I study the geography of global inland waters, their response to climate change/human perturbations, and their feedback to the climate system. My research takes a holistic earth system science view to study the interface linking the hydrosphere, atmosphere, and human components. In the meantime, I also put strong emphasis on translating science into operations.

I jointly use physically based numerical models, space observations, and data-driven methods to gain insights into the fundamentals of the terrestrial water cycle. To achieve a better understanding on the inland water dynamics, as well as to satisfy the need of real-world applications, my research has been conducted at an unprecedented spatial resolution (up to 90-m) at the global scale, which has been unachievable previously due to a lack of research tools. To bridge these gaps, I develop numerical models (both offline hydrologic models and coupled hydroclimate models) by leveraging the use of geographic information system, remote sensing, and machine learning tools.