Prof. Yongjian Ding works as a researcher at the State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science and Frozen Soil Engineering, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China. He obtained a Bachelor's degree in Hydrogeology and Engineering Geology at the Hebei Institute of Geology and a Master's degree in Physical Geography at the Institute of Glaciology and Geocryology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. His main research directions are physical geography (cryosphere and water cycle, river basin hydrology, river basin water and soil resources, river basin restoration ecology); human geography (ecological economics, regional sustainable development); and cartography and geographic information system (land surface data assimilation, land surface quantitative remote sensing, cold and arid area remote sensing, cold and arid area geographic information system, e-science).