Georgiy L. Stenchikov, Ph.D.

Faculty

Professor of Earth Science and Engineering

Social Profile:

Research Interests

Prof. Stenchikov completed his Ph.D. in the Numerical and Analytical Study of Weak Plasma Turbulence at Moscow Physical Technical Institute in 1977. Afterwards, he headed a department at the Russian Academy of Sciences, which used computational analysis to carry out crucial early research into the impact of humans on Earth's climate and environmental systems. From 1992 until 1998, Prof. Stenchikov worked at the University of Maryland in the USA, after which he held a position as a Research Professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences of Rutgers University for almost a decade. Since 2009, he has been a Professor and a Chair of the Earth Sciences and Engineering Program at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia. His work has brought about important advances in fields including climate modeling, atmospheric physics, fluid dynamics, radiation transfer, and environmental sciences. Prof. Stenchikov co-authored the Nobel Prize-winning report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IPCC-AR4 of 2007.

Selected Publications

  • Yip, C. M. A., Gunturu, U. B., & Stenchikov, G. L. (2017). High-altitude wind resources in the Middle East. Scientific Reports, 7(1), 9885. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-10130-6
  • Osipov, S., & Stenchikov, G. (2018). Simulating the Regional Impact of Dust on the Middle East Climate and the Red Sea. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 123(2), 1032-1047. DOI: 10.1002/2017jc013335
  • Parajuli, S. P., Stenchikov, G. L., Ukhov, A., & Kim, H. (2019). Dust Emission Modeling Using a New High-Resolution Dust Source Function in WRF-Chem With Implications for Air Quality. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 124(17-18), 10109-10133. DOI: 10.1029/2019jd030248
  • Ukhov, A., Mostamandi, S., Krotkov, N., Flemming, J., da Silva, A., Li, C., Fioletov, V., McLinden, C., Anisimov, A., Alshehri, Y. M., & Stenchikov, G. (2020). Study of SO2 Pollution in the Middle East Using MERRA-2, CAMS Data Assimilation Products, and High-Resolution WRF-Chem Simulations. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 125(6), e2019JD031993. DOI: 10.1029/2019jd031993
  • Ukhov, A., Mostamandi, S., da Silva, A., Flemming, J., Alshehri, Y., Shevchenko, I., & Stenchikov, G. (2020). Assessment of natural and anthropogenic aerosol air pollution in the Middle East using MERRA-2, CAMS data assimilation products, and high-resolution WRF-Chem model simulations. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 20(15), 9281-9310. DOI: 10.5194/acp-20-9281-2020
  • Parajuli, S. P., Stenchikov, G. L., Ukhov, A., Shevchenko, I., Dubovik, O., and Lopatin, A. (2020). Interaction of Dust Aerosols with Land/Sea Breezes over the Eastern Coast of the Red Sea from LIDAR Data and High-resolution WRF-Chem Simulations, Atmos. Chem. Phys.,  20, 16089–16116, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-16089-2020.
  • Stenchikov, G. (2021). The role of volcanic activity in climate and global changes. In Climate change (pp. 607-643). Elsevier, ISBN: 978-0-12-821575-3.
  • Georgiy Stenchikov, Alexander Ukhov, Sergey Osipov, Ravan Ahmadov, Georg Grell, Karen Cady-Pereira, Eli Mlawer, Michael Iacono. (2021). How does a Pinatubo-size volcanic plume reaches the Middle Stratosphere, J. Geophys. Res., Atmospheres, 126, e2020JD033829.https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JD033829.
  • Shevchenko, I., Engelbrecht, J. P., Mostamandi, S., & Stenchikov, G. (2021). Evaluation of minerals being deposited in the Red Sea using gravimetric, size distribution, and mineralogical analysis of dust deposition samples collected along the Red Sea coastal plain. Aeolian Research, 52, 100717. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1875963721000549

Education

  • ​​​​​​​​Ph.D., Numerical and Analytical Study of Weak Plasma Turbulence, Moscow Physical Technical Institute, Russia, 1977
  • M.S., Physics and Mathematics, Moscow Physical Technical Institute, Russia, 1973

Professional Profile

  • 2009 - present: Professor of Applied Mathematics and Computational Sciences and Professor of Environmental Sciences, Division of Physical Sciences and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
  • 1998 - 2009: Research Professor, Department of Environmental Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
  • 1992 - 1998: Senior Research Scientist, Department of Meteorology (previously Associate Research Scientist and Research Associate), University of Maryland,  College Park, MD, USA
  • 1976 - 1992: Head of the Branch of Mathematical Modeling of Anthropogenic Impacts (previously Senior Research Scientist and Junior Research Scientist), Computer Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

Scientific and Professional Membership

  • 2004 - present: International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth’s Interior
  • 1993 - present: American Meteorological Society, American Geophysical Union

Awards

  • 2007: Co-authored the Nobel Prize-winning IPCC AR4 report
  • 2006: AGU Journal Highlight Award for the 2005 paper by Delworth, Ramaswamy, and Stenchikov: 
  • The impact of aerosols on simulated ocean temperature and heat content in the 20th century, Geophys. Res. Lett. , DOI: 10.1029/2005GL024457.
  • 2004: NOAA Outstanding Scientific Paper Award for 2003 for a paper by Soden, Wetherald, Stenchikov, and Robock, 2002: Global cooling after the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo: A test of climate feedback by water vapor, Science, 296, 727-730.
  • 2003: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Group Achievement Award “in recognition of outstanding accomplishments and contributions to the extremely successful Cirrus Regional Study of Tropical Anvils and Cirrus Layers - Florida Area Cirrus Experiment (CRYSTAL-FACE) based in the Florida Everglades region in July 2002”
  • 1986: Prize of the Council of Ministers of the USSR for the development of multi-tasking software
  • 1985: Gold Medal Award of the National Exhibition of the Economy Achievements of the USSR for the climate impact studies

KAUST Affiliations

  • Red Sea Research Center (RSRC)
  • Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division (BESE)
  • Physical Science and Engineering Division (PSE)
  • Applied Mathematics and Computational Sciences (AMCS)