Our group conducts integrated research and extension work with professionals in a variety of fields including atmospheric science, hydrology, soil science, environmental science, geospatial information science, agricultural/biological sciences, agricultural engineering, and computer science.
We conduct basic and applied research and extension work in Air Quality Issues, Agricultural Water Management, and Gene Flow using remote sensing and ground-based measurements as well as modeling methods. The topics include:
- Gas emissions and air quality issues (e.g., H2O, CO2, CO, CH4 and N2O. This includes a new technology consisting of a state-of-the-art 10 Hz, N2O analyzer (quantum cascade laser system for continuous detection of N2O, which makes eddy-covariance measurements of N2O, emissions possible; measuring and modeling of particulate matter and chemicals emission, dispersion and deposition
- Measurement and modeling of atmospheric gene flow including pollen and seed emission, dispersion, deposition and outcrossing
- Measurement and modeling of fluxes, evapotranspiration (plant water use), irrigation and fertilization, and plant growth using eddy covariance, scintillometer, and remote sensing technology
- Intelligent irrigation and fertilization system development. The algorithm in the system assimilates weather and soil data to simulate/forecast plant growth, water and fertilizer needs and then adjust water and fertilizer applications. The model integrates data from various sources, such as automated weather stations, forecast model data, satellite measurements, land cover, topography, hydrography, etc. as model input at scales from meters to megameters
- Online, smartphone App, and slider tool development
- Fertilizer leaching measurements and modeling
- Development of Automated Devices to Detect Plant responses to Irrigation and Fertilization