Harnessing Technological Advances and Data Revolution with Convergent Integration for Enhanced Hydroclimatic Hazard Prediction and Risk Awareness

Prof. Hamid Moradkhani

Alton N. Scott Chair of Engineering

University of Alabama

Monday April 7, 2025, 2 PM ET

Abstract:

Hydroclimatic extreme events pose significant global socio-economic risks, which are expected to intensify with environmental stressors and human development. Floods, the most widespread natural disasters, cause billions of dollars in damage annually, underscoring persistent gaps in effective flood management. A key challenge lies in the incomplete understanding of the nonlinear and complex climatic, hydrological, and hydrodynamic processes driving floods, which contributes to limitations in modeling tools and risk assessment. Despite advances in physically based flood models, they often lack accuracy, remain computationally intensive, and struggle to fully capture flood-generating mechanisms due to inherent uncertainties and model assumptions. This presentation advocates for a convergent approach that integrates human activities, hydrologic factors, topography, river morphology, and land use to improve such extreme events characterization. We propose transitioning to innovative Earth system modeling frameworks that holistically represent interactions across all system components. By linking process-based models with data-driven techniques, we can enhance flood predictability and inform decision-making for researchers, forecasters, and emergency managers. Additionally, we explore strategies to integrate in-situ and remote sensing data through data assimilation and deep learning within Earth system models, advancing compound flood modeling and early warning systems while systematically accounting for cascading uncertainties.

Biosketch:

Hamid Moradkhani is a Professor of Hydrology and Water Resource at the University of Alabama. He is also the executive Director of the Center for Complex Hydrosystems Research, and Alton N. Scott Chair of Engineering. His broad research interests are on scientific, pedagogical, and logistical challenges of coupled atmosphere, fresh water, and land systems. The central emphasis of his research is to build capacity to cope with grand challenges in the twenty-first century where the interdependence of critical resources and the imperative for ensuring sustainability is underscored by the Climate-Water-Energy-Food Nexus.  He is pioneer in introducing algorithmic and methodological solutions to variety of hydrosystems problems. He has worked extensively at the complex nexus of extreme events, harnessing data revolution, and hydrosystem management.  His scholarly agenda is multi-fold and overlaps disciplines including hydrologic and hydrodynamic modeling, development and application of inverse modeling and ensemble data assimilation, physics-informed machine learning, data analytics and high-performance computing.

He is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union, of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and Environmental and Water Resources Institute Fellow. He is the recipient of several awards including the Horton lecturer award from American Meteorological Society, Arid Lands Hydraulic Engineering award from the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Outstanding Research and Innovation Award from the American Association of Water Resources Engineers (AAWRE), Branford P. Millar Award, for exceptional scholarship in research, instruction, university and public service. He has been the Editor of AGU Water Resources Research and Earth’s Future and on the editorial board of several other journals. He received his PhD from University of California, Irvine.

Webinar:

Event site: https://go.umd.edu/moradkhani

Zoom Webinar: https://go.umd.edu/moradkhaniwebinar

Zoom Meeting ID: 932 1115 1138
Zoom password: essic

US Toll: +13017158592
Global call-in numbers: https://umd.zoom.us/u/aMElEpvNu

For IT assistance:
Cazzy Medley: cazzy@umd.edu

Resources:

Seminar schedule & archive: https://go.umd.edu/essicseminar

Seminar Google calendar: https://go.umd.edu/essicseminarcalendar

Seminar recordings on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ESSICUMD