Prof. Yucheng LIN

Research Interests

Prof. Lin's research seeks to understand how and why sea level changes across timescales from minutes to millennia, the mechanisms that link it to the ocean, ice sheets, hydrology, and the solid Earth, and what these changes mean for coastal societies past, present, and future. He combines physics-based numerical models with modern statistical and machine-learning methods to reconstruct past sea level, identify the drivers of present-day change, and quantify the deep uncertainty in future projections. His research currently centers on four themes:

• Sea-level system science — uncovering the physical processes that drive sea-level change, and how the ocean, ice sheets, and the solid Earth work together to reshape the coastline.
• Deep uncertainty in sea-level projection — quantifying the large uncertainties in future sea-level rise, and informing robust, science-based decision-making for industry transitions across different risk-tolerance levels.
• Coasts and people, past to future — exploring how a shifting shoreline has shaped human civilization, and how present and future sea-level change is reshaping coastal communities, the risks they face, and the ways they adapt.
• Data science for a changing Earth — developing Bayesian statistical frameworks, deep-learning emulators, and machine-learning methods, then combining these with satellite observations, in situ measurements, and geological records to better understand and predict our rapidly changing planet.

Position(s) Available

Prof. Lin is now recruiting self-motivated graduate students, research associates, and postdoctoral fellows. Priority is given to applicants with backgrounds in areas including, but not limited to, sea-level science, climate risk, geophysics, ocean and atmospheric science, remote sensing, statistics, data science, and machine learning. Strong computational skills are essential.

PhD candidates: Candidates should be self-motivated, passionate about research, and have a strong computational background. Please visit here for information on applying for graduate studies and postgraduate studentship at CityUHK, and refer to the English proficiency requirements of SEE. Applicants will have to go through a centralized admission process via CityUHK with Prof. Lin’s recommendation. Outstanding candidates are highly recommended to apply for  the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme (HKPFS).

Postdocs and research associates: Candidates with strong backgrounds in sea-level and climate science, physical oceanography, glaciology or geophysical modeling, machine learning and statistics, or coastal climate risk are preferred. Applicants for postdoctoral positions should have published in high-quality journals and hold a PhD degree (or be close to completion); research associate roles are open to strong candidates without a doctorate. A competitive salary will be offered, commensurate with qualifications and experience.

Visiting graduate students, visiting scholars and undergraduates: We welcome visiting graduate students, visiting scholars, and self-motivated undergraduate students interested in our group’s research to apply for a research visit, a research exchange program, or a summer research internship.

To apply, please submit your CV to Prof. Lin. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until positions are filled.

City University of Hong Kong is an equal opportunity employer and we are committed to the principle of diversity. We encourage applications from all qualified candidates, especially applicants who will enhance the diversity of our staff.

Selected Publications

Lin, Y.^*, Kopp, R.E., Xiong, H., Hibbert, F.D., Zheng, Z., Yu, F., Kumar, P., Dangendorf, S., Yi, H., Zhang, Y. Modern sea-level rise breaks 4,000-year stability in southeastern China. Nature, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09600-z

Lin, Y.^*, Kopp, R.E.^*, Reedy, A. PaleoSTeHM v1.0: a modern, scalable spatiotemporal hierarchical modeling framework for paleo-environmental data. Geoscientific Model Development, 2025. https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-2609-2025

Lin, Y.^*, Whitehouse, P.L., Valentine, A.P. GEORGIA: a graph neural network based EmulatOR for glacial isostatic adjustment. Geophysical Research Letters, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL103672

Lin, Y.^*, Whitehouse, P.L., Hibbert, F.D., Woodroffe, S.A., Hinestrosa, G., Webster, J.M. Relative sea-level response to mixed carbonate-siliciclastic sediment loading along the Great Barrier Reef. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2023.118066

Lin, Y.^*, Hibbert, F.D., Whitehouse, P.L., Woodroffe, S.A., Purcell, A., Shennan, I., Bradley, S.L. A reconciled solution of Meltwater Pulse 1A sources using sea-level fingerprinting. Nature Communications, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-21990-y

Gilford, D., Lin, Y., Dahl, K., Pershing, A., Kopp, R.E., Strauss, B. Human-caused sea level rise drives 21st-century worldwide water level extremes. Science Advances, 2026. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adz3595

Jones, R.S., Johnson, J.S., Lin, Y., Mackintosh, A.N., Sefton, J.P., Smith, J.A., Thomas, E.R., Whitehouse, P.L. Stability of the Antarctic Ice Sheet during the pre-Industrial Holocene. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-022-00309-5