The Water-Energy-Food NexusAs part of ongoing funding from the National Science Foundation, our group has been quantifying how water use in the food and energy sectors impacts water resources across the United States. Current funding comes from the FEWSION project led by Benjamin Ruddell Northern Arizona State, and prior funding was from the America's Water project led by Upmanu Lall at Columbia University. Previous research looked at the Punjab region of India and the impact various water savings measures in irrigation would have on reducing water stress in the region to ameliorate groundwater depletion.
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The Built Environment and Climate ChangeHumans impact hydrologic processes both directly and indirectly. Direct impacts are due to changes in the river corridor -- dams, levees, and channel alterations -- and alterations of the land surface -- land cover change, including impervious surface, and stormwater management. Indirect impacts are the result of anthropogenic climate change. Both direct and indirect hydrologic alteration play a role in determining sustainable water resources.
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FloodingRiverine and pluvial flooding are costly natural disasters, both in terms of lives lost and property damage. We are quantifying the hydrologic processes that lead to flooding across a range of river sizes, from a small stream to the Mississippi River. We are also working to better quantify flood risk, given the sensitivity of probabilistic methods to the relatively short historical records that are available.
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