Ying Fan Reinfelder
Associate Professor

Rutgers University
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
Wright Laboratories
610 Taylor Road
Piscataway, NJ 08854-8066 U.S.A.

Department of Environmental Sciences
14 College Farm Road
New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8551

email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
tel: (732) 445-2044

Please Note: I have no openings for graduate students and postdocs at this time.

Education

• B.S., Beijing Institute of Civil Engineering
• M.S., University of Utah
• Ph.D., Utah State University
• Postdoc, MIT
• Postdoc, Princeton University

Teaching

• Undergraduate: Hydrogeology (01:460:428:01)
• Undergraduate: Hydrologic Processes (01:460:414:01, 11:670:414:01)
• Graduate: Groundwater Modeling (16:460:528:01)
• Earth & Planetary Sciences Research Colloquium (01:460:355:01, 01:460:356:01, 16:460:655:01, 16:460:656:01)      

Research

• Investigate the role of the groundwater reservoir in global water cycle, climate and ecosystem dynamics (funding: NSF).
• Reconstruct the Earth's hydrologic cycle in the past, using integrated hydrologic modeling constrained by paleo-proxies (funding: RU-AEF).
• Evaluate the role of groundwater in supporting Amazon seasonal evapotransipiration and precipitation recycling (funding: NSF) - see feature article in 2012 June Issue International Innovation (pdf).
• Examine the regional hydrologic and climatic impact of large-scale groundwater pumping for irrigation in the US High Plains (funding: NSF) - see feature article in Science News For Kids.
• Assess the future of freshwater resources for the nation over the coming decades using an integrated regional climate-hydrology model (WRF-Hydro-Flood) (funding: EPA).
• Establish a global groundwater database in support of earth system modeling (funding: RU-Board of Trustees).
• Leading a community initiative to develop a digital representation of the Earth's crust for simulating subsurface fluid flow in Earth System Models (funding: NSF, USGS Powell Synthesis Center).
• Investigate the role of fractures in sedimentary rocks in controlling groundwater flow and groundwater-river exchange (funding: NSF).
• Evaluate the feasibility of carbon sequestration in deep saline formations under the Atlantic shelf (funding: DOE).

Members of Research Team

• Ross Alter, Ph.D. student (Atmospheric Sciences) - Land-atmosphere interaction: observations and modeling, potential changes in flood-drought frequency
• Alex Fiore, M.S. student (Earth and Planetary Sciences) - Global water table observation database
• Haibin Li, Postdoctoral Research Associate (Earth and Planetary Sciences) - Regional and global climatic-hydrologic modeling, climate-hydrology downscaling
• Yadu Pokhrel, Postdoctoral Research Associate (Earth and Planetary Sciences) - The Amazon water cycle and climate, human-induced water cycle change
• Paul Romero, M.S. student (Earth and Planetary Sciences) - Numerical modeling of multi-phase fluid dynamics for geologic carbon sequestration

Past

• Deniz Kustu, Ph.D. student (Earth and Planetary Sciences) - Hydrologic and climatic impact of groundwater pumping for irrigation in the US High Plains
• Neil Ramchandani, RU Aresty undergraduate scholar (Electrical Engineering) -Groundwater database, Micro-hydropower
• Anthony DeAngelis, M.S. student (Atmospheric Sciences) - Effect of High Plains' irrigation on local and downwind precipitation
• Richard Anyah, Postdoctoral Associate (Atmospheric Sciences) - Effect of groundwater on soil moisture, ET, and precipitation
• Morgan Schaller, M.S. student (Earth and Planetary Sciences) - Importance of long-distance groundwater flow in river basin water budget
• Michael Serfes, Ph.D. student (Earth and Planetary Sciences) - Arsenic occurrence, sources and mobilization in bedrock aquifers, Newark Basin (dissertation)

Publications (under Y. Fan)

Recent Publications (student/postdoc authors underlined):

• Pokhrel, Y. N., Y. Fan, G. Miguez-Macho, P. J.-F. Yeh, and S.-C. Han (2013) The role of groundwater in the Amazon water cycle: 3. Influence on terrestrial water storage computations and comparison with GRACE, Journal of Geophysical Research-Atm, 118, doi:10.1002/jgrd.50335 (pdf).
• Fan, Y., H. Li, G. Miguez-Macho (2013) Global patterns of groundwater table depth, Science, 339 (6122): 940-943, doi:        10.1126/science.1229881 (pdf).
• Taylor, R. G. et al. (2012) Groundwater and climate change, Nature Climate Change, doi: 10.1038/NCLIMATE1744 (pdf)
• Miguez-Macho, G., and Y. Fan (2012a) The role of the groundwater in the Amazon water cycle: 1. Influence on seasonal streamflow, flooding and wetlands, Journal of Geophysical Research-Atm, 117, D15113, doi: 10.1029/2012JD017539 (pdf)
• Miguez-Macho, G., and Y. Fan (2012b) The role of the groundwater in the Amazon water cycle: 2. Influence on seasonal soil moisture and evapotranspiration, Journal of Geophysical Research-Atm, 117, D15114, doi: 10.1029/2012JD017540 (pdf)
• Kreakie B.J., Y. Fan, T.H. Keitt (2012) Enhanced Migratory Waterfowl Distribution Modeling by Inclusion of Depth to Water Table Data. PLoS ONE 7(1):e30142. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0030142 (pdf)
• Fan, Y., and G. Miguez-Macho (2011) A simple hydrologic framework for simulating wetlands in climate and earth system models. Climate Dynamics, 37: 253-278, doi: 10.1007/s00382-010-0829-8 (pdf)
• Kustu, M. D., Y. Fan, and M. Rodell (2011). Possible link between irrigation in the U.S. High Plains and increased summer streamflow in the Midwest, Water Resources Research, 47, W03522, doi:10.1029/2010WR010046. Special Issue on Steve Burges' Symposium (pdf)
• Fan, Y., and G. Miguez-Macho (2010). Potential groundwater contribution to Amazon dry-season Evapotransporiration. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 14: 2039-2056. doi:10.5194/hess-14-2039-2010 (pdf)
• Kustu, M.D., Y. Fan and A. Robock (2010) Large-scale water cycle perturbation from irrigation in the High Plains: A synthesis of observed streamflow changes. Journal of Hydrology 390: 222-224. doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2010.06.045 (pdf)
• DeAngelis, A., F. Dominguez, Y. Fan, A. Robock, M.D. Kustu, and D. Robinson (2010) Evidence of enhanced precipitation due to irrigation in the US High Plains. Journal of Geophysical Research-Atm, 10.1029/2010JD013892 (pdf)
• Schaller, M., and Y. Fan (2009) River basins as groundwater exporters and importers: Implications for water cycle and climate modeling. Journal of Geophysical Research-Atm, 114, D04103, doi: 10.1029/2008 JD010636 (pdf)
• Lyon, S., F. et al. (2008) Coupling terrestrial and atmospheric water dynamics to improve prediction in a changing environment. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 89(9): 1275-1279, doi: 10.1175/2008BAMS2547.1 (pdf)
• Miguez-Macho, G., H. Li, and Y. Fan (2008) Simulated water table and soil moisture climatology over North America. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 5: 663-672, doi: 10.1175/BAMS-89-5- 663 (pdf)
• Anyah, R., C. P. Weaver, G. Miguez-Macho, Y. Fan, and A. Robock (2008) Incorporating water table dynamics in climate modeling: 3. Simulated groundwater influence on coupled land-atmosphere variability. Journal of Geophysical Research-Atm, 113, D07103, doi: 10.1029/2007JD009087 (pdf)
• Miguez-Macho, G., Y. Fan, C. P. Weaver, R. Walko, and A. Robock (2007) Incorporating water table dynamics in climate modeling, Part II: Formulation, validation, and simulations of soil moisture fields. Journal of Geophysical Research-Atm, doi:10.1029/2006JD008112 (pdf)
• Fan, Y., G. Miguez-Macho, C. P. Weaver, R. Walko, and A. Robock (2007) Incorporating water table dynamics in climate modeling, Part I: Water table observations and the equilibrium water table simulations. Journal of Geophysical Research-Atm, doi:10.1029/2006JD008111 (pdf)
• Fan, Y., L. Toran, and R. Schlische (2007) Groundwater flow and groundwater-stream interaction in fractured and dipping sedimentary rocks: Insights from numerical models. Water Resources Research, VOL. 43, W01409, doi:10.1029/2006WR004864 (pdf)

• Moramarco, T., Y. Fan and R. L. Bras (1999) An analytical solution for channel routing with uniform lateral inflow. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, 125(7): 707-713 (pdf)
• Fan, Y. and R. L. Bras (1998) Analytical solutions to hillslope subsurface storm flow and saturation overland flow. Water Resources Research, 34(4): 921-927 (pdf)
• Fan, Y., C. J. Duffy and D. S. Oliver, Jr. (1997) Density-driven groundwater flow in closed desert basins: Field investigations and numerical experiments. Journal of Hydrology, 196: 139-184 (pdf)
• Fan, Y., E. F. Wood, M. L. Baeck and J. A. Smith (1996) The fractional coverage of rainfall over a model grid: analyses of NEXRAD radar data over the Southern Plains. Water Resources Research, 32(9): 2787-2802 (pdf)
• Fan, Y. and R. L. Bras (1995) On the concept of a representative elementary area (REA) in catchment hydrology. Hydrological Processes,9:821-832 (pdf)
• Fan, Y. and C. J. Duffy (1993) Monthly temperature and precipitation fields on a storm-facing mountain front: Statistical structure and empirical parameterization. Water Resources Research, 29(12): 4157-4166 (pdf)

Service

• Panelist for NSF, NASA, EPA; Reviewer for NSF, NASA, USGS, and UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) proposals
• Reviewer for Journal of Geophysical Research, Geophysical Research Letters, Climate Dynamics, Journal of Hydrometeorology, Water Resources Research, Advances in Water Resources, Ground Water, the Hydrogeology Journal, Journal of Hydrology, Nature Geoscience
• Member of CUAHSI (Consortium of Universities for Advancement of Hydrologic Sciences, Inc.) Board of Directors
• Member of Hydrologic Sciences Award (Formerly Horton Award) Committee, AGU Hydrology Section
• Co-Editor: Hydrology and Earth System Sciences