Dr. Yongkang Xue

Yongkang Xue works on land surface modeling, land/atmosphere/ocean interactions, climate variability, anomalies, change, and prediction, regional climate downscaling, and remote sensing.

Xue has been instrumental in the development of five generations of the “SSiB” land surface scheme, which includes vegetation biophysical processes (SSiB-1, Xue et al., 1991, J. Climate), photosynthesis process (SSiB-2, Zhan et al., 2003, Ecol. Develop), snow, frozen soil, and glaciers (SSiB-3, Sun et al., 1998, JGR, Zhang et al., 2007, J. Hydro; Shrestha et al., 2015, JGR); dynamic vegetation (SSiB4, Zhang et al., 2015); Nitrogen process (SSiB5, Xiang et al., 2024, GMD).

Using coupled land-surface/atmosphere models, Xue has conducted numerous sensitivity and prediction studies to investigate the impact of land-surface processes, including land-cover and land use change (Xue and Shukla, 1993, J Climate; Xue, 1997 J. Climate, Xue et al., 2016, Climate Dynamics, Huang et al., 2020, J. Climate), vegetation biophysical processes (Xue et al., 2004, JGR, 2006, 2010, J. Climate), regional climate model dynamic downscaling (Xue et l., 2001, Mon Wes. Rev., 2014, Atmos. Res.), and the remote sensing methodology of atmospheric and land (Liou and Xue, 1988, Meteor. Atmos. Phys. Goward et al., 2002 Env. Remote. Sensing).

Xue has led an international efforts, GEWEX\LS4P (Impact of Initialized Land Surface Temperature and Snowpack on Subseasonal-to-Seasonal Prediction) Initiative, which comprises leading climate and weather prediction and research centers from many different countries, to explore a new approach for subseasonal-to-seasonal (S2S) prediction by utilizing land surface temperature/subsurface temperature anomalies over high-elevation regions such as the Tibetan Plateau and the Rocky Mountains to predict downstream droughts or floods over East Asia, North America, and other regions.  (Xue et al., 2012, 2018 JGR, 2021 GMD, 2022 BAMS, 2024 Climate Dynamics)

Xue has developed a number of undergraduate and graduate courses for land surface modeling, climate and environment change, and remote sensing studies.

Affiliate member with UCLA Natural Hazards Risk and Resiliency Research Center (NHR3)

Affiliate member with UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability (IOES)

Affiliate member with Joint Institute UCLA Regional Earth System Science and Engineering (JIFRESSE)

Affiliate member with the Department of Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences (AOS)

1987: Ph. D. – (Meteorology) University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, US.

1981: M. S. – (Atmospheric Physics) Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.