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Education
Education
Ph.D. Environmental Sciences, University of California-Riverside (UCR), CA, USA, 2022
M.S. Physical Geography, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China, 2018.
B.E. Hydrology and Water Resources Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan, Shanxi, China, 2015.
Research Interests
Research Interests
Agriculture hydrology
Stable isotopes applications
Numerical modeling of subsurface hydrology
Global sensitivity analysis and parameter estimation
Research Descriptions
Research Descriptions
My research is centered on solving fundamental questions in Earth Surface Processes, with a particular focus on quantifying and tracking water and solute movements across the groundwater, soil, plant, and air continuum (GSPAC).
In stable isotope tracing, I used stable isotope signals (²H and ¹⁸O) from precipitation and soil water to investigate hydrological processes like mixing and evaporation in cotton fields under mulched drip irrigation during my master’s research at the Chinese Academy of Sciences with Dr. Dongmei Han. During my PhD at UC Riverside with Dr. Jiří Šimůnek and my postdoc at the University of Arizona with Dr. Peter Troch, I applied the Bayesian mixing model (SIAR) to identify plant water sources. I also compared four methods for estimating soil water ages and the temporal origin of root water uptake at various sites, including a lysimeter, a sandy barrier island, and three hillslopes. The methods used were: (a) StorAge Selection (SAS) functions, (b) non-parametric estimation in flow-weighted time, (c) particle tracking, and (d) flux tracking, based on isotopic compositions of soil water and discharge measurements.
In isotope transport and fate modeling, I developed an isotope transport module for HYDRUS-1D during my PhD study at UC Riverside with Dr. Jiří Šimůnek. This module incorporates various complex evaporation fractionation scenarios of stable isotopes (²H and ¹⁸O). I tested it against analytical solutions and studied how evaporation fractionation affects the estimation of soil hydraulic and isotope transport parameters. Using global sensitivity analysis (Morris and Sobol’) and particle swarm optimization in Python, I assessed how variations in parameter estimation could introduce uncertainty into stable isotope tracing applications.
In contaminant transport and fate modeling, I focused on contaminant transport and fate modeling, utilizing HYDRUS models, Python-based numerical analysis, and towed transient electromagnetic (tTEM) data to study pesticide transport under agricultural managed aquifer recharge (Ag-MAR) during my postdoc at UC Davis with Dr. Helen Dahlke. My research assessed the accuracy and uncertainty of HYDRUS-1D, investigated the influence of vadose zone heterogeneity on preferential flow, water balance, and pesticide leaching efficiency, and evaluated the risks of groundwater contamination associated with Ag-MAR.
Publications
Publications
Zhou T.*, P. Nasta, J. Šimůnek, A. Liao, G. Brunetti, H. E. Dahlke* (2025). Assessing recharge travel times in multilayered soil profiles influenced by preferential flow. Journal of Hydrology, 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2025.134144.
Cui W., T. Zhou, E. Levintal, C. P. García, I. Kisekka, H. E. Dahlke (2025). Modeling the impact of agricultural managed aquifer recharge (Ag-MAR) on soil water and nitrogen dynamics of the growing season. Agricultural Water Management, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109623.
Liao A., T. Zhou, X. Song*, L. Yang*, D. Han, S. Yang (2025). Understanding Flow Transport in Dual-Water-Source Rivers: Enhancing Storage Selection Functions with Two-Gamma Distributions. Hydrological Processes, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.70121.
Zhou T.*, G. Brunetti, N. Ruud, J. Šimůnek, W. Cui, A. Liao, P. Nasta, J. Gao, E. Levintal, C. P. García, H. E. Dahlke* (2025). Simulation of pesticide transport in 70-m-thick soil profiles in response to large water applications. Journal of Hazardous Materials, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2025.137517
Zhou T.*, N. Ruud, J. Šimůnek, G. Brunetti, E. Levintal, C. P. García, H. E. Dahlke* (2024). The impact of managed aquifer recharge on the fate and transport of pesticides in agricultural soils. Water Research, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2024.122442
Zhou T., E. Levintal, G. Brunetti, S. Jordan, T. Harter, I. Kisekka, J. Šimůnek, and H.E. Dahlke* (2023). Estimating the impact of vadose zone heterogeneity on agricultural managed aquifer recharge: A combined experimental and modeling study, Water Research, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2023.120781
Nasta, P., J. Šimůnek, T. Zhou, C. Stumpp, and N. Romano (2023). A virtual tracer experiment to assess the temporal origin of root water uptake, evaporation, and drainage, Hydrological Processes, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.14982.
Zhou, T., J. Šimůnek, P. Nasta, G. Brunetti, M. Gaj, C. Neukum, and V. Post (2023). The impact of soil tension on isotope fractionation, transport, and interpretations of root water uptake origin, Water Resources Research, e2022WR034023. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022WR034023.
Imig, A., L. Augustin, J. Groh, T. Pütz, T. Zhou, F. Einsiedl, and A. Rein (2023). Fate of herbicides in cropped lysimeters: 1. Influence of different processes and model structure on vadose zone flow. Vadose Zone Journal, p.e20265. https://doi.org/10.1002/vzj2.20265.
Zhou T., J. Šimůnek, I. Braud, P. Nasta, G. Brunetti, Y. Liu (2022). The impact of evaporation fractionation on the inverse estimation of soil hydraulic and isotope transport parameters. Journal of Hydrology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2022.128100.
Liu Y., Y. Zheng, W. Li, T. Zhou (2022). Estimating evapotranspiration within a dryland watershed: comparison of eddy‐covariance observations, water budget estimates, and satellite‐based products. Hydrological Processes. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.14631
Post V.E.A., T. Zhou, C. Neukum, P. Koeniger, G.J. Houben, A. Lamparter, J. Šimůnek (2022). Estimation of groundwater recharge rates using soil-water isotope profiles: a case study of two contrasting dune types on Langeoog Island, Germany. Hydrogeology Journal, 2022 . https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-022-02471-y
Liu Y., Y. Zheng, W. Li, T. Zhou (2022). Evaluating the performance of satellite-based precipitation products using gauge measurement and hydrological modeling: A case study in a dry basin of Northwest China. Journal of Hydrometeorology. https://doi.org/10.1175/JHM-D-21-0152.1
Zhou, T., J. Šimůnek, I. Braud (2021). Adapting HYDRUS-1D to Simulate the Transport of Soil Water Isotopes with Evaporation Fractionation. Environmental Modelling & Software, 105118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2021.105118
Han, D., T. Zhou (2018). Soil water movement in the unsaturated zone of an inland arid region: Mulched drip irrigation experiment, J. Hydrol, 559, 13-29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2018.02.012
Han, D., T. Zhou, Y. Ma, X. Song (2018). Soil water movement through the vadose zone in severe and mild saline-alkali fields in an arid region. Transactions of the Chinese Society of Agricultural Engineering, 34(18): 152-159. (in Chinese with English abstract)
Zhou T., D. Han, X. Song, Y. Ma, Y. Zhang (2018). Water movement through the unsaturated zone in severe saline-alkali cotton field in an inland arid region: under water and salt regulation by drip irrigation schedule: Case study in Karamay Agricultural Development Area. Resources Science, 2018(4): 818-828. (in Chinese with English abstract)
Zhou T., D. Han, Y. Ma, X. Song, Y. Zhang (2018). Water Movement through the Unsaturated Zone in Mild Saline-alkali Cotton Field in an Inland Arid Region: under Drip Irrigation Schedule. Journal of Arid Land Resources and Environment, 32(12): 157-163. (in Chinese with English abstract)
Conference Presentations
Conference Presentations
Zhou T., G. Brunetti, N. Ruud, J. Šimůnek, A. Liao, P. Nasta, W. Cui, J. Gao, E. Levintal, C. P. García, H. E. Dahlke. The impact of agricultural managed aquifer recharge on the fate and transport of pesticides in the unsaturated zone AGU Fall Meeting, 2024, Washington D.C. (Oral presentation).
Zhou T., M. Kim, H. Bauser, P. Troch. 2024. Assessing the transit time distributions at hillslope’s scales using StorAge Selection functions and non-parametric identification in flow-weighted time. AGU Fall Meeting, 2024, Washington D.C. (Poster presentation).
Zhou T., M. Kim, H. Bauser, P. Troch. 2024. Assessing the transit time distributions at hillslope’s scales using StorAge Selection functions and non-parametric estimation in flow-weighted time. The Conference on Computational Methods in Water Resources (CMWR), Tucson, Arizona (Oral Presentation).
Zhou T., E. Levintal, G. Brunetti, S. Jordan, T. Harter, I. Kisekka, J. Šimůnek, H. Dahlke, 2023. Estimating the impact of vadose zone heterogeneity on agricultural managed aquifer recharge: A combined experimental and modeling study. 2023 SSSA annual meeting, St. Louis, Missouri (Oral Presentation).
Zhou, T., J. Šimůnek, I. Braud, P. Nasta, G. Brunetti, Y. Liu, 2022. The impact of evaporation fractionation on the inverse estimation of soil hydraulic and isotope transport parameters. 2022 SSSA annual meeting, Baltimore, Maryland (Oral and Poster Presentation).
Zhou, T., J. Šimůnek, I. Braud. 2021. The Impacts of Evaporation Fractionation on Parameter Estimation and Water Travel Time Calculation with the Isotope Transport Model in HYDRUS-1D. 2021 AGU Fall meeting, New Orleans, Louisiana (Poster Presentation).
Zhou, T., J. Šimůnek, I. Braud. 2021. Adapting HYDRUS-1D to Simulate the Transport of Soil Water Isotopes with Evaporation Fractionation. 2021 SSSA Annual Meeting, Salt Lake City, Utah (Poster Presentation).
Zhou, T., J. Šimůnek, I. Braud (2020). Adapting HYDRUS-1D to Simulate the Transport of Soil Water Isotopes with Evaporation Fractionation. 2020 SSSA annual meeting (5-min Rapid and Poster, Virtual).
Zhou, T., J. Šimůnek, Y. Ma (2019). W3188: Soil, Water, and Environmental Physics Across Scales 2019 Annual Meeting, Riverside, California (Poster Presentation).
Zhou, T., D. Han (2017). Conceptual model of soil water movement through a shallow unsaturated zone in an inland arid region. 10th China-Japan-Korea Graduate Student Forum, 2017, China University of Geosciences (Beijing) (Oral Presentation).
Zhou, T., D. Han (2017). Water movement through a shallow unsaturated zone in an inland arid region: Field drip irrigation experiment under matric potential control. AGU Fall Meeting, 2017, New Orleans, Louisiana (Poster Presentation).
Selected Awards
Selected Awards
2022 Robert Luxmoore Student Travel Award
2021/22 ENSC Outstanding Research Award (Graduate Students)
Dissertation Year Program Award 2022-2023
Best Oral Presentation Award Runner Up for the 2021 UCR Environmental Sciences Graduate Student Symposium
Hilda and George Liebig Environmental Sciences Summer Fellowship, UCR, 2020
Outstanding Graduate Student Scholarship, IGSNRR, 2018 (top 10% students)
Merit Student of University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, UCAS, 2017-2018
Director Scholarship, IGSNRR, 2018 (top 20% students)
First Class Graduate School Scholarship, UCAS (twice, 2015-2016 and 2016-2017, top 20% students)
First Award in the 10th China-Japan-Korea Graduate Student Forum, 2017, China University of Geosciences (Beijing)
Outstanding Volunteer for 33rd International Geographical Congress, Beijing, 2016
National Endeavor Scholarship for excellent students, 2013-2014, Taiyuan University of Technology (honored by Ministry of Education, P. R. C, top 3% students)
Pacesetter and Outstanding Undergraduate Student of “Arduous Struggle and Inspirational Success” Scholarship, Taiyuan University of Technology (twice, 2012-2013 and 2015, top 2% students)
Undergraduate Student Professional Learning Award, Taiyuan University of Technology (twice, 2011-2012 and 2012-2013, top 20% students)
Undergraduate Student Science and Technology Practice Award, 2013-2014, Taiyuan University of Technology (top 10% students)
Outstanding Volunteer in Social Practice Summer Program, 2013, Taiyuan University of Technology
Second Prize for "Social Practice and Science and Technology for Energy Conservation and Emissions Reduction Competition" of Taiyuan University of Technology, 2013-2014,
Third Prize for Fourth Mathematics Competition of Taiyuan University of Technology, 2012
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