Griffith University

GCert Higher Education, PhD

Professor and Head, Griffith School of Engineering

Contact details for Professor Bofu Yu

Research expertise

Prof Bofu Yu’s area of research is mainly hydrology with original contributions along 5 main strands: 1) Climate variability and change, especially the dependence and correlation between secular variations in average and extreme precipitation in Australia with considerable implications for climate change research, especially in terms of extreme events; 2) Storm runoff prediction -. Bofu developed an innovative runoff prediction model that ultimately provided a theoretical justification of the SCS Curve Number method.  This method is most widely used for storm runoff estimation internationally, especially in the US; 3) Stochastic weather generators - Bofu was instrumental in improving and validating a commonly used stochastic weather generator known as CLIGEN; 4) Erosion and sediment transport - Bofu unified what appeared to be two separate approaches to erosion and deposition theory, one from the US, the other from Australia; 5) Rainfall erosivity – Bofu is the world expert on this topic.  The practical estimation model Bofu developed and tested in Australia was indispensable to National Land and Water Resources Audit in 2002. 

Current teaching areas

• 1004ENV Earth Sciences
• 2004ENG Hydrology
• 4205ENG Environmental Hydrology and Hydraulics

Selected Publications

• Vaghefi, P., and B. Yu, 2011.  Use of CLIGEN to simulate climate change in southeastern Australia. Transactions of the ASABE, Vol. 54, No. 3, pp. 857-867.
• Chen, Y-R, Yeh, C-H, and B. Yu, 2011.  Integrated application of the analytic hierarchy process and the geographic information system for flood risk assessment and flood plain management in Taiwan, Natural Hazards, Vol. 59, No. 3, pp. 1261-1276,DOI 10.1007/s11069-011-9831-7.
• Huang, R., O.V. Pyankov, B. Yu, I.E. Agranovski, 2010.  Inactivation of fungal spores collected on fibrous filters by Melaleuca alternifolia.  Aerosol Science and Technology, Vol. 44, No. 4, pp. 262-268.
• Sanjari, G, B. Yu, H. Ghadiri, C.A.A. Ciesiolka, and C.W. Rose, 2009. Effects of time-controlled grazing on runoff and sediment loss. Australian Journal of Soil Research, Vol. 47, No. 8, pp. 796-808.
• Xu, Xian-Li, Liu, Wen, Kong, Ya-Ping, Zhang, Ke-Li, Yu, Bofu, Chen, Ji-Ding, 2009. Runoff and water erosion on road side-slopes: Effects of rainfall characteristics and slope length, Transportation Research Part D, Vol. 14, No. 7, pp. 497- 501.
• Sanjari, G., H. Ghadiri, C.A.A. Ciesiolka, and B. Yu, 2008.  Comparing the effects of continuous and time-controlled grazing systems on soil characterisitcs in Southeast Queensland.  Australian Journal of Soil Research, Vol. 46, no. 4, pp. 348-358.
• Zhang, K. L., A.P. Shu, X.L. Xu, Q.K. Yang, and B. Yu, 2008.  Soil erodibility and its estimation for agricultural soils in China.  Journal of Arid Environments, Vol. 72, no. 6, pp. 1002-1011.
• Asadi, H., H. Ghadiri, C.W. Rose, B.Yu, and J. Hussein, 2007. An investigation of flow-driven soil erosion processes at streampowers. Journal of Hydrology, Vol. 342, No. 1-2, pp. 134-142.
• Hussein, J., H. Ghadiri, J., B. Yu, and C.W. Rose, 2007. Sediment Retention by a Stiff Grass Hedge under Subcritical Flow Conditions, Soil Science Society of America Journal, Vol. 71, No. 1, 1516-1523.
• Hussein, J., B.Yu, H. Ghadiri and C.W. Rose, 2007. Prediction of surface flow hydrology and sediment retention upslope of a vetiver buffer strip, Journal of Hydrology, Vol. 338, No. 3-4, pp. 261-272.
• Rose, C. W., B. Yu, H. Ghadiri, H. Asadi, J.Y. Parlange, W.L. Hogarth and J. Hussein, 2007.  Dynamic erosion of soil in steady sheet flow, Journal of Hydrology, Vol. 333, pp. 449-458.
• Newton, D., G. Jenkins, and B. Yu, 2007.  A process-based method of estimating exponential decay parameters for particulate removal in a gravel trench.  Water Science and Technology Vol.55, no.4, pp. 227-224.
• Matthews, C. J., D. Newton, R. D. Braddock and B. Yu.  2007. Analysing the sensitivity behaviour of two hydrologic models.  Environmental Modeling and Assessment, Vol 12, No. 1, 27-41, DOI 10.1007/s10666-006-9049-3.
• Xu, X., K. Zhang, Y. Kong, J. Chen and B. Yu. 2006.  Effectiveness of erosion control measures along the Qinghai–Tibet highway, Tibetan plateau, China.  Transportation Research Part D Vol. 11, 302–309.
• Ciesiolka, C.A.A., B. Yu, C.W. Rose, H. Ghadiri, D. Lang, and C. Rosewell. 2006. Improvement in soil loss estimation in USLE type experiments. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, Vol. 61, No. 4, 223-229.
• Yu, B., A. Seed, L. Pu, and T. Malone, 2005. Integration of weather radar data into a raster GIS framework for improved flood estimation. Atmos. Sci. Let. 6: 66–70 DOI: 10.1002/asl.95
• Presbitero, A. L., C. W. Rose, B. Yu, C. A. A. Ciesiolka, K. J. Coughlan, B. Fentie, 2005.  Investigation of soil erosion from bare steep slopes of humid tropic Philippines, Earth Interactions, Vol. 9, Paper No. 5, 30p.
• Yu, B. 2005. Adjustment of CLIGEN parameters to generate precipitation change scenarios in southeastern Australia, Catena, Vol 61, 196-209.
• Zhang, K., S. Li, W. Peng, and B. Yu. 2004.  Erodibility of Agricultural Soils on the Loess Plateau of China. Soil & Tillage Research, 76: 157-165.
• Yu, B.  2003. An assessment of uncalibrated CLIGEN in Australia.  Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, Vol. 119, 131-148.
• Yu, B., C. C. A. Ciesiolka, and P. Langford. 2003.  Calibration of an oscillating nozzle-type rainfall simulator. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms. Vol. 28, No.13, pp. 1483-1490.
• Rose, C. W., Yu, B., Hogarth, W.  L., Okom, A. E. A., and Ghadiri, H. 2003.  Sediment deposition from flow at low gradient into a buffer strip – a critical test of re-entrainment theory. Journal of Hydrology, Vol. 280, No. 1-4, pp. 33-51.
• Yu, B. 2003. Unified framework for erosion and deposition equations.  Soil Science Society of America Journal, Vol. 67, No. 1, 251-257.
• Neil, D. T., A. R. Orpin, P. V. Ridd, and B. Yu. 2002. Sediment yield and impacts from river catchments to the Great Barrier Reef lagoon.  Marine and Freshwater Research, Vol. 53, pp. 733-752.
• Lu, H., and Yu, B.  2002.  Spatial and seasonal distribution of rainfall erosivity in Australia.  Australian Journal of Soil Research, Vol. 40, No. 6, 887-901.
• Yu, B. 2002. Using CLIGEN to generate RUSLE climate inputs.  Transactions of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers, Vol. 45, No. 4, 993-100.
• Fentie, B., Yu, B., Silburn, M. D. and Ciesiolka, C. A. A. 2002.  Modelling runoff rates at the plot scale for different treatments from a grazing catchment.  Journal of Hydrology, 261(1-4), 102-114.
• Yu, B.  and C. J. Rosewell. 2001. Validation of WEPP for runoff and soil loss prediction at Gunnedah, NSW, Australia. Australian Journal of Soil Research, Vol. 39, No. 5, 1131-1145.
• Yu, B., G. M. Hashim, and Z. Eusof. 2001 Estimating the R-factor using limited rainfall data: A case study from Peninsular Malaysia.  J. Soil and Water Conservation, Vol. 56, No. 2, 101-105.
• Bubb, K. A., B. Yu, U. Cakurs, and A. Costantini, 2000.  Impacts of site preparation on runoff, soil and nitrogen losses during the establishment phase in hoop pine plantations of southeast Queensland, Australia.  Australian Forestry. Vol. 63, No. 4, pp. 239-245.
• Yu, B., C. W. Rose, C. C. A. Ciesiolka and U. Cakurs, 2000. The relationship between runoff rate and lag time and the effects of surface treatments at the plot scale, Hydrological Sciences - Journal, Vol. 45, No. 5, 709-726.
• Yu, B., S. Sombatpanit, C. W. Rose, C. A. A. Ciesiolka, and K. J. Coughlan. 2000.  Characteristics and modeling of runoff hydrographs for different tillage treatments.  Soil Science Society of America Journal.  Vol. 64, No. 4, 1763-1770.
• Yu, B. 2000. Systematic over-estimation of flows.  Journal of Hydrology, Vol. 233, 258-262.
• Yu, B., C. A. A. Ciesiolka, C. W. Rose and K. J. Coughlan. 2000. A validation test of WEPP to predict runoff and soil loss from a pineapple farm on a sandy soil in subtropical Queensland, Australia.  Australian Journal of Soil Research, Vol. 38, No. 3, 537-554.
• Yu, B. 2000. Improvement and evaluation of CLIGEN for storm generation.  Transactions of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers, Vol. 46, No. 2, 301-307.
• Yu, B. and D. T. Neil. 2000. Empirical catchment-wide rainfall erosivity models for two rivers in the humid tropics of Australia.  Australian Geographer, Vol. 31, No. 1, 115-132.