Global Hydrological Modelling Development and Advancement¶
Type of project¶
M.Sc.
Contact¶
Alexandra Murray (almm@dhigroup.com)
Topic¶
Large-scale hydrological modelling is an essential tool for governments and river basin organizations to ensure the security of the population in our changing climate. DHI has developed a Global Hydrological Model (GHM), which has already been used all over the world: from transboundary river studies in Vietnam, to water scarcity studies in Nigeria, to macroplastic pollution forecasting for UNEP. We are just scratching the surface of possibilities with the model, and are looking for interested students to investigate the research questions that have opened up with this new tool.
There are a number of relevant research questions for a student project. Depending on the student, the project can be tailored to the fit the student's background and interests. A student could choose one of the following topics:
* DHI-GHM produces short and long-range forecasts, which are essential for flood and drought preparedness activities. How do the DHI-GHM forecasts perform, and what can be done to increase the performance? (modeling/statistics/programming) * DHI-GHM depends on many global input datasets that describe the catchment characteristics. What is the significance of each of these datasets, and how does the model result change as these datasets are updated? This could be relevant through over a timespan of many years (e.g. de-/re-forestation) or over a growing season (root zone depth). (modeling/statistics/hydrology) * DHI-GHM has been developed to cover river basins in their entirety, but coastlines are sometimes covered less thoroughly. A student project could involve expansion of the model to cover these areas, which are sometimes essential for freshwater inputs to marine environments. (modeling/hydrology) * The resolution of DHI-GHM is standard at 0.1x0.1 degrees over the entire globe. But sometimes there is finer resolution data available that could inform finer resolution results - which in turn yield critical information for industries such as hydropower. Developing a downscaling routine that can minimize manual inputs is another potential model development project. (modeling/hydrology) * Water use is a modelling element that most substantially impacts the model performance. A pilot reservoir modelling scheme based on earth observations has been developed. What is the consequence of applying this scheme more broadly in the model, and does the method hold when applied broadly?(modeling/water resources/hydrology) * Eutrophication of fresh and marine water bodies is a high interest topic in Denmark, the EU, and many other places in the world. What could a global nutrient loading and transport model look like, in the modelling framework of DHI-GHM? (modeling/water quality/contaminant transport) * Modelling only attains relevance with clear and timely dissemination of the model results. This is essential in disaster risk management, where understanding the extent of floods and droughts in time to act are essential. What could a GUI for the GHM look like, and what do stakeholders (both engineers using the model, and decision-makers viewing results) need to know? (UX design/stakeholder engagement/front-end development) * Climate change is impacting all planning decisions in government and industry. How can DHI-GHM be developed as a climate change adaptation tool, what are the weaknesses that need to be addressed and strengths that should be maintained? (modeling/climate change/hydrology)
Relevance to DHI¶
DHI-GHM use in projects in ID has steadily increased in the past two years, since this tool reached an appropriate level of maturity. There are a number of areas that would benefit from dedicated research to continue to development of the model and increase it's use in projects - especially for use in DHI departments outside of ID.
What is the student's contribution¶
The student contribution would vary substantially, depending on what aspects are chosen to focus on in the topics presented above. Working with the existing DHI-GHM model is, however, key to the project.