Li Li

IEE Faculty Member
IEE Fellow
Titles and Affiliations
Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering

Research group: https://lireactivewater.wixsite.com/group

BlueSky: @LiReactiveWater.bsky.social

Research Summary

The Li Reactive Water group is interested in questions regarding how the structure of Critical Zone—Earth’s living skin from the tree tops to the bottom of groundwater (the zone that supports life)—regulates its functioning and response to climate change and human perturbations. We are particularly interested in the interactions of water with soils, rocks, roots, and microbes along its flow paths to rivers and streams and how such interactions regulate water quantity, chemistry, and quality.

In the News

Research Keywords

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Projects

Recent Publications

Grassland woody encroachment alters subsurface mineral weathering and groundwater composition in a carbonate system

Anhold, C., Hatley, C., Alcantar-Velasquez, E., Keen, R. M., Sadayappan, K., Jarecke, K. M., Sullivan, P. L., Nippert, J. B., Li, L., Macpherson, G. L. & Kirk, M. F., Feb 5 2025, In: Chemical Geology. 673, 122522.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Advancing the science of headwater streamflow for global water protection

Golden, H. E., Christensen, J. R., McMillan, H. K., Kelleher, C. A., Lane, C. R., Husic, A., Li, L., Ward, A. S., Hammond, J., Seybold, E. C., Jaeger, K. L., Zimmer, M., Sando, R., Jones, C. N., Segura, C., Mahoney, D. T., Price, A. N. & Cheng, F., Jan 2025, In: Nature Water. 3, 1, p. 16-26 11 p., 100330.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Hidden Features: How Subsurface and Landscape Heterogeneity Govern Hydrologic Connectivity and Stream Chemistry in a Montane Watershed

Johnson, K., Williams, K. H., Christensen, J. N., Carroll, R. W. H., Li, L., Beutler, C., Bird, K. S., Dong, W. & Sullivan, P. L., Mar 2025, In: Hydrological Processes. 39, 3, e70085.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Controls From Above and Below: Snow, Soil, and Steepness Drive Diverging Trends of Subsurface Water and Streamflow Dynamics

Kerins, D., Knapp, A. S., Liu, F. S., Smykalov, V. D., Berzonsky, M. P., Vierbicher, A., Sadayappan, K., Stewart, B., Andrews, E. M., Sullivan, P. L., Barnard, H. R., Seibert, J., McPhillips, L. E., Singha, K. & Li, L., Apr 2025, In: Hydrological Processes. 39, 4, e70120.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Reviews and syntheses: Variable inundation across Earth's terrestrial ecosystems

Stegen, J., Burgin, A. J., Busch, M. H., Fisher, J. B., Ladau, J., Abrahamson, J., Kinsman-Costello, L., Li, L., Chen, X., Datry, T., Mcdowell, N., Tatariw, C., Braswell, A., Deines, J. M., Guimond, J. A., Regier, P., Rod, K., Bam, E. K. P., Fluet-Chouinard, E. & Forbrich, I. & 20 others, Jaeger, K. L., O'Meara, T., Scheibe, T., Seybold, E., Sweetman, J., Zheng, J., Allen, D. C., Herndon, E., Middleton, B. A., Painter, S., Roche, K., Scamardo, J., Vander Vorste, R., Boye, K., Wohl, E., Zimmer, M., Hondula, K., Laan, M., Marshall, A. & Patel, K. F., Feb 24 2025, In: Biogeosciences. 22, 4, p. 995-1034 40 p.

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Topographic correction of visible near-infrared reflectance spectra for horizon-scale soil organic carbon mapping

Duro, A. M., Hirmas, D. R., Ajami, H., Billings, S. A., Zhang, X., Li, L., Flores, A., Moreno, V., Cao, X., Guilinger, J., Oleghe, E., Giménez, D., Gray, A. & Sullivan, P. L., Mar 1 2024, In: Soil Science Society of America Journal. 88, 2, p. 207-223 17 p.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Solute export patterns across the contiguous USA

Kincaid, D. W., Underwood, K. L., Hamshaw, S. D., Li, L., Seybold, E. C., Stewart, B., Rizzo, D. M., Haq, I. U. & Perdrial, J. N., Jun 2024, In: Hydrological Processes. 38, 6, e15197.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

River water quality shaped by land–river connectivity in a changing climate

Li, L., Knapp, J. L. A., Lintern, A., Ng, G. H. C., Perdrial, J., Sullivan, P. L. & Zhi, W., Mar 2024, In: Nature Climate Change. 14, 3, p. 225-237 13 p.

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

BioRT-HBV 1.0: A Biogeochemical Reactive Transport Model at the Watershed Scale

Sadayappan, K., Stewart, B., Kerins, D., Vierbicher, A., Zhi, W., Smykalov, V. D., Shi, Y., Vis, M., Seibert, J. & Li, L., Dec 2024, In: Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems. 16, 12, e2024MS004217.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Expanding the Spatial Reach and Human Impacts of Critical Zone Science

Singha, K., Sullivan, P. L., Billings, S. A., Walls, L., Li, L., Jarecke, K. M., Barnard, H. R., Gasparini, N. M., Madoff, R. D., Dhital, S., Jones, C., Kastelic, E. C., Ma, L., Perilla-Castillo, P., Song, B. & Zhu, T., Mar 2024, In: Earth's Future. 12, 3, e2023EF003971.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Deep learning insights into suspended sediment concentrations across the conterminous United States: Strengths and limitations

Song, Y., Chaemchuen, P., Rahmani, F., Zhi, W., Li, L., Liu, X., Boyer, E., Bindas, T., Lawson, K. & Shen, C., Aug 2024, In: Journal of Hydrology. 639, 131573.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

CAMELS-Chem: augmenting CAMELS (Catchment Attributes and Meteorology for Large-sample Studies) with atmospheric and stream water chemistry data

Sterle, G., Perdrial, J., Kincaid, D. W., Underwood, K. L., Rizzo, D. M., Haq, I. U., Li, L., Lee, B. S., Adler, T., Wen, H., Middleton, H. & Harpold, A. A., Feb 13 2024, In: Hydrology and Earth System Sciences. 28, 3, p. 611-630 20 p.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Illuminating the “Invisible”: Substantial Deep Respiration and Lateral Export of Dissolved Carbon From Beneath Soil

Stewart, B., Shanley, J. B., Matt, S., Seybold, E. C., Kincaid, D. W., Vierbicher, A., Cable, B., Hicks, N., Perdrial, J. N. & Li, L., Jun 2024, In: Water Resources Research. 60, 6, e2023WR035940.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Amplified Production and Export of Dissolved Inorganic Carbon During Hot and Wet Subtropical Monsoon

Wen, H., Li, S. L., Chen, X., Qin, C. & Li, L., Jan 2024, In: Water Resources Research. 60, 1, e2023WR035292.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Increasing phosphorus loss despite widespread concentration decline in US rivers

Zhi, W., Baniecki, H., Liu, J., Boyer, E., Shen, C., Shenk, G., Liu, X. & Li, L., Nov 26 2024, In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 121, 48, e2402028121.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review