Date: 6 September to 7 September 2023
Venue: Lecture Theater, G/F, IAS, Lo Ka Chung Building, Lee Shau Kee Campus, HKUST
Zoom Meeting ID: 915 8872 4515 (Passcode: 085340)

The Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) is one of the fastest developing bay areas in the world and covers a vast land area of 56,000 km2 over the Pearl River Basin (PRB) and 20,000 km2 of adjacent ocean. It has a population exceeding 80 million and aspires to become a global technology and innovation hub under national development strategies. Ensuring the GBA’s sustainable development will require a healthy and resilient environment as determined by the sustainability of the regional earth system (RES) composed of the lithosphere (land), the hydrosphere (oceans and rivers), the atmosphere and the biosphere (living things) — the “spheres”.

The RES of the GBA is regulated primarily and intrinsically by each sphere’s dynamic processes and influenced extrinsically by interactions among the spheres. For example, the terrestrial (land) processes of the PRB are controlled by complex interactions between the land, aquatic environments, and atmosphere, which collectively regulate the freshwater volume as well as nutrient and pollutant loadings that are discharged into the adjacent ocean from the Pearl River. As such interwoven physical and biogeochemical processes occur at multiple spatiotemporal scales in the RES and respond to intensifying human activities and climate change, they form an integrated land-ocean-atmosphere-human activity-climate system, which determines the short- and long-term environmental sustainability, the carbon budget required to achieve neutrality, and the prosperity and development trajectory of the GBA.

A single discipline alone cannot holistically address the complex and pressing environmental challenges in a particular region. RES research has thus become a key national initiative to better understand and realize environmental sustainability in many countries but remains in its infancy globally. The proposed project will therefore take an unprecedented holistic approach to investigate the interactions among natural forcings, human activities, and climate change using an integrated system to create an RES framework in the GBA. This pioneering interdisciplinary project will also develop a digital twin or a digital model that integrates all streaming data and provides a visual interface to understand the spatiotemporal status and evolution, and simulate the future of the RES for facilitating data-driven decision-making in the GBA. By integrating interdisciplinary perspectives, advanced methodologies, and a world-class research team, this project will provide comprehensive knowledge and science-based mitigation strategies grounded in the human-RES integrated assessment framework to safeguard the environment and the development of the GBA and present a case study for similar bay areas worldwide.

Day1  September 6 Morning Session

08:45	Registration
09:00	Introduction to AoE project: Prospective of Regional Earth System in the GBA Prof. Jianping Gan, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Co-PIs and Co-Is presentation (10min presentation plus 5min Q&A)
09:30	Carbon and nutrient biogeochemistry and regional earth system sciences in the Greater Bay Area Prof. Minhan Dai, Xiamen University
09:45	Groundwater in Regional Earth System of GBA Prof. Jimmy Jiao, The University of Hong Kong
10:00	Unraveling the Nexus of Carbon, Oxygen, and Nutrient Dynamics under anthropogenic pressure  Prof. Benoit Thibodeau, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
10:15	Machine learning methods for characterization and prediction of spatio-temporal patterns Prof. Can Yang, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
10:30	Coffee break
10:50	Renewable energy potentials and low carbon transformation pathway and impacts to the RES of GBA Prof.  Zhao Xu, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
11:05	Rapid identifying and quantifying organic matter sources across GBA using fluorescence spectrometry based on machine learning approaches  Prof. Ding He, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
11:35	Visual Analytics and Human-AI collaboration for Digital Twin  Prof. Huamin Qu, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
11:50	Quantifying aquaculture-environment interactions under climate change Dr. Liuqian Yu, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou)
12:05	Assessing the spatiotemporal characteristics of anthropogenic organic carbon deposition in the Pearl River Delta region Dr. Zhen Liu, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou)
Presentation from CORE member (5min presentation plus 5min Q&A)
12:20	Building up an early-warning platform for urban floods based on numerical modelling methods Prof. Liang Gao (CORE member), University of Macau
12:30	Lunch at 3/F open area, IAS

 

Day1  September 6 Afternoon Session

Co-PIs and Co-Is presentation (10min presentation plus 5min Q&A)
14:00	Seamless simulation of storm surges in the Greater Bay Area Dr. Zhiqiang Liu, Southern University of Science and Technology
14:15	High-order Accurate and Efficient Solver for Ocean-Atmosphere Coupling System and Study of Ocean-Atmosphere Processes by High-fidelity LES Prof. Kun Xu, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
14:30	Measurements and Chemical Transport Modeling of Atmospheric Deposition of Nitrogen in the GBA Prof. Jianzhen Yu, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
14:45	Optimized Atmospheric Simulations for Regional Earth System Studies on the Impact of Climate Change Prof. Xiaoming Shi, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
15:00	Probing the response of microbial community to anthropogenic stressors in coastal marine environment Prof. Stanley Lau, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
15:15	Oxygen dynamics over coral ecosystems: drivers of hypoxia and impacts on productivity  Prof. Alexander Wyatt, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
15:30	Assessing and quantifying the pathways and role of microbial communities on the land-ocean ecosystem in the GBA Prof. Charmaine Yung, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
15:45	Coffee break
16:05	Assessing carbon budgets in the typical ecosystems of GBA using the Earth-HK Land-Atmosphere FluxNet (Zoom) Dr. Jinshu Chi, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou)
16:20	Carbon and nitrogen cycle under the scheme of groundwater-surface water interaction in Pearl River Basin  Dr. Yi Liu, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou)
16:35	Tracking the flow of nitrogen across GBA for an accurate nitrogen budget Dr. Qixing Ji, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou)
16:50	Flood Modelling and Forecasting in the Great Bay Area Dr. Qichun Yang, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou)
17:05	Morphodynamic changes of the Pearl River Estuary induced by anthropogenic and natural pressures Dr. Alessandro Stocchino, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
17:20	Saltwater Intrusion in the coupled atmosphere-river-shelf system of Greater Bay Area  Prof. Zhongya Cai, University of Macau
17:35	Towards a better ocean turbulent mixing parameterization in the estuarine-shelf environment in the GBA Dr. Qing Li, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou)
17:50	End
18:30	Dinner at on-campus China Garden Address: G/F, Academic Building, HKUST

 

Day2  September 7 Morning Session

Co-Is presentation (10min presentation plus 5min Q&A)
09:00	TBC Prof. Dabo Guan, Tsinghua University
09:15	Sediment biogeochemistry and fluxes in wetlands and coastal seas  Prof. Jiying Li, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
09:30	Bacteria-mediated carbon cycles in the Pearl River Estuary and adjacent coastal waters Prof. Jie Xu, University of Macau
09:45	Carbon and nutrient inputs via groundwater in the Pearl River Estuary and potential proxies Prof. Guizhi Wang, Xiamen University
10:00	Biodiversity, food-web structure and carbon flux of the plankton community in the River-Estuary-Shelf continuon  Prof. Hongbin Liu, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
10:15	Coffee break
Presentation from CORE member and project members (5min presentation plus 5min Q&A)
10:35	Developing a high-resolution carbon flux inversion modeling system to quantify carbon sources and sinks in the Greater Bay Area  Prof. Hui Su (CORE member), Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
10:45	Predicting the missing turbulence dynamics based on the math- and data-driven methods in ocean engineering Prof. Lin Fu (CORE member), Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
10:55	Upper ocean dynamics during typical typhoons in the coupled wave-circulation system of the Northern South China Sea Dr. Shang Fei Lin (CORE member), Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
11:05	Nutrient dynamics in the Pearl River Estuary and its response to human perturbation and climate change Prof. Jinyu Yang, Xiamen University
11:15	Blue carbon budget in regional scale based on field observation systems in Shenzhen mangroves Prof. Luzhen Chen, Xiamen University
11:25	Data Science for Water Monitoring in GBA: Reconstruction, Simulation, and Prediction Mr Zhixuan Wang (PhD student), Xiamen University
11:35	Discussion
12:30	End
12:45	Lunch at on-campus China Garden Address: G/F, Academic Building, HKUST

Hong Kong International Airport -> HKUST

Below are some options for getting to HKUST from the Hong Kong International Airport. 
If you are carrying a lot of luggage with you, taking the taxi directly to campus is the most convenient option.

Transportation options	Estimated time	Estimated cost
Red Taxi  (Hong Kong International Airport -> HKUST)	50 minutes	HK$360
Bus Number A29 + Bus Number 91M (Hong Kong International Airport -> Po Lam) (Po Lam -> HKUST)	115 minutes	HK$48.5

 

Hong Kong West Kowloon Station -> HKUST

If you take the High Speed Rail that goes directly to Hong Kong from Beijing, Shanghai or Guangzhou, you will arrive at Hong Kong West Kowloon Station. You can then take the MTR to Hang Hau Station, which is the nearest station to HKUST. Or, take a taxi from Hong Kong West Kowloon Station to HKUST.

Transportation options	Estimated time	Estimated cost
Red taxi  (Hong Kong West Kowloon Station -> HKUST)	30 minutes	HK$150
MTR + Red/Green taxi (Austin Station -> Hang Hau Station)  (Hang Hau Station ->HKUST	50 minutes	HK$70

 

Public Transport <-> HKUST

The MTR (subway) stops that are closest to HKUST are Choi Hung, Diamond Hill, Hang Hau and Po Lam stations. The following bus and minibus services are available for going to and from campus.

Destination	Bus	Mini bus
Choi Hung MTR station	91, 91P, 91M	11, 11S
Diamond Hill MTR station	91, 91P, 91M
Ngau Tau Kok MTR station		104
Hang Hau MTR station	91M	11, 11M, 11S
Po Lam MTR station	91M	12
Tseung Kwan O MTR station	792M
Sai Kung	792M

 

Click here to visit the MTR website , KMB website, City Bus website for details on fares, routes and journey times.

Contact Ms Cherrie Tang (macherrie@ust.hk) to reserve parking lot in HKUST

The recommended hotel is the on-campus hotel in HKUST, Conference Lodge. The room rate is ~HK$980-1650.

Room booking can only made by HKUST staff, please contact Ms Cherrie Tang (macherrie@ust.hk) for help.

The room availability in Conference Lodge is on a first-come-first-served basis. All expenses is charged on Guest Own Account.

You may also consider to book your own accommodation at below hotels located at Tseung Kwan O with about 15-minute taxi ride from HKUST.

 1. Crowne Plaza Hong Kong Kowloon East
 2. VEGA Suites

Conference Lodge

Address: Li Dak Sum Yip Chin Kenneth Li Conference Lodge,  HKUST, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong