Dr Zhonghou Xu

Biography

Bio

Dr. Zhonghou Xu is a Research Scientist (permanent) in coastal modelling in the Coastal and Estuarine Processes Group, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), a Crown Research Institute in New Zealand. His research focuses on the processes and impacts of various flooding due to tsunamis and extreme climate events. His research methodologies include numerical and experimental modelling, machine learning and expert analysis. He is a Doctoral Supervisor at the University of Auckland. 

Areas of expertise

• Modelling (coastal and urban flood, storm surges, tsunamis, sediment transport in rivers and estuaries)
• Experiments (wave loading on coastal structures, tsunamis, hydraulics)
• AI for Science

Currently working on the following research projects

• AI for compound flood forecasting
• Integrated catchment to estuary model for management of diffuse-source contaminants
• Coastal hazards and inundation; Sea level rise effects
• Modelling of tsunamis due to the eruption of the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Hapai volcano and implications for New Zealand
• Probabilistic tsunami assessment
• Modelling of storm surges in the Tamaki Strait
• Modelling flood and bed evolution processes in Waiho River
• Automating modelling and data processing workflow using Cylc

Funding

• 2024-2027. PI. AI-enhanced compound flood model for real-time extreme hazard forecasts. NZD 1M.
• 2022-2026. Co-PI. Mitigation potential of coral reefs against high‐energy waves: roughness and structural gap effect. UAED 696k.
• 2022-2023. Co-PI. Scour or deposition? Exploring flash-flood induced fluvial sediment hazards. NZD 19.86k.