Brief Introduction

My research focuses on high-resolution imaging of lithospheric structure and tectonic evolution along the northern to northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau. The study areas include the Qilian Shan, West Qinling, Qaidam Basin, and Altyn Tagh regions, with particular emphasis on Paleozoic–Mesozoic microcontinental convergence and accretion processes, Cenozoic lithospheric architecture and tectonic deformation, and the deep geodynamic mechanisms of polymetallic mineralization. An integrated suite of geophysical methods—including deep seismic reflection profiling, broadband receiver function analysis, and magnetotelluric imaging—is employed to systematically investigate and interpret the fine-scale lithospheric structure and its associated geodynamic processes.

Education Background

2018.09–2022.06: Ph.D. in Structural Geology, Sun Yat-sen University2014.09–2017.06: M.Eng. in Earth Exploration and Information Technology, China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing)2010.09–2014.06: B.Sc. in Geophysics, China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing)

Career Experience

2025.12–Present: Associate Professor, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University2024.8–2025.11: Associate Researcher, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University2022.08–2024.07: Postdoctoral Researcher, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University

Research 

My research interests focus on using deep seismic reflection profiling as a core technique, integrated with active‐source and passive‐source geophysical methods, to investigate the fine‐scale imaging of the crust and the uppermost lithospheric mantle beneath the northern to northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau. The research emphasizes tectonic deformation characteristics and the deep geodynamic mechanisms of polymetallic mineralization.

Projects

1. National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), Young Scientists Fund: Lithospheric architecture of the Qilian orogenic belt anddifferentiations in crustal expansion pattern from the westernsegment to the eastern segment, Grant No. 42304105, 2024–2026, Principal Investigator.

2. Guangdong Provincial Natural Science Foundation, General Program: Crustal Rheology of the NE Tibetan Plateau Constrained by Integrated Seismic Data, Grant No. 2024A1515010602, 2024–2026, Principal Investigator.

3. National Key Science and Technology Major Project (Ministry of Science and Technology):Deep Processes of North–South Asian Continental Tectonic Accretion and Their Resource Effects, Grant No. 2024ZD1000106, 2024–2028, Key Participant.

4. NSFC Major Program: Material Cycling in Collisional Orogenic Settings and Mechanisms of Au–Cu–Sb Polymetallic Super-Enrichment, Grant No. 42595550, 2026–2030, Key Participant.

5. Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research Program (Subproject): Lithospheric Velocity Structure and Shallow Structural Balanced Cross-Section Mapping of the Hoh Xil–Kumkol Basin, 2019–2024, Participant.

6. NSFC Joint Fund Project: Fine-Scale Deep Seismic Reflection Imaging of the Lithosphere, Geodynamic Processes, and Resource–Hazard Responses of the Eastern Margin of the South China Sea Subduction Zone, Grant No. U1901214, 2020–2023, Participant.

7. NSFC General Program: Three-Dimensional Geodynamic Numerical Modeling of Incipient Subduction Triggered by Subduction Jamming, Grant No. 41974104, 2020–2023, Participant.

Publications

1. Li, H., Xiong, X.*, Guo,X. Huang, X., Gao, R., Eccles, Jennifer D.Intracontinental underthrusting and lower crustal duplexing drive the uplift of the Qilian Shan, Gondwana Research, 2026, 149, 201-211.

2. Li, H.,Zhang, L*, Guo, X.*,Liang, H., Gao, R. Deep source region and fluid pathways of gold deposits inthe northwestern West Qinling orogenic belt of China. Geological Society of America Bulletin,2025, 137 (11-12), 4775–4785.

3. Li, H., Guo,X.*,Ye, Z., Huang, X., Liang, H., Deng, X., Tan, X., Gao, R. Crustal-scale structural and compositional distinction beneath NE Tibet: Evidence from reflection-seismology and Vp/Vs imaging. Lithos, 2025, 504-505, 108032.

4. Tong, X., Guo, X., Xu, X.*, Li, H.*, Li, C., Yuan, Z. Crustal Architecture of Ruo'ergai Basin and Its Implications for Eastern Kunlun Fault Propagation. Journal of Earth Science, 2025

5. Yuan, Z., Lin, Y., Xu, X.*,Li, H.*, Guo, X., Li, C., Tong, X. Crustal-scale architecture and origin of the Haiyuan Arcuate Tectonic Belt, NE Tibet. Tectonophysics, 2024, 890, 230485.

6. Li, H., Gao, R., Huang, X.*, Wang,H., Guo,X., Liang, H., Tan, X., Liu,X., Yang, Z. Triassic convergence and tectonic evolution of the West Qinling orogen: Constraints from reflection-seismology imaging. Gondwana Research,2023, 122, 1-10.

7. Li, H., Ye, Z.*, Gao, R., Huang, X. A distinct contrast in the lithospheric structure and limited crustal flow across the northeastern Tibetan Plateau: Evidence from Vs and Vp/ Vs imaging. Tectonophysics, 2022, 836, 229413. 

8. Li, H., Gao, R.*, Wang, Y. Predicting the thickness of sand strata in a sand-shale interbed reservoir based on seismic facies analysis. Journal of Geophysics and Engineering, 2020, 17, 592-601.

9. Li, H., Huang, X., Gao, R.*, Ye, Z. The lithospheric structure differences between the western and eastern Qilian in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. Chinese J. Geophys, 2022, 65, 5, 1581-1594.

10. Liu, X., Liu, Y., Rao, Y., Guo, Y., Guo, X., Huang, X., Li, H., Ding, L., Gao, R. Cretaceous–Cenozoic tectonic evolution of the central Qiangtang terrane and implications for the initial growth of the Tibetan Plateau. Tectonophysics, 2026, 918, 230986.

11. Tan, X., Zhou, J.*, Li, H., Wang, H., Hou, H., Li, W., Rao, Y., Gao, R. Seismic Reflection Profiling Reveals New Accretionary Structure in the Solonker Zone of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt. Geophysical Research Letters, 2024, 51, 16, e2024GL109982.

12. Tan, X., Zhou, J.*, Deng, X.*, Wang, H., Hou, H., Li, H., Qi, R., Xie, F., Gao, R. Crustal-scale seismic reflection profiling constrains how the Paleo-Asian Ocean was closed. Tectonics, 2023, 42, e2023TC007921.

13. Yang, Z., Liang, H.*, Gao, R., Han, J., Xin, Z., Kang, J., Shi, Z., Zhang, L., Qi, R., Li, H. Lithospheric electrical structure across the Bangong-Nujiang Suture in northern tibet revealed by magnetotelluric. Frontiers in Earth Science, 2023, 10, 1085583.

14. Liu, X., Liu, Y.*, Ding, L., Guo, X., Huang, X., Li, H., Gao, R. Crustal thickness evolution of the Central Lhasa Terrane inferred from trace elements in zircon of Tangra Yumco. EarthScience Frontiers, 2024, 31(1): 343–366.