The Invisible River Water Quality: Challenges and Opportunities at the Confluence of “Big” Data and “Deep” Models

Prof. Li Li

Barry and Shirley Isett Professor

Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Penn State University

Monday February 3, 2025, 2 PM ET

Abstract:

The future of humanity and life on Earth depends on river water quality as we navigate a rapidly changing planet. Despite its critical importance, river water quality has largely been overlooked in climate risk analyses, overshadowed by the more visible challenges of water quantity. For example, the most recent IPCC report extensively addresses climate risks related to water quantity but barely mentions river water quality. Historically, river water quality has been viewed as primarily influenced by human activities such as land use. However, growing evidence suggests that climate change is profoundly and pervasively reshaping river water quality. As an example, recent continental-scale data, reconstructed using deep learning models, reveal widespread river warming and deoxygenation across the U.S. and Central Europe—changes that are occurring even faster than in oceans and lakes. 

River water quality reflects transformations in the landscape, or the Critical Zone, they drain. This is because most precipitated water travels through the subsurface before reaching rivers. Understanding and predicting river water quality face significant challenges, including fragmented and sparse data from rivers and subsurface environments, as well as the complex interplay of eco- hydro-biogeochemical processes. In this talk, I will discuss these challenges and highlight potential opportunities to leverage big remote sensing data to “see” the often-invisible subsurface processes and better understand river water quality.

Biosketch:

Li Li (@LiReactiveWater.bsky.social) is the Barry and Shirley Isett Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Penn State University. Her research focuses on the intersection of ecology, hydrology, and biogeochemistry and tackles critical challenges in inland water quality. Using big data, machine learning, and reactive transport models, her team predicts patterns in and understands processes that shape river water quantity and quality at scales ranging from individual watersheds to entire continents. An AGU Fellow, she has received recognition such as the Joanne Simpson Medal and the Paul A. Witherspoon Lecture in Hydrology. Since 2021, she has co-hosted the global monthly seminar series Women Advancing River Research (WARR). Li earned her Ph.D. from Princeton University and holds a B.S. and M.S. from Nanjing University in China. 

Webinar:

Event site: https://go.umd.edu/li

Zoom Webinar: https://go.umd.edu/liwebinar

Zoom Meeting ID: 945 9937 5297

Zoom password: essic

US Toll: +13017158592
Global call-in numbers: https://umd.zoom.us/u/aMElEpvNu

For IT assistance:
Cazzy Medley: cazzy@umd.edu

Resources:

Seminar schedule & archive: https://go.umd.edu/essicseminar

Seminar Google calendar: https://go.umd.edu/essicseminarcalendar

Seminar recordings on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ESSICUMD