Research
Research Interests
Our primary research area has focused on the three research themes of monsoon climates, land and atmosphere interactions, and climatic impacts on agriculture, forests, and human health. With our multidisciplinary collaborators we have been contributing to the science and understanding of the three research themes across the globe, including East Asia, South Asia, and West Africa, as well as the United States.
Research Themes
Monsoon is described as seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the unequal heating of land and sea. We aim to figure out the certain condition of Land, Atmosphere and Ocean where these atmospheric phenomenon occurs and how these conditions are formed.
Terrestrial ecosystem may directly and indirectly affect the climate system through both biogeophysical and biogeochemical processes, which can be altered by land cover and land use change (LCLUC). These changes can be affected by the climate and also vice versa.
Climate change is not only becoming severe catastrophe itself in terms of sea level rise or increased natural disasters, but also affects human lives with various processes. The climate system interacts with the Earth’s spheres, including Anthroposphere, by affecting seasonal changes, phenology of plants and animals, and human health.
Research Projects
- Asian Development Bank (2025-2026), Supporting Climate-Smart Urban Development through City Climate Action Planning (PI: Dr. Lee), [아시아개발은행, 도시 기후 행동 계획을 통한 기후–스마트 도시 개발 지원 사업 (연구책임자)].
- National Research Foundation of Korea, BrainKorea21 FOUR (2025-2027), Fostering Competency in Climate Literacy Informed Multidisciplinary Analytics and Transformative Education in Social science (CLIMATES) (PI: Dr. Lee), [한국연구재단- 4단계 BK21 혁신인재양성사업, 기후 리터러시 기반 사회과학 연구 및 교육 역량 강화 (CLIMATES) 사업단 (단장)].
- National Research Foundation of Korea (2024-2027), Identifying the land-atmosphere interactions due to land cover/land use changes: Case study for the land cover transition in North Korea (PI: Dr. Lee), [한국연구재단- 인문사회분야: 중견연구지원사업, 토지피복/토지이용 변화에 따른 지표–대기 간 상호작용 연구: 북한의 토지피복 전이를 사례로 (연구책임자)].
- National Research Foundation of Korea (2023-2026), Establishment of a social conflict database and climate policy research for achieving inclusive carbon neutrality (Co-PI: Dr. Lee), [한국연구재단- 인문사회분야: 공동연구지원사업, 포용적 탄소중립 실현을 위한 사회갈등 데이터베이스 구축과 기후정책 연구 (참여연구원)].
- Korea Meteorological Administration (2022-2024), Developing land cover indicators to improve near-future climate variability in East Asia (PI: Dr. Lee), [기상청, 기후 및 기후변화 감시/예측 정보 응용 기술 개발 사업: 가까운 미래 기후변동성 예측을 위한 토지피복인자 개발 (연구책임자)].
- National Institute of Meteorological Sciences (2022), Developing the indicators of Climatic Impact-driver (Co-PI: Dr. Lee), [국립기상과학원, 탄소중립 지원을 위한 기후 분석기술 개발 사업: 기후영향지표 개발 및 미래전망 산출 (참여연구원)].
- National Research Foundation of Korea (2020-2023), Effects of land use/land cover changes on summer monsoon variability in East Asia (PI: Dr. Lee), [한국연구재단- 이공분야 기초연구 사업: 기본연구, 토지이용 및 토지피복의 변화와 동아시아 여름몬순 간 연관성 연구 (연구책임자)].
- Korea Meteorological Administration (2020), Establishing seasonal definition to project future seasonal changes in South Korea (PI: Dr. Lee), [기상청, 2020년 기후변화 시나리오 상세 분석정보 생산 및 활용기반 구축: 계절길이 세부기준 정립 (연구책임자)].