Computational Hydrology Research Group at the University of Massachusetts Amherst

About us

Welcome to Hydro@UMass!

This is the webpage of the Computational hydrology Research Group in the Civil and Environmental Engineering department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The group is led by Kostas Andreadis, and the research that we do focuses on the intersection of water resources modeling, remote sensing and in-situ observations, data fusion, and the study of large-scale hydrology as it relates to climate change and environmental monitoring.

Research Areas

Remote Sensing

We study the use of remote sensing (both satellite and airborne) to monitor freshwater resources globally.

Modeling

We develop and implement numerical models to better understand hydrologic processes at multiple scales, and software tools to facilitate their use in applications.

Data Fusion

We develop data assimilation and machine learning algorithms to integrate models and observations for improving hydrologic prediction and uncertainty characterization.

Projects

Developing a global assimilation and modeling framework to produce SWOT data products

The SWOT satellite mission will observe water surface elevation, slope, storage change (directly) and river discharge (indirectly) globally at unprecedented spatial resolutions and accuracies, potentially having a “transformational impact in terrestrial hydrology”.

Evaluation and diagnosis of the National Water Model snow simulations

Snow accumulation and its melt dominate water resources in mountainous areas, with regions such as the western United States deriving more than 75% of the total freshwater available annually from snowmelt.

Monitoring and forecasting drought and crop yield for the Lower Mekong Basin

Rice is Asia’s most important food crop with nearly 3 billion people reliant on rice as their major food source. Over the next ten years this number is expected to climb to nearly 4 billion people.