Yeosang Yoon
(Support Scientist)
| Email: | yeosang.yoon@nasa.gov |
| Phone: | 301.286.7095 |
| Org Code: | |
| Address: |
NASA/GSFC Mail Code 617 Greenbelt, MD 20771 |
| Employer: | SCIENCE SYSTEMS AND APPLICATIONS INC |
Research Interests
Hydrological modeling; satellite data assimilation; SWOT water surface elevation assimilation; river routing and streamflow forecasting; global hydrological prediction systems; climate and natural hazard impact assessment; remote sensing and GIS applications for water resources; high-performance computing and numerical modeling for large-scale Earth system applications.
Earth Science: Hydrology / Water CyclePositions/Employment
Chief Research Scientist
NASA GSFC/Science Systems and Applications, Inc - Greenbelt, MD
March 2026 - Present
- Lead development of SWOT water surface elevation data assimilation capabilities for large-scale hydrologic and river routing systems.
- Lead development and operational support of the Global Hydro Intelligence (GHI) streamflow and medium-range forecasting systems.
Senior Research Scientist
NASA GSFC/Science Applications International Corporation - Greenbelt, MD
May 2022 - February 2026
- Developed and implemented SWOT water surface elevation data assimilation capabilities within large-scale hydrologic and river routing models.
- Developed and tested the Global Hydro Intelligence (GHI) streamflow (HyMAP and RAPID) system.
- Implemented the GHI medium range forecast system.
Research Scientist
NASA GSFC/Science Applications International Corporation - Greenbelt, MD
October 2016 - April 2022
- Developed and evaluated the NASA LIS-Hydro (HyMAP and RAPID) system.
- Led the development of a global operational snow depth analysis.
- Developed snow data assimilation configurations for LIS land surface models.
- Assessed the uncertainty in terrestrial water budgets over High Mountain Asia.
Postdoctoral Scholar
University of California, Merced - Merced, CA
July 2015 - September 2016
- Simulated streamflow dynamics for the American River Basin using PRMS.
- Developed snow data assimilation frameworks for streamflow forecasting.
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Northeastern University - Boston, MA
October 2013 - June 2015
- Evaluated peak flow sensitivity to snowmelt in the Susquehanna River Basin.
- Developed statistical downscaling methods for TRMM rainfall data.
- Developed reservoir storage patterns to estimate streamflow on regulated rivers by analysis combining satellite altimetry, a hydrologic model and satellite data assimilation.
Research Assistant
The Ohio State University - Columbus, OH
September 2008 - August 2013
- Developed Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithms for river discharge estimation.
- Developed a data assimilation algorithm coupled with hydraulic modeling to solve the river bathymetry-retrieval problem for satellite altimetry.
- Designed and studied hydrologic and hydraulic models (e.g., LISFLOOD-FP, HEC-RAS, VIC, and CLM) for the Ohio River Basin and the Sacramento River Basin.
- Developed an optimal interpolation scheme to enhance temporal coverage of space borne measurements.
- Collaborated with NASA JPL, USGS, and universities to enhance satellite hydrology applications.
Research Scientist
Inha University/Land Monitoring Research Center - Incheon, Korea
September 2005 - September 2007
- Developed a near-real-time MODIS-based land monitoring framework to support national land management policy, resulting in one journal publication.
Research Scientist
Korea Aerospace Research Institute - Daejeon, Korea
September 2005 - September 2007
- Conducted remote sensing research on object-based image analysis, feature extraction, and wildfire monitoring, resulting in two journal publications.
- Developed and evaluated Cal/Val methods for KOMPSAT-2 imagery and supported international disaster management activities through a KARI–UN OOSA cooperative project.
Research Scientist
E&G Information Technology Co. Ltd. - Daejeon, Korea
February 2001 - September 2005
- Conducted research and software development in remote sensing, GIS, and geospatial data analysis, including satellite imagery, aerial photography, and LiDAR applications.
- Supported government projects related to digital mapping, land cover monitoring, and geospatial information systems.
Education
The Ohio State University Columbus, OH
Ph.D. in Civil Engineering, Aug 2013
Inha University Incheon, Korea
M.E. in Geographic Information Engineering, Feb 2001
B.S. in Computer Science & Engineering, Feb 1999
B.S.E. in Geoinformatic Engineering, Feb 1999
Selected Publications
Refereed
2025. "The HyMAP-3 Hydrodynamic Model.", NASA Technical Memorandum, NASA/TM-20250009546 [Report]
2025. "Climate change effects on submarine groundwater discharge and regional variations along the Korean Peninsula.", Communications Earth & Environment, 6 (1): 110 [10.1038/s43247-025-02084-9] [Journal Article/Letter]
2022. "Development of a global operational snow analysis: The US Air Force Snow and Ice Analysis.", Remote Sensing of Environment, 278 113080 [10.1016/j.rse.2022.113080] [Journal Article/Letter]
2022. "Evaluation of High Mountain Asia‐Land Data Assimilation System (Version 1) From 2003 to 2016: 2. The Impact of Assimilating Satellite‐Based Snow Cover and Freeze/Thaw Observations Into a Land Surface Model.", Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 127 (7): [10.1029/2021jd035992] [Journal Article/Letter]
2021. "Quantifying the observational requirements of a space-borne LiDAR snow mission.", Journal of Hydrology, 601 126709 [10.1016/j.jhydrol.2021.126709] [Journal Article/Letter]
2020. "Towards a Soil Moisture Drought Monitoring System for South Korea.", Journal of Hydrology, 125176 [10.1016/j.jhydrol.2020.125176] [Journal Article/Letter]
2019. "Exploring the Utility of Machine Learning-Based Passive Microwave Brightness Temperature Data Assimilation over Terrestrial Snow in High Mountain Asia.", Remote Sensing, 11 (19): 2265 [10.3390/rs11192265] [Journal Article/Letter]
2019. "Evaluating the uncertainty of terrestrial water budget components over High Mountain Asia.", Frontiers in Earth Science, 7 (120): [10.3389/feart.2019.00120] [Journal Article/Letter]
2019. "Assimilation of Satellite-Based Snow Cover and Freeze/Thaw Observations Over High Mountain Asia.", Frontiers in Earth Science, 7 [10.3389/feart.2019.00115] [Journal Article/Letter]
2016. "Integrating Runoff Generation and Flow Routing in Susquehanna River Basin to Characterize Key Hydrologic Processes Contributing to Maximum Annual Flood Events.", Journal of Hydrologic Engineering, 21 (9): 04016026 [10.1061/(asce)he.1943-5584.0001389] [Journal Article/Letter]
2016. "Estimating Flood Discharges in Reservoir-Regulated River Basins by Integrating Synthetic SWOT Satellite Observations and Hydrologic Modeling.", Journal of Hydrologic Engineering, 21 (4): 05015030 [10.1061/(asce)he.1943-5584.0001320] [Journal Article/Letter]
2016. "Improved error estimates of a discharge algorithm for remotely sensed river measurements: Test cases on Sacramento and Garonne Rivers.", Water Resources Research, 52 (1): 278-294 [10.1002/2015wr017319] [Journal Article/Letter]
2014. "Simulating streamflow on regulated rivers using characteristic reservoir storage patterns derived from synthetic remote sensing data.", Hydrological Processes, 29 (8): 2014-2026 [10.1002/hyp.10342] [Journal Article/Letter]
2014. "Estimating reach-averaged discharge for the River Severn from measurements of river water surface elevation and slope.", Journal of Hydrology, 511 92-104 [10.1016/j.jhydrol.2013.12.050] [Journal Article/Letter]
2013. "Improving Temporal Coverage of the SWOT Mission Using Spatiotemporal Kriging.", IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing, 6 (3): 1719-1729 [10.1109/jstars.2013.2257697] [Journal Article/Letter]
2012. "Estimating river bathymetry from data assimilation of synthetic SWOT measurements.", Journal of Hydrology, 464-465 363-375 [10.1016/j.jhydrol.2012.07.028] [Journal Article/Letter]