Research

Ecosystems play a crucial role in climate regulation by mediating carbon, water, and energy exchanges with the atmosphere. At the same time, climate and human activities are reshaping ecosystem structure, composition, and functioning. We study how ecosystems respond to and influence climate dynamics and disturbances (e.g., wildfire, deforestation, flooding) through biogeochemical and biophysical processes. In parallel, we also investigate greenhouse gas dynamics from diverse sources in human systems. Our goal is to advance nature-based solutions to enhance ecosystem service and mitigate natural hazards and climate risks.

Selected Projects

Wetland Carbon Cycle

We investigate wetland CO2 and CH4 dynamics at site, regional, and global scales.

Advanced AI for Earth Science Studies

We develop interpretable AI and causal inference approaches to understand the complex Earth system.

Land-Atmosphere Interactions

We study biophysical processes in water and energy cycles that affect temperature and water availability, and how they change under disturbances (e.g., deforestation, land cover change).

Wildfire modeling

We develop process-based models and hybrid AI models for wildfire studies.

Human-induced GHG emissions

We integrate multi-modal observations to better understand human-induced GHG emissions across diverse sources.

Coastal Resiliency

We monitor and analyze ecological and hydrologial dynamics of coastal ecosystems, to support more informed and sustainable coastal restoration and nature-based climate solutions.