China’s authors behind the Top Cited Papers
Discover in-depth interviews with a selection of China’s most cited researchers – individuals whose research has not only received a Top Cited Paper award, but has also significantly impacted their respective fields.
See the full list of winners: Top Cited Papers from China
Skip to:
- Professor Zhao Zhang’s interview
- Professor Guoyong Leng’s interview
- Professor Xin-Nian Wang’s interview
Unveiling Harvesting Landscapes through Innovative Phenology-Based Analysis with Professor Zhao Zhang
Prof. Zhao Zhang (top), along with Yuchuan Luo (bottom) and colleagues from the School of National Safety and Emergency Management at Beijing Normal University, Beijing, has found a new method to map crop harvesting areas in China based on leaf area index data. Professor Zhang discusses their work.
Read their article: Identifying the spatiotemporal changes of annual harvesting areas for three staple crops in China by integrating multi-data sources
Congratulations on your latest paper in IOP Publishing’s Environmental Research Letters winning the Top Cited Paper award! Could you tell us about your team’s novel crop-mapping approach?
Zhao: Thank you! It feels great to be among the Top Cited Papers. Accurately capturing the changing dynamics of different crops remains a challenge in most areas of the world. Typically, we use remote sensing combined with field surveys to gather information such as crop growth patterns, and this can be used alongside satellite imagery to classify crops remotely. But this method is not always accurate because we need large amounts of continuous data that are not easy to collect over large areas.
In our paper, we proposed a phenology-based approach, where we analyzed the growth patterns of major crops such as wheat, rice, and maize over a long period of time. Utilizing data from the Global Land Surface Satellite dataset, we precisely crafted comprehensive annual maps detailing crop distribution in China from 2000 to 2015, pinpointing their specific growth stages.
We observed that rice farming expanded in the northeast area of the country but decreased in the south. Overall, wheat production declined, except in the main production areas, while maize farming increased across most of the country.
What are the most important outcomes of this research and are there any advantages to it being open access?
Zhao: By improving our understanding of how crop areas change over time, we can develop better land-use strategies, and this can have important implications for agriculture and the environment.
The dataset produced in this study serves as a valuable resource for various related research studies, including those on crop modeling and the impacts of climate change. Further, our proposed crop mapping method could be used in other places for different crops, to show the intricate dynamics of farming systems and land conversion. And publishing in an open access journal like Environmental Research Letters means that our research remains accessible to everyone keen on learning and utilizing this information.
What is next for you and your team?
Zhao: We are working on generalizing this method to map crops on a global scale. We want to understand how climate change and extreme weather events affect different crop growth patterns so that we can contribute to improved, science-based mitigation and adaptation strategies.
We used machine learning and crop-based models to create a framework for mapping where different crops grow and how much they produce. Next, we’re aiming to see how climate change affects these things. We will also be integrating new technologies to optimize our simulations and reduce uncertainty. We want to contribute to the optimization of agricultural production systems that are more sustainable and that can help us tackle the global challenge of food security.
Do you have any advice for other authors working in the same field?
Zhao: Technology is advancing very quickly, and it offers a wide array of novel possibilities that are not always easy to foresee. My recommendation to fellow authors is to welcome these developments with an open mind, even if they come from different disciplines. Don’t hesitate to have a multidisciplinary perspective!
Predicting Spatial and Temporal Variability in Crop Yields with Professor Guoyong Leng
Discover Professor Leng’s full article here.
Understanding Quark-gluon Plasma Through the “Jet” Phenomenon with Professor Xin-Nian Wang
Professor Xin-Nian Wang from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory worked with Professor Shanshan Cao from Shandong University to conduct research into the unique properties of quark-gluon plasma, a new state of nuclear matter at extremely high temperatures.
Read their article: Jet quenching and medium response in high-energy heavy-ion collisions: a review
Congratulations on your award-winning paper! Could you tell us more about the research?
Xin-Nian: Our paper, an invited review, delves into energetic quarks and gluons known as ‘jets’, generated during heavy-ion collisions. The study of jets offers vital clues about the properties of quark-gluon plasma (QGP), a new state of nuclear matter that only existed in the early universe a few microseconds after the Big Bang. Experiments at the Relativistic Heavy-ion Collider (RHIC) and the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) have shown that QGP can be re-created through heavy-ion collisions. During these collisions, jets are produced along with the QGP.
The jets lose energy as they travel through QGP. This phenomenon, known as “jet quenching”, can be used to study the properties of the QGP. Moreover, the energy lost to the QGP becomes thermalized and propagates through the medium, much like sound waves. This jet-induced medium response can be used to study the transport properties and the equation of state of the QGP. Thus, this review article provides an overview of the progress made in studying jet quenching and medium response in heavy-ion collisions.
What specific findings or outcomes from your research contributed to the success of your paper?
Xin-Nian: Jet quenching and jet-induced medium response are rapidly growing areas of research in high-energy physics. These phenomena offer a crucial piece of evidence supporting the formation of QGP and have been instrumental in conducting detailed investigations into its properties. With the recent availability of detailed experimental data, we can dig deeper into examining the jet-induced medium response more thoroughly. The work reviewed in this article will provide theoretical support for ongoing and future experimental analysis on QGP.
Research on QGP seems to be at an interesting stage. What research projects are you engaged in currently and are they related to QGP?
Xin-Nian: Current research progresses are just the beginning of our exploration into jet-induced medium response in heavy-ion collisions. Some recent studies have unearthed evidence for a unique 3D structure in the Mach-cone wave of the jet-induced medium response. These ‘Mach cones’ are produced when jets travel through a QGP medium faster than the speed of sound. We are currently engaged in carrying out a more detailed investigation of the jet-induced medium response through jet-hadron (soft) correlations to understand this phenomenon.
How do you think research on QGP will change in the near-term future?
Xin-Nian: Investigating the Mach-cone wave poses challenges due to its low signal-to-background ratio. Therefore, highly precise tools are needed to study them. Moreover, we need to improve experimental data while constantly reducing statistical errors. However, with increased luminosity at RHIC and LHC and along with increased jet events, we are optimistic that direct experimental observation of the Mach-cone and jet-induced medium response will become possible soon. Many interesting physics phenomena are difficult to observe in the beginning. However, with advanced experimental techniques and progress in theoretical studies, they become easier to observe and provide more opportunities for future explorations.
How you can get involved
Visit our journal list and submit your next article if you are a researcher based in China looking for the opportunity to be awarded with one of our Top Cited Paper awards.