Eunsang is a hydrologist who focuses on accurate and timely estimations and predictions of critical hydrologic fluxes, storages, and processes for enhanced water resources management, flood prediction, and infrastructure design. For this, he uses field observations, multiple remote sensing techniques (active and passive microwave, infrared, thermal, and gamma radiation via UAS, aircraft, and satellite platforms), and land surface and regional climate model simulations along with big-data analytics. He is currently working with Drs. Carrie Vuyovich and Sujay Kumar on quantifying uncertainties in snow and hydrological estimates from multiple land surface models (LSMs) within the Snow Ensemble Uncertainty Project (SEUP), developing the Observing System Simulation Experiment (OSSE), and helping the current and upcoming SnowEx campaigns for future snow satellite mission concept. Prior to joining in NASA GSFC, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher at University of New Hampshire, where he obtained a Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Science Areas
- Terrestrial hydrology, Floods, Snow processes (snow, soil moisture, snowmelt, freeze/thaw)
- Human impacts (drainage system, irrigation, LULC) on water resources management
- Climate change impacts on hydrological extreme events (e.g. snowmelt-driven floods)
Methods/Techniques
- Remote sensing (Satellite Microwave, Gamma Radiation, Unmanned Aerial Systems, LiDAR, SfM)
- Land surface modeling & Regional climate modeling
- Data assimilation, Machine Learning, Google Earth Engine
8/2020
-
Present
Postdoctoral Research Scientist
NASA GSFC / Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center, University of Maryland, College Park,
MD - Works on the Snow Ensemble Uncertainty Project (SEUP) to quantify snowpack and its error characteristics and to predict snowmelt-driven streamflow estimations using mutiple land surface models (Noah-MP, Catchment, Noah, and JULES) with meteorological forcings and the HyMAP routing model via NASA Land Information System (LIS).
- Conducts research to develop an observing system simulation experiment (OSSE) with data assimilation and to assess the potential benefits of various remotely sensed observations on snow estimation and end-use applications.
- Helps to organize and conduct the NASA Snow Experiment (SnowEx) 2020/21 field campaigns for future satellite missions.
5/2020
-
8/2020
Postdoctoral Associate
University of New Hampshire,
Durham, NH Funded by U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Broad Agency Announcement Grant (Project: Cold Regions Operations and Assessment Research)
- Estimates high-resolution snow depth measurements from the Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS)-based LiDAR system
- Conducts field work to collect snow depth and snow water equivalent observations for validation
- Analyzes the Maximum Entropy (Maxent) modeling to characterize spatial variability of snow depth and identify dominant physical drivers to determine snow variations
Ph.D., Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of New Hampshire, USA, 2020
- Title: Human and Climate Impacts on Flooding via Remote Sensing, Big Data Analytics, and Modeling
M.S., Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea, 2014
- Title: Evaluation of Satellite-based Soil Moisture from Active and Passive Microwave Sensors in northeast Asia
B.S., Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea, 2010
Refereed
Moradi, M., E. Cho, J. M. Jacobs, and C. M. Vuyovich. 2023. "Seasonal soil freeze/thaw variability across North America via ensemble land surface modeling."
Cold Regions Science and Technology,
209:
103806
[10.1016/j.coldregions.2023.103806]
Proulx, H., J. M. Jacobs, E. A. Burakowski, et al. 2023. "Brief communication: Comparison of in-situ ephemeral snow depth measurements over a mixed-use temperate forest landscape."
The Cryosphere Discussions,
(Submitted)
[10.5194/tc-2023-36]
Cho, E., C. M. Vuyovich, S. V. Kumar, et al. 2022. "Precipitation biases and snow physics limitations drive the uncertainties in macroscale modeled snow water equivalent."
Hydrology and Earth System Sciences,
26
(22):
5721-5735
[10.5194/hess-26-5721-2022]
Cho, E., C. M. Vuyovich, S. V. Kumar, M. L. Wrzesien, and R. S. Kim. 2022. "Evaluating the Utility of Active Microwave Observations as a Snow Mission Concept Using Observing System Simulation Experiments."
The Cryosphere Discussions,
(Submitted)
[10.5194/tc-2022-220]
Cho, E., Y. Kwon, S. V. Kumar, and C. M. Vuyovich. 2022. "Assimilation of airborne gamma observations provides utility for snow estimation in forested environments."
Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Discussions,
1-26
(Submitted)
[10.5194/hess-2022-332]
Cho, E., R. R. McCrary, and J. M. Jacobs. 2021. "Future Changes in Snowpack, Snowmelt, and Runoff Potential Extremes Over North America."
Geophysical Research Letters,
48
(22):
[10.1029/2021gl094985]
Cho, E., A. G. Hunsaker, J. M. Jacobs, et al. 2021. "Maximum entropy modeling to identify physical drivers of shallow snowpack heterogeneity using unpiloted aerial system (UAS) lidar."
Journal of Hydrology,
602:
126722
[10.1016/j.jhydrol.2021.126722]
Cho, E., and J. M. Jacobs. 2020. "Extreme Value Snow Water Equivalent and Snowmelt for Infrastructure Design Over the Contiguous United States."
Water Resources Research,
56
(10):
[10.1029/2020wr028126]
Forgotson, C., P. E. O'Neill, M. L. Carrera, et al. 2020. "How Satellite Soil Moisture Data Can Help to Monitor the Impacts of Climate Change: SMAP Case Studies."
IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing,
13:
1590-1596
[10.1109/jstars.2020.2982608]
Cho, E., J. M. Jacobs, R. Schroeder, S. E. Tuttle, and C. Olheiser. 2020. "Improvement of operational airborne gamma radiation snow water equivalent estimates using SMAP soil moisture."
Remote Sensing of Environment,
240:
111668
[10.1016/j.rse.2020.111668]
Jacobs, J. M., A. G. Hunsaker, F. B. Sullivan, et al. 2020. "Shallow snow depth mapping with unmanned aerial systems lidar observations: A case study in Durham, New Hampshire, United States."
(Submitted)
[10.5194/tc-2020-37]
Kraatz, S., J. M. Jacobs, R. Schröder, et al. 2020. "Improving SMAP freeze-thaw retrievals for pavements using effective soil temperature from GEOS-5: Evaluation against in situ road temperature data over the U.S."
Remote Sensing of Environment,
237:
111545
[10.1016/j.rse.2019.111545]
Cho, E., J. M. Jacobs, and C. M. Vuyovich. 2020. "The Value of Long‐Term (40 years) Airborne Gamma Radiation SWE Record for Evaluating Three Observation‐Based Gridded SWE Data Sets by Seasonal Snow and Land Cover Classifications."
Water Resources Research,
56
(1):
[10.1029/2019wr025813]
Cho, E., J. M. Jacobs, X. Jia, and S. Kraatz. 2019. "Identifying Subsurface Drainage using Satellite Big Data and Machine Learning via Google Earth Engine."
Water Resources Research,
55
(10):
8028-8045
[10.1029/2019wr024892]
Schroeder, R., J. M. Jacobs, E. Cho, et al. 2019. "Comparison of Satellite Passive Microwave With Modeled Snow Water Equivalent Estimates in the Red River of the North Basin."
IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing,
12
(9):
3233-3246
[10.1109/jstars.2019.2926058]
Kraatz, S., J. Jacobs, R. Schröder, et al. 2018. "Evaluation of SMAP Freeze/Thaw Retrieval Accuracy at Core Validation Sites in the Contiguous United States."
Remote Sensing,
10
(9):
1483
[10.3390/rs10091483]
Tuttle, S. E., J. M. Jacobs, C. M. Vuyovich, C. Olheiser, and E. Cho. 2018. "Intercomparison of snow water equivalent observations in the Northern Great Plains."
Hydrological Processes,
32
(6):
817-829
[10.1002/hyp.11459]
Cho, E., C.-H. Su, D. Ryu, H. Kim, and M. Choi. 2017. "Does AMSR2 produce better soil moisture retrievals than AMSR-E over Australia?"
Remote Sensing of Environment,
188:
95-105
[10.1016/j.rse.2016.10.050]
Kim, H., M. Zohaib, E. Cho, Y. H. Kerr, and M. Choi. 2017. "Development and Assessment of the Sand Dust Prediction Model by Utilizing Microwave-Based Satellite Soil Moisture and Reanalysis Datasets in East Asian Desert Areas."
Advances in Meteorology,
2017:
1-13
[10.1155/2017/1917372]
Tuttle, S. E., E. Cho, P. J. Restrepo, et al. 2016. "Remote Sensing of Drivers of Spring Snowmelt Flooding in the North Central U.S.."
Remote Sensing of Hydrological Extremes,
21-45
[10.1007/978-3-319-43744-6_2]
Cho, E., A. Zhang, and M. Choi. 2016. "The Seasonal Difference in Soil Moisture Patterns Considering the Meteorological Variables Throughout the Korean Peninsula."
Terrestrial, Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences,
27
(6):
907-920
[10.3319/tao.2016.07.12.01]
Cho, E., M. Choi, and W. Wagner. 2015. "An assessment of remotely sensed surface and root zone soil moisture through active and passive sensors in northeast Asia."
Remote Sensing of Environment,
160:
166-179
[10.1016/j.rse.2015.01.013]
Cho, E., H. Moon, and M. Choi. 2015. "First Assessment of the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR2) Soil Moisture Contents in Northeast Asia."
Journal of the Meteorological Society of Japan. Ser. II,
93
(1):
117-129
[10.2151/jmsj.2015-008]
Cho, E., and M. Choi. 2014. "Regional scale spatio-temporal variability of soil moisture and its relationship with meteorological factors over the Korean peninsula."
Journal of Hydrology,
516:
317-329
[10.1016/j.jhydrol.2013.12.053]
American Geophysical Union,
2013
-
Present
American Meteorological Society,
2019
-
Present
European Geosciences Union,
2020
-
Present
Young Earth System Scientists (YESS) Community,
2019
-
Present
Reviewer for
- AGU Advances
- Advances in Water Resources
- Int. J. Appl. Earth Observation & Geoinformation
- International Journal of Climatology
- Journal of Environmental Radioactivity
- Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmosphere
- Journal of Hydrology
- Remote Sensing of Environment
- Remote Sensing
- The Cryosphere
- Water Resources Research
- AGU Water Resources Research 2019 Editor's Choice Award (2020)
- CUAHSI Pathfinder Fellowship (NSF Award No 1849458) (2020)
- UNH Dissertation Year Fellowship (2019 – 2020)
- UNH Summer TA Fellowship (2018)
- UNH College of Engineering and Physical Sciences (CEPS) Fellowship (2015-2016)
- 1st Paper Presentation Award, Chuncheon Global Water Forum (2013)
- Excellent Paper Award in 2013, Korea Water Resources Association Annual Conference (2013)
- Brain Korea21 PLUS (BK21+) Fellowship (2013 - 2014)
- Brain Korea21 (BK21) Fellowship (2012)
- Adjunct Lecturer, Snow Hydrology, University of New Hampshire (Spring 2021)
- Lab Instructor, Fluid Mechanics, University of New Hampshire (2017-2018)
- Lab Instructor, Geographic Information System, Hanyang University, South Korea (2013)
- Teaching Assistant, Hydrology & Water Resources Engineering, Hanyang University, South Korea (2012-2013)
01/17/2023 -
01/16/2026
ROSES: A.50 Subseasonal-to-Seasonal (S2S) Hydrometeorological Prediction,
NASA HQ
Groundwater Impact on S2S Snowmelt Flood Predictability
;
PI
Grant Amount: $$648,596 (total)
- Visiting Student, NASA GSFC, Hydrological Science Laboratory, Greenbelt, MD, Supervisor: Drs. Sujay Kumar and Carrie Vuyovich
- Participant, CUAHSI-iSWGR Snow Measurement Field School, Yellowstone Alliance Adventure, Bozeman, MT, Instructors: Drs. Matthew Sturm, Kelly Elder, and Jessica Lundquist et al.
- Participant, NASA Land Information System Workshop, GSFC, MD. Instructors: Dr. Sujay Kumar et al.
- Participant, CUAHSI Training Workshop: The Community WRF-Hydro Modeling System, NCAR, Boulder, CO, Instructors: Dr. D. Gochis, K. Sampson, A. Dugger
- Volunteer Participant, Soil Moisture Active Passive Validation Experiment 2016 (SMAPVEX16) field campaign, Des
- Moines, IA, Supervisor: Dr. Michael Cosh
Invited
Design Extreme Snowpack and Snowmelt for Infrastructure Design our the U.S.
10
/
2020
Global Infrastructure and Climate Network (ICNet) Webinar
The rediscovery of the value of 40-years airborne gamma radiation SWE
6
/
2020
Snow International (SINTER) 1st Quarterly Meeting, June 2020, Hosted by Dr. Chris Derksen on behalf of SINTER executive team
The value of long-term (40 years) airborne gamma radiation SWE record: Evaluating CONUS SWE datasets by seasonal snow and land cover classifications
12
/
2019
2019 AGU Fall Meeting. San Francisco, December 2019. Session “Remote Sensing of the Cryosphere: Seasonal Snow”
Refereed
Moradi, M., E. Cho, J. M. Jacobs, and C. M. Vuyovich. 2023. "Seasonal soil freeze/thaw variability across North America via ensemble land surface modeling."
Cold Regions Science and Technology
209
103806
[10.1016/j.coldregions.2023.103806]
Proulx, H., J. M. Jacobs, E. A. Burakowski, et al. 2023. "Brief communication: Comparison of in-situ ephemeral snow depth measurements over a mixed-use temperate forest landscape."
The Cryosphere Discussions
(Submitted)
[10.5194/tc-2023-36]
Cho, E., C. M. Vuyovich, S. V. Kumar, et al. 2022. "Precipitation biases and snow physics limitations drive the uncertainties in macroscale modeled snow water equivalent."
Hydrology and Earth System Sciences
26
(22):
5721-5735
[10.5194/hess-26-5721-2022]
Cho, E., C. M. Vuyovich, S. V. Kumar, M. L. Wrzesien, and R. S. Kim. 2022. "Evaluating the Utility of Active Microwave Observations as a Snow Mission Concept Using Observing System Simulation Experiments."
The Cryosphere Discussions
(Submitted)
[10.5194/tc-2022-220]
Cho, E., Y. Kwon, S. V. Kumar, and C. M. Vuyovich. 2022. "Assimilation of airborne gamma observations provides utility for snow estimation in forested environments."
Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Discussions
(Submitted)
1-26
[10.5194/hess-2022-332]
Cho, E., R. R. McCrary, and J. M. Jacobs. 2021. "Future Changes in Snowpack, Snowmelt, and Runoff Potential Extremes Over North America."
Geophysical Research Letters
48
(22):
[10.1029/2021gl094985]
Cho, E., A. G. Hunsaker, J. M. Jacobs, et al. 2021. "Maximum entropy modeling to identify physical drivers of shallow snowpack heterogeneity using unpiloted aerial system (UAS) lidar."
Journal of Hydrology
602
126722
[10.1016/j.jhydrol.2021.126722]
Cho, E., and J. M. Jacobs. 2020. "Extreme Value Snow Water Equivalent and Snowmelt for Infrastructure Design Over the Contiguous United States."
Water Resources Research
56
(10):
[10.1029/2020wr028126]
Forgotson, C., P. E. O'Neill, M. L. Carrera, et al. 2020. "How Satellite Soil Moisture Data Can Help to Monitor the Impacts of Climate Change: SMAP Case Studies."
IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing
13
1590-1596
[10.1109/jstars.2020.2982608]
Cho, E., J. M. Jacobs, R. Schroeder, S. E. Tuttle, and C. Olheiser. 2020. "Improvement of operational airborne gamma radiation snow water equivalent estimates using SMAP soil moisture."
Remote Sensing of Environment
240
111668
[10.1016/j.rse.2020.111668]
Jacobs, J. M., A. G. Hunsaker, F. B. Sullivan, et al. 2020. "Shallow snow depth mapping with unmanned aerial systems lidar observations: A case study in Durham, New Hampshire, United States."
(Submitted)
[10.5194/tc-2020-37]
Kraatz, S., J. M. Jacobs, R. Schröder, et al. 2020. "Improving SMAP freeze-thaw retrievals for pavements using effective soil temperature from GEOS-5: Evaluation against in situ road temperature data over the U.S."
Remote Sensing of Environment
237
111545
[10.1016/j.rse.2019.111545]
Cho, E., J. M. Jacobs, and C. M. Vuyovich. 2020. "The Value of Long‐Term (40 years) Airborne Gamma Radiation SWE Record for Evaluating Three Observation‐Based Gridded SWE Data Sets by Seasonal Snow and Land Cover Classifications."
Water Resources Research
56
(1):
[10.1029/2019wr025813]
Cho, E., J. M. Jacobs, X. Jia, and S. Kraatz. 2019. "Identifying Subsurface Drainage using Satellite Big Data and Machine Learning via Google Earth Engine."
Water Resources Research
55
(10):
8028-8045
[10.1029/2019wr024892]
Schroeder, R., J. M. Jacobs, E. Cho, et al. 2019. "Comparison of Satellite Passive Microwave With Modeled Snow Water Equivalent Estimates in the Red River of the North Basin."
IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing
12
(9):
3233-3246
[10.1109/jstars.2019.2926058]
Kraatz, S., J. Jacobs, R. Schröder, et al. 2018. "Evaluation of SMAP Freeze/Thaw Retrieval Accuracy at Core Validation Sites in the Contiguous United States."
Remote Sensing
10
(9):
1483
[10.3390/rs10091483]
Tuttle, S. E., J. M. Jacobs, C. M. Vuyovich, C. Olheiser, and E. Cho. 2018. "Intercomparison of snow water equivalent observations in the Northern Great Plains."
Hydrological Processes
32
(6):
817-829
[10.1002/hyp.11459]
Cho, E., C.-H. Su, D. Ryu, H. Kim, and M. Choi. 2017. "Does AMSR2 produce better soil moisture retrievals than AMSR-E over Australia?"
Remote Sensing of Environment
188
95-105
[10.1016/j.rse.2016.10.050]
Kim, H., M. Zohaib, E. Cho, Y. H. Kerr, and M. Choi. 2017. "Development and Assessment of the Sand Dust Prediction Model by Utilizing Microwave-Based Satellite Soil Moisture and Reanalysis Datasets in East Asian Desert Areas."
Advances in Meteorology
2017
1-13
[10.1155/2017/1917372]
Tuttle, S. E., E. Cho, P. J. Restrepo, et al. 2016. "Remote Sensing of Drivers of Spring Snowmelt Flooding in the North Central U.S.."
Remote Sensing of Hydrological Extremes
21-45
[10.1007/978-3-319-43744-6_2]
Cho, E., A. Zhang, and M. Choi. 2016. "The Seasonal Difference in Soil Moisture Patterns Considering the Meteorological Variables Throughout the Korean Peninsula."
Terrestrial, Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
27
(6):
907-920
[10.3319/tao.2016.07.12.01]
Cho, E., M. Choi, and W. Wagner. 2015. "An assessment of remotely sensed surface and root zone soil moisture through active and passive sensors in northeast Asia."
Remote Sensing of Environment
160
166-179
[10.1016/j.rse.2015.01.013]
Cho, E., H. Moon, and M. Choi. 2015. "First Assessment of the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR2) Soil Moisture Contents in Northeast Asia."
Journal of the Meteorological Society of Japan. Ser. II
93
(1):
117-129
[10.2151/jmsj.2015-008]
Cho, E., and M. Choi. 2014. "Regional scale spatio-temporal variability of soil moisture and its relationship with meteorological factors over the Korean peninsula."
Journal of Hydrology
516
317-329
[10.1016/j.jhydrol.2013.12.053]
