Climate Dynamics • Ocean Variability • Coastal Predictability

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Tongtong Xu, Ph.D.

Research Scientist

CIRES, University of Colorado Boulder / NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory

Email: tongtong.xu@noaa.gov


I study the dynamics and predictability of the ocean and climate system, with a focus on marine heatwaves, coastal flooding, and the influence of large-scale climate variability on ocean extremes. I develop empirical modeling and machine-learning approaches to diagnose the mechanisms driving these events and to improve predictions across subseasonal to decadal timescales, with the goal of advancing predictive understanding and supporting applications in coastal resilience and environmental forecasting.

Research Interests
  • Ocean and climate variability
  • Marine heatwaves, coastal flooding, and other ocean extremes
  • Predictability from subseasonal to decadal timescales
  • Ocean–atmosphere interactions and teleconnections
  • Empirical and AI-enabled prediction for ocean and coastal applications
Academic Position

Research Scientist, CIRES/NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory (2022-present)

Postdoctoral Fellow, NRC Research Associateship Programs (2021-2022)

Education

Ph.D., Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2021

M.S., Computational Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2021

M.S., Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2015

B.E., Hydrology Engineering, Sun Yet-sen University, 2013

Experience

Associate Member, (2025-present)

  • SCOR working group on subsurface marine heatwaves

Guest Editor, MDPI Climate (2025-present)

  • Special Issue: Coastal climate variability and predictability: challenges and emerging solutions

Research Assistant, Georgia Institute of Technology (2014-2021)

Teaching Assistant, Georgia Institute of Technology

  • CS 7641 Machine Learning (Fall 2019, Spring 2020)
  • COE 2001 Statics (Fall 2016, Fall 2018)
  • MATH 3770 Statistics & Applications (Fall 2017)
  • CEE 4225 Coastal Engineering (Spring 2016, Spring 2017)

Review activities

  • Nature Communications
  • Science Advances
  • Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
  • npj Climate and Atmospheric Science
  • Communications Earth & Environment
  • Geophysical Research Letters
  • Journal of Climate
  • Climate Dynamics
  • Journal of Geophysical Research
  • Frontiers in Marine Science
  • Geo-spatial Information Science