Research Areas

word cloud of research keywords

Our research focuses on understanding the dynamic interactions between terrestrial ecosystems and hydrological processes across various spatial and temporal scales. By exploring the role of vegetation in water cycling, soil moisture's influence on plant growth, and how land cover changes impact water availability, we aim to bridge the gap between ecological and hydrological sciences. By linking ecosystem processes to hydrological functions, our research provides critical insights for improving ecosystem sustainability and resilience under future environmental scenarios. Key areas of our work include:

• Vegetation-Water Interaction

• Ecosystem Resilience to droughts and forest fires

Selected paper: 

• Impact of climatic changes and anthropogenic activities on ecosystem net primary productivity in India during 2001–2019

• Projected decline in the strength of vegetation carbon sequestration under climate change in India 

Our research focuses on evaluating the vital benefits that ecosystems provide to society, including water purification, flood control, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity conservation. By investigating the links between ecohydrological processes and these ecosystem services, we aim to understand how environmental changes—particularly shifts in water and climate systems—may affect the availability and quality of ecosystem services, and ultimately, human well-being. Key areas of our work include:

• Carbon Sequestration

• Biodiversity and Ecosystem Stability

• Impact of Climate and Land Use Change on the Provision of Ecosystem Services

See REFRESH project

Prakhar Sharma, Swathi S Prashanth, Ashutosh Sharma and Sumit Sen (2024) Spatial heterogeneity of ecosystem services and their valuation across Himalayas: A systematic literature review and meta-analysis. Environmental Research Letters. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ad9abc 

We develop and utilize both process-based and data-driven models to advance hydrological modeling research, with a focus on:

• Real-time, Multi-scale hydrological modeling

• Quantifying and reducing uncertainty in hydrological predictions

• Exploring the synergy of process-based and data-driven approaches for improved predictions

• Tackling the challenges of hydrological predictions in ungauged watersheds

Selected paper: 

• Deep learning-based hydrological modeling for Indian watersheds

• Uncertainties Analysis of the Hydrological Modelling

Our research focuses on understanding and mitigating the impacts of climate change on hydrological systems and extreme weather events. We integrate advanced numerical modeling techniques with data-driven methods to assess and predict hydroclimatic extremes, such as floods and droughts. Key areas of focus include:

• Numerical and Data-Driven Hydrodynamic Modeling

• Extreme Event Quantile Regression and Prediction

• Identifying Hazards and Vulnerable Factors for Hydroclimatic Risks

• Assessing Climate Change Impacts on Hydroclimatic Extremes

Selected paper: 

• Deep Learning-based Alternate Pathway for Regional Flood Frequency Analysis

• Machine Learning-based Multi-Model Ensemble Framework for Fluvial Flood Inundation Mapping

• Machine Learning and IoT-based Framework for Flood Risk Mapping

Our research integrates the Water Accounting (WA) framework and Nexus Approach to provide a comprehensive understanding of water resource management across complex river basins. By leveraging diverse datasets, we quantify key hydrological processes at multiple scales, focusing on water inflows, outflows, consumption, withdrawals, and storage variations. Key elements of our research include:

• Water Accounting for Basin-Wide Hydrological Processes

• Quantifying Water Resource Performance

• Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystem Nexus

• Forest Fire and Hydrological Impacts

Selected paper: 

• Evaluation of Water Resources in a Complex River Basin Using Water Accounting Plus