Haiqing Xu
Assistant Professor
Surface Processes, Floodplains, Fluvial Geomorphology, Remote Sensing
LFG 219
Email: haiqing.xu@unlv.edu
Education:
Research Interests
I am looking for graduate students to start in Spring or Fall of 2026. Please contact me at haiqing.xu@unlv.edu if you are interested.
My research is on surface processes – the natural mechanisms that shape and modify the Earth’s surface – including hydrological and morphological processes. I focus on fluvial geomorphology by applying field measurements, remote sensing, machine learning, and numerical modeling. My previous work spanned diverse environments, including the Congaree River in South Carolina, the Lower Rio Grande in Texas, rangelands in Arizona, and wetlands in Ohio. These study sites include alluvial rivers, floodplains, and alluvial plains, in both natural and engineered settings, across humid to semi-arid regions. Please read more at my lab website.
Current research projects include 1) hysteresis between river stage and floodplain storage using modeling and machine learning, 2) channel’s geomorphic responses to damming and water use, and 3) spatial variability of fine and coarse particles in floodplain sedimentation processes.
Selected Publications
Haiqing Xu, M. H. Nichols, D. Lapides, O. Crompton. 2024. Automated Identification of Earthen Berms in Western US Rangelands from LiDAR-based Digital Elevation Models. Earth Surface Processes and Landform. https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.6009
van der Steeg, R. Torres, E. Viparelli, Haiqing Xu, E. Elias, and J. C. Sullivan. 2023. Floodplain Surface‐Water Circulation Dynamics: Congaree River, South Carolina, USA. Water Resources Research, 59(1), p.e2022WR032982. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022WR032982
Haiqing Xu, S. van der Steeg, R. Torres, E. Viparelli. 2021. Geomorphology of the Congaree River floodplain: implications for the inundation continuum. Water Resources Research, 57, e2020WR029456. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020WR029456
van der Steeg, Haiqing Xu, R. Torres, E. Elias, J. Sullivan, E. Viparelli, D. Shelley, V. Lakshmi. 2021. A novel approach for quantifying complexity in floodplain flows: Congaree River, South Carolina, USA. Geophysical Research Letters, 48, e2021GL094190. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL094190
Haiqing Xu, S. van der Steeg, J. Sullivan, D. Shelley, J. Cely, E. Viparelli, V. Lakshmi, R. Torres. 2020. Intermittent Channel Systems of a Low-Relief, Low-Gradient Floodplain: Comparison of Automatic Extraction Methods. Water Resources Research, 56, e2020WR027603. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020WR027603