Prof. Xianwei Wang

School of Geography and Planning, Sun Yat-Sen University

Xianwei Wang, Professor, Sun Yat-sen University "Hundred Talents Program" to introduce talents (2011.2). In 2008, he graduated from the University of Texas, San Antonio, majoring in Environmental Science and Engineering, under the tutelage of Professor Hongjie Xie, and received his Ph.D. From June 2008 to January 2011, I was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Irvine, Department of Earth System Science, under the tutelage of Professor Charles Zender. Member of the American Geophysical Society, the Geographical Society, and the Chinese Geographical and Hydraulic Society and other international and domestic professional associations; the subject editor of the international journal Water, and the reviewer of multiple international and domestic journals. Mainly engaged in research in the fields of GIS spatial analysis and application development, hydrological remote sensing and hydraulic surveying and mapping, flood simulation and flood risk management

Speech Title: Levee 3D Visualization and Performance Assessment using Airborne Lidar in the Pearl River Delta, South China

Abstract: The Pearl River Delta (PRD) of southern China is known for its complex river networks and low lying coastal terrain. The rapid surge of population and economy make this area vulnerable to frequent flood events. A huge and complex levee system over 2 500 km had been constructed to defend flood water and storm surges in the PRD, but they were constructed in different years and criteria and have been changing with age as well. Fast and quantitative assessment of levee stability is critical but faces many challenges. This study utilizes the airborne LiADR to survey the levees, creates 3D visualization and designs a scoring approach to quickly assess levee stability and overtopping riskthreats with geometric parameters from LiDAR pointcloud data. The surveyed levee is seated in the Hengmen waterway in the lower PRD, Southern China. Results show that the stability index using the assessment scores are is higher than and superior to the common qualified rates adopted in previous studies. The continuous crown heights provide detailed information on the levee overtopping threats.The high precision LiDAR altimetry data reveal that various levee morphological modifications can be observed in all levees, such as natural subsidence and artificial modifications, which greatly reduce levees flood defense capacity and are severe threats to the community. The procedures and assessment approach developed in this study can be easily applied for levees fast assessment in the entire PRD and somewhere else, thus offer a suitable mitigation suggestion ahead of levee failure or overtopping.