Research Interests | Courses Taught | Students | Publications | Activities | Biography

Dr. Keqi Zhang
Assistant Professor
Department of Environmental Studies and
International Hurricane Center
MARC 360, Florida International University
Miami, FL 33199
Phone: (305)348-1607
Fax: (305)348-1605
Email: Keqi.Zhang@fiu.edu

See my complete CV

Research Interests

The International Hurricane Center (IHC) at Florida International University in concert with the Geomatics Program at the University of Florida were the first academic institutions (in 1999) to obtain an airborne LIDAR mapping system in the nation. Over the last four years, IHC researchers have acquired a large amount of LIDAR data along the Florida Atlantic, North Carolina, South Carolina, and New York coasts. Dr. Zhang has been involved with airborne LIDAR mapping since 1999. Specific research includes:

  • Development of algorithms to automatically identify ground and non-ground points and to extract three-dimensional shapes of buildings and trees from airborne LIDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) measurements
  • Development of high resolution storm surge model
  • Development of georeferenced, three-dimensional, visualization and animation platforms for hurricane-induced flooding and wind damage
  • Analysis of long-term and storm-induced beach erosion using shoreline position data from LIDAR measurements, field GPS surveys, aerial photographs, and historical maps
  • Examination of long-term trend and interdecadal variations in the number and severity of coastal storms using hourly water level records from tide gauges
 

Courses Taught

Spring 2004 (tentative)

Coastal Hazard

Previous Courses (Dept. of Geography, University of Maryland at College Park)

Advanced Computer Mapping

 

Students

Co-adviser (with Dr. Shu-Ching Chen), Jianhua Yan, Ph.D. Dissertation in Computer Science, "Distributed system to manage, retrieve, and visualize high resolution spatial point data," in progress.

Co-adviser (with Dr. Shu-Ching Chen), Xiaosi Zhou, Ph.D. Dissertation in Computer Science, "3D Visualization and animation of storm surge flooding," in progress.

 

Recent Publications

Articles

Robertson W., D. Whitman, K. Zhang, S.P. Leatherman, 2003. Mapping shoreline position using airborne laser altimetry. Accepted by Journal of Coastal Research.

Whitman D., K. Zhang, S.P. Leatherman, and W. Robertson, 2003. An Airborne Laser Topographic Mapping Application to Hurricane Storm Surge Hazard. AGU monograph, Earth Science in the Cities, in press.

Zhang K., D. Whitman, S.P. Leatherman, and W. Robertson, 2003. Quantification of the changes caused by Hurricane Floyd along Florida's Atlantic Coast using airborne LIDAR survey. Journal of Coastal Research, in press.

Zhang K. S.C. Chen, D. Whitman, M. L. Shyu, J. Yan, and C. Zhang, 2003. A progressive morphological filter for removing non-ground measurements from airborne LIDAR data. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 41:872-882.

Zhang K., W. K. Huang, B.C. Douglas, and S.P. Leatherman, 2002. Shoreline position variability and long-term trend analysis. Shore and Beach, 70:31-36.

Zhang K., B.C. Douglas, and S.P. Leatherman, 2002. Do storms cause long-term beach erosion along the U.S. East Barrier Coast? Journal of Geology, 110:493-502.

Zhang K., B.C. Douglas, and S.P. Leatherman, 2001. Beach erosion potential for severe nor'easters. Journal of Coastal Research, 17:309-321.

Zhang K., B.C. Douglas, and S.P. Leatherman, 2000. Twentieth century storm activity along the U.S. East Coast. Journal of Climate, 13:1748-1761.

Leatherman S.P., K. Zhang, B.C. Douglas, 2000. Sea level rise shown to drive coastal erosion: A reply. EOS Transactions, 81:437-441.

Leatherman S.P., K. Zhang, and B.C. Douglas, 2000. Sea level rise shown to drive coastal erosion. EOS Transactions, 81:55-57.

Zhang K., B.C. Douglas, and S.P. Leatherman, 1997. US East Coast storm surges: provide unique climate record. EOS Transactions, 78:395-397.

Book Chapters

Leatherman, S.P., D. Whitman, and K. Zhang, 2003. Coastal erosion hazard mapping using LIDAR (Airborne Laser Altimetry Technology), in Encyclopedia of Coastal Science, M. Schwartz, ed., Kluwer Academic Publishers, in press.

Leatherman, S.P. and K. Zhang, 2003. Coastal hazards and barrier beach development, in Land Minds: 100 Geographic Solutions to Saving Planet Earth. Barney Warf, Don Janelle, and Kathy Hansen, Editors, in press.

 

Activities

Member, Florida International University GIS Advisory Committee, 1999-Present

Co-Director, Laboratory for Coastal Research, Florida International University, 1999-Present

 

Biography

Dr. Keqi Zhang received his Ph.D. from the Department of Geography, University of Maryland at College Park in December 1998. Since 1999 he has been a Research Assistant Professor in International Hurricane Center, Florida International University. His research interests include airborne LIDAR mapping, 3D visualization and GIS. Dr. Zhang has authored and co-authored 25 papers in journals, referred conference proceedings and book chapters. Currently, he is leading a team to map storm surge influenced areas in south Florida using airborne LIDAR, and to develop the high-resolution storm surge model and a 3D visualization and animation system for storm surge flooding.

Return to top