Research Interests

Phytoplankton blooms are phenomenon throughout the coastal waters of the world and some times even the open oceans with ever increasing frequency. I am interested and have been involved in studying the dynamics of phytoplankton blooms in a variety of environments that include coastal California, the Ross Sea in Antarctica, and the marginal South China Sea. One method for real-time assessment of the temporal and spatial distribution of those blooms and the variability in phytoplankton assemblage structure in natural waters involves optical techniques which have recently been integrated into a variety of oceanographic observing systems. I am particularly interested in understanding physical and physiochemical controls of phytoplankton assemblage and size structures using in situ bio-optical instruments as well as autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) equipped with optical sensors. For my doctoral research, I will be exploring the harmful algal blooms off the south central coast of Viet Nam and Mekong River Delta which are presumbly driven seasonally by Southeast Asian monsoons. I am also interested in understanding the organic carbon export as a function of particle size structure via coupled physical and ecosystem models.

Animation linked from USCLAB website: http://usclab.usc.edu/usclab/.

Animation from http://oceancolor.gsfc.nasa.gov/

Global primary production estimated from satellite data. Animation linked from: http://oceancolor.gsfc.nasa.gov/.

My links:

The Jones Lab Home Page

The Jones Lab Wordpress: glider data visualization

 

Integrative Observational Platforms (IOP) group: Focuses on observational investigations of ocean physics at a variety of spatial and temporal scales (Ocean Physics Department, Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington).

Interdisciplinary Oceanography Group (IOG): Affiliated with the Institute for Computational Earth System Science (ICESS) based at the University of California at Santa Barbara.

Maine In-situ Sound & Color Lab: Lab Specializes in the interpretation of optical and acoustical properties of aquatic environments (University of Maine).

Coastal Observing Research & Development Center: Focuses on the development of new technologies and their application for basic and applied sciences.

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) - OurOcean Portal: Access to ocean science data, data assimilation models, data and model visualization.

Naval Research Laboratory - Ocean Optics: Conducts basic and applied research to understand and predict the dynamical evolution of ocean phenomena and processes (specifically related to ocean optics).

The Ocean Physics Laboratory (OPL): Part of the Department of Geography at the University of California at Santa Barbara.

Orange County Sanitation District: Wastewater treatment.

The Robotic Embedded Systems Laboratory (RESL): Develops tools & techniques to design and understand large-scale, distributed, robotic systems (USC).

Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System (SCCOOS): Brings together coastal observations in the Southern California Bight to provide information necessary to address issues varying from climate change to national security.

Southern California Coastal Water Research Project (SCCWRP): A research institute focused on the coastal ecosystems of Southern California from watersheds to ocean.

USC Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies: Supports marine and environmental science & education at USC.


  • Xiao Liu
  • University of Southern California
  • 3616 Trousdale Parkway, AHF B30
  • Los Angeles, CA 90089