Balaji Rajagopalan

  • CIRES, University of Colorado Boulder
    Also on the web

    Balaji Rajagopalan

    My main research program is a diverse and interdisciplinary effort to enable sustainable water quantity and quality for the growing populations under increasing climate variability and change. This entails three interconnected themes: (i) Understanding the large-scale climate drivers of year-to-year and multidecadal variability and predictability of regional hydroclimatology and their extremes, (ii) Developing ensemble hydroclimate projection tools with large-scale climate information and, (iii) Coupling the projections with resources management and decision support system. In addition, I have keen interests in paleo and contemporary variability of Indian monsoon, big-data analysis and modeling techniques, water and wastewater quality, construction safety and building energy efficiency.

Projects

Publications

  • Yao, Fangfang, Ben Livneh, Balaji Rajagopalan, Jida Wang, Kehan Yang, Jean‐François Crétaux, Chao Wang, and J. Toby Minear. 2024. “Leveraging ICESat, ICESat‐2, and Landsat for Global‐Scale, Multi‐Decadal Reconstruction of Lake Water Levels.” Water Resources Research 60 (2): e2023WR035721.    https://doi.org/10.1029/2023WR035721

  • Yao, Fangfang, J. Toby Minear, Balaji Rajagopalan, Chao Wang, Kehan Yang, and Ben Livneh. 2023. “Estimating Reservoir Sedimentation Rates and Storage Capacity Losses Using High‐Resolution Sentinel‐2 Satellite and Water Level Data.” Geophysical Research Letters 50 (16): e2023GL103524.    https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL103524

  • Culler, Elsa S., Ben Livneh, Balaji Rajagopalan, and Kristy F. Tiampo. 2023. “A Data-Driven Evaluation of Post-Fire Landslide Susceptibility.” Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences 23 (4): 1631–52.   https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-1631-2023

  • Heldmyer, A.J., B. Livneh, B. Rajagopalan, and N. Molotch, 2021: Investigating the Relationship Between Peak Snow-Water Equivalent and Snow Timing Indices in the Western U.S. and Alaska, Water Resources Research, 57, e2020WR029395.   https://doi.org/10.1029/2020WR029395

  • Culler, Elsa S., Ben Livneh, Balaji Rajagopalan, and Kristy F. Tiampo (2021). A Data-Driven Evaluation of Post-Fire Landslide Susceptibility. Preprint. Landslides and Debris Flows Hazards.   https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-2021-111

  • Smith, R.M., J.R. Kasprzyk, and R. Balaji (2019). Using multivariate regression trees and multiobjective tradeoff sets to reveal fundamental insights about water resources systems. Environmental Modelling and Software, Vol 120: 104498.   doi: 10.1016/j.envsoft.2019.104498

  • Stewart, J.S., B. Livneh, J.R. Kasprzyk, J.T. Minear, B. Rajagopalan, and W.J. Raseman (2017). A multi-algorithm approach to land surface modeling of suspended sediment in the Colorado Front Range. Journal of Advances in Models Earth Systems, 9(7), 2526-2544,   doi: 10.1002/2017MS001120

  • Cayan, D., M. Tyree, K. E. Kunkel, C. Castro, A. Gershunov, J. Barsugli, A. J. Ray, J. Overpeck, M. Anderson, J. Russell, B. Rajagopalan, I. Rangwala, and P. Duffy (2013). Future Climate: Projected Averages. In Assessment of Climate Change in the Southwest United States: A Report Prepared for the National Climate Assessment, edited by G. Garfin, A. Jardine, R. Merideth, M. Black, and S. LeRoy, 101–125. A report by the Southwest Climate Alliance. Washington, DC: Island Press.   https://swcarr.arizona.edu/sites/default/files/ACCSWUS_Ch6.pdf
  • Gershunov, A., B. Rajagopalan, J. Overpeck, K. Guirguis, D. Cayan, M. Hughes, M. Dettinger, C. Castro, R. E. Schwartz, M. Anderson, A. J. Ray, J. Barsugli, T. Cavazos, and M. Alexander (2013). Future Climate: Projected Extremes. In Assessment of Climate Change in the Southwest United States: A Report Prepared for the National Climate Assessment, edited by G. Garfin, A. Jardine, R. Merideth, M. Black, and S. LeRoy, 126–147. A report by the Southwest Climate Alliance. Washington, DC: Island Press.   https://swcarr.arizona.edu/sites/default/files/ACCSWUS_Ch7.pdf

  • Lukas, J., L. Wade, B. Rajagopalan (2012). Paleohydrology of the Lower Colorado River Basin and Implications for Water Supply Availability. Colorado Water Institute - Completion Report CR223, 37 pp.   
  • Lukas, J., L. Wade, B. Rajagopalan (2012). Paleohydrology of the Lower Colorado River Basin and Implications for Water Supply Availability. Colorado Water, Vol. 29, No. 6. November/December 2012 , 3 pp.   
  • Nowak, K., M. Hoerling, B. Rajagopalan, E. and Zagona (2012). Colorado River Basin Hydroclimatic Variability. Journal of Climate, 25(12): 4389.   https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-11-00406.1

  • Nowak, K., B. Rajagopalan, and E. Zagona (2011). Wavelet Auto-Regressive Method (WARM) for multi-site streamflow simulation of data with non-stationary spectra. Journal of Hydrology, 410 (1-2): 1-12.   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2011.08.051

  • Bracken, C., B. Rajagopalan, and J. Prairie (2010). A Multi-Site Seasonal Ensemble Streamflow Forecasting Technique. Water Resources Research, 46: W03302.   
  • Nowak, K., J. Prairie, B. Rajagopalan, and U. Lall (2010). A nonparametric stochastic approach for multisite disaggregation of annual to daily streamflow. Water Resources Research, 46: W08529.   

  • Barsugli, J., K. Nowak, B. Rajagopalan, J. Prairie, and B. Harding (2009). Comment on “When Will Lake Mead go Dry?” by T. P. Barnett and D. W. Pierce. Water Resources Research, 45, W09601.   
  • Gangopadhyay, S., B. Harding, B. Rajagopalan, J. Lukas, and T. Fulp (2009). A Non-Parametric Approach for Paleohydrologic Reconstruction of Annual Streamflow Ensembles. Water Resources Research, 45, W06417.   

  • Rajagopalan, B., K. Nowak, J. Prairie, M. Hoerling, B. Harding, J. Barsugli, A. Ray, and B. Udall (2009). Water Supply Risk on the Colorado River: Can Management Mitigate? Water Resources Research, 45, W08201,   doi:10.1029/2008WR007652

  • Regonda, S., B. Rajagopalan, M. Clark, and E. Zagona (2006). A Multimodel Ensemble Forecast Framework: Application to Spring Seasonal Flows in the Gunnison River Basin. Water Resources Research, 42: W09404.   

  • Gangopadhyay, S., M. Clark, and B. Rajagopalan (2005). Statistical Downscaling Using K-Nearest Neighbors. Water Resources Research, 41(2): W02024.   
  • Rajagopalan, B., K. Grantz, S. Regonda, M. Clark, and E. Zagona (2005). Ensemble Streamflow Forecasting. In Methods and Applications: Advances in Water Science Methodologies. U. Aswathanarayana, ed. Netherlands, Taylor and Francis.   

  • Gangopadhyay, S., M. Clark, B. Rajagopalan, K. Werner, and D. Brandon (2004). Effects of Spatial and Temporal Aggregation on the Accuracy of Statistically Downscaled Precipitation Estimates in the Upper Colorado River Basin. Journal of Hydrometeorology, 5: 1192-1206.   
  • Clark, M., S. Gangopadhyay, D. Brandon, K. Werner, L. Hay, B. Rajagopalan, and D. Yates (2004). A Resampling Procedure for Generating Conditioned Daily Weather Sequences. Water Resources Research, 40(4): W04304.   
  • Clark, M., S. Gangopadhyay, L. Hay, B. Rajagopalan, and R. Wilby (2004). The Schaake Shuffle: A Method to Reconstruct the Space-time Variability of Forecasted Precipitation and Temperature Fields. Journal of Hydrometeorology, 5: 243-262.   

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