Dickey Center Research Programs
Learn about the five strategic areas of global concern for which we develop initiatives that provide in-depth knowledge.
Xiahong Feng
Professor of Earth SciencesFrederick Hall Professor of Mineralogy and Geology
The main feature of my research is the interdisciplinary approach to global and local environmental problems. I use major and trace element concentrations and variations of stable isotopic ratios of oxygen, hydrogen, carbon and nitrogen in natural materials, such as rocks, water, tree-rings, soils and air, to study the function and dynamics of natural systems, to trace the history of the climatic and environmental changes and to understand the mechanisms for such changes. Recent projects include solute and contaminant transport in watersheds or in snow and their effects on stream chemistry, rates and mechanisms of plant and soil organic matter decomposition and the implications to the global carbon cycle, and reconstruction of paleohumidity using oxygen and hydrogen isotopic compositions of tree rings.
Department:
Earth Sciences
Center:
The John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding
Education:
B.S. Peking University
M.S. Peking University
Ph.D. Case Western Reserve University
Related Links
Selected Publications
Lee J., X. Feng , A.M. Faiia, E.S. Posmentier, R. Osterhuber, J.W. Kirchner (2010) Isotopic evolution of snowmelt: A new model incorporating mobile and immobile water. Water Resources Research, 46, W11512, doi:10.1029/2009WR00830.
Lee J., X. Feng , A.M. Faiia, E.S. Posmentier, J.W. Kirchner, R. Osterhuber, S. Taylor (2010) Evolution of the isotopic composition of an alpine snow cover and its melt by isotopic exchange between liquid and ice, Chemical Geology, 270, 126-134.
Feng, X. , A. M. Faiia, and E. S. Posmentier (2009), Seasonality of isotopes in precipitation: A global perspective, Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmosphere, 114, D08116, doi:10.1029/2008JD011279.
Lee, J., Feng, X. , Posmentier, E.S., Faiia A.M. and Taylor S. (2009) Stable isotopic exchange rate constant between snow and liquid water. Chemical Geology , 260, 57-62.
Shu , Y., Feng, X. , Posmentier, E.S., Faiia, A.M., Ayres, M.P., Conkey L.E. and Sonder L.J. (2008) Isotopic studies of leaf water 2. Between-age isotopic variations in pine needles. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 72, 5189-5200.
Shu , Y., Feng, X. Posmentier, E.S., Sonder L.J., Faiia, A.M. and Yakir, D. (2008) Isotopic studies of leaf water 1. A physically based two-dimensional model for pine needles. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 72, 5175-5188.
Lee, J., Nez, V., Feng, X. , Kirchner, J.W., Osterhuber, R., Renshaw, C.E. (2008) A study of solute redistribution and transport in seasonal snowpack using natural and artificial tracers. Journal of Hydrology , 357 (3-4), 243-254.
Wang, G., Feng, X. , Han, J., Zhou, L., Tan, W. and Su, F. (2008) Paleovegetation reconstruction using d 13 C of soil organic matter. Biogeosciences , 5, 1325-1337.
Shu, Y., Feng, X. , Posmentier, E.S., Faiia, A.M., Ayres, M.P., Conkey L.E. and Sonder L.J. (2008) Isotopic studies of leaf water 2. Between-age isotopic variations in pine needles. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 72, 5189-5200.
Shu, Y., Feng, X. Posmentier, E.S., Sonder L.J., Faiia, A.M. and Yakir, D. (2008) Isotopic studies of leaf water 1. A physically based two-dimensional model for pine needles. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 72, 5175-5188.
Lee, J., Feng, X. , Posmentier, E.S., Faiia, A.M., Osterhuber, R., Kirchner J.W. (2008) Modeling of solute transport in snow using conservative tracers and artificial rain-on-snow experiments, Water Resources Research , 44, W02411, doi:10.1029/2006WR005477.
Feng, X. , Reddington, A.L., Faiia, A.M., Posmentier, E.S., Shu Y., and Xu, X. (2007) Changes in North American atmospheric circulation patterns indicated by wood cellulose, Geology , 35(2), 163-166, doi: 10.1130/G22884A.1.
Lennon *, J.T. Faiia, A.M. Feng, X., Cottingham, K.L. (2006) Evidence for CO 2 recycling in lakes along a terrestrial carbon gradient, Limnology and Oceanography, 51(4), 1602-1613.
Liu, W., Feng, X., Ning, Y., Zhang, Q., Cao, Y., and An, Z. (2005) d 13C variation of C 3 and C 4 plants across an Asian monsoon rainfall gradient in arid northwestern China, Global Change Biology, 11, 1094-1100.
Shu *, Y., Feng, X., Gazis, C., Anderson, D. Faiia *, A.M., Tang *, K., Ettl, G.J. (2005) Relative humidity recorded in tree rings: a study along a precipitation gradient in the Olympic Mountains, Geochimica et Comochimica Acta, 69, 791-799.
Feng, X. , J W Kirchner, and C Neal (2004) Measuring Catchment-scale Chemical Retardation Using Spectral Analysis of Reactive and Passive Chemical Tracer Time Series. Journal of Hydrology, 292 (2004) 296-307.
Feng, X. (2002) A theoretical analysis of carbon isotope evolution of decomposing plant litters and soil organic matter. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 16(4), Art. No.1119, doi:10.1029/2002GB001867.
Kirchner, J.W., Feng X. and Neal, C. (2000) Fractal stream chemistry and its implication for contaminant transport in catchments. Nature, 403, 524-527.
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