Climate

Climate & Environmental Health

The research group brings together expertise in climate, Earth system, biogeochemical, and environmental sciences to understand how climate change is reshaping coastal environments and risks to ecosystems and people.

The Climate Research Group at SEE, established within the past two years, includes seven new faculty and has already secured RGC funding and a United Nations Project, published in top journals (Nature, Science, Nature Climate Change), and built strong collaborations across the Chinese Mainland, Asia, and globally.

Scope

Our research spans tropical to polar systems, linking regional dynamics to global change, with particular attention to biodiversity, ecosystem resilience, and human–environment interactions.

We integrate climate science, earth system science, biogeochemistry, and environmental health to understand how climate change is reshaping coastal systems and driving risks to ecosystems and human populations.

Our work draws on geological, historical, and Anthropocene records to place current changes in context and inform future trajectories. The central theme is blue carbon ecosystems—mangroves, salt marshes, and seagrasses—and their roles in carbon storage, coastal protection, and climate mitigation.

Prof. Moriaki YASUHARA (Senior Lead)

Paleoecology and Macroecology, Biodiversity Patterns, Climatic Impacts, Deep-sea Biology, Human-induced Ecosystem Degradation

Prof. Ping HAN (Junior Lead)

Biogeochemical nitrogen and carbon cycles, Emerging key players of nitrification, Fundamentals & global impact of nitrification, Biotechnological application potential

Prof. Benjamin HORTON

Atmospheric science, Oceanography, Earth-surface processes, Ecology, and Global and planetary change

Prof. Tanghua LI

Climate and Sea-level Change, Mechanisms Driving Sea-level Change, Vertical Land Motion, Sea-level Projections, and Associated Coastal Hazards

Prof. Xueke LI

Climate Variability and Change, Extreme Weather Events, Atmospheric Dynamics, Land–Atmosphere Interactions, Hydrology and Water Resources, Arctic Climate, Sea Ice, Aerosols, Climate Risk Assessment; Earth System Modeling; Remote Sensing and GIS; Machine Learning

Prof. Yucheng LIN

Sea-level rise, Climate risk quantification, Coastal hazards and adaptations, AI4Science, Paleoclimate