Aidi Zhang (张艾迪）

Welcome to my website! I am a postdoctoral scholar in the Convection & Climate group at the Stanford University. My research focuses on the fluid dynamics of climate systems on Earth and other planets. Currently, I am investigating the dynamics of atmospheric rivers using the Community Earth System Model (CESM2) and a two-layer shallow water model. You can read more about me here

# Climate: Atmospheric river

# Geophysical Fluid Dynamics: Anelastic flow, vortex dynamics

# Computational Fluid Dynamics: Pseudo-Spectral Method, High performance computing and MPI

# Planetary Science: Jupiter, Great Red Spot

# Outside academia: Photography/Hiking/stargazing/etc.

news

Oct 23, 2026	I will present our recent work on the a moist two-layer shallow water model to improve our understanding on the atmospheric rivers during AGU26 in San Fransisco (A24K-07). It will in MC, 3001 - West, during 5:15 pm-5:25 pm, Dec 8^th (Tuesday), 2026, for those interested.
Oct 13, 2026	Our recent work on Vapor Kinetic Energy framework and two-layer shallow water simulation will be presented during the 6^th International Atmospheric Rivers Conference (IARC) 2026 in Porto.
Apr 27, 2026	I’m thrilled to join Stanford University and continue exploring the dynamics of atmospheric rivers. It’s great to be back in the Bay Area!
Apr 6, 2026	New Publication: Our latest study on the global evolution of atmospheric rivers is now published in the Geophysical Research Letters. Utilizing the Vapor Kinetic Energy (VKE) framework, we demonstrate that atmospheric rivers are fundamentally driven by the conversion of potential energy (PE) to kinetic energy (KE) across all ocean basins, providing a unified energetic perspective on their intensification.
Nov 16, 2025	I will present our recent work on the how the atmospheric rivers evolve globally during the AMS 25th Conference on Atmospheric and Oceanic Fluid Dynamics in Houston. It will in the 3pm poster section on Jan 26^th (Monday), 2026, for those interested. You can also find our preprint here

latest posts

Sep 1, 2024	The Journey to the Midwest - from Berkeley to Chicago
Aug 18, 2023	Back To Guangzhou

selected publications

2026

Understanding the Evolution of Global Atmospheric Rivers With a Vapor Kinetic Energy Framework

Aidi Zhang, Da Yang, Hing Ong, and 1 more author

Geophysical Research Letters, 2026

e2025GL119841 2025GL119841

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Abstract Atmospheric rivers (ARs) often cause damaging winds, rainfall, and floods. However, the physical mechanisms governing their evolution remain poorly understood. To close this gap, we perform a global Vapor Kinetic Energy (VKE) budget analysis. Using two formulations of VKE, we show that ARs are governed by similar mechanisms regardless of ocean basins. ARs intensify primarily through the conversion of potential energy to kinetic energy (PE-to-KE), with horizontal convergence of vapor kinetic energy providing a secondary contribution in some regions. ARs decay mainly through condensation and turbulent dissipation, while their propagation is governed by the downstream convergence and upstream divergence of vapor kinetic energy. We also find PE-to-KE conversion varies spatially and strengthens in regions of greater baroclinic instability or enhanced topographic lifting, for example, along North America’s west coast. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that the VKE framework provides a powerful diagnostic for how physical processes shape AR evolution and regional variability.

2024

Stable three-dimensional vortex families consistent with Jovian observations including the Great Red Spot

Aidi Zhang, and Philip S Marcus

Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 2024

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