core expertise is in mesoscale dynamic meteorology and atmospheric physics. She uses numerical model as a tool to study cloud physics, mesoscale circulations, precipitation systems, boundary layer and turbulence, and land surface exchanges. She combines observational analysis (from ground, aircraft, and satellite), numerical simulation, and data assimilation to identify key atmospheric processes in the exchanges of momentum, energy, water, and carbon in the Earth system. As part of her research work, Dr. Lu built and applied rams-century, a coupled atmospheric and ecosystem model, to investigate changes in precipitation patterns over the Central United States as a result of vegetation growth and distribution. Additionally, Dr. Lu has studied the mesoscale circulations over Brazilian Amazon, where she participated in the design and implementation of aircraft and ground field campaigns. Exploring the interactions between CO₂, aerosol, and clouds allowed her to assess the importance of aerosol forcing on clouds formation through biophysical and biogeochemical pathways. Another area of her research interest is to understand the effects of land use and land cover changes on weather and climate, motivated by pressing environmental issues, such as urban development, deforestation, and sea level rises. More recently, she led an NSF project to collect and compile wind and rainfall data for forensic analysis of flood-wind-rainfall interactions during Hurricanes Harvey and Florence. Collaborating with scientists inside and outside of Colorado State University, Dr. Lu serves as a PI on NSF, NASA, and NOAA funded projects.