Lingcao Huang

Lingcao Huang

He/His

Remote Sensing Scientist

About me

I am a Research Assistant Professor at the Institute of Space and Earth Information Science, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). I have an engineering background in information on remote sensing and photogrammetry and have strong skills in image processing and feature extraction. I shifted my focus to monitoring changes on Earth’s surface, especially permafrost, and understanding the controlling factors when I started pursuing my PhD in 2016.

Research:

I use remote sensing to observe the changes on Earth’s surface and try to understand the deriving factors by combining modeling and various data including topography, meteorology, and in-situ measurement, with a focus on the cold regions and coastal areas. The main motivation is to understand the impacts caused by anthropogenic climate change on the Earth’s system and to provide data and calibration for future projection, which is crucial for building a sustainable society. Currently, I am working on mapping the abrupt thaw of permafrost such as retrogressive thaw slumps at a continental scale, and analyzing the controlling factors for their initiation and evolution. Due to the small size of the abrupt thaw on satellite imagery and large-scale mapping, I use high-resolution (≤ 10 m) imagery, deep learning, and supercomputers to handle the big data. I am also interested in applying deep learning for computer vision tasks on multi-scale imagery, technical innovation in large-scale mapping, and feature extraction using artificial intelligence and super-computing.

Experience:

I obtained my B.Eng and M.Eng degrees in remote sensing and photogrammetry from Wuhan University and then worked as a laboratory assistant at Xiamen University of Technology for over two years. I received my Ph.D. in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences from CUHK in 2019 and worked as a Postdoc for a short period. From 2020 to 2022, I was awarded a CIRES Visiting Fellowship and worked as a postdoctoral associate at the University of Colorado Boulder. I also worked with some professors and scientists within PermafrostNet in Canada and spent five months at the University of Victoria before joining CUHK in 2023.

Research projects:

  • “Using vision language models and remote sensing to map permafrost degradation in the Arctic and analyzing its spatial distribution”, National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) Young Scientists Fund, 2025–2027. (PI)
  • “Carbon release from abrupt thaw of frozen ground in the Arctic and its impacts on carbon neutrality”, Hong Kong Research Grants Council (RGC) General Research Fund (GRF), 2025–2027. (PI)
  • “Using vision language models to automatically identify landslides from very high-resolution satellite imagery”, CUHK Direct Grants, 2024–2025. (PI)

I am hiring research assistants to help with these projects, please contact me if you are interested in these projects, and welcome collaboration.

Opportunities:

My email addresses:

  • lingcaohuang@cuhk.edu.hk