Biography

Dr. Yan is a broadly trained hydrologist with special expertise in coupled processes of water, soil, and carbon fluxes with different land surface and sub-surface structures and under both natural and anthropogenic influences. Her current research focuses on the watershed scale modeling and prediction mass and fluxes of soil thickness and organic matter using coupled geomorphological-hydrological-biogeochemical approaches. Specifically, her research includes 1) predicting the high spatial heterogeneity of soil thickness and organic matters in mountainous area with the impact of weather, landscape surface transport, and below-surface geochemical reaction by developing a process-based 2.5-dimentional numerical model, and 2) investigating the correlation of soil thickness and organic matter with other natural and human factors. She has additional expertise in using Geographic Information System for remote sensing and field measurement data, particularly related to hydrology and geomorphology. Her work contributes to the fundament understanding of the impacts of climate migrate and human activities on soil properties and soil health, which provides practical means for the sustainability of water, food, and energy.