Headshot of Jiaxu Zhang wearing a University of Washington beanie with Mt Rainier in the background.

Jiaxu Zhang

  • Research Scientist
  • Education:
    • B.S., Marine Sciences, Ocean University of China, 2007
    • M.S., Earth and Planetary Dynamics (Natural History Sciences), Hokkaido University, 2009
    • Ph.D, Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2016
  • Email:
  • Phone:
    • ‪206-526-4626‬
  • Location:
    • NOAA PMEL, Building 3

Dr. Jiaxu Zhang is a Research Scientist with CICOES at the University of Washington, based at NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) in Seattle. Her research bridges Arctic oceanography, sea-ice dynamics, and Earth-system modeling, with a growing emphasis on airborne and drone-based remote sensing of high-latitude and coastal environments. Dr. Zhang earned a Ph.D. in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and received the 2025 NOAA OAR Outstanding Scientific Paper Award.

Research interests

  • Arctic physical-biological interactions
  • Airborne remote sensing technologies
  • Earth system modeling
  • Geotracers and isotopes; biogeochemistry
  • AMOC and its impact on regional and global climate
  • Paleoclimate dynamics

Selected publications

Lange, P., E. Fachon, J. M. Nielsen, M. Brosnahan, J. Zhang, C. W. Mordy, J. C. Gann, M. W. Lomas, E. Pate, G. Sheffield, P. Stabeno, D. Robinson, M. Pathare, K. Lefebvre, D. Anderson, and L. Eisner (2025). Application of dinoflagellate-specific satellite models to aid Alexandrium catenella bloom monitoring in the Bering and Chukchi seas. Journal of Environmental Management, 380, 125042.

Zhang, J., W. Cheng, P. Stabeno, M. Veneziani, W. Weijer, and R. McCabe (2024). Understanding ocean stratification and its interannual variability in the northeastern Chukchi Sea. Frontiers in Marine Science, 11, 1415021.

Zhang, J., W. Cheng, M. Steele, and W. Weijer (2023). Asymmetrically stratified Beaufort Gyre: Mean state and response to decadal forcing. Geophysical Research Letters, 50, e2022GL100457.

Zhang, J., W. Weijer, M. Steele, W. Cheng, T. Verma, and M. Veneziani (2021). Labrador Sea freshening linked to Beaufort Gyre freshwater release. Nature Communications, 12, 1229.

Weijer, W., W. Cheng, S. Drijfhout, A. Fedorov, A. Hu, L. Jackson, W. Liu, E. McDonagh, J. Mecking, and J. Zhang (2019). Stability of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation: A review and synthesis. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 124, 5336-5375.

Zhang, J., Z. Liu, E. C. Brady, D. W. Oppo, P. U. Clark, A. Jahn, S. A. Marcott, and K. Lindsay (2017). Asynchronous warming and δ18O evolution of deep Atlantic water masses during the last deglaciation. PNAS, 114, 11075-11080.

Brady, E., S. Stevenson, D. Bailey, Z. Liu, D. Noone, J. Nusbaumer, B. Otto-Bliesner, C. Tabor, T. Wong, J. Zhang, and J. Zhu (2019). The connected isotopic water cycle in the Community Earth System Model version 1. Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems, 11, 2547-2566.