Xin Zhang

Xin Zhang is an Emeritus Professor in the Climate, Atmospheric Sciences, and Physical Oceanography program at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego in 1993, with a dissertation entitled "A Study of Capillary and Capillary-Gravity Wind Waves: Their Structures, Distributions, and Energy Balances." Throughout his career, Zhang has focused on key areas in physical oceanography, including biogeochemistry and greenhouse gases, nonlinear and surface waves, ocean-atmosphere interactions, remote sensing and satellite oceanography, and upper ocean and submesoscale processes. His research has contributed to fundamental understandings of ocean surface processes and air-sea exchanges.

Zhang's notable publications include "Measuring the two-dimensional structure of a wavy water surface by scanning laser slope meter" (1994, co-authored with Charles S. Cox), which introduced advanced techniques for observing water surface topography. Other significant works are "Observations of the Near-Field Double Frequency Pressure and Displacement Fields Generated by a Vertical Surface-Piercing Source" (co-authored with Cox and David C. Jacobs), and "Alkalinity distribution in the western North Atlantic Ocean margins" (2010). He also co-authored a study in 2017 analyzing an 1883 at-sea rescue to develop models for wave energy budgets and the suppression of breakers by polar oil films. Zhang's contributions appear in Scripps Institution of Oceanography annual reports from 1993 to 2004, reflecting his long-term role in the division of Physical Oceanography Research. With over 1,100 citations across 37 publications, his work has had a lasting impact on studies of wave dynamics, ocean chemistry, and remote sensing applications in oceanography. His expertise has advanced the field through experimental and observational approaches to complex ocean phenomena.