Dr. Yan Zhong
I am a postdoctoral researcher in the Climate Change Impacts and Risks in the Anthropocene (C-CIA) Group at the University of Geneva. My work focuses on mountain hazard assessment and disaster risk reduction, particularly in countries of the Hindu Kush-Himalaya (HKH) region, where I have been conducting research for the past six years. I integrate GIS, remote sensing, field observations, and modeling to better understand how climate change influences high-mountain processes and infrastructure risks. I have extensive field experience, having visited dozens of glaciers and glacial lakes across the HKH and the Alps.
I have been a member of the C-CIA team since 2022. I hold an M.Sc. in Physical Geography from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences and a Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences from the University of Geneva.
You can learn more about my work at: https://sites.google.com/view/yanzhong-geo
Research interests
- Large-scale hazard and risk modelling
- Climate change impacts in mountain regions
- Glacier dynamics and cryospheric processes
- Adaptation and disaster risk reduction
- Hydropower economics and risk management
Selected Publications
Zhong, Y., Allen, S., Li D., Corona, C., Zheng, G., Liu, Q., Stoffel, M.: Unravelling driving conditions of rock and ice avalanches and resulting cascading processes in High Mountain Asia, Landslides, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-024-02421-7, 2025.
Zhong, Y., Allen, S., Zheng, G., Liu, Q., Stoffel, M.: Large rock and ice avalanches frequently produce cascading processes in High Mountain Asia, Geomorphology, 449(1):109048, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2023.109048, 2024.
Zhong, Y., Liu, Q., Westoby, M., Nie, Y., Pellicciotti, F., Zhang, B., Cai, J., Liu, G., Liao, H., and Lu, X.: Intensified paraglacial slope failures due to accelerating downwasting of a temperate glacier in Mt. Gongga, Southeastern Tibet Plateau, Earth Surface Dynamics, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-10-23-2022, 2022.