Staff information

Biography

Dr. Ruby Leung is a recognized leader in regional climate modeling. She has been actively involved in the modeling of regional and global climate, developing subgrid cloud parameterizations, and coupling land and atmosphere models. She has applied regional and global climate models and hydrology models to understand the impacts of climate variability and change on water resources in the United States and East Asia. Her research on climate change impacts has been featured in Science, Popular Science, Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio, and many major newspapers.

Dr. Leung develops subgrid cloud parameterizations to represent the influence of subgrid-scale terrain variations on orographic precipitation, and turbulence and cloud-radiation interaction effects on stratocumulus clouds. Her research approach consists of formulating the subgrid parameterizations, implementing them in regional and global climate models, and evaluating the parameterizations. Through the development of the subgrid orographic precipitation scheme, she developed a unique framework for coupling atmospheric, land surface, and ecosystem processes to improve simulations of hydrologic and ecologic conditions over mountain watersheds.

In collaboration with the National Climate Center of the China Meteorological Administration, Dr. Leung applies regional climate models to study atmospheric processes of the East Asian summer monsoon and aerosol effects on regional climate and hydrological cycle. She is collaborating with NCAR scientists on an effort to develop a next generation regional climate model based on the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model for upscaling and downscaling.

Dr. Leung has published over 55 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters. She has been a session chair and an invited speakers in many workshops and conferences.

Education and Credentials

• Ph.D., Atmospheric Science, Texas A&M University
• M.S., Atmospheric Science, Texas A&M University
• B.S., (Honors) Physics & Statistics, Chinese University of Hong Kong

Affiliations and Professional Service

• American Meteorological Society
• American Geophysical Union

Awards and Recognitions

• Academic Award, Dept. of Physics, Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1983 and 1984
• Technical Communication Award, East Tennessee Chapter, Society for Technical Communication, 1997.
• Outstanding Performance Award, Environmental and Health Science Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 1998.
• Keynote Speaker, Land Surface Modeling Workshop, Jun 24-25, 1999, Boulder, CO.
• Outstanding Performance Award, Fundamental Science Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 2001.
• Distinguished Paper Award, 2002 International Conference on Intelligent User Interfaces, January 13-16, San Francisco, CA.
• Keynote Speaker, 2nd Workshop on Regional Climate Modeling for Monsoon System, organized by the GAME International Science Panel, Mar 4-6, 2003, Frontier Research System for Global Change, Yokohama, Japan.
• Keynote Speaker, NSF/DOE Workshop on Water: Challenges at the Intersections of Human and Natural Systems, Sep 16-17, 2005, Richland, WA

PNNL Publications

2008

• Qian Y, Q Song, S Menon, S Yu, SC Liu, G Shi, LR Leung, and Y Luo. 2008. "Climate Impacts of Atmospheric Sulfate and Black Carbon Aerosols." In Changes In The Human-Monsoon System Of East Asia In The Context Of Global Change, ed. C Fu, JR Freney. JWB Stewart, pp. 115-132.  World Scientific Publishing Company, Imperial College Press, Hackensack, NJ. 
• Adhikary B, Kulkarni, A Dallura, Y Tang, T Chai, LR Leung, Y Qian, CE Chung, V Ramanathan, and G Carmichael. 2008. "A regional scale chemical transport modeling of Asian aerosols with data assimilation of AOD observations using optimal interpolation technique." Atmospheric Environment 42(37):8600-8615.  doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2008.08.031
• Huang M, X Liang, and LR Leung. 2008. "A Generalized Subsurface Flow Parameterization Considering Subgrid Spatial Variability of Recharge and Topography." Journal of Hydrometeorology 9(6):1151-1171.  doi:10.1175/2008JHM936.1

2007

• Gustafson WI, and LR Leung. 2007. "Regional Downscaling for Air Quality Assessment: A Reasonable Proposition?" Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 88(8):1215-1227. 
• Qian Y, and LR Leung. 2007. "A Long-term Regional Simulation and Observations of the Hydroclimate in China." Journal of Geophysical Research. D. (Atmospheres) 112:, doi:10.1029/2006JD008134
• Adhikary B, G Carmichael, Y Tang, LR Leung, Y Qian, JJ Schauer, EA Stone, V Ramanathan, and MV Ramana. 2007. "Characterization of the seasonal cycle of south Asian aerosols: A Regional-Scale Modeling Analysis. ." Journal of Geophysical Research. D. (Atmospheres) 112(D22):D22S22 (22 pages).  doi:10.1029/2006JD008143
• Qian Y, W Wang, LR Leung, and DP Kaiser. 2007. "Variability of Solar Radiation under Cloud-Free Skies in China: The Role of Aerosols." Geophysical Research Letters 34:Art. No. L12804.  doi:10.1029/2006GL028800
• Tagaris E, K Manomaiphiboon, KJ Liao, LR Leung, JH Woo, S He, P Amar, and AG Russell. 2007. "Impacts of Global Climate Change and Emissions on Regional Ozone and Fine Particulate Matter Concentrations over United States." Journal of Geophysical Research. D. (Atmospheres) 112:paper number: D14312.  doi:10.1029/2006JD008262

2006

• Leung LR, YH Kuo, and J Tribbia. 2006. "Research Needs and Directions of Regional Climate Modeling Using WRF and CCSM." Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 87(12):1747-1751. 
• Qian Y, DP Kaiser, LR Leung, and M Xu. 2006. "More Frequent Cloud-Free Sky and Less Surface Solar Radiation in China from 1955 to 2000." Geophysical Research Letters 33(1):L01812, doi: 10.1029/2005GL024586. 
• Duffy P, R Arritt, J Coquard, W Gutowski, J Han, J Iorio, J Kim, LR Leung, J Roads, and E Zeledon. 2006. "Simulations of Present and Future Climates in the Western United States with Four Nested Regional Climate Models." Journal of Climate 19(6):873-895. 
• Wong PC, HP Foote, LR Leung, ER Jurrus, DR Adams, and JJ Thomas. 2006. "Vector Fields Simplification-A Case Study of Visualizing Climate Modeling and Simulation Data Sets." In Visualization 2000. Proceedings, pp. 485 - 488, 596 .  IEEE , New York City, NY. 

2005

• Leung LR. 2005. "Effects of Climate Variability and Change on Mountain Water Resources in the Western U.S." In Global Change and Mountain Regions, Advances in Global Change Research , vol. 23, ed. UM Huber, HKM Bugmann, and MA Reasoner, pp. 355-364.  Springer, Dordrecht, Netherlands. 
• Hogrefe C, LR Leung, LJ Mickley, SW Hunt, and DA Winner. 2005. "Considering Climate Change in U.S. Air Quality Management." EM: Air & Waste Management Association's magazine for environmental managers October 2005:19-23. 
• Leung LR, and WI Gustafson. 2005. "Potential Regional Climate Change and Implications to U.S. Air Quality." Geophysical Research Letters 32(16):L16711.  doi:10.1029/2005GL022911
• Leung LR, and Y Qian. 2005. "Downscaling Extended Weather Forecasts for Hydrologic Prediction." Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 86(3):332-333. 
• Leung LR, and Y Qian. 2005. "Hydrologic Response to Climate Variability, Climate Change, and Climate Extreme in the U.S.: Climate Model Evaluation and Projections." In Regional Hydrological Impacts of Climate Change - Impact Assessment and Decision Making, IAHS Publication 295, ed. T. Wagener, et al., pp. 37-44.  IAHS Press, Wallingford, Oxfordshire. 
• Zhao Z, LR Leung, and Y Qian. 2005. "Characteristics of Diurnal Variations of Rainfall in China for the Recent Years." Exchanges : newsletter of the Climate Variability and Predictability Programme (CLIVAR) 10(3):24-26. 

2004

• Easter RC, SJ Ghan, Y Zhang, RD Saylor, EG Chapman, NS Laulainen, H Abdul-Razzak, LR Leung, X Bian, and RA Zaveri. 2004. "MIRAGE: Model Description and Evaluation of Aerosols and Trace Gases." Journal of Geophysical Research. D. (Atmospheres) 109(D20):D20210.  doi:10.1029/2004JD004571
• Guo J, X Liang, and LR Leung. 2004. "A New Multiscale Flow Network Generation Scheme for Land Surface Models." Geophysical Research Letters 31(23):L23502.  doi:10.1029/2004GL021381
• Guo J, X Liang, and LR Leung. 2004. "Impacts of Different Precipitation Data Sources on Water Budgets." Journal of Hydrology 298(1-4):311-334. 
• Leung LR, Y Qian, X Bian, WM Washington, J Han, and JO Roads. 2004. "Mid-Century Ensemble Regional Climate Change Scenarios for the Western United States." Climatic Change 62(1-3):75-113. 
• Leung LR, S Zhong, Y Qian, and Y Liu. 2004. "Evaluation of Regional Climate Simulations of the 1998 and 1999 East Asian Summer Monsoon Using the GAME/HUBEX Observational Data." Journal of the Meteorological Society of Japan 82(6):1695-1713. 
• Liang X, J Guo, and LR Leung. 2004. "Assessment of the Effects of Spatial Resolutions on Daily Water Flux Simulations." Journal of Hydrology 298(1-4):287-310. 
• Wang Y, LR Leung, JL McGregor, DK Lee, WC Wang, Y Ding, and F Kimura. 2004. "Regional Climate Modeling: Progress, Challenges, and Prospects." Journal of the Meteorological Society of Japan 82(6):1599-1628. 
• Wong PC, HP Foote, DR Adams, WE Cowley, LR Leung, and JJ Thomas. 2004. "Visualizing Data Streams." Chapter 11 in Visual and Spatial Analysis: Advances in Data Mining, Reasoning, and Problem Solving, ed. Boris Kovalerchuk and James Schwing, pp. 265-291.  Springer, Dordrecht, Netherlands. 
• Wood AW, LR Leung, V Sridhar, and DP Lettenmaier. 2004. "Hydrologic Implications of Dynamical and Statistical Approaches to Downscaling Climate Model Outputs." Climatic Change 62(1-3):189-216. 

2003

• Leung LR, LO Mearns, F Giorgi, and RL Wilby. 2003. "Regional Climate Research: Needs and Opportunities." Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 84(1):89-95. 
• Qian Y, LR Leung, SJ Ghan, and F Giorgi. 2003. "Regional Climate Effects of Aerosols Over China: Modeling and Observation." Tellus Series B, Chemical and Physical Meteorology 55(4):914-934. 
• Leung LR, Y Qian, and X Bian. 2003. "Hydroclimate of the Western United States Based on Observations and Regional Climate Simulations of 1981-2000. Part I: Seasonal Statistics." Journal of Climate 16(12):1892-1911. 
• Leung LR, Y Qian, J Han, and JO Roads. 2003. "Intercomparison of Global Reanalyses and Regional Simulations of Cold Season Water Budgets in the Western United States." Journal of Hydrometeorology 4(6):1067-1087. 
• Leung LR, Y Qian, X Bian, and AG Hunt. 2003. "Hydroclimate of the Western United States Based on Observations and Regional Climate Simulations of 1981-2000. Part II: Mesoscale ENSO Anomalies." Journal of Climate 16(12):1912-1928. 
• Leung LR, and Y Qian. 2003. "Changes in Seasonal and Extreme Hydrologic Conditions of the Georgia Basin/Puget Sound in an Ensemble Regional Climate Simulation for the Mid-Century." Canadian Water Resources Journal 28(4):605-631. 
• Leung LR, and Y Qian. 2003. "The Sensitivity of Precipitation and Snowpack Simulations to Model Resolution via Nesting in Regions of Complex Terrain." Journal of Hydrometeorology 4(6):1025-1043. 
• Wigmosta MS, and LR Leung. 2003. "Potential Impacts of Climate Change on Streamflow and Flooding in Snow Dominated Forest Basins." Chapter 2 in Environmental Change and Geomorphic Hazards in Forests: IUFRO Research Series, No. 9, ed. R.C Sidle, pp. 7-24.  CABI Publishing, Wallingford, United Kingdom. 

2002

• Thomson AM, RA Brown, SJ Ghan, RCC Izaurralde, NJ Rosenberg, and LR Leung. 2002. "Elevation dependence of winter wheat production in eastern Washington state with climate change: A methodological study." Climatic Change 54:141-164. 
• Chin G, JR, LR Leung, KL Schuchardt, and DK Gracio. 2002. "New Paradigms in Problem Solving Environments for Scientific Computing." In Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Intelligent User Interfaces, pp. 39-46.  ACM Press, New York, NY. 
• Leung LR, X Bian, and Y Qian. 2002. "Long-Term Regional Climate Simulations Driven by Two Global Reanalyses and a GCM for the Western United States." In 4th International Scientific Conference on Global Energy and Water Cycle, 13th Symposium on Global Change and Climate Variations, pp. 65-67.  American Meteorological Society, Boston, MA. 
• Wong PC, HP Foote, DL Kao, LR Leung, and JJ Thomas. 2002. "Mulitvariate Visualization with Data Fusion." Information Visualization 1(3-4):182-193. 
• Wong PC, HP Foote, DL Kao, LR Leung, and JJ Thomas. 2002. "Mulitvariate Visualization with Data Fusion." In Infomation Visualization, vol. 1, no. 3/4, ed. Chaomei Chen, pp. 182-193.  MacMillan, Hampshire, United Kingdom. 

2001

• Chin G, JR, LR Leung, KL Schuchardt, and DK Gracio. 2001. "Conceptualizing a Collaborative Problem-Solving Environment for Regional Climate Modeling and Assessment of Climate Impacts." In Computational science - ICCS 2001 : international conference, San Francisco, CA, USA, May 28-30, 2001 : proceedings /, vol. 2073, no. 1, ed. Vassil Alexandrov, pp. 159-174.  Springer, New York, NY. 
• Ghan SJ, NS Laulainen, RC Easter, R Wagener, S Nemesure, EG Chapman, Y Zhang, and LR Leung. 2001. "Evaluation of Aerosol Direct Radiative Forcing in MIRAGE." Journal of Geophysical Research. D. (Atmospheres) 106(D6):5295-5316. 
• Ghan SJ, RC Easter, EG Chapman, H Abdul-Razzak, Y Zhang, LR Leung, NS Laulainen, RD Saylor, and RA Zaveri. 2001. "A Physically-Based Estimate of Radiative Forcing by Anthropogenic Sulfate Aerosol." Journal of Geophysical Research. D. (Atmospheres) 106(D6):5279-5293. 

2000

• Leung LR, and MS Wigmosta. 2000. "The roles of subgrid topography on land-atmosphere interactions." In 15th Conference On Hydrology, pp. 194-197.  American Meteorological Society, Boston, MA. 
• Wong PC, HP Foote, LR Leung, DR Adams, and JJ Thomas. 2000. "Data Signature and Visualization of Scientific Data Sets." IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications 20(2):12-15. 

1999

• Leung LR, AF Hamlet, DP Lettenmaier, and A Kumar. 1999. "Simulations of the ENSO Hydroclimate Signals in the Pacific Northwest Columbia River Basin." Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 80(11):2313-2329. 
• Leung LR, and MS Wigmosta. 1999. "Potential climate change impacts on mountain watersheds in the Pacific Northwest." Journal of the American Water Resources Association 35(6):1463-1471 . 
• Leung LR, and SJ Ghan. 1999. "Pacific Northwest Sensitivity Simulated by a Regional Climate Model Driven by a GCM. Part I: Control Simulations." Journal of Climate 12(7):2010-2030. 
• Leung LR, and SJ Ghan. 1999. "Pacific Northwest Sensitivity Simulated by a Regional Climate Model Driven by a GCM. Part II: 2XCO2 Simulations." Journal of Climate 12(7):2031-2053. 
• Leung LR, SJ Ghan, Z Zhao, Y Luo, WC Wang, and HL Wei. 1999. "Intercomparison of Regional Climate Simulations of the 1991 Summer Monsoon in Eastern Asia." Journal of Geophysical Research. D. (Atmospheres) 104:6425-6454. 
• Ghan SJ, LR Leung, and J McCaa. 1999. "A Comparison of Three Different Modeling Strategies for Evaluating Cloud and Radiation Parameterizations." Monthly Weather Review 127(9):1967-1984. 

1998

• Leung LR, and SJ Ghan. 1998. "Parameterizing Subgrid Orographic Precipitation and Surface Cover in Climate Models." Monthly Weather Review 126(12):3271-3291.