Aubrey Dugger

Hydrologist

I am a scientist and engineer exploring how humans impact the water system.

I work to advance the integration of terrestrial hydrology into predictive models to answer questions about human impacts on water systems. I started my career working with NGOs, designing and applying models to predict water supply and water quality impacts from different urban infrastructure designs. In my PhD work, I improved the water and energy partitioning within a coupled ecohydrological model to predict changes in water availability due to forest management and disturbance. My current work focuses on translating global change to local impacts through the use of scalable hydrologic models and their interfaces with Earth system models.

Projects

Hydrologic Forecasting

Our team developed the first national-scale operational hydrological forecasting system for the U.S. National Weather Service. The National Water Model provides real-time forecasts of snow, soil moisture, evapotranspiration, inundation, and streamflow over the contiguous U.S., Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and south-central Alaska.

Water Availability

Our team collaborated with the U.S. Geological Survey to develop estimates of water supply across the contiguous U.S. over the past 40 years. When combined with estimates of water use, this assessment highlighted areas of water surplus and deficit, and how this balance evolves over time.

Green Infrastructure

Our team worked with municipalities across Southern California to optimize green infrastructure design to maximize improvements in water quality. Combining geospatial data, stormwater modeling, engineering design databases, and statistics, our tool allowed municipalities to explore scenarios and conduct cost/benefit analyses.

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