Prof. Eun Soon IM

Prof. Im and her group have been working on the dynamical downscaling using the regional climate model (RCM) and have improved our understanding of the potential changes in regional climate in response to anthropogenic forcings (e.g., greenhouse gas emission, land-use change). More specifically, the main research can be categorized into three parts.

1. Climate processes and modeling: RCM can be an excellent tool to study climate processes such as land-atmosphere interaction. In particular, Prof. Im has attempted to strengthen our understanding of the impacts of human-made land-use change (e.g. irrigation, deforestation, afforestation, and urbanization) on climate at regional scales.
2. Climate change and extremes: Given that anthropogenic warming of the climate system is unequivocal, accurate assessment of future climate is essential for developing timely climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies. Prof. Im and her group have produced "actionable" climate change information at the regional to local scales, and demonstrated compelling examples of how elevated anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions can bring severe consequences through the analysis of extremes such as heatwaves and droughts.
3. Climate change impact assessment: The value of fine-scale climate information can be maximized when the data are properly used for various impact assessment models that require climate variables as the key input. In this regard, Prof. Im has plenty of credible experience of working with impact assessment teams, leading to interdisciplinary collaboration between climate and impact sectors via application of RCM simulations to hydrology and crop models.