Yanhong Zheng
Associate Professor
E-mail: yhzheng11@gmail.com
website:/geoen/wp-content/pws/zhengyanhong/
Academic Background
2009-2010 A visiting scholar, University of Georgia (USA)
2005 Ph.D in Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Academic Advisors: Professors Weijian Zhou and Shucheng Xie
Specialty: Climate change, Organic Geochemistry and geomicrobiology
Research Interests
My research interests are rather diverse, and with Dr. Weijian Zhou’s and Dr. Shucheng Xie’s groups I studied paleoclimate changes and organic geochemistry. My interests involve deciphering ancient molecular and isotopic biosignatures preserved in the geological record and reconstructing the past climatic/environmental changes. Currently, I am interested in studying microbial diversity and processes by analysis of bacterial and archaeal lipids to reveal microbial response and methane cycling related to climate changes in sediments such as peat deposits, permafrost sediments, lake sediments and even loess-paleosol sequence in North China.
Other current research focuses understanding microbial, chemical and thermal processing of sedimentary organic matter and on how organic matter accumulate in petroleum source rocks using molecular lipid biomarkers, inorganic geochemical proxies and stable isotopes.
My research uses a combination of state-of-the art analytical techniques for analysis, e.g. gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), gas chromatography-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC-IRMS) and High Performance Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS).
Funded Grants:
2011-2013 NSFC, “The spacial and temporal variations of microbial communities and their response to climate change from a peat core in the northeast Tibetan Plateau”. My role: PI.
2011-2013 MOST (the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China) Special Fund from the State Key Laboratory of Continental Dynamics, Northwest University, “The ecological responses of microbial lipids in the peatlands in the context of modern warming”. My role: PI.
2011-2013 MOST Special Fund from the State Key Laboratory of Continental Dynamics, Northwest University, “The mechanisms and forming environment of effective source rocks from Yanchang formation in the Triassic period”. My role: PI.
2011-2012 The fund from the State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, “The microbial lipids of surface peat”. My role: PI.
2009-2010 MOST Special Fund from the State Key Laboratory of Continental Dynamics, Northwest University, “The high-resolution study of biological environment during the Holocene in the northeast Tibetan Plateau”. My role: PI.
2009-2010 The fund from the State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, “The paleoclimate signicance of lipid biomarker carbon isotope records from a peat core”. My role: PI.
2007-2009 NSFC, “The organism and climate of compound-specific carbon and hydrogen stable isotopes of lipids from a peat core in the northeast Tibetan Plateau”. My role: PI.
2007-2008 The fund from the State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, “The Comparison study of lipid biomarkers and pollen records from a peat core”. My role: PI.
2007-2008 The fund from the Key Laboratory of Biological & Environmental Geology, Ministry of Education, “The paleoclimate significance of compound-specific carbon stable isotopes of lipids from a peat core”. My role: PI.

Selected Publications
Zheng Y H, Zhou W J, Meyers P A. Proxy value of n-alkan-2-ones in the Hongyuan peat sequence to reconstruct Holocene climate changes on the Eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau. Chemical Geology, 2011, 288: 97-104.
Seki O, Meyers P A, Yamamoto S, Kawamura K, Nakatsuka T, Zhou W J, Zheng Y H. Plant-wax hydrogen isotopic evidence for postglacial variations in delivery precipitation in the monsoon domain of China. Geology, 2011, 39: 875-878.
Zheng Y H, Liu X M, Zhou W J, Zhang C L. n-Alkan-2-one distributions in a northeastern China peat core spanning the last 16kyr. Organic Geochemistry, 2011a, 42:25-30.
Zheng Y H, Zhou W J, Liu Z, Liu X M. The n-alkanol paleoclimate records in two peat deposits: a comparative study of the northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau and Northeast China. Environmental Earth Sciences, 2011b, 63: 135-143.
Yamamoto S, Kawamura K, Seki O, Meyers P A, Zheng Y H, Zhou W J. Environmental influences over the last 16ka on compound-specific δ13C variations of leaf was n-alkanes in the Hani peat deposit from northeast China. Chemical Geology, 2010, 277: 261-268.
Yamamoto S, Kawamura K, Seki O, Meyers P A, Zheng Y H, Zhou W J. Paleoenvironmental significance of compound-specific δ13C variations in n-alkanes in the Hongyuan peat sequence from southwest China over the last 13ka. Organic Geochemistry, 2010, 41: 491-497.
Zheng Y H, Zhou W J, Liu Z, Chen Q M, Yu X F, Liu X M. Compositions of aliphatic des-A-triterpenoids in the Hani peat deposit, Northeast China and its biological significance. Chinese Science Bulletin, 2010, 55: 2275-2281.
Zhou W, Zheng Y, Meyers P A, Jull A J T, Xie S. Postglacial climate-change record in biomarker lipid compositions of the Hani peat sequence, northeastern China. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 2010, 294: 37-46.
Seki O, Meyers P A, Kawamura K, Zheng Y, Zhou W. Hydrogen isotopic ratios of plant-wax n-alkanes in a peat bog deposited in northeast china during the last 16kyr. Organic Geochemistry, 2009, 40: 671-677.
Zheng Y H, Zhou W J, Xie S C, Yu X F. A comparative study of n-alkane biomarker and pollen records: an example from southern China. Chinese Science Bulletin, 2009, 54(6):1065-1072.
Zheng Y H, Xie S C, Liu X M, Zhou W J. n-alkanol ratios as proxies of paleovegetation and paleoclimate in a peat-lacustrine core in southern China since the last deglaciation. Frontiers Earth Sciences in China, 2009, 3(4): 445-451.
Zheng Y H, Zhou W J, Xie S C, Meyers P A. Lipid Biomarkers in the Zoigê-Hongyuan Peat Deposit: Indicators of Holocene Climate Changes in West China. Organic Geochemistry, 2007, 38:1927-1940.
Zhou W J, Xie S C, Meyers P A, Zheng Y H. Reconstruction of late glacial and Holocene climate evolution in southern China from geolipids and pollen in the Dingnan peat sequence. Organic Geochemistry, 2005, 36: 1272-1284.
Zheng Y H, Zhou W J and Xie S C. Fossil records of lipid molecules from Holocene peat in Zoigê Plateau. Quaternary Sciences, 2007,27(1):108-113(in Chinese with English abstract).
Zheng Y H, Zhou W J and Xie S C. Organism records of Holocene Peat n-Alkanes in the Northeastern Qinghai-xizang Plateau. Acta sedimentologica sinica, 2009, 27(1):142-146(in Chinese with English abstract).
Zheng Y H, Zhou W J and Xie S C. The Spacial variations of organism derived from the molecular fossil in the typical monsoon region of China. Journal of Northwest University (Natural Science Edition), 2008, 38(6):989-993(in Chinese with English abstract).
Zheng Y H, Zhou W J and Xie S C. Distributions of n-alkenes in peat core related to paleoclimate change in Hongyuan peatland. Marine Geology&Quaternary Geology, 2008, 28(5):123-128(in Chinese with English abstract).
Courses Taught
Quaternary Geology, an undergraduate course, Spring semester.
Petroleum Organic Geochemistry, an undergraduate course, Fall semester
Quaternary bio-stratigraphy and environment, a postgraduate course, Fall semester.