Fengjing Liu

"Water is the new oil: a resource long squandered and soon to be overwhelmed by insatiable demand."
—The Economist

Contact

fliu7@mtu.edu
906-487-1089
Noblet 171

Associate Professor

PhD, Hydrology and Biogeochemistry, University of Colorado at Boulder
MS, Hydrology and Water Resources, Lanzhou Institute of Glaciology & Geocryology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
BS, Hydrogeology and Engineering Geology, Lanzhou University, China

Hydrology

Human perturbation and climate change have been altering the ecosystem and the environment we live in. Hydrology plays an extremely important role in helping us understand the processes that control the alteration. By studying hydrology, we may be able to find solutions to mitigate the changes that adversely affect our living. My studies focus on ecohydrology, watershed hydrology, and biogeochemistry. The main goal is to understand how human perturbation and climate change affect water quantity and quality and to find solutions to sustainably manage our water resources. Specifically, I am interested in (1) how forest perturbation and management affect stream water quantity, water quality and flow regime in black ash forests; (2) how climate change and land use change affect streamflow generation in snowmelt-dominated watersheds; and (3) how landscape and climate interact to control the fluxes of water and green-house gases in the Great Lakes region.

Links of Interest

Areas of Expertise

Ecohydrology and forest hydrology
Hydrological and biogeochemical processes in snowmelt-dominated watersheds
Black ash wetland ecosystem processes

Recent Publications

Shannon*, J. P., R. Kolka, M. Van Grinsven, and F. Liu (2022). Joint Impacts of Future Climate Conditions and Invasive Species on Black Ash Forested Wetlands. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, 5:957526. doi: 10.3389/ffgc.2022.957526.
Porter*, V. M., J. B. Shanley, S. D. Sebestyen, and F. Liu† (2022). Controls on decadal, annual, and seasonal solute concentration-discharge relationships in the Sleepers River Research Watershed, Vermont, northeastern United States. Hydrological Processes, 36(3), e14559. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.14559.
Hofmeister**, K., R. Lerch, C. Baffaut, J. Yang, and F. Liu (2022). Characterizing Groundwater Chemistry and Recharge in the Critical Zone of an Agricultural Claypan Watershed. Water Resources Research, 58(10), e2021WR031797. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021WR031797.
Liu, F., R. N. Lerch, J. Yang, and G. Peters* (2020). Determining Streamflow Pathways Using Geochemical Tracers in a Claypan Watershed. Hydrological Processes, 34 (11): 2494-2509. DOI: 10.1002/HYP.13743.
Ackerer**, J., C. Steefel, F. Liu, R. Bart, S. Khan, A. O'geen, C. Hunsaker, R. C. Bales (2020). Determining how Critical Zone structure constrains hydrogeochemical behavior of watersheds: learning from an elevation gradient in California’s Sierra Nevada. Frontiers in Water, doi: 10.3389/frwa.2020.00023.
Liu, F., M. Conklin, and G. Shaw (2017). Insights into concentration-discharge and endmember mixing analyses in the mid Merced River basin. Water Resources Research, 53, doi:10.1002/2016WR019437.
Shaw, G., M. H. Conklin, G. Nimz, and F. Liu (2014). Groundwater and surface water flow to the Merced River, Yosemite Valley, California: 36Cl and Cl- evidence. Water Resources Research, 10.1002/2013WR014222.
Liu, F., C. Hunsaker, and R. C. Bales (2013). Controls of streamflow generation in small catchments across snow/rain transition in the Southern Sierra, California. Hydrological Processes, 27, 1959-1972, DOI: 10.1002/hyp.9304.
Wang* Y., Y. Ding, B. Ye, F. Liu, J. Wang, and J. Wang (2013). Contributions of climate and human activities to changes in runoff of the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers from 1950 to 2008. Science China Earth Sciences, doi: 10.1007/s11430-012—4505-1.
Frisbee, M. D., F. M. Phillips, A. R. Campbell, F. Liu, and S. A. Sanchez (2011). Streamflow generation in a large, alpine watershed in the southern Rocky Mountains of Colorado: Is streamflow generation simply the aggregation of hillslope runoff responses? Water Resources Research, 47, W06512, doi: 10.1029/2010WR009391.
Liu, F., R. C. Bales, M. H. Conklin, and M. E. Conrad (2008). Stream flow generation from snowmelt in semi-arid, forested and seasonally snow-covered catchments, Valles Caldera, New Mexico. Water Resources Research, 44, W12443, doi:10.1029/2007WR006278.
Liu, F., M. Williams, and N. Caine (2004). Source waters and flow paths in an alpine catchment, Colorado Front Range, USA. Water Resources Research, Vol. 40, W09401, doi: 10.1029/2004WR003076.