Dr Xin Zhou

About Me

Associate Professor at the Chengdu University of Information Technology (CUIT). My research focuses on stratospheric transport and redistribution of important trace gases, like ozone and water vapour.

I am the community lead of the WCRP APARC activity QUOCA (QUasi-biennial oscillation and Ozone Chemistry interactions in the Atmosphere. This is a new joint QBOi-CCMI activity aimed at improving understanding of QBO-ozone feedbacks in present-day and future climates. If you are interested in contributing to this new activity, please get in touch.

You can download my CV here, or view my full publication list on ResearchGate.

Research Interests

My research group consists of 8 postgraduate students (3-year, M.Res.). Our current research projects include:

  • Atmospheric impacts of volcanic eruptions (China NSFC-UK Royal Society international exchange programme)
  • Risks & benefits of Stratospheric Aerosol Injection (MOST)
  • Studing changes in the mean age of stratospheric air and long-lived trace gases (NSFC)
  • Dynamics and predictability in stratosphere-troposphere interaction (NSFC)

Selected Publications

  • Zhou, X., Chen, Q., Feng, W., Heddell, S., Dhomse, S., Mann, G., Pumphrey, H., Millán, L., Santee, M., and Chipperfield, M.: Residence time of Hunga stratospheric water vapour perturbation quantified at 9 years. Communications Earth & Environment. Paper, Story behind the paper, invited talk @ARCHER2 Celebration of Science 2026, slides
  • Zhou, X., Dhomse, S., Feng, W., Mann, G., Heddell, S., Pumphrey, H., Kerridge, B.J., Latter, B., Siddans, R., Ventress, L., Querel, R., Smale, P., Asher, E., Hall, E.G., Bekki, A., and Chipperfield, M.: Antarctic vortex dehydration in 2023 as a substantial removal pathway for Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai water vapor. Geophysical Research Letters. Paper and [highlight & Solicited talk @EGU24]
  • Zhou, X., Mann, G., Feng, W., Dhomse, S., and Chipperfield, M.: The influence of internal climate variability on stratospheric water vapor increases after large-magnitude explosive tropical volcanic eruptions. Geophysical Research Letters. Paper
  • Zhou, X., Chen, Q., Li, Y., Zhao, Y., Lin, Y., and Jiang, Y.: Impacts of the Indo‐Pacific warm pool on lower stratospheric water vapor: Seasonality and hemispheric contrasts. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres. Paper
  • Jiang, Y., Zhou, X., Chen, Q., Feng, W., Li, X.-F., and Li, Y.: Secular changes in the tropical stratospheric water vapour entry induced by the Indo-Pacific warm pool warming. Atmospheric Research, 2024. Paper. [Best Oral Presentation at UK Earth Observation Meeting (Session 2A), 2022]
  • Zhou, X., Li, J., Xie, F., Ding, R., Li, Y., Zhao, S., Zhang, J., and Li, Y.: The effects of the Indo-Pacific Warm Pool on the stratosphere. Climate Dynamics, 2017. Paper. [2018 海峡两岸大气科学论坛优秀论文奖]
  • Li, Y, Li, J., Zhang, W., Chen, Q., Feng, J., Zheng, F., Wang, W., and Zhou, X: Impacts of the tropical Pacific cold tongue mode on ENSO diversity under global warming. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 2017. Paper. [JGR highlight]
  • Zhang, G., Li, X., Zhou, X., Li, Y., and Chen, Q. "Quantifying the practical local predictability of the 2021 sudden stratospheric warming event using a nonlinear method." Atmospheric Research, 2026. DOI
  • Arosio, C., Chipperfield, M. P., Rozanov, A., Weber, M., Dhomse, S., Feng, W., Jaross, G., Zhou, X., and Burrows, J. P. "Investigating zonal asymmetries in stratospheric ozone trends from satellite limb observations and a chemical transport model." Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 2023. Paper
  • Tian, W., Li, Y., Xie, F., Zhang, J., Chipperfield, M. P., Feng, W., Hu, Y., Zhao, S., Zhou, X., Yang, Y., and Ma, X. "The relationship between lower-stratospheric ozone at southern high latitudes and sea surface temperature in the East Asian marginal seas in austral spring." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 2017, 17(11), 6705–6722. Paper

    • Full list on ResearchGate and ORCID.

Education and Scientific Career

  • June 2018. Awarded PhD in Atmospheric Sciences at Institute of Atmospheric Physics, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
  • June 2013. BA Natural Sciences, School of Atmospheric Sciences, Nanjing University, China
  • July 2018. Lecturer and 2022 - now Associate Professor, School of Atmospheric Sciences, Chengdu University of Information Technology

Professional Experience

  • 2021–2023. Visiting Research Fellow, University of Leeds, UK
  • 2025–2026. Research Associate, University of Edinburgh, UK