Dr. Zhang's primary research interest has been focused on lake changes including area, level and volume over the Tibetan Plateau using passive multi-spectral/optical remote sensing data including Landsat/Sentinel-2, and active remote sensing data including laser altimeters, ICESat/ICESat-2, and spaceborne gravimetry data from the Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment, GRACE; and GRACE-Followon twin-satellite missions. His research leads to answer some critical scienctific questions related to how lakes have been changing, what are the contributing factors to such changes, and what are the future of these lakes and water resousces in the Tibetan Plateau, under the warming climate. In addition, he has been mapping glacial lakes and conducting hazard assessment by glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) over the Himalayas and beyond, especially combining with fields survey such as lake bathmetry measurements and remote sensing.

1. Zhang, G., T. Yao, H. Xie, K. Yang, L. Zhu, C. K. Shum, T. Bolch, S. Yi, S. Allen, L. Jiang, W. Chen, and C. Ke (2020), Response of Tibetan Plateau lakes to climate change: Trends, patterns, and mechanisms, Earth-Sci Rev, 208, 103269, doi: 10.1016/j.earscirev.2020.103269  

2. Zhang, G., W. Chen, G. Li, W. Yang, S. Yi, and W. Luo (2020), Lake water and glacier mass gains in the northwestern Tibetan Plateau observed from multi-sensor remote sensing data: Implication of an enhanced hydrological cycle, Remote Sens Environ, 237, 111554, doi: 10.1016/j.rse.2019.111554  

3. Zhang, G., T. Yao, W. Chen, G. Zheng, C. K. Shum, K. Yang, S. Piao, Y. Sheng, S. Yi, J. Li, C. M. O'Reilly, S. Qi, S. S. P. Shen, H. Zhang, and Y. Jia (2019), Regional differences of lake evolution across China during 1960s–2015 and its natural and anthropogenic causes, Remote Sens Environ, 221, 386-404, doi: 10.1016/j.rse.2018.11.038  

4. Zhang, G., T. Yao, C. K. Shum, S. Yi, K. Yang, H. Xie, W. Feng, T. Bolch, L. Wang, A. Behrangi, H. Zhang, W. Wang, Y. Xiang, and J. Yu (2017), Lake volume and groundwater storage variations in Tibetan Plateau's endorheic basin, Geophys Res Lett, 44(11), 5550-5560, doi: 10.1002/2017GL073773  

5. Zhang, G., T. Yao, S. Piao, T. Bolch, H. Xie, D. Chen, Y. Gao, C. M. O'Reilly, C. K. Shum, K. Yang, S. Yi, Y. Lei, W. Wang, Y. He, K. Shang, X. Yang, and H. Zhang (2017), Extensive and drastically different alpine lake changes on Asia’s high plateaus during the past four decades, Geophys Res Lett, 44(1), 252-260, doi: 10.1002/2016GL072033  

6. Zhang, G., T. Yao, H. Xie, W. Wang, and W. Yang (2015), An inventory of glacial lakes in the Third Pole region and their changes in response to global warming, Global Planet Change, 131, 148-157, doi: 10.1016/j.gloplacha.2015.05.013  

7. Zhang, G., T. Yao, H. Xie, J. Qin, Q. Ye, Y. Dai, and R. Guo (2014), Estimating surface temperature changes of lakes in the Tibetan Plateau using MODIS LST data, Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 119(14), 8552-8567, doi: 10.1002/2014JD021615  

8. Zhang, G., T. Yao, H. Xie, K. Zhang, and F. Zhu (2014), Lakes' state and abundance across the Tibetan Plateau, Chinese Sci Bull, 59(24), 3010-3021, doi: 10.1007/s11434-014-0258-x  

9. Zhang, G., T. Yao, H. Xie, S. Kang, and Y. Lei (2013), Increased mass over the Tibetan Plateau: From lakes or glaciers, Geophys Res Lett, 40(10), 2125-2130, doi: 10.1002/grl.50462  

10. Zhang, G., H. Xie, S. Kang, D. Yi, and S. Ackley (2011), Monitoring lake level changes on the Tibetan Plateau using ICESat altimetry data (2003-2009), Remote Sens Environ, 115(7), 1733-1742, doi: 10.1016/j.rse.2011.03.005