Research Seminar by Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences Thrust, Function Hub, HKUST (GZ) - Hydroclimatic Changes and Sustainable Development under Uncertainties
Socio-economic development consumes resources (e.g., water and energy) and emits pollutants (e.g., wastewater and greenhouse gases), constituting resources environmental and economic systems (REES). Climate change threatens sustainability of REES through affecting the hydrological cycle and the other stressors of REES (e.g., water availability, energy demand, or environmental loading). Sustainable development requires cross-disciplinary studies to gain insights into climate change and its impacts, and to achieve scientific management of REES under climate change and anthropogenic interference. However, the studies are challenged by uncertainties in the relevant systems, as well as other complexities (e.g., spatial heterogeneities, temporal dynamics, or inter-study integration). To address this challenge, a hydroclimatic modelling system composed of six interlinked data-driven methods was developed to assess and forecast the impacts of climate change on hydrological regimes over large river basins (e.g., the Athabasca River Basin of 140,000 square kilometres in Canada) under uncertainties and other complexities. In addition, an interval fuzzy programming method was constructed to identify the optimal irrigation and cultivation schemes of the Songhua River Watershed in Northeastern China under climate change and multiple uncertainties. These studies revealed the mechanisms of hydroclimatic changes and their impacts through advanced methods, and also provided decision support for sustainable development of communities under natural and societal changes.
Dr. Guanhui Cheng is a Research Scientist in the Institute for Energy, Environment, and Sustainable Communities at University of Regina, Canada. He obtained a Ph.D. degree in an integrated program of environmental sciences and engineering at University of Regina after graduate studies in the same subject and undergraduate studies in statistics.
His research interests consist of hydroclimatic modeling and projection, resources environmental and economic management, and climate-change impacts assessment, adaptation and mitigation. Through collaborating with scholars of various backgrounds across the world, he developed over 60 climate, hydrologic, water resources, energy, or environmental models for sustainable development of over 20 regions in Canada, China or other countries. He published 55 peer-reviewed journal articles and 24 conference papers/abstracts.
He is an editorial board member of 2 journals (Journal of Environmental Informatics and Environmental Systems Research), a member of 10 professional societies (e.g., AGU, EGU, AMS, CMOS, ASCE, and CSCE), an international project assessment expert of United Nations Development Programme, and a reviewer of over 30 journals (e.g., WRR, JGR, JH, HESS, EMS, and EJOR). The China Ministry of Education granted him the National Award for Outstanding Self-Financed Students Abroad and he also received awards for peer reviews and oral presentations.