Chuixiang Yi

About

Chuixiang Yi is Professor at Queens College of the City University of New York. Previously, he was Associate Professor at Beijing Normal University. Yi holds a Ph.D. in atmospheric sciences from Nanjing University and held post-doctoral positions in boundary-layer meteorology, micrometeorology, and biosphere-atmosphere interactions at the UC-Berkeley, U -Minnesota, Penn-State U, and U -Colorado.  His research has focused on canopy fluid mechanics including developing theoretical formulations, designing observations, and performing numerical simulations to understand the physical, biological, and chemical processes that control the exchange of trace gas between the vegetation and the atmosphere. Yi was a leading recipient of World Meteorological Organization Norbert-Gerbier-MUMM International Award in 2012. Yi was a Rossby Fellow from International Meteorological Institute at Stockholm University during 2014 – 2015. Yi was a Fulbright Visiting Professor at University of Innsbruck in 2022. His Lab has a broad spectrum of research projects across Forest Ecology, Remote Sensing, Micrometeorology, Climate Change, Paleoclimate, and Hydrology. The overall goal of his team is to use nonlinear system theory, stability analysis approach, resilience, and tipping point concepts to predict potential critical transitions of nature and society in facing extremes induced by the warming climate.

Department and Climate Courses

School of Earth and Environmental Sciences

GEOL 383 Introduction to Environmental Modeling, Fall 2023.

Global Change Ecology, 2022-2023, this was a master’s graduate course in the Department of Ecology at the University of Innsbruck, co-taught with professors Michael Bahn and Ruben Sommaruga.

GEOL 799.3 Statistical Methods in Geosciences 

GEOL 77 Weather, Climate, and Climate Change

GEOL 342 Introduction to Meteorology

ENSCI 377 Atmosphere-Biosphere Interactions

GEOL 216 Dynamics of the Oceans and Atmospheres,

GEOL 799.3 Extreme Weather and Megacities 

ENSCI 112 Our Changing Planet

Climate Research

The overall goal of Yi’s current research is to determine what processes influence the movement of carbon throughout ecosystems. Early results show that temperature is the most important control on carbon flow in high latitudes, while water is the most important control for carbon movement in low latitudes. As a result of global warming effects during the 21st century, it is predicted that carbon flow from the atmosphere into ecosystems will be strengthened in high latitudes while being weakened in low latitudes.

Climate control of terrestrial carbon exchange across biomes and continents, Environmental Research Letters, 5 (2010) doi: 10.1088/17489326/5/3/034007.    

International Award:  This paper was awarded the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) 2012 Norbert Gerbier-MUMM International Medal and Prize (€7,600) on 2 July 2012 at the International Award Ceremony in Geneva, Switzerland. 

Yi’s research has focused on canopy fluid mechanics including developing theoretical formulations, designing observations, and performing numerical simulations to understand the physical, biological, and chemical processes that control the exchange of trace gas between the vegetation and the atmosphere.

Yi, C. (2008) Momentum transfer within canopies, Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, 47, 262-275, doi:10.1175/2007JAMC1667.1. 

Yi, C.,  D. E. Anderson, A. A. Turnipseed, S. P. Burns, and J. Sparks, D. Stannard, and K. R. Monson* (2008)  The contribution of advective fluxes to net ecosystem CO2 exchange in a high-elevation, subalpine forest ecosystem, Invited Feature in Ecological Applications, 18 (6), 1379-1390. 

Yi, C. (2009) Instability analysis of terrain-induced canopy flows, Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 66, 2134-2142, doi:10.1175/2009JAS3005.1.  

Wang, W. and C. Yi (2012) A new nonlinear analytical model for canopy flow over a forested hill, Theoretical and Applied Climatology, DOI 10.1007/s00704-012-0599-9. 

Chen, H., and C. Yi (2012) Optimal control of katabatic flows within canopies, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, DOI:10.1002/qj.1904.

Xu, X., C. Yi (2012) the influence of geometry on recirculation and CO2 transport over forested hills, Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics, DOI: 10.1007/s00703-012-0224-6.  

Xu, X., C. Yi, and E. Kutter(a),  Stably stratified canopy flow in complex terrain, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 7457-7470, doi:10.5194/acp-15-7457-2015, (2015).

Kutter, E., C. Yi, G. Hendrey, H. Liu, T. Eaton, W. Ni-Meister, Recirculation over Complex Terrain, Journal of Geophysical Research, 122, doi:10.1002/2016JD026409, (2017).

Xu, X., C. Yi, L. Montagnani, E. Kutter(a), Numerical Study of the interplay between thermo-topographic slope flow and synoptic flow on canopy transport processes, Agric. Forest Meteorol., doi:10.1016/j.agrformet.2017.03.004. (2017).

Ma, Y., Liu, H., Banerjee, T., Katul, G. G., Yi, C., & Pardyjak, E. R. (2020). The effects of canopy morphology on flow over a two‐dimensional isolated ridge. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 125, e2020JD033027. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JD033027.

Yi, C., R. K. Monson, Z. Zhai, D. E. Anderson, B. Lamb, G. Allwine, A. A. Turnipseed, and S. P. Burns, Modeling and measuring the nocturnal drainage flow in a high-elevation, subalpine forest with complex terrain, Journal of Geographical Research, 110, D22303, doi:10.1029/2005JD006282, 2005.

Yi, C., K. J. Davis, P. S. Bakwin, A.S. Denning, N. Zhang, A. Desai, J. C. Lin, and C. Gerbig, The observed covariance between ecosystem carbon exchange and atmospheric boundary layer dynamics at a site in northern Wisconsin, Journal of Geophysical Research, 109, D08302, doi:10.1029/2003JD004164, 2004. 

Yi, C., K. J. Davis, B. W. Berger, P. S. Bakwin, Long-term observations of the dynamics of the continental planetary boundary layer, Journal of the Atmospheric Science, 58, 1288-1299, 2001. 

Yi, C., R. Li, P. S. Bakwin, A. Desai, D. M. Ricciuto, S. P. Burns, A. A. Turnipseed, S. C. Wofsy, J. W. Munger, K. Wilson, and R. K. Monson, A nonparametric method for separating photosynthesis and respiration components in CO2 flux measurements, Geophysical Research Letters, 31, L17107, doi:10.1029/2004GL020490, 2004. 

Yi, C., K. J. Davis, P. S. Bakwin, B. W. Berger, and L. Marr, The influence of advection on measurements of the net ecosystem-atmosphere exchange of   CO2 from a very tall tower, Journal of Geophysical Research, 105, 9991-9999, 2000.

Manuel Helbig,  Tobias Gerken, Eric Beamesderfer, Dennis D. Baldocchi, Tirtha Banerjee, Sébastien C. Biraud, William O.J. Brown, Nathaniel A. Brunsell, Elizabeth A Burakowski, Sean P. Burns, Brian J. Butterworth, W. Stephen Chan, Kenneth J. Davis, Ankur R. Desai, Jose D. Fuentes, David Y. Hollinger, Natascha Kljun, Matthias Mauder, Kimberly A. Novick, John M. Perkins, David A. Rahn, Camilo Rey-Sanchez, Joseph A. Santanello, Russell L. Scott, Bijan Seyednasrollah, Paul C. Stoy, Ryan C. Sullivan, Jordi Vilà-Guerau de Arellano, Sonia Wharton, Chuixiang Yi, Andrew D. Richardson (2021) Integrating continuous atmospheric boundary layer and tower-based flux measurements to advance understanding of land-atmosphere interactions Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 307 15 September 2021, 108509. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168192321001933

Impacts of climate change on GPP and forest mortality

Yi, C., G. Mu, G. Hendrey, S. M. Vicente-Serrano, W. Fang(b), T. Zhou, S. Gao(a), P. Xu. Bifurcated Response of a Regional Forest to Drought,  Expert Opin Environ Biol, 7:2, 10.4172/2325-9655.1000153 (2018).

Yi, C., Hendrey, G.,  Niu,S., McDowell, N.,  Allen, C. D., Tree Mortality in a Warming World: Causes, Patterns, and Implications, Environ. Res. Lett. 17 (2022) 030201 https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac507b.

Yi, C., S. Wei &  G. Hendrey, Warming climate extends dryness-controlled areas of terrestrial carbon sequestration. Sci. Rep. 4, 5472;DOI:10.1038/srep05472 (2014).

Yi, C., E. Pendall &  P. Ciais, Focus on extreme events and the carbon cycle. Environ. Res. Lett. 10 070201 doi:10.1088/1748-9326/10/7/070201 (2015). Citations (6);JIF (4.134).

Huang, K., C. Yi, D. Wu, T. Zhou, X. Zhao, W. J. Blanford, S. Wei, H. Wu, D. Ling, and Z. Li, Tipping point of a conifer forest ecosystem under severe drought, Environ. Res. Lett. 10 024011 doi:10.1088/1748-9326/10/2/024011 (2015). 

Wei, S., C. Yi, W. Fang, G. Hendrey, A global Study of GPP focusing on Light Use Efficiency in a Random Forest Regression Model, Ecosphere 8(5):e01724. 10.1002/ecs2.1724 (2017).

Tian, Z., Yi, C., Fu, Y., Kutter, E., Krakauer, N. Y., Fang, W., et al. (2023). Fusion of multiple models for improving gross primary production estimation with eddy covariance data based on machine learning. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 128, 2022JG007122. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JG007122

Luo, H., Zhou, T, Yu, P, Yi, C., Liu, X., Zhang, Y., Zhou, P., Zhang, J., Xu, Y. The forest recovery path after drought dependence on forest type and stock volume, 2022 Environ. Res. Lett. in press https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac57e5

Xu, P., Fang, W., Zhou, T., Li, H., Zhao, X., Berman, S., Zhang, T., Yi*, C., Satellite evidence of canopy-height dependence of forest drought resistance in southwestern China, Environ. Res. Lett. 17 (2022) 025005, https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac4a33

Fang, W., C. Yi, D. Chen, P. Xu, G. Hendrey, N. Krakauer, K. Jensen, S. Gao, Z. Lin, G. Lam, Q. Zhang, T. Zhou, 2021, Hotter and Drier Climate Made the Mediterranean Europe and Northern Africa Region a Shrubbier Landscape, Oecologia, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00442-021-05041-3

Gao, S., T. Zhou, C. Yi, P. Shi, W. Fang(b), R. Liu, E. Liang, J. J. Camareroh, Asymmetric impacts of dryness and wetness on tree growth and forest coverage, Agric. Forest Meteorol., 288–289, 2020, 107980, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2020.107980.

Xu, P., W. Fang, T. Zhou, X. Zhao, H. Luo, G. Hendrey, and C. Yi, Spatial upscaling of tree-ring-based forest response to drought with satellite data, Remote Sens. 2019, 11(20), 2344;https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11202344.

Gao, S., R. Liu, T. Zhou, W. Fang, C. Yi, R. Lu, X. Zhao, H. Luo, Dynamic responses of tree-ring growth to multiple dimensions of drought, Global Change Biology, DOI:10.1111/gcb.14367 (2018).

Xu, P., T. Zhou, C. Yi, W. Fang, G. Hendrey, and X. Zhao, Forest drought resistance distinguished by canopy height, Environ. Res. Lett. 13 (2018) 075003 (2018). 

Xu, P., T. Zhou, C. Yi, H. Luo, X. Zhao, W. Fang, S. Gao, X. Liu, Impacts of Water Stress on Forest Recovery and Its Interaction with Canopy Height, Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 15, 1257;doi:10.3390/ijerph15061257 (2018).

Luo, H., T. Zhou, C. Yi, P. Xu, X. Zhao, S. Gao, X. Liu,  Stock volume dependency of forest drought responses in Yunnan, China, Forests, 9(4), 209;doi:10.3390/f9040209 (2018). 

Andujar, E., N. Y. Krakauer, C. Yi, F. Kogan, Ecosystem Drought Response Timescales from Thermal Emission versus Shortwave Remote Sensing, Advances in Meteorology, Volume 2017, Article ID 8434020, 10 pages https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/8434020, (2017).

Wei, S., C. Yi, G. Hendrey, T. Eaton, G. Rustic(a), S. Wang, H. Liu, N. Y. Krakauer, W. Wang, A. R. Desai, L. Montagnani, K. T. Paw U, M. Falk, A. Black, C. Bernhofer, T. Grünwald, T. Laurila, A. Cescatti, E. Moors, R. Bracho, and R. Valentini, Data-based perfect-deficit approach to understanding climate extremes and forest carbon assimilation capacity, Environ. Res. Lett. 9 065002 doi:10.1088/1748-9326/9/6/065002. (2014)

Yi, C., P. Gong, M. Xu , and Y. Qi , The effects of buffer and temperature feedback on the oceanic uptake of CO2, Geophysical Research Letter, 28, 751-754,  2001.

Earth system’s resilience and tipping point in the face of climate change

Yi, C, N. Jackson(e) (2021)  A review of measuring ecosystem resilience to disturbance Environ. Res. Lett. 16 053008 https://qcpages.qc.cuny.edu/~cyi/Yi_2021_Environ._Res._Lett._16_053008.pdf.

Ramadhin, C., C. Yi, G. R Hendrey (2021) Temperature variance portends and indicates the extent of abrupt climate shifts, IOPSciNotes https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2633-1357/abda14

Ramadhin, C., and C. Yi, 2020: ESD Ideas: Why are glaciations slower than deglaciations? Earth Syst. Dynam., 11, 13–16, 2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-11-13-2020.

Huang, K., C. Yi, D. Wu, T. Zhou, X. Zhao, W. J. Blanford, S. Wei, H. Wu, D. Ling, and Z. Li, Tipping point of a conifer forest ecosystem under severe drought, Environ. Res. Lett. 10 024011 doi:10.1088/1748-9326/10/2/024011 (2015).