TERRESTRIAL HYDROLOGY LAB
at University of Cincinnati
RECENT PROJECTS
We develop impactful projects aimed at addressing challenging problems related to surface water.
Global River Discharge Mapping
We study global rivers by developing high-accuracy discharge products for global rivers through the integration of satellite remote sensing and physics-based models. Dr. Feng is currently leading a NASA SWOT project to develop new global discharge products updated by SWOT measurements.
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Funding: NASA​
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Relevant Publications:
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Feng D. and C.J. Gleason, 2024, More flow upstream and less flow downstream: the changing form and function of global rivers, Science, 386,1305-1311 (link).
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Feng D., Gleason C.J., Lin P., Yang X., Pan M., and Ishitsuka Y., 2021, Recent changes to Arctic river discharge, Nature Communications (link).
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Ishitsuka, Yuta; et al., (2021) Combining Optical Remote Sensing, McFLI Discharge Estimation, Global Hydrologic Modeling, and Data Assimilation to Improve Daily Discharge Estimates Across an Entire Large Watershed. Water Resources Research (link)
Large-scale River Water Quality
We develop methods to improve the high-resolution quantification and monitoring of river water quality, including suspended sediment, nutrients, harmful algal blooms, and carbon. Dr. Feng is currently leading three major projects to investigate continental to global scale dynamics of riverine nutrients, suspended sediment, and green house gases by developing innovative and effective methods through the integration of satellite data, hydrologic models, and machine learning techniques.
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Funding: NASA and USGS​
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Relevant Publications:
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Gupta A. and D. Feng, 2025, Daily Suspended Sediment Concentration: Predictability and Limits-of-Acceptability at Gauged and Ungauged rivers using Deep Learning, Journal of Hydrology (link).
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Ramtel P., D. Feng, and J. Gardner, 2024, Quantifying riverine phosphorus in the United States using long-term satellite data and machine learning, JGR: Biogeosciences (link).
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Elisa S. Friedmann, Colin J Gleason, D. Feng, Theodore Langhorst, 2024, Estimating Riverine Total Suspended Sediment from Hyperresolution Satellite Fusion, IEEE JSTARS (link)
Global River Width Dynamics
We develop global river width datasets from satellites, including Landsat and Sentinel-2. We developed the first long-term global river width dataset from Landsat (GLOW, ~40-yr global river widths for 1984-2020) and a higher-resolution global river width dataset from Sentinel-2 (GLOW-S). With these datasets, we investigate how global river widths change at different temporal scales (from multi-decadal to seasonal) and identified the major drivers of these changes.
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Funding: NASA​
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Relevant Publications:
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Feng, D., Gleason C.J., Yang X., Allen G.H., and Pavelsky T.M., 2022, How have global river widths changed over time? Water Resources Research, [Link]
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Bhattarai A., A. Gupta, and D. Feng, Quantifying global river seasonality using Sentinel-2 imagery, Geophysical Research Letters (in revision)
Remote Sensing of Discharge
Satellites observe the hydraulic conditions of global rivers, which can be used to estimate river discharge. We develop and assess methods for river discharge estimation using various satellites, including government satellites (Landsat, Sentinel-2, and SWOT) and commercial satellites (e.g., Planet).
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Funding: NASA and NSF.​
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Relevant Publications:
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Feng, D., C. Gleason, X. Yang and T. Pavelsky, 2019, Comparing discharge estimates made via the BAM algorithm in high-order Arctic rivers derived solely from optical CubeSat, Landsat, and Sentinel-2 data, Water Resources Research (link).
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Brinkerhoff, C. B.; Gleason, C. J.; Feng, D.; Lin, P. (2020) Constraining Remote River Discharge Estimation Using Reach-Scale Geomorphology. Water Resources Research (link).
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Lin P., D. Feng, C. J. Gleason, et al., 2023, Inversion of river discharge from remotely sensed river widths: A critical assessment at three-thousand global river gauges, Remote Sensing of Environment (link).
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Hydrologic impacts of climate change
Hydrological processes are sensitive to climatic variations. Hydrologic response to climate change is complicated and shows substantial spatial heterogeneity. We develop interdisciplinary research to address questions: e.g., How will hydrologic fluxes (e.g., runoff, river discharge) respond to climate alterations? and How will hydrologic changes impact humans and the environment (e.g., flood risks and fish migration)?
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Funding: NSF and NOAA.
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Relevant Publications:
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Feng, D., R.E. Beighley, et al., 2019. Propagation of Future Climate Conditions into Hydrologic Response from Coastal Southern California Watersheds, Climatic Change (link)
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Feng, D., et al., 2020. Future climate impacts on the hydrology of headwater streams in the Amazon River Basin: Implications for migratory goliath catfishes, Hydrological Processes (link)
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Feng, D. and R.E. Beighley, 2020, Identifying uncertainties in simulated streamflow from hydrologic process models for climate change impact assessments, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (link).