Lin Xiong / 熊林

Assistant Research Professor
Department of Geographical Sciences
University of Maryland, College Park

My research uses terrestrial, airborne, and spaceborne lidar to investigate forest structure, carbon stocks, and coastal ecosystem change. As part of the NASA GEDI Mission Team, I develop algorithms for data fusion, calibration, and validation.

My work spans forest biomass mapping, mangrove disturbance and recovery, coastal erosion, and landslide monitoring.

Before joining UMD, I was a postdoctoral researcher at the Coastal Studies Institute, East Carolina University (2021–2023). I earned my PhD in geophysics from the University of Houston in 2020 and my bachelor’s degree in geology from the School of Earth & Space Sciences at Peking University.

Research Areas

Forest structure and carbon
Integrating GEDI, ICESat-2, and other remote sensing observations to map canopy height, biomass, and carbon stocks.

Mangroves and coastal wetlands
Characterizing ecosystem structure, disturbance, and recovery to advance understanding of blue carbon.

Coastal and landscape change
Using lidar, UAV observations, and geospatial analysis to monitor coastal erosion and landslides.

Methods: Lidar remote sensing · Data fusion · Machine learning · Calibration and validation

News· 2026

2026

[09/2026] I attended NASA CMS meeting online [https://carbon.nasa.gov/meeting_2026] .

[08/2026] I gave an oral presentation at the IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium.

[07/2026] I attended the NASA Biosphere meeting in person.

[06/2026] I submitted a proposal to NASA’s Early Career Investigator Program in Earth Science.

[04/2026] I contributed to GEDI mission presentations for the 2026 Earth Science Division Senior Review.

News archive · 2021–2025

2025

[12/2025] The AGU Annual Meeting was held in New Orleans.

[09/2025] I participated in a GEDI–ICESat-2 paper discussion.

[08/2025] Visiting scholars presented seminars on forest dynamics and carbon cycling. Learn more at the link.

[08/2025] I participated in the GEDI annual review meeting.

[07/2025] I conducted terrestrial laser scanning of large trees in Maryland.

[06/2025] I prepared a proposal on calibration and validation for the Biomass Mission.

[05/2025] I evaluated the performance of candidate GEDI L4A models.

[04/2025] I attended the GEDI Science Team Meeting. Read the summary at the link.

2024

[12/2024] I attended the AGU Annual Meeting.

[09/2024] I attended the 2024 CMS Science Team Meeting and Applications Workshop.

[09/2024] I attended ForestSAT 2024.

[07/2024] I participated in the Geo Center Remote Sensing Summer School, which featured 24 talks from July 9–17.

[06/2024] The 2024 ICESat-2 Applications Workshop was held in a hybrid format.

[05/2024] The NASA Biodiversity and Ecological Conservation Team Meeting was held in Silver Spring, Maryland.

[04/2024] I attended the NASA PANGEA scoping workshop from April 9–11.

[03/2024] I developed a hybrid inference model for forest surveys.

[02/2024] I worked on an ICESat-2 measurement-error model.

[01/2024] I worked on an ICESat-2 measurement-error model.

2023

[12/2023] I attended the 2023 AGU Annual Meeting online. View my poster at the poster link.

[11/2023] I virtually attended a Surface Topography and Vegetation (STV) meeting.

[10/2023] The GEDI Science Team Meeting was held from October 17–19.

[10/2023] I gave a presentation titled “Applications of GNSS and Lidar in Earth Sciences.”

[09/2023] I presented at the NASA Carbon Monitoring System BlueFlux Science Meeting.

[09/2023] SilviLaser 2023 was livestreamed.

[08/2023] Tiago led a workshop on setting up Conda environments and using GEDI tools.

[07/2023] I attended an InSAR short course.

[07/2023] I worked on GEDI error modeling.

[06/2023] I attended a MAAP users workshop.

[05/2023] I attended an environmental data science meeting hosted by ESIIL in Boulder.

[05/2023] I attended the NASA Joint Science Workshop.

[04/2023] I joined the University of Maryland, College Park, as an Assistant Research Professor.

[03/2023] We submitted two proposals: NASA CSDA and Climate AI.

[03/2023] We completed a second TLS survey for coastal resilience mapping in Nags Head, North Carolina.

[03/2023] We completed dry-season field data collection for BlueFlux in the Everglades.

[02/2023] Our coastal resilience story was published online.

[02/2023] We conducted bathymetric mapping in Currituck Sound, North Carolina.

[02/2023] Our work was featured by Current TV [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2-yc4ryha4].

[01/2023] I gave a guest lecture in a marine biology class.

[01/2023] We submitted a Step 1 proposal on hurricane damage and recovery assessment.

[01/2023] I worked on proposals for NASA CSDA, NC Sea Grant, and Climate AI.

2022

[12/2022] I attended the AGU Annual Meeting in Chicago. View my iPoster here and a photo of our lab group.

[12/2022] We conducted a coastal laser-scanning field campaign in Nags Head, North Carolina.

[11/2022] I gave a lightning talk at the North Carolina Coastal Conference.

[11/2022] I gave a guest lecture in a coastal geoscience class.

[10/2022] I participated in NASA BlueFlux fieldwork from October 15–22.

[10/2022] I attended the NC mini-grant kickoff meeting. Slides are available here.

[09/2022] Our paper was published online.

[09/2022] I attended a NASA biodiversity meeting. View the group photo and slides on mangrove structure and growth.

[08/2022] I completed a draft manuscript on mangrove height and machine learning.

[07/2022] We completed the NC mini-grant project.

[06/2022] I participated in the ECU Coastal Studies Institute Open House.

[05/2022] We prepared a NASA coastal resilience proposal.

[05/2022] We developed a coastal laser scanner.

[04/2022] I moved to the Greenville, North Carolina, office.

[03/2022] I participated in a BlueFlux field campaign in South Florida, using terrestrial laser scanning to survey ghost forests. View the group photo.

[02/2022] I moved to Wanchese, North Carolina.

2021

[12/2021] I attended the AGU Annual Meeting in New Orleans and gave a lightning talk on mangrove recovery.

[11/2021] I revised a manuscript.

[09/2021] I moved to Houston, Texas, and began working remotely.

[08/2021] I completed a draft manuscript.

[07/2021] I moved to Wanchese, North Carolina.

[06/2021] I participated in ICESat-2 training and meetings.

[05/2021] I participated in a meeting on mangrove seedlings.

[04/2021] I participated in GEDI training and meetings.

[03/2021] I participated in G-LiHT training and meetings.

[02/2021] I joined the ECU Coastal Studies Institute as a postdoctoral researcher and worked remotely from Houston.