Xiao Yang
Research Assistant Professor
yangxiao@live.unc.eduMitchell Hall, CB#3315
Google Scholar Profile
@XiaoYan20198978
Education
PhD., Paleoclimatology, UNC Chapel Hill, 2012-2016
M.S., Geophysics, The University of Hong Kong, 2012
B.S., Geophysics, University of Science and Technology of China, 2016
Research Interests
My research uses GIS, cloud-based computing, big data analytics, and participatory approaches to mine in situ and remote sensing data with the aim to improve our knowledge on the physical conditions and water quality of rivers and lakes worldwide. I collaborate with researchers to answer critical science questions across the fields of hydrology, limnology, and fluvial geomorphology. Currently my research focuses on two major themes: 1) freshwater ice cover and climate change, and 2) water quality, aquatic ecosystem, and human influence.
Research and Activities
My current research with Dr. Tamlin Pavelsky includes:
- Global multi-temporal river width variability using Landsat images (see our Landsat Science Q&A page on this project).
- Global historical and future change of river ice extent.
Selected Publications
Yang, X., Pavelsky, T.M., Ross, M.R.V., Januchowski-Hartley, S.R., Dolan, W., Altenau, E.H., Belanger, M., Byron, D.K., Durand, M.T., Dusen, I.V., Galit, H., Jorissen, M., Langhorst, T., Lawton, E., Lynch, R., Mcquillan, K.A., Pawar, S., Whittemore, A., in revision. Mapping flow-obstructing structures on global rivers. Water Resources Research.
Yang, X., Pavelsky, T.M., Bendezu, L.P., Zhang, S., 2021. Simple Method to Extract Lake Ice Condition From Landsat Images. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing 1–10.
Sharma*, S., Meyer*, M.F., Culpepper*, J., Yang*, X., Hampton, S., Berger, S.A., Brousil, M.R., Fradkin, S.C., Higgins, S.N., Jankowski, K.J., Kirillin, G., Smits, A.P., Whitaker, E.C., Yousef, F., Zhang, S., 2020. Integrating Perspectives to Understand Lake Ice Dynamics in a Changing World. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences 125, e2020JG005799.
Yang, X., Pavelsky, T.M., Allen, G.H., 2020. The past and future of global river ice. Nature 577, 69–73.
Yang, X., Pavelsky, T.M., Allen, G.H., Donchyts, G., 2020. RivWidthCloud: An Automated Google Earth Engine Algorithm for River Width Extraction From Remotely Sensed Imagery. IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters 17, 217–221.