Bringing a data-driven approach to watershed management

Program:
- Geological Engineering
Campus: Vancouver

“My research group is developing the practical tools needed to improve our understanding of how water and solutes move through watersheds,” says Dr. Ali Ameli. “By merging engineering and scientific backgrounds, we can make informed science-based decisions for engineering solutions to prevent or mitigate drought, flood and water quality degradation.”

Dr. Ali Ameli

Tell us about your research.

My research focuses on how water moves through watersheds – from rainfall to streamflow – and how this understanding can inform watershed management, planning and design. I study the underlying hydrologic processes and their sensitivity to climate and land use, with the goal of developing robust, evidence-based tools for managing water resources.

Traditionally, many hydrologic frameworks assume that river flooding primarily results from overland flow. However, decades of field-based research suggest that, in many landscapes, subsurface processes play a dominant role, particularly during floods and droughts. This has important implications: if most floodwater originates from belowground storage rather than surface runoff, then how we model, predict and manage these events needs to be reconsidered – especially as climate becomes more variable.

The same principle applies to droughts. Reduced rainfall doesn’t always lead to immediate low flows, as watersheds can continue to sustain streamflow from stored subsurface water. This nuance highlights the need to move beyond simple rainfall–runoff relationships and incorporate the memory and buffering capacity of the landscape.

Ultimately, I’m passionate about advancing catchment hydrology in a way that bridges scientific understanding and practical application – helping identify which landscapes are more vulnerable to hydrologic extremes, and how to manage them sustainably.

Why does a gap exist between engineering models and current hydrologic science?

The divergence largely stems from historical precedent and disciplinary focus. Early engineering models were developed at a time when data and computational tools were limited, and surface flow was easier to conceptualize and measure. As such, runoff generation was often modelled as a surface-driven process, with less emphasis on the role of storage and subsurface flow.

Scientific advancements in the late 20th century – particularly through the use of environmental tracers – revealed that much of the water contributing to streamflow during floods had actually infiltrated and been stored in the subsurface days or even weeks earlier.

This insight significantly shifted how hydrologists view watershed response.

Despite these advances, updates to regulatory models and curricula have been gradual. Many engineering guidelines and educational programs still rely on simplified assumptions. This is not out of disregard for science, but due to the structural inertia of legacy systems and the challenge of integrating complex processes into standardized workflows.

Even during my PhD in Civil Engineering, the focus of hydrologic engineering was largely on classical surface-based methods. My perspective began to shift through collaborations with hydrologists in New Zealand, Sweden, the US, Canada and France, where I observed systems exhibiting flooding without any visible surface runoff.

These experiences emphasized the importance of integrating engineering reasoning with process-based scientific insights.

What are some projects you’re currently working on?

We’re investigating how streamflow is generated across different regions of the world – spanning Africa, North and South America, Oceania, Southern Asia and Europe. Our goal is to understand how climate, geology, topography and land use interact to control flow pathways, storage dynamics and the partitioning of water inputs into runoff, evaporation and recharge.

For example, during the 2021 atmospheric river event in British Columbia, parts of the Lower Mainland experienced devastating floods while adjacent areas with similar rainfall remained relatively unaffected. These contrasting outcomes underscore how local subsurface structure and landform connectivity influence watershed response.

At the global scale, we are building generalizable theories of streamflow generation – across both flood and drought contexts – that can help inform risk modelling and policy development.

Where do you get your data?

Our work is fundamentally data-driven. We use observed streamflow, climate, topography and land cover data from over 6,000 gauged watersheds globally, and apply machine learning and physically informed extrapolation to understand behavior across 80,000+ ungauged basins.

Instead of relying solely on predefined model structures, we employ flexible, observation-guided approaches that allow us to uncover patterns directly from the data. This is particularly valuable in regions with limited monitoring infrastructure, many of which are also the most prone to hydrologic extremes.

Are you translating these findings into engineering practice?

Our current focus is on building the foundational knowledge to understand the diversity of streamflow generation mechanisms across the globe.

Once this typology is established, we can begin translating it into tools that inform engineering design, water management and land use policy.

In the meantime, we’ve made our datasets and modelling tools openly available through our website hgs4wm.eoas.ubc.ca/products, so they can support both academic and applied users.

How many students are involved in your work?

Between 2020 and 2023, about 30 undergraduate students from the faculties of Engineering and Science contributed to our global dataset compilation efforts. Currently, our lab includes three master’s students, three PhD students and two part-time postdocs working across topics such as streamflow partitioning, water quality modelling and climate–storage interactions.

What makes UBC a strong place to study geological engineering?

UBC’s Geological Engineering program offers a unique focus on how geology influences both geotechnical and hydrological hazards. While geological risks like landslides are well-known, the role of subsurface geology in controlling floods, droughts and water quality is increasingly important. UBC is at the forefront of integrating that perspective into both teaching and research.

Students graduate with a deep understanding of earth processes and their relevance to infrastructure, risk and sustainability – skills that are critical for building climate-resilient systems.

Anything else you’d like to add?

Our goal is to improve the scientific foundation behind water management. By combining engineering problem-solving with insights from catchment science, we’re developing the tools needed to predict and mitigate hydrologic extremes – including drought, flood, and water contamination – under a changing climate.

We welcome collaborations with researchers, practitioners and policy-makers who are equally invested in advancing science-based, actionable solutions for watershed resilience.