Biography

Dr. Peng Zhan is an assistant professor at the Department of Ocean Science and Engineering at Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTECH). He worked as a research scientist after graduating from the Earth Science and Engineering program at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). He has been working on the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea for more than a decade, using various observations, numerical models, and in particular, data-driven inverse approaches to understand, optimize, and predict the ocean. His research interests include data assimilation, dynamical downscaling, mesoscale and submesoscale oceanic processes, as well as their response to climate change and their impacts on the marine ecosystem and environments. He has participated as a key member in 9 international research projects with total grants of $6.4 M.

Educational Background

2018 PhD KAUST, Earth Science and Engineering 

2013 MS KAUST, Earth Science and Engineering 

2012 MS Ocean University of China, Physical Oceanography 

2010 BS Ocean University of China, Marine Science

Work Experience

2021 – Assistant Professor, SUSTECH 

2018-2021 Research Scientist, KAUST-Scripps joint program

Projects

1. Detecting, tracking, and forecasting of hazardous spills in the Red Sea, 04/2019-03/2022, $200K 

2. Developing pre-operational ocean-atmosphere-wave forecasting systems for the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf, 11/2018-09/2023, $2.4M 

3. Nested high-resolution modeling of the coastal Red Sea, 07/2018-06/2019, $65K 

4. Control of the Red Sea circulation and stratification by strait hydraulics and internal waves on multiple time scales, 04/2018-03/2021, $500K 

5. Environmental impact assessment of the Red Sea and NEOM projects, 07/2017-06/2019, $700K 

6. Virtual Red Sea Initiative, 05/2017-04/2020, $750K 

7. Ventilation of the deep Red Sea: Formation processes, deep circulation and their variability, 04/2017-03/2019, $240K 

8. High resolution modeling and forecasting of Duba circulation, 10/2015-12/2015, $55K 

9. Modeling and forecasting the Red Sea circulation, 08/2013-07/2018, $1.5M

Publications

1.  Zhan, P., G. Krokos, S. Langodan, D. Guo, H. Dasari, V.P. Papadopoulos, P.F. Lermusiaux, O.M. Knio, & I. Hoteit (2021). Coastal circulation and water transport properties of the Red Sea Project lagoon. Ocean Modelling, 161, p.101791.

2. Mittal, H. V. R., S. Langodan, P. Zhan, S. Li, O.M. Knio, & I. Hoteit (2021). Hazard assessment of oil spills along the main shipping lane in the Red Sea. Scientific reports, 11(1), 1-14.

3. Toye, H., P. Zhan, F. Sana, S. Sanikommu, N. Raboudi, & I. Hoteit (2021). Adaptive ensemble optimal interpolation for efficient data assimilation in the red sea. Journal of Computational Science, 51, 101317.

4.   Ma, J., D. Guo, P. Zhan & I. Hoteit (2021). Seasonal M2 Internal Tides in the Arabian Sea. Remote Sensing, 13(14), p.2823.

5. Guo, D., P. Zhan & I. Hoteit (2021). Three‐Dimensional Simulation of Shoaling Internal Solitary Waves and Their Influence on Particle Transport in the Southern Red Sea. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 126(4), p.e2020JC016335.

6. Zhan, P., D. Guo, & I. Hoteit (2020). Eddy‐Induced Transport and Kinetic Energy Budget in the Arabian Sea. Geophysical Research Letters, 47(23), p.e2020GL090490.

7.  Kheireddine, M., G. Dall'Olmo, M. Ouhssain, G. Krokos, H. Claustre, C. Schmechtig, A. Poteau, P. Zhan, I. Hoteit, and B. H. Jones (2020). Organic carbon export and loss rates in the Red Sea. Global Biogeochemical Cycles: e2020GB006650.

8.  Hoteit, I. et al. (2020) Towards an End-to-End Analysis and Prediction System for Weather, Climate, and Marine Applications in the Red Sea, Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: 1-61.

9. Sanikommu, S., T. Habib, P. Zhan, S. Langodan, G. Krokos, O. Knoi., & I. Hoteit. (2020). Impact of Atmospheric and Model Physics Perturbations On a High-Resolution Ensemble Data Assimilation System of the Red Sea, J. Geophys. Res. Oceans, 125.8.

10.  Zhan, P., G. Krokos, D. Guo, and I. Hoteit (2019), Three-Dimensional Signature of the Red Sea Eddies and Eddy-induced Transport, Geophys. Res. Letters. 46.4: 2167-2177.

11. Wang Y., D. E. Raitsos, G. Krokos, J. A. Gittings, P. Zhan, and I. Hoteit (2019), Physical connectivity simulations reveal dynamic linkages between coral reefs in the southern Red Sea and the Indian Ocean Scientific Reports, 19.

12.  Zhan, P., G, Gapalakrishnan, A. C. Subramanian, D. Guo, & I. Hoteit (2018). Sensitivity studies of the Red Sea eddies using adjoint method, J. Geophys. Res. Oceans, 123, 1-17

13.  Guo, D., A. Kartadikaria, P. Zhan, J. Xie, M. Li, I. Hoteit (2018), Baroclinic tides simulation in the Red Sea: comparison to observations and basic characteristics, J. Geophys. Res. Oceans, 123.12: 9389-9404.

14. Toye. H., S., Krotas, P. Zhan, and I. Hoteit (2018), A fault-tolerant HPC scheduler extension for large and operational ensemble data assimilation: Application to the Red Sea. Journal of Computational Science, 27, 46-56.

15. Raitsos. E. D., R. J.W. Brewin, P. Zhan, D. Dreano, Y. Pradhan, N. Gerrit, I. Hoteit (2017), Sensing coral reef connectivity pathways from space, Scientific Reports, 7.

16.  Toye. H., P. Zhan, G, Gapalakrishnan, A. R. Kartadikaris, H. Huang, I. Hoteit (2017), Comparison of EnKF and EnOI with application to the Red Sea forecasting system, Ocean Dynamics, 1-19

17. Guo, D., T. R. Akylas, P. Zhan, A. Kartadikaria, and I. Hoteit (2016), On the generation and evolution of internal solitary waves in the southern Red Sea, J. Geophys. Res. Oceans, 121

18.   Zhan, P., A. C. Subramanian, F. Yao, A. R. Kartadikaria, D. Guo, and I. Hoteit (2016), The eddy kinetic energy budget in the Red Sea, J. Geophys. Res. Oceans, 121, 4732–4747

19.  Papadopoulos, V.P., Zhan, P., Sofianos, S.S., Raitsos, D.E., Qurban, M., Abualnaja, Y., Bower, A., Kontoyiannis, H., Pavlidou, A., Asharaf, T.M. and Zarokanellos, N., (2015). Factors governing the deep ventilation of the Red Sea. J. Geophys. Res. Oceans, 120(11), pp.7493-7505.

20. Zhan, P., et al. (2015) Far-Field Ocean Conditions and Concentrate Discharges Modeling Along the Saudi Coast of the Red Sea. In: Missimer T., Jones B., Maliva R. (eds) Intakes and Outfalls for Seawater Reverse-Osmosis Desalination Facilities. Environmental Science and Engineering. Springer, Cham

21.  Nanninga, G. B., P. Saenz-Agudelo, P. Zhan, I. Hoteit, and M. L. Berumen (2015). Not finding Nemo: limited reef-scale retention in a coral reef fish, Coral Reefs: 1-10

22.  Zhan, P., A. C. Subramanian, F. Yao, and I. Hoteit (2014), Eddies in the Red Sea: A statistical and dynamical study, J. Geophys. Res. Oceans, 119, 3909–3925

23. H., Thomas, A. Magdy, P. Zhan, G. Chen, G. Gopalakrishnan, I. Hoteit, C. D. Hansen, and M. Hadwiger (2014), Ovis: A framework for visual analysis of ocean forecast ensembles, IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, vol.20, no.8, pp.1114-1126

24. Chen, X., P. Zhan, J. Chen, & H. Qian (2011). Numerical study of current fields near the Yangtze Estuary and impact of Quick-EnKF assimilation. Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 30(5), 33-44