Dongfeng Li
Tell us about yourself:
Hi, my name is Dongfeng Li. I am currently a Research Fellow at the Department of Geography, National University of Singapore (NUS), working with Xixi Lu. I obtained my PhD degree from NUS Geography in 2021.
What is your research about?
I am broadly interested in climate change, glaciers, permafrost, rivers, sediment, and hydropower dams. My current research aims to investigate the response of physical landscapes to modern climate change within the Earth’s cold environments using (1) in-situ and field measurements; (2) remote sensing data and techniques; (3) time series analysis methods; and (4) numerical modeling approaches. My research also involves assessing the impacts of mountain hazards and erosion and sediment fluxes on hydropower systems in the Himalayas and providing policy recommendations for sustainable hydropower development and maintenance. During my PhD, I, for the first time, assessed the impacts of modern climate change on fluvial sediment fluxes in High Mountain Asia and its margins, for which I was awarded the IPCC Scholarship Award for early-career scientists.
What excites you about your research?
I am excited to work together with brilliant people from multiple disciplines including climatologists, glaciologists, permafrost scientists, hydrologists, geomorphologists, ecologists, and engineers. During my master, I worked with fluvial geomorphologists and engineers to put the geomorphology theory into river engineering design and river restoration in the Yangtze River. During my PhD, I learned a lot about climate science and cryosphere science and now I am working with some of the world’s most awesome researchers (Amy East, Michèle Koppes, Irina Overeem, Stuart Lane, Des Walling, Jaia Syvitski, Albert Kettner, Bodo Bookhagen, Ting Zhang, Dan Shugar, Bob Wasson, Stephan Harrison, Santosh Nepal, Jakob Steiner, Walter Immerzeel, Tobias Bolch, Achim Beylich, the IAG DENUCHANGE working group, and the Cuomo Foundation), with interests in assessing the impact of climate change on changes in physical landscapes.
What broader importance does your research have for society?
As summarized by Amy East, geomorphology is a discipline that is very relevant to human health and safety, infrastructure and economics, food and water security, and ecosystems. My research demonstrates that modern climate change has substantially increased the fluvial sediment fluxes in High Mountain Asia through accelerating glacier retreat and permafrost thaw. Such findings have broad implications for assessing water quality and improving the design of hydropower systems. For example, the storage capacity design of future hydropower reservoirs in the Himalayas should be forward-looking and consider potential storage losses associated with increasing sediment loads in a rapidly warming climate. Existing reservoirs may need a reassessment of their sediment management solutions to deal with climate change (Li et al., 2022).
What inspired you to pursue a career in Earth Science?
I enjoy outdoor activities such as climbing mountains and boating on rivers and have been attracted by the beauty of nature. I was fascinated by geography when I was a secondary school student and dreamed to unveil the mysteries of the evolution of mountains and rivers. Thus, I chose to study river engineering for my master's degree and thereafter, began my PhD journey on fluvial geomorphology and mountainous landscapes. I am now very grateful and proud to be a geographer.
What are you looking to do after you complete your PhD or postdoc?
I plan to apply for a permanent faculty position at universities or research institutes soon so that I can continue to do research with both scientific values and societal implications and help train the next generation of earth scientists.
Given unlimited funding and access to resources, what is your dream project that you would pursue?
I love this question. Our insufficient understanding of sediment dynamics and their response to climate change is largely due to the lack of observation. Sediment loads are measured in less than 10% of the world’s rivers and there is no significant progress over the past decades. With unlimited funding, I would like to establish monitoring networks for both suspended sediment and bedload in every river in the world. I also want to build training programs on geomorphic monitoring, especially in high mountain areas, and to get more local communities to be involved in monitoring and studying their rivers.
What else do you do? Any hobbies or interests outside of work?
In my spare time, I like to be a photographer to record the special moments in life, different cultures, and stunning views of physical landscapes. I also like swimming and hiking.
If you would like, please provide a link to your personal website.
Homepage: https://blog.nus.edu.sg/geolidf/
Google scholar: https://scholar.google.com.sg/citations?user=SmI-OmUAAAAJ&hl=en