Yongqiang LiuResearch Meteorologist / Leader, Atmospheric Science Team
Athens, GA 30602-2044
Mega-fires under Changing Climate and Fuel This study, funded by the Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP), is to identify present and project future mega-fires and evaluate their air quality impacts. The research objectives include: (1) To build mega-fire probability functions and atmospheric pattern thresholds for mega-fire breakout. (2) To project areas and seasons of future mega-fires. The fire probability together with the atmospheric patterns will be major tools for future mega-fire projection. (3) To obtain present fuel loading and project future trends. Present fuel conditions are obtained from the FCCS with their seasonal variation specifications based on simulated carbon pools. (4) To simulate smoke transport from present and future mega-fires. (5) To evaluate the smoke impacts on air quality. Ground PM2.5 and ozone concentrations are analyzed to identify major large U.S. urban areas where air quality and human health are most likely threatened by future mega-fires.
Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Management Options (CCAMMO) CCAMMO is an SRS cross station climate change project. The goal of this project is to provide land management options that buffer the effects of future climatic conditions on a variety of ecosystem services to land managers, who are faced with the challenge of how to manage today's forests to adapt to and mitigate the impacts of future climate change. The CCAMMO project analyzes relationships among management practices, assesses risks and values of the southern forest ecosystem under changing climate, and develops various management options for mitigation and adaptation. The research and synthesis results will be presented in a book. The objectives of related research with the fire team include: (1) proejcting wildfire risk under changing cliamte in the South, (2) understanding interactions with other ecosystem processes, and (3) providing management options to mitigate the impacts of potnatially incerased wildfire activity.
Wildland Fire Greenhouse Gas/Black Carbon (GHG/BC) Synthesis Project An FS R&D Core Team initiated an effort in summer of 2010 to review what is known about GHG/BC emissions from wildland fires across all biomes in the United States. This project was tasked by the Research Deputy Director/Assistant Director Group to produce a synthesis report focusing on synthesizing published information on GHG/BC emissions from wildland fires. It will answer questions concerning the extent, magnitude, and potential climate-driven acceleration of global fire emissions that are receiving heightened attention. Since many of our future fire management options in the United States will be impacted by answers to these questions, we need to synthesize the most current scientific information concerning fire emissions and identify future research needs.
My research is focused on climate-forest ecosystem interactions. It is aimed at understanding forest disturbances (wildfire, land cover change, and forest water stress), their interactions with climate variability and climate change, and the environmental consequences. The combined approach of field measurements, numerical modeing, and theoretical and statistical analyses is used to investigate the processes, mechanisms, and impascts of the disturbances and to develop evaluation and prediction techniques. This research is expected to help strategy development and implementation to reduce forest vulnerability to forest disturbances and their adverse environmental impacts.
Evaluation and improvement of smoke plume rise models
Smoke plume rise, also called plume height, is the height where the smoke particles can reach after they are ejected from wildland fires. It ranges from tens of meters for prescribed fires to thousands of meters for wildfires. Plume height is an important factor for local and regional air quality modeling. Fire emissions, if injected into higher elevations, are likely to be transported out of the rural burn site by prevailing winds and therefore possibly affect air quality nearby and remote populated urban areas in downwind direction. Plume rise is a parameter required by many regional air quality models.
Efforts have been made recently that led to the developments of a number of smoke plume models with various levels of complexity. Smoke plume height model evaluation, however, has been a big challenge because of the lack in smoke measurements. This makes it difficult to understand the performance and uncertainties of smoke models. Fire and smoke model validation is one of the fundamental research issues in the Smoke Science Plan, prepared for the U.S. Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP).
The study, funded by JFSP, is to evaluate and improve the performance of Daysmoke, a plume rise model, and to understand the significance for smoke and air quality modeling of prescribed burning. A combined approach of field measurement, numerical modeling, and dynamical and statistical analysis is used to obtain data, conduct simulation and evaluation, and improve the model. The research products include datasets of smoke measurements, case and statistical evaluation results of Daysmoke and other plume rise models, and GIS supported Daysmoke. These products are expected to provide fire and air quality managers and modelers with quantitative information and tools for understanding the accuracy, limits, and uncertainty in plume rise calculation of prescribed burning, and their impacts on simulation and prediction of smoke transport and air quality effects.
- Ph.D. in Atmospheric Dynamics, 1990
- Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
- M.S. in Climatology, 1986
- Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing, China
- B.S. in Meteorology, 1982
- Nanjing Institute of Meteorology, Nanjing, China
- Adjunct Faculty, College of Sciences and Arts, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
- Adjunct Professor, School of Earth and Atmospheric Science, Georgia Institute of Technology
- Research Meteorogist, Center for Forest Disturbance Science, USDA Forest Service
- Senior Research Scientist, College of Sciences and Arts, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
- Assistant Research Professor, Department of Environmental Science, Rutgers University, New Brunsvick, NJ
- PostDoc, Department of Meteorology and Physical Oceanography, Rutgers University, New Brunsvick, NJ
- Visiting Scholar, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO
- Assistant Research Scientist, Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing, China
- Graduate Research Assistant, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Research Assistant / Graduate Research Assistant, Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing, China
Featured Publications and Products
- Liu, Y.; Stanturf, J.; Goodrick, S. 2010. Wildfire potential evaluation during a drought event with a regional climate model and NDVI.
- Liu, L.; Achtemeier, G.L.; Goodrick, S.L.; Jackson, W. 2010. Important parameters for smoke plume rise simulation with Daysmoke.
- Liu, Y.-Q. 2010. A numerical study on hydrological impacts of forest restoration in the southern United States.
- Liu, Y.; Goodrick, S.; Achtemeier, G. 2009. Smoke incursions into urban areas: simulation of a Georgia prescribed burn.
- Liu, Yongqiang. 2016. Responses of dead forest fuel moisture to climate change.
- Charney, Joseph J.; Kiefer, Michael T.; Zhong, Shiyuan ; Heilman, Warren E.; Nikolic, Jovanka ; Bian, Xindi ; Hom, John L.; Clark, Kenneth L.; Skowronski, Nicholas S.; Gallagher, Michael R.; Patterson, Matthew ; Liu, Yongqiang ; Hawley, Christie . 2019. Assessing Forest Canopy Impacts on Smoke Concentrations Using a Coupled Numerical Model.
- Zhao, Fengjun ; Liu, Yongqiang . 2019. Atmospheric circulation patterns associated with wildfires in the monsoon regions of China.
- Liu, Yongqiang ; Kochanski, Adam ; Baker, Kirk R.; Mell, William ; Linn, Rodman ; Paugam, Ronan ; Mandel, Jan ; Fournier, Aime ; Jenkins, Mary Ann; Goodrick, Scott ; Achtemeier, Gary ; Zhao, Fengjun ; Ottmar, Roger ; French, Nancy H. F.; Larkin, Narasimhan ; Brown, Timothy ; Hudak, Andrew ; Dickinson, Matthew ; Potter, Brian ; Clements, Craig ; Urbanski, Shawn ; Prichard, Susan ; Watts, Adam ; McNamara, Derek . 2019. Fire behaviour and smoke modelling: model improvement and measurement needs for next-generation smoke research and forecasting systems.
- Prichard, Susan ; Larkin, N. ; Ottmar, Roger ; French, Nancy ; Baker, Kirk ; Brown, Tim ; Clements, Craig ; Dickinson, Matt ; Hudak, Andrew ; Kochanski, Adam ; Linn, Rod ; Liu, Yongqiang ; Potter, Brian ; Mell, William ; Tanzer, Danielle ; Urbanski, Shawn ; Watts, Adam . 2019. The Fire and Smoke Model Evaluation Experiment - A plan for integrated, large fire-atmosphere field campaigns.
- Hallema, Dennis W.; Sun, Ge; Caldwell, Peter V.; Norman, Steven P.; Cohen, Erika C.; Liu, Yongqiang; Bladon, Kevin D.; McNulty, Steven G. 2018. Burned forests impact water supplies.
- Qin, Mengsheng ; Hao, Lu ; Sun, Lei ; Liu, Yongqiang ; Sun, Ge . 2018. Climatic controls on watershed reference evapotranspiration varied during 1961-2012 in southern China.
- Hao, Lu ; Huang, Xiaolin ; Qin, Mengsheng ; Liu, Yongqiang ; Li, Wenhong ; Sun, Ge . 2018. Ecohydrological processes explain urban dry island effects in a wet region, southern China.
- Liu, Yongqiang . 2018. New development and application needs for Earth system modeling of fire–climate–ecosystem interactions.
- Hao, Lu ; Pan, Cen ; Fang, Di ; Zhang, Xiaoyu ; Zhou, Decheng ; Liu, Peilong ; Liu, Yongqiang ; Sun, Ge . 2018. Quantifying the effects of overgrazing on mountainous watershed vegetation dynamics under a changing climate.
- Zhang, Libo ; Liu, Yongqiang ; Zhao, Fengjun . 2018. Singular value decomposition analysis of spatial relationships between monthly weather and air pollution index in China.
- Liu, Yongqiang; Goodrick, Scott; Achtemeier, Gary. 2018. The weather conditions for desired smoke plumes at a FASMEE burn site.
- Liu, Peilong; Hao, Lu; Pan, Cen; Zhou, Decheng; Liu, Yongqiang; Sun, Ge. 2017. Combined effects of climate and land management on watershed vegetation dynamics in an arid environment.
- Lu, Houquan; Wu, Yihua; Li, Yijun; Liu, Yongqiang. 2017. Effects of meteorological droughts on agricultural water resources in southern China.
- Liu, Yongqiang; Kochanski, Adam; Baker, Kirk; Mell, Ruddy; Linn, Rodman; Paugam, Ronan; Mandel, Jan; Fournier, Aime; Jenkins, Mary Ann; Goodrick, Scott; Achtemeier, Gary; Hudak, Andrew; Dickson, Matthew; Potter, Brian; Clements, Craig; Urbanski, Shawn; Ottmar, Roger; Larkin, Narasimhan; Brown, Timothy; French, Nancy; Prichard, Susan; Watts, Adam; McNamara, Derek. 2017. Fire and Smoke Model Evaluation Experiment (FASMEE): Modeling gaps and data needs.
- Zhang, Libo ; Liu, Yongqiang ; Zhao, Fengjun . 2017. Important meteorological variables for statistical long-term air quality prediction in eastern China.
- Hallema, Dennis W.; Sun, Ge; Bladon, Kevin D.; Norman, Steven P.; Caldwell, Peter V.; Liu, Yongqiang; McNulty, Steven G. 2017. Regional patterns of postwildfire streamflow response in the Western United States: The importance of scale-specific connectivity.
- Littell, Jeremy S.; Peterson, David L.; Riley, Karin L.; Liu, Yongqiang; Luce, Charlie H. 2016. A review of the relationships between drought and forest fire in the United States.
- Hallema, Dennis W.; Sun, Ge; Caldwell, Peter V.; Norman, Steve; Cohen Mack, Erika; Liu, Yongqiang; Ward, Eric J.; McNulty, Steve. 2016. Assessment of wildland fire impacts on watershed annual water yield: Analytical framework and case studies in the United States.
- Zhou, Decheng; Li, Dan; Sun, Ge; Zhang, Liangxia; Liu, Yongqiang; Hao, Lu. 2016. Contrasting effects of urbanization and agriculture on surface temperature in eastern China.
- Zhang, Libo; Liu, Yongqiang; Hao, Lu. 2016. Contributions of open crop straw burning emissions to PM 2.5 concentrations in China.
- Hao, Lu; Pan, Cen; Liu, Peilong; Zhou, Decheng; Zhang, Liangxia; Xiong, Zhe; Liu, Yongqiang; Sun, Ge. 2016. Detection of the Coupling between Vegetation Leaf Area and Climate in a Multifunctional Watershed, Northwestern China.
- Liu, Yongqiang; Zhang, L.B.; Hao, L.; Sun, Ge; Liu, S.-C. 2016. Evapotranspiration and land surface process responses to afforestation in western Taiwan: A comparison between dry and wet weather conditions.
- Littell, Jeremy S.; Peterson, David L.; Riley, Karin L.; Liu, Yongqiang; Luce, Charles H. 2016. Fire and drought [Chapter 7].
- Hallema, Dennis W.; Sun, Ge; Caldwell, Peter V.; Norman, Steve; Cohen, Erika C.; Liu, Yongqiang; McNulty, Steve. 2016. Relationships between wildland fires and watershed hydrology across the contiguous U.S.
- Zhou, Decheng; Zhang, Liangxia; Hao, Lu; Sun, Ge; Liu, Yongqiang; Zhu, Chao. 2016. Spatiotemporal trends of urban heat island effect along the urban development intensity gradient in China.
- Yang, Jia; Tian, Hanqin; Tao, Bo; Ren, Wei; Pan, Shufen; Liu, Yongqiang; Wang, Yuhang. 2015. A growing importance of large fires in conterminous United States during 1984-2012.
- Hao, L.; Sun, Ge; Liu, Yongqiang; Zhou, G. S.; Wan, J. H.; Zhang, L. B.; Niu, J. L.; Sang, Y. H.; He, J. J. 2015. Evapotranspiration and soil moisture dynamics in a temperate grassland ecosystem in Inner Mongolia China.
- Hao, Lu; Sun, Ge; Liu, Yongqiang; Qian, Hong. 2015. Integrated modeling of water supply and demand under management options and climate change scenarios in Chifeng City, China.
- Zhou, Decheng; Zhao, Shuqing; Zhang, Liangxia; Sun, Ge; Liu, Yongqiang. 2015. The footprint of urban heat island effect in China.
- Hao, L.; Sun, G.; Liu, Y.; Wan, J.; Qin, M.; Qian, H.; Liu, C.; John, R.; Fan, P.; Chen, J. 2015. Urbanization dramatically altered the water balances of a paddy field dominated basin in southern China.
- Hao, Lu; Sun, Ge; Liu, Yongqiang; Gao, Zhiqiu; He, Junjie; Shi, Tingting; Wu, Bingjuan. 2014. Effects of precipitation on grassland ecosystem restoration under grazing exclusion in Inner Mongolia, China .
- Mitchell, Robert J.; Liu, Yongqiang; O’Brien, Joseph J.; Elliott, Katherine J.; Starr, Gregory; Miniat, Chelcy Ford; Hiers, J. Kevin. 2014. Future climate and fire interactions in the southeastern region of the United States.
- Liu, Yongqiang; Prestemon, Jeffrey P.; Goodrick, Scott L.; Holmes, Thomas P.; Stanturf, John A.; Vose, James M.; Sun, Ge. 2014. Future wildfire trends, impacts, and mitigation options in the Southern United States.
- Marion, Daniel A.; Sun, Ge; Caldwell, Peter V.; Miniat, Chelcy F.; Ouyang, Ying; Amatya, Devendra M.; Clinton, Barton D.; Conrads, Paul A.; Gull Laird, Shelby; Dai, Zhaohua; Clingenpeel, J. Alan; Liu, Yonqiang; Roehl, Edwin A., Jr..; Moore Myers, Jennifer A.; Trettin, Carl. 2014. Managing forest water quantity and quality under climate change.
- Heilman, Warren; Liu, Yongqiang; Urbanski, Shawn; Kovalev, Vladimir; Mickler, Robert. 2014. Wildland fire emissions, carbon, and climate: Plume rise, atmospheric transport, and chemistry processes.
- Liu, Yongqiang; Goodrick, Scott; Heilman, Warren. 2014. Wildland fire emissions, carbon, and climate: Wildfire–climate interactions.
- Liu, Yongqiang; Qu, John J.; Wang, Wanting; Hao, Xianjun. 2013. Estimates of wildland fire emissions.
- Sun, Ge; Liu, Yongqiang. 2013. Forest Influences on Climate and Water Resources at the Landscape to Regional Scale.
- McNulty, Steven; Caldwell, Peter; Doyle, Thomas W.; Johnsen, Kurt; Liu, Yongqiang; Mohan, Jacqueline; Prestemon, Jeffrey; Sun, Ge. 2013. Forests and Climate Change in the Southeast USA.
- Liu, Yongqiang; Goodrick, Scott; Achtemeier, Gary L.; Forbus, Ken; Combs, David. 2013. Smoke plume height measurement of prescribed burns in the south-eastern United States.
- Achtemeier, G. L; Goodrick, S. L.; Liu, Y. 2012. Modeling Multiple-Core Updraft Plume Rise for an Aerial Ignition Prescribed Burn by Coupling Daysmoke with a Cellular Automata Fire Model.
- Goodrick, Scott L.; Achtemeier, Gary L.; Larkin, Narasimhan K.; Liu, Yongqiang; Strand, Tara M. (. 2012. Modelling smoke transport from wildland fires: a review.
- Chen, Guang-Shan; Notaro, Michael; Liu, Zhengyu; Liu, Yongqiang. 2012. Simulated Local and Remote Biophysical Effects of Afforestation over the Southeast United States in Boreal Summer.
- Achtemeier, G L; Goodrick, S L; Liu, Y; Garcia-Menendez, F; Hu, Y; Odman, M. 2011. Modeling Smoke Plume-Rise and Dispersion from Southern United States Prescribed Burns with Daysmoke.
- Wang, W.; Qu, J.J.; Hao, X.; Liu, Y. 2009. Analysis of the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer contextual algorithm for small fire detection.
- Wang, W.; Qu, J.J.; Hao, X.; Liu, Y. 2009. Analysis of the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer contextual algorithm for small fire detection, Journal of Applied Remote Sensing Vol.3.
- Qu, John J.; Hao, Xianjun; Liu, Yongqiang; Riebau, Allen R.; Yi, Haoruo; Qin, Xianlin. 2009. Remote sensing applications of wildland fire and air quality in China.
- Liu, Yongqiang; Stanturf, John; Lu, Houquan. 2008. Modeling the potential of the Northern China forest shelterbelt in improving hydroclimate conditions.
- Liu, Yongqiang; Achtemeier, Gary; Goodrick, Scott. 2008. Sensitivity of air quality simulation to smoke plume rise.
- Wang, Wanting; Qu, John J.; Xianjun Hao, ; Liu, Yongqiang; Sommers, William T. 2006. An improved algorithm for small and cool fire detection using MODIS data: A preliminary study in the southeastern United States.
- Liu, Yongqiang. 2006. North Pacific warming and intense northwestern U.S. wildfires.
- Achtemeier, Gary L.; Goodrick, Scott; Liu, Yongqiang. 2005. A coupled modeling system for connecting prescribed fire activity data through CMAQ for simulating regional scale air quality.
- Liu, Yongqiang. 2005. Atmospheric response and feedback to radiative forcing from biomass burning in tropical South America.
- Liu, Yongqiang. 2005. Enhancement of the 1988 northern U.S. drought due to wildfires.
- Liu, Yongqiang; Qu, John J.; Hao, Xianjun; Wang, Wanting. 2005. Improving Fire Emission Estimates in the eastern United States Using Satellite-Based Fuel Loading Factors.
- Liu, Yongqiang. 2005. Land Breeze and Thermals: A Scale Threshold to Distinguish Their Effects.
- Liu, Yongqiang; Avissar, Roni. 2005. Modeling of the Global Water Cycle - Analytical Models.
- Liu, Yongqiang; Achtemeier, Gary; Goodrick, Scott. 2005. Simulation and Experiment of Air Quality Effects of Prescribed Fires in the Southeast.
- Liu, YongQiang. 2004. Variability of wildland fire emissions across the contiguous United States.
- Liu, Yongqiang. 2003. Atmospheric Response And Feedback To Smoke Radiative Forcing From Wildland Fires.
- Liu, Yongqiang. 2003. Prediction of monthly-seasonal precipitation using coupled SVD patterns between soil moisture and subsequent precipitation.
- Liu, Yongqiang. 2003. Spatial And Temporal Variability Of Wildland Fire Emissions Over The U.S.
- Liu, Yongqiang. 2003. Spatial patterns of soil moisture connected to monthly-seasonal precipitation variability in a monsoon region.
- Achtemeier, Gary L.; Goodrick, Scott L.; Liu, Yongqiang. 2003. The southern high-resolution modeling consortium - a source for research and operational collaboration.
- Fire and smoke modeling issues, gaps, and measurement data needs for developing next-generation operational smoke prediction models (2017)
- Smoke from wildland fires is a major natural hazard to air quality and human health. Providing complete and accurate smoke information is essential to prevent and reduce the impacts of such hazards. This study is an effort to develop the next-generation smoke prediction system to improve smoke prediction skills.
- Global Wildfire Potential (2010)
- SRS scientists are measuring fire potential using the Keetch-Byram Drought Index. The Index is calculated for present climate conditions through observed maximum temperatures and precipitation, and for future climate conditions through projected end-of-the-century changes projected by general circulation models.SRS scientists are measuring fire potential using the Keetch-Byram Drought Index. The Index is calculated for present climate conditions through observed maximum temperatures and precipitation, and for future climate conditions through projected end-of-the-century changes projected by general circulation models.
- Wildfire in the United States: Future Trends and Potential (2012)
- Climate models project warming and increased droughts this century in the continental United States, so wildfire is likely to increase accordingly