Talent details
Education and Appointments
Education
Ph.D. in Civil Engineering (Water Resources), University of Central Florida (UCF), USA, 2005
M.S. in Civil Engineering, Tsinghua University, China, 2000
B.S. in Environmental Engineering, Tsinghua University, China, 1998
Appointments
2009.12-present Professor, ITP, CAS, China
2008.4-2009.12 Research Staff Scientist, Environmental Science Division (ESD), Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), USA
2005.5-2008.3 Research Associate, ESD, ORNL, USA
2000.8-2005.5 Research Assistant, UCF, USA
Professional Services
2021.9-present, Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Hydrology: regional studies
2016.1-present, Editorial Board Member, International Soil and Water Conservation research
2015.1-present, Science Editor, Journal of Mountain Science
Research Interest
Alpine region hydrology, soil erosion, sediment and reactive transport
Selected Publications
Books
1. Zhang, F., G. T. Yeh, and J. C. Parker. 2012. Ground Water Reactive Transport Models. Bentham Science Publishers. eISBN: 978-1-60805-306-3, 2012. ISBN: 978-1-60805-525-8.
Book Chapters
1. Martina Angela Caretta, Aditi Mukherji, Md Arfanuzzam, Richard A. Betts, Alexander Gelfan, Yukiko Hirabayashi, Tabea Katharina Lissne, Elena Lopez Gunn, Junguo Liu, Ruth Morgan, Sixbert Mwanga, Seree Supratid, Malcolm Araos, Soumya Balasubramanya, Angelica Katharina Casparina Brackel, John Caesar, Holly B. Caggiano, Benjamin Cook, Constantino Dockendorff, Calynn Dowler, Robert Dunn, Lina Elisabeth Erika Eklund, Zhang Fan, Valeria Fanghella, Colin M. Finlayson, Sabine Fuss, Animesh Kumar Gain, Freya Garry, Laila Gohar, Valentin Golosov, Sharlene Liane Gomes, Benjamin Jerome Gray, Lukas Gudmundsson, Tania Guillen Bolaneos, Kate Halladay, Ed Hawkins, Greeshma Hegde, Masoud Irannezhad, Bjørn Kløve, Aristeidis G. Koutroulis, Manish Kumar, Jonathan Lautze, Deborah Ley, Ashwina Mahanti, Ganquan Mao, Deborah McGregor, Mamta Mehar, Megan Mills-Novoa, Tessa Möller, Sanchari Mukhopadhyay, Tero Mustonen, Lakshmikantha N R, Gustavo Naumann, Prajjwal Kumar Panday, Vishnu Prasad Pandey, Jagadish Parajuli, Assela Pathirana, Ritu Priya, B. Uday Bhaskar Reddy, Ekaterina Rets, Rodrigo Fernandez Reynosa, Pamela Rittelmeyer, Conrado M. Rudorff, Orie Sasaki, Corinne Schuster Wallace, Christopher A. Scott, Cydney Kate Seigerman, Sonali Senaratna Sellamuttu, Rinan Shah, Mohammad Shamsudduha, Gitta Shrestha, Afreen Siddiqui, Balsher Singh Sidhu, Aprajita Singh, Anna Sinisalo, Francesca Spagnuolo, Jaishri Srinivasan, Makere Stewart-Harawira, Debra Tan, Masahiro Tanoue, Brock Ternes, William Rigoberto Delgado Thompson, Peter Uhe, Astrid Ulloa, Nicole van Maanen, Shuchi Vora, Yashoda Yashoda. “Water”. Chapter 4 in: H.-O. Pörtner, D.C. Roberts, M. Tignor, E.S. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, A. Alegría, M. Craig, S. Langsdorf, S. Löschke, V. Möller, A. Okem, B. Rama (eds.), Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, UK and New York, NY, USA. 2022, pp. 4-1 to 4-213-
2. Christopher, A.S., F. Zhang, A. Mukherji, W.Immerzeel, D.Mustafa, L.Bharati, 2019. “Water in the Hindu Kush Himalaya”. Chapter 8 in: Wester P., Mishra A., Mukherji A., Shrestha A. (eds) The Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment. Springer, Cham, Switzerland. 2019, pp. 257-300
3. Yeh, G. T., G. B. Huang, H. P. Cheng, F. Zhang, H. C. Lin, E. Edris, D. Richards, 2005. “A First Principle, physics-based watershed model: WASH123D”. Chapter 9 in: Watershed Models (V. P. Singh and D. K. Frevert, ed.), CRC Press LLC, 6000 Broken Sound Parkway, NW, (Suite 300) Boca Raton, FL 33487, USA. pp. 211-244.
4. Yeh, G. T., V. S. Tripathi, J. P. Gwo, H. P. Cheng, J.R. C. Cheng, K. M. Salvage, M. H. Li, Y. Fang, Y. Li, J. T. Sun, F. Zhang, M. D. Siegel, 2012, “HYDROGEOCHEM: A Coupled Model of Variably Saturated Flow, Thermal Transport, and Reactive Biogeochemical Transport”. Chapter 1 in: Zhang, F., G. T. Yeh, and J. C. Parker (eds) Ground Water Reactive Transport Models, Bentham Science Publishers Ltd. Oak Park, IL 60301-0446, USA. pp. 1-35.
Journal articles (within the last 5 years)
1. Li Wang, Fan Zhang*, Xiaonan Shi, Chen Zeng, Yao Chen, Xing Xu, Xudong Fu. Response of runoff and sediment transport process to climate change in the headwater regions of Yangtze River, Journal of Hydrology, 2026, 669: 135079.
2. Jiawei Su, Xiaonan Shi*, Fan Zhang, Jianhang Zhu, Yutong Hou, Chen Zeng. Divergent seasonal characteristics of hydro-sediment transport in seasonally frozen watershed and their response pathways to climate forcing. Journal of Hydrology, 2026, 666: 134764.
3. Hongbo Zhang, Fan Zhang*, Lun Luo, Wei Yan, Longhui Zhang, Ziying Li. Significant roles of snow and vegetation cover in modulating altitudinal gradients of land surface temperature over Asia high mountains. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 2025, 363: 110406.
4. Li Wang, Fan Zhang*, Yao Chen, Xiaonan Shi, Chen Zeng, Yuchun Wang, Cich-eng Qiangba, Baimu Deji, Dunzhu Awang, Na Qiong. Investigating climate change impacts on runoff and sediment transport processes in the midstream of the Yarlung Tsangpo river based on hydrological simulation. Catena, 2025, 254: 108920.
5. Chao Liu, Fan Zhang*, Chen Zeng, Yang Zhao*, Wei Yang. Dynamics of suspended sediment sources in the Kuoqionggangri glacier Basin, Tibetan Plateau, under diverse hydrometeorological conditions. Journal of Hydrology, 2025, 660: 133510.
6. Xiong Xiao, Fan Zhang*, Fengjing Liu, Xiaoyan Li, Xiaonan Shi, Chen Zeng, Tao Che. Hillslope flow paths in snowmelt and rainfall seasons in permafrost-underlain areas, Northeastern Tibetan Plateau: Investigation based on hydrochemical tracers and end-member mixing analysis. Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, 2025, 60: 102511.
7. Li Wang, Fan Zhang*, Xiaonan Shi, Chen Zeng, Yuxuan Xiang, Yafeng Wang. Assessment of meteorological, agricultural and hydrological droughts in Central Himalaya region under climate change. Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, 2025, 60: 102586.
8. Kiran Bishwakarma, Guanxing Wang, Fan Zhang*, Ramesh Raj Pant, Guangjian Wu. Concentration-discharge relationships and chemical weathering in the silicate-rich Tamor River Basin: Insights from weekly hydrochemical time-series. Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, 2025, 62: 102820.
9. Kiran Bishwakarma, Guanxing Wang, Fan Zhang*, Ramesh Raj Pant, Subash Adhikari, Ahmed M. Saqr. Hydrogeochemical controlling mechanism and associated health risk assessment of trace elements in the Koshi River Basin, Central Himalaya. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 2025, 197: 1026.
10. Ramesh Raj Pant, Fan Zhang*, Faizan Ur Rehman Qaiser, Memet Varol, Diwakar Adhikari, Guanxing Wang, Ahmed M. Saqr, Kiran Bishwakarma. Trace elements in fluvial sediments of the Gandaki River Basin, Central Himalaya, Nepal: distribution, sources, and risk assessment. Journal of Soils and Sediments, 2025, 25: 2463-2480.
11. Hang Zha, Fan Zhang, Hongbo Zhang*, Shizhen Tang, Longhui Zhang, Lun Luo. Unraveling the distinct roles of snowmelt and glacier-melt on agricultural water availability: A novel indicator and its application in a glacierized basin of China's arid region. Water Resources Research, 2025, 61: 2023WR036898.
12. Radhakrishna Bangalore Lakshmiprasad*, Fan Zhang, Ethan T. Coon, Thomas Graf. A numerical study of process complexity in permafrost dominated regions. Cold Regions Science and Technology, 2025, 231: 104399.
13. Dongmei Zhao, Donghong Xiong*, Kunlong He, Baojun Zhang, Fan Zhang, Han Wu, Haiyan Fang, Wenduo Zhang, Changyan Zhou, Xiaodan Wang. Non-consistent changes and drivers of water-sediment fluxes in the yarlung tsangpo river basin of the Tibetan plateau. International Soil and Water Conservation Research, 2025, 13: 362-378.
14. Yang Zhao, Fan Zhang*, Chen Zeng, Xiaonan Shi, Jinyu Kong, Shenqi Xie. Quantifying the sources of suspended sediments in the Nianchu River Basin, southern Tibetan Plateau: evaluation and application of a semiempirical fingerprinting framework. Journal of Hydrology, 2024, 630: 130711.
15. Xiong Xiao, Huawu Wu, Fan Zhang*, Cicheng Zhang, Zhongbo Yu, Guanxing Wang, Faizan Rehman Qaiser. Subsurface mixing of different soil water pools in a permafrost-underlain headwater catchment, Qilian Mountains, Northeastern Tibetan Plateau. Journal of Hydrology, 2024, 628:130478.
16. Kiran Bishwakarma, Guanxing Wang, Fan Zhang*, Ramesh Raj Pant, Xiang Yuxuan, Subash Adhikari. Chemical weathering and CO2 consumption rates of the Koshi River Basin: modelling and quantifying. Journal of Hydrology, 2024, 641: 131760.
17. Shenqi Xie, Chen Zeng*, Fan Zhang*, Guanxing Wang, Xiong Xiao. Defining lateral subsurface flow and identifying its water sources in an alpine-permafrost hillslope. Catena, 2024, 236:107765.
18. Yuxuan Xiang, Chen Zeng*, Fan Zhang*, Li Wang. Effects of climate change on runoff in a representative Himalayan basin assessed through optimal integration of multi-source precipitation data. Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, 2024, 53: 101828.
19. Ying Zheng, Xiaonan Shi*, Fan Zhang, Tingwu Lei, Chen Zeng, Xiong Xiao, Guanxing Wang. Field experimental study on the effect of thawed depth of frozen alpine meadow soil on rill erosion by snowmelt waterflow. International Soil and Water Conservation Research, 2024, 12:54-63.
20. Xiaonan Shi*, Jiawei Su, Ying Zheng, Fan Zhang, Jianhang Zhu, Chen Zeng. Spatiotemporal refinement of hydro-sediment processes in small disturbed permafrost watershed during rainfall and snowmelt events. Catena, 2024, 247: 108511.
21. Shenqi Xie, Chen Zeng*, Xiong Xiao, Guanxing Wang, Fan Zhang. Generation of runoff in an alpine meadow hillslope underlain by permafrost. International Soil and Water Conservation Research, 2024, 12: 775-785.
22. Jie Xu, Lei Wang*, Tandong Yao, Deliang Chen, Gang Wang, Zhaowei Jing, Fan Zhang, Yuyang Wang, Xiuping Li, Yinsheng Zhang, Yuanwei Wang, Tian Zeng, Chenhao Chai, Hu Liu, Ruishun Liu, Junshui Long, Xinfeng Fan, Ranjeet Bhlon, Baiqing Xu. Totaling river discharge of the third pole from satellite imagery. Remote Sensing of Environment, 2024, 308: 114181.
23. Fan Zhang*, Baoyuan Liu, Liping Zhu, Richard Cruse, Dongfeng Li, Panos Panagos, Pasquale Borrelli, Yakov Kuzyakov, Shaoshan An. Call for joint international actions to improve scientific understanding and address soil erosion and riverine sediment issues in mountainous regions. International Soil and Water Conservation Research, 2023, 11 (3):586-588.
24. Li Wang, Fan Zhang*, Chen Zeng, Wenjie Zhang. Variation of hydro-climatic extremes in headwater regions of Hei River basin under climate change. Journal of Hydrology:Regional Studies, 2023, 50:101561.
25. Li Wang, Fan Zhang*, Xiaonan Shi, Chen Zeng, Ijaz Ahmad, Guanxing Wang, Sahadeep Thapa, Xing Xu. Water resources system vulnerability in high mountain areas under climate change. Journal of Cleaner Production, 2023, 403:136789.
26. Li Wang, Fan Zhang*, Santosh Nepal, Yuxuan Xiang, Handuo Tang, Xiaonan Shi, Chen Zeng, Ijaz Ahmad, Zhongbo Yu. Response of runoff processes to temperature rise in basins with different glacier ratios in the monsoon-influenced southern Tibetan Plateau. Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, 2023, 45:101299.
27. Ijaz Ahmad, Li Wang*, Fan Zhang. Spatiotemporal dynamics of annual, seasonal and extreme temperature over upper Indus basin. Theoretical and Applied Climatology, 2023, 151:1399-1418.
28. Subash Adhikari, Chen Zeng*, Fan Zhang, Namita Paudel Adhikari, Jing Gao, Nasir Ahmed, Md Abdul Quaiyum Bhuiyan, Md Ariful Ahsan, Md Hafijur Rahaman Khan. Atmospheric wet deposition of trace elements in Bangladesh:A new insight into spatiotemporal variability and source apportionment. Environmental Research, 2023, 217:114729.
29. Tongqing She, Peng Jiang*, Qin Ju, Xuegao Chen, Hui Lin, Jiahui Zhao, Fan Zhang, Zhongbo Yu*. Frozen carbon is gradually thawing:Assessing interannual dynamics of thawed soil organic carbon stocks in the Tibetan Plateau permafrost area from 1901−2020. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 2023, 343:109793.
30. Wei Yang*, Zhongyan Wang, Baosheng An*, Yingying Chen, Chuanxi Zhao, Chenhui Li, Yongjie Wang, Weicai Wang, Jiule Li, Guangjian Wu, Lin Bai, Fan Zhang, Tandong Yao. Early warning system for ice collapses and river blockages in the Sedongpu Valley, southeastern Tibetan Plateau. Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, 2023, 23:3015-3029.
31. Fan Zhang, Chen Zeng*, Qianggong Zhang, Tandong Yao. Securing water quality of the Asian Water Tower. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, 2022, 3 (10):611-612.
32. Fan Zhang, Chen Zeng*, Guanxing Wang, Li Wang, Xiaonan Shi. Runoff and sediment yield in relation to precipitation, temperature and glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau. International Soil and Water Conservation Research, 2022, 10:197-207.
33. Xiaonan Shi, Fan Zhang*, Xixi Lu, Yueguan Zhang, Ying Zheng, Guanxing Wang, Li Wang, Muhammad Dodo Jagirani, Tao Wang, Shilong Piao. The response of the suspended sediment load of the headwaters of the Brahmaputra River to climate change:Quantitative attribution to the effects of hydrological, cryospheric and vegetation controls. Global and Planetary Change, 2022, 210:103753.
34. Hongbo Zhang, Fan Zhang*, Guoqing Zhang, Wei Yan. Why do CMIP6 models fail to simulate snow depth in terms of temporal change and high mountain snow of China skillfully? Geophysical Research Letters, 2022, 49:e2022GL098888.
35. Ijaz Ahmad*, Fan Zhang. Optimal Agricultural Water Allocation for the Sustainable Development of Surface and Groundwater Resources. Water Resources Management, 2022, 36 (11):1-18.
36. Kiran Bishwakarma, Guanxing Wang*, Fan Zhang, Subash Adhikari, Kabita Karki, Archana Ghimire. Hydrochemical characterization and irrigation suitability of the Ganges Brahmaputra River System:review and assessment. Journal of Mountain Science, 2022, 19 (2):388-402.
37. Fan Zhang, Xiong Xiao*, Lijie Wang, Chen Zeng, Zhengliang Yu, Guanxing Wang, Xiaonan Shi. Chemical weathering and CO2 consumption in the glaciated Karuxung River catchment, Tibetan Plateau. Hydrological Processes, 2021, 35:e14330.
38. Hongbo Zhang, Fan Zhang*, Tao Che, Wei Yan, Ming Ye. Investigating the ability of multiple reanalysis datasets to simulate snow depth variability over mainland China from 1981 to 2018. Journal of Climate, 2021, 34:9957-9972.
39. Hongbo Zhang, W.W. Immerzeel, Fan Zhang*, Remco J. de Kok, Sally J. Gorrie, Ming Ye. Creating 1-km long-term (1980-2014) daily average air temperatures over the Tibetan Plateau by integrating eight types of reanalysis and land data assimilation products downscaled with MODIS-estimated temperature lapse rates based on machine learning. International Journal of Applied Earth Observations and Geoinformation, 2021, 97:102295.
40. Subash Adhikari, Fan Zhang*, Namita Paudel Adhikari, Chen Zeng, Ramesh Raj Pant, Kirpa Ram, Yongqin Liu, Nasir Ahmed, Jie Xu, Lekhendra Tripathee, Qianggong Zhang, Md. Abdul Quaiyum Bhuiyan, Md. Ariful Ahsan. Atmospheric Wet Deposition of Major Ionic Constituents and Inorganic Nitrogen in Bangladesh:Implications for Spatiotemporal Variation and Source Apportionment. Atmospheric Research, 2021, 250:105414.
41. Chen Zeng, Fan Zhang*, Li Wang, Deliang Chen. Summer precipitation characteristics on the southern Tibetan Plateau. International Journal of Climatology, 2021, 41 (Suppl. 1): E3160-E3177.
42. Hongbo Zhang*, Fan Zhang, Guoqing Zhang, Wei Yan, Sien Li. Enhanced scaling effects significantly lower the ability for MODIS normalized difference snow index to estimate fractional and binary snow cover of the Tibetan Plateau. Journal of Hydrology, 2021, 592:125795.
43. Lei Wang*, Tandong Yao, Chenhao Chai, Lan Cuo, Fengge Su, Fan Zhang, Zhijun Yao, Yinsheng Zhang, Xiuping Li, Jia Qi, Zhidan Hu, Jingshi Liu, Yuanwei Wang. TP-River: Monitoring and Quantifying Total River Runoff from the Third Pole. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 2021, 102 (5): E948-E965.
44. Ling Yang, Wei Luo*, Pin Zhao, Yulan Zhang, Shichang Kang, John P. Giesy, Fan Zhang. Microplastics in the Koshi River, a remote alpine river crossing the Himalayas from China to Nepal. Environmental Pollution, 2021, 290:118121.
45. Amirhosein Mosavi, Mohammad Golshan, Bahram Choubin*, Alan D. Ziegler, Shahram Khalighi Sigaroodi, Fan Zhang, Adrienn A. Dineva. Fuzzy clustering and distributed model for streamflow estimation in ungauged watersheds. Scientific Reports, 2021, 11:8243.
46. Muhammad S. Ashraf, Ijaz Ahmad*, Noor M. Khan, Fan Zhang, Ahmed Bilal, Jiali Guo. Streamflow Variations in Monthly, Seasonal, Annual and Extreme Values Using Mann-Kendall, Spearmen’s Rho and Innovative Trend Analysis. Water Resources Management, 2021, 35:243-261.
47. Johannes Buckel*, Eike Reinosch, Andreas Hördt, Fan Zhang, Björn Riedel, Markus Gerke, Antje Schwalb, Roland Mäusbacher. Insights into a remote cryosphere:a multi-method approach to assess permafrost occurrence at the Qugaqie basin, western Nyainqêntanglha Range, Tibetan Plateau. The Cryosphere, 2021, 15:149-168.
48. Fan Zhang*, Xiaonan Shi*, Chen Zeng, Li Wang, Xiong Xiao, Guanxing Wang, Yao Chen, Hongbo Zhang, Xixi Lu, Walter Immerzeel. Recent stepwise sediment flux increase with climate change in the Tuotuo River in the central Tibetan Plateau. Science Bulletin, 2020, 65 (5): 410-418.
49. Xiong Xiao, Fan Zhang*, Tao Che, Xiaonan Shi, Chen Zeng, Guanxing Wang. Changes in plot-scale runoff generation processes from the spring-summer transition period to the summer months in a permafrost-dominated catchment. Journal of Hydrology, 2020, 587: 124966.
50. Ramesh Raj Pant, Fan Zhang*, Faizan Ur Rehman, Madan Koirala, Kedar Rijal, Rejina Maskey. Spatiotemporal characterization of dissolved trace elements in the Gandaki River, Central Himalaya Nepal. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2020, 389: 121913.
51. Xiong Xiao, Fan Zhang*, Xiaoyan Li, Guanxing Wang, Chen Zeng, Xiaonan Shi. Hydrological functioning of thawing soil water in a permafrost-influenced alpine meadow hillslope (Open Access). Vadose Zone Journal, 2020, 19: e20022.
52. Xiong Xiao, Fan Zhang*, Xiaoyan Li, Chen Zeng, Xiaonan Shi, Huawu Wu, Muhammad Dodo Jagirani, Tao Che. Using stable isotopes to identify major flow pathways in a permafrost influenced alpine meadow hillslope during summer rainfall period. Hydrological Processes, 2020, 34: 1104-1116.
53. Xiaonan Shi*, Fan Zhang, Li Wang, Muhammad Dodo Jagirani, Chen Zeng, Xiong Xiao, Guanxing Wang. Experimental study on the effects of multiple factors on spring meltwater erosion on an alpine meadow slope. International Soil and Water Conservation Research, 2020, 8: 116-123.
54. Bo Li, Chen Zeng, Fan Zhang, Yongqin Liu, Tao Yan*. Abundance, diversity and mobility potential of antibiotic resistance genes in pristine Tibetan Plateau soil as revealed by soil metagenomics. FEMS Microbiology Ecology, 2020, 96 (10): fiaa172.
