翁葳 Wei Weng

  • Current：Assistant Professor, Department of Geography, National Taiwan University
  • Research interests：Aerial rivers, Land-atmosphere interactions, Water resources, Land surface processes, Natural Disasters, Adaptation to climate change, Energy and food security
  • Contact：weiweng@ntu.edu.tw / 02-33665838
  • Education
    • 2016-2019 PhD in Geography, Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin, Germany
    • 2013-2014 Master of Science in Water Science, Policy and Management, University of Oxford, UK
    • 2008-2013 Bachelor of Science, National Taiwan University, Taiwan Major: Geography / Minor: Atmospheric Sciences
  • Experience
    • 2020-2021 Postdoctoral Research Fellow/ Physical Geography department, Stockholm University, Sweden
    • 2015-2020 Science officer/ Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Germany
    • 4/2018-10/2018 Visiting scientist, Decision and Policy Analysis (DAPA) International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Colombia

I worked previously in the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), a global climate think tank, and supported various climate-development projects. My research focuses on the sustainable management of land-water resources. The geography of my past research is mainly in Latin America but includes hotspots in Europe, East Asia, and Arctic Russia.

I use both quantitative and qualitative methods to gain an integrated picture of human withdrawal from interconnected land-water systems. Quantitatively, I use the earth system model to understand the land use change impacts on regional climate. My exploration of the impacts from Amazonian deforestation on regional water contributes to the ongoing discussion of the ‘aerial rivers’.

The aerial rivers (or flying rivers) are the preferential pathways of moisture flows in the atmosphere. Opposite to their surface counterparts, they are recharged by evapotranspiration and are discharged by the precipitation process. They connect land and water systems. They link entities across jurisdictional boundaries and watersheds. Due to the intangible and statistical nature of the aerial rivers, the understanding of this climatic phenomenon starts only in this century.

My group aims to enhance human understanding of aerial rivers and provide useful scientific information for the management of invisible aerial/flying rivers. My group’s achievement includes science-based land planning for aerial river management in Bolivia which was later awarded by the Humboldt Foundation. This proposal suggested that reforesting important upwind regions would bring additional freshwater to a water-scarce downwind city.

Apart from aerial rivers, my group also investigates societal transitions for climate change adaptation. We use qualitative frameworks to analyze ongoing societal transitions after climate disasters in South America. We documented the Colombian energy transition after record-breaking regional mega-droughts and found the remote source regimes crucial for the success of the transition.

We are now developing various aspects of land-water system study and welcomes discussions on new topics and collaboration.