Ecohydrology @ Marquette

Our research integrates experimental data, theory, and models to study interactions between hydrology and ecosystems. We apply this understanding to solve ecological engineering problems, such as the design of urban water systems to protect water quality.

Research

Here are our current research topics.

Soil biogeochemistry in engineered ecosystems

Nutrients like Nitrogen (N) and Phosphorus (P) are crucial to growing food and keeping lawns green. However, N and P pollution of surface waters is one of the costliest water quality issues faced in the United States. To address this problem, farms and cities use engineered ecosystems, called green infrastructure, designed to remove N, P, and other pollutants from stormwater runoff. We study the hydrologic controls on N and P cycling in these ecosystems to inform design practices for improved nutrient management.

Support: Fund for Lake Michigan, Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Representative publications:

Horvath, I. R., Zhang, K., Mayer, B. K., & Parolari, A. J. (2023). Effects of Regional Climate and BMP Type on Stormwater Nutrient Concentrations in BMPs: A Meta-Analysis. Environmental Science & Technology, 57(12), 5079-5088, doi:10.1021/acs.est.2c05942.

Horvath, I. R., Pulvermacher, L., & Parolari, A. J. (2022). Seasonal Hydroclimatic and Soil Biogeochemical Drivers of N and P Availability in a Constructed Stormwater Wetland. Journal of Sustainable Water in the Built Environment, 8(1), 04021018, doi:10.1061/JSWBAY.0000962.

Representative publications:

Zhang, K., Luhar, M., Brunner, M. I., & Parolari, A. J. (2023). Streamflow Prediction in Poorly Gauged Watersheds in the United States Through Data‐Driven Sparse Sensing. Water Resources Research, 59(4), e2022WR034092, doi:10.1029/2022WR034092.

Zhang, K., Bin Mamoon, W., Schwartz, E., & Parolari, A. J. (2023). Reconstruction of Sparse Stream Flow and Concentration Time‐Series Through Compressed Sensing. Geophysical Research Letters, 50(2), e2022GL101177, doi:10.1029/2022GL101177.

Zhang, K., Sebo, S., McDonald, W., Bhaskar, A., Shuster, W., Stewart, R. D., & Parolari, A. J. (2023). The Role of Inflow and Infiltration (I/I) in Urban Water Balances and Streamflow Regimes: A Hydrograph Analysis Along the Sewershed‐Watershed Continuum. Water Resources Research, 59(4), e2022WR032529, doi:10.1029/2022WR03252.

Horvath, I. R., Parolari, A. J., Petrella, S., Stow, C. A., Godwin, C. M., & Maguire, T. J. (2022). Volunteer science data show degraded water quality disproportionately burdens areas of high poverty. Journal of Hydrology, 613, 128475, doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2022.128475.

Zhang, K., & Parolari, A. J. (2022). Impact of stormwater infiltration on rainfall-derived inflow and infiltration: A physically based surface–subsurface urban hydrologic model. Journal of Hydrology, 610, 127938, doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2022.127938.

Stewart, R.D., A.S. Bhaskar, A.J. Parolari, D.L. Herrmann, J.Jian, L.A. Schifman, and W.D. Shuster (2019). An analytical approach to ascertain saturation-excess versus infiltration-excess overland flow in urban and reference landscapes. Hydrological Processes, doi:10.1002/hyp.13562.

Sharior, S., W. McDonald, and A.J. Parolari (2019). Improved reliability of stormwater detention basin performance through water quality data-informed real-time control. Journal of Hydrology, 573, 422-431. doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2019.03.012.

Parolari, A. J., Pelrine, S., & Bartlett, M. S. (2018). Stochastic water balance dynamics of passive and controlled stormwater basins. Advances in Water Resources, 122, 328-339, doi:10.1016/j.advwatres.2018.10.016.

Bartlett, M.S., A.J. Parolari, J.J. McDonnell, and A. Porporato (2016) Framework for event-based semi-distributed modeling that unifies the SCS-CN method, VIC, PDM, and TOPMODEL. Water Resources Research, 52(9), 7036-7052, doi:10.1002/2016WR19084.

Representative publications:

Parolari, A. J., & Paschalis, A. (2022). Precipitation variability can bias estimates of ecological controls on ecosystem productivity response to precipitation change. Ecohydrology, 15(5), e2384, doi:10.1002/eco.2384.

Parolari, A.J., K. Paul, A. Griffing, R. Condit, R. Perez, S. Aguilar, and S. Schnitzer (2020). Liana abundance and diversity increase with rainfall seasonality along a precipitation gradient in Panama. Ecography, 43(1), 25-33, doi:10.1111/ecog.04678.

Schwantes, A.M., Parolari, A.J., Swenson, J.J., Johnson, D.M., Domec, J.C., Jackson, R.B., Pelak, N. and Porporato, A., (2018) Accounting for landscape heterogeneity improves spatial predictions of tree vulnerability to drought. New Phytologist, 220(1), 132-146, doi:10.1111/nph.15274.

Liu, Y., A.J. Parolari, M. Kumar, C.W. Huang, G.G. Katul, and A. Porporato (2017) Increasing atmospheric humidity and CO2 concentration alleviate forest mortality risk. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, doi:10.1073/pnas.1704811114.

People

Anthony J. Parolari, PHD, PE

I am a hydrologist and civil engineer by training with research interests in the role of water in ecosystems, particularly engineered ecosystems like agriculture and green infrastructure. My research develops quantitative models that link hydrologic variability to ecosystem processes, including plant productivity and soil biogeochemistry. I also study the social-ecological feedbacks that drive human interaction with the water cycle. These models are used to advance theory and to interpret empirical data, which improves basic understanding of ecosystem dynamics that can be leveraged to solve engineering and control problems.

students

We are looking for talented and motivated graduate students to join our team. Information regarding the Masters and PhD graduate programs in Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering at Marquette can be found here and here. Please feel free to contact me directly with questions or interest.

ALUMNI

teaching

I teach courses in engineering computing, hydraulic engineering, urban hydrology and stormwater management, environmental modeling, and ecohydrology. My current teaching schedule is:

Fall 2023:

• CEEN4230/5230 Urban Hydrology & Stormwater Management

Spring 2024:

• CEEN1210 Introduction to Computing, Analysis, Design, and Communication

Previous courses:

• CEEN3210 Hydraulic Engineering

• CEEN4560/5560 Environmental Fate & Transport

• CEEN6350 Modeling in Water Resources Engineering

• CEEN6932 Ecohydrology

• Optimal Environmental Sensing

• Duke Research Integration Voyage for Engineers

Publications

See a full list of publications and citations here.         

1. Zhang, K., Luhar, M., Brunner, M. I., & Parolari, A. J. (2023). Streamflow Prediction in Poorly Gauged Watersheds in the United States Through Data‐Driven Sparse Sensing. Water Resources Research, 59(4), e2022WR034092, doi:10.1029/2022WR034092.

2. Zhang, K., Sebo, S., McDonald, W., Bhaskar, A., Shuster, W., Stewart, R. D., & Parolari, A. J. (2023). The Role of Inflow and Infiltration (I/I) in Urban Water Balances and Streamflow Regimes: A Hydrograph Analysis Along the Sewershed‐Watershed Continuum. Water Resources Research, 59(4), e2022WR032529, doi:10.1029/2022WR032529.

3. Horvath, I. R., Zhang, K., Mayer, B. K., & Parolari, A. J. (2023). Effects of Regional Climate and BMP Type on Stormwater Nutrient Concentrations in BMPs: A Meta-Analysis. Environmental Science & Technology, 57(12), 5079-5088, doi:10.1021/acs.est.2c05942.

4. Zhang, K., Bin Mamoon, W., Schwartz, E., & Parolari, A. J. (2023). Reconstruction of Sparse Stream Flow and Concentration Time‐Series Through Compressed Sensing. Geophysical Research Letters, 50(2), e2022GL101177, doi:10.1029/2022GL101177.

5. Horvath, I. R., Parolari, A. J., Petrella, S., Stow, C. A., Godwin, C. M., & Maguire, T. J. (2022). Volunteer science data show degraded water quality disproportionately burdens areas of high poverty. Journal of Hydrology, 613, 128475, doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2022.128475.

6. Zhang, K., & Parolari, A. J. (2022). Impact of stormwater infiltration on rainfall-derived inflow and infiltration: A physically based surface–subsurface urban hydrologic model. Journal of Hydrology, 610, 127938, doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2022.127938.

7. Parolari, A. J., & Paschalis, A. (2022). Precipitation variability can bias estimates of ecological controls on ecosystem productivity response to precipitation change. Ecohydrology, 15(5), e2384, doi:10.1002/eco.2384.

8. Horvath, I. R., Pulvermacher, L., & Parolari, A. J. (2022). Seasonal Hydroclimatic and Soil Biogeochemical Drivers of N and P Availability in a Constructed Stormwater Wetland. Journal of Sustainable Water in the Built Environment, 8(1), 04021018, doi:10.1061/JSWBAY.0000962.

9. Naughton, J., Sharior, S., Parolari, A., Strifling, D., & McDonald, W. (2021). Barriers to real-time control of stormwater systems. Journal of Sustainable Water in the Built Environment, 7(4), 04021016, doi:10.1061/JSWBAY.0000961..

10. Marani, M., Katul, G. G., Pan, W. K., & Parolari, A. J. (2021). Intensity and frequency of extreme novel epidemics. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(35), e2105482118, doi:10.1073/pnas.2105482118.

11. Shuster, W. D., Schifman, L., Kelleher, C., Golden, H. E., Bhaskar, A. S., Parolari, A. J., ... & Herrmann, D. L. (2021). K in an urban world: New contexts for hydraulic conductivity. JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association, 57(3), 493-504, doi:10.1111/1752-1688.12918.

12. Tague, C., Hurteau, M. D., & Parolari, A. (2021). Forest Management Alters Forest Water Use and Drought Vulnerability. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, 4, 671437, doi:10.3389/ffgc.2021.671437.

13. Parolari, A. J., Sizemore, J., & Katul, G. G. (2021). Multiscale legacy responses of soil gas concentrations to soil moisture and temperature fluctuations. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 126(2), e2020JG005865, doi:10.1029/2020JG005865.

14. Katul, G. G., Mrad, A., Bonetti, S., Manoli, G., & Parolari, A. J. (2020). Global convergence of COVID-19 basic reproduction number and estimation from early-time SIR dynamics. PLoS One, 15(9), e0239800, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0239800.

15. Paschalis, A., S. Fatichi, J. Zscheischler, P. Ciais, M. Bahn, L. Boysen, J. Chang, M. De Kauwe, M. Estiarte, D. Goll, P.J. Hanson, A.B. Harper, E. Hou, J. Kigel, A.K. Knapp, K. Steenberg Larsen, W. Li, S. Lierert, Y. Luo, P. Meir, J.E.M.S. Nabel, R. Ogaya, A.J. Paro- lari, C. Peng, J. Penuelas, J. Pongratz, S. Rambal, I.K. Schmidt, H. Shi, M. Sternberg, H. Tian, E. Tschumi, A. Ukkola, S. Vicca, N. Viovy, Y.-P. Wang, Z. Wang, K. Williams, D. Wu, Q. Zhu (2020). Rainfall-manipulation experiments as simulated by terrestrial biosphere models: where do we stand? Global Change Biology, 26(6), 3336-3355, doi:10.1111/gcb.15024.

16. Kulmatiski, A., K. Yu, D.S. Mackay, M.C. Holdrege, A.C. Staver, A.J. Parolari, Y. Liu, S. Majumder, and A.T. Trugman (in press). Forecasting semi-arid biome shifts in the Anthropocene. New Phytologist, 226(2), 351-361, doi:10.1111/nph.16381.

17. Parolari, A.J., K. Paul, A. Griffing, R. Condit, R. Perez, S. Aguilar, and S. Schnitzer (2020). Liana abundance and diversity increase with rainfall seasonality along a precipitation gradient in Panama. Ecography, 43(1), 25-33 doi:10.1111/ecog.04678.

18. Parolari, A.J. and G. Manoli (2019). Power law growth and delayed feedbacks in socio-hydrological systems. Earth’s Future, 7(11), 1220-1231, doi:10.1029/2019EF001185.

19. Stewart, R.D., A.S. Bhaskar, A.J. Parolari, D.L. Herrmann, J.Jian, L.A. Schifman, and W.D. Shuster (2019). An analytical approach to ascertain saturation-excess versus infiltration-excess overland flow in urban and reference landscapes. Hydrological Processes, doi:10.1002/hyp.13562.

20. Sharior, S., W. McDonald, and A.J. Parolari (2019). Improved reliability of stormwater detention basin performance through water quality data-informed real-time control. Journal of Hydrology, 573, 422-431. doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2019.03.012.

21. Parolari, A. J., Pelrine, S., and Bartlett, M. S. (2018). Stochastic water balance dynamics of passive and controlled stormwater basins. Advances in Water Resources, 122, 328-339, doi:10.1016/j.advwatres.2018.10.016.

22. Schwantes, A.M., Parolari, A.J., Swenson, J.J., Johnson, D.M., Domec, J.C., Jackson, R.B., Pelak, N. and Porporato, A. (2018). Accounting for landscape heterogeneity improves spatial predictions of tree vulnerability to drought. New Phytologist, 220(1), 132-146, doi:10.1111/nph.15274.

23. Calabrese, S., A.J. Parolari, and A. Porporato (2017) Hydrologic transport of dissolved inorganic carbon and its control on chemical weathering. Journal of Geophysical Research - Earth Surface, doi:10.1002/2017JF004346.

24. Liu, Y., A.J. Parolari, M. Kumar, C.W. Huang, G.G. Katul, and A. Porporato (2017) Increasing atmospheric humidity and CO2 concentration alleviate forest mortality risk. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, doi:10.1073/pnas.1704811114.

25. Parolari, A.J., M.L. Mobley, A.R. Bacon, G.G. Katul, D. deB. Richter, and A. Porporato (2017) Boom and bust carbon-nitrogen dynamics during reforestation. Ecological Modelling, 360, 108-119, doi:10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2017.06.023.

26. Bartlett, M.S., A.J. Parolari, J.J. McDonnell, and A. Porporato (2017) Reply to Comment on "Beyond the SCS-CN method: A theoretical framework for spatially lumped rainfall-runoff response." Water Resources Research, doi:10.1002/2017WR020456.

27. Huang, C.W., J.C. Domec, T. Duman, G. Manoli, A.J. Parolari, and G.G. Katul (2017) The role of plant water storage on water fluxes within the coupled soil-plant system. New Phytologist, doi:10.111/nph.14273.

28. Parolari, A.J., D. Li, E. Bou-Zeid, G.G. Katul, and S. Assouline (2016) Climate, not conflict, explains extreme Middle East dust storm. Environmental Research Letters, 11(11), 114013, doi:10.1088/1748-9326/11/11/114013.

29. Bartlett, M.S., A.J. Parolari, J.J. McDonnell, and A. Porporato (2016) Framework for event-based semi-distributed modeling that unifies the SCS-CN method, VIC, PDM, and TOPMODEL. Water Resources Research, 52(9), 7036-7052, doi:10.1002/2016WR19084.

30. Bartlett, M.S., A.J. Parolari, J.J. McDonnell, and A. Porporato (2016), Beyond the SCS-CN method: A theoretical framework for spatially lumped rainfall-runoff response. Water Resources Research, 52(6), 4608-4627, doi:10.1002/2015WR018439.

31. Parolari, A.J. and A. Porporato (2016), Forest soil carbon and nitrogen cycles under biomass harvest: stability, transient response, and feedback. Ecological Modelling, 329, 64-76, doi:10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2016.03.003.

32. Pelak, N.F., A.J. Parolari, and A. Porporato (2016), Bistable plant-soil dynamics and biogenic controls on the soil production function. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, doi:10.1002/esp.3878.

33. Bartlett, M.S., E. Daly, J.J. McDonnell, A.J. Parolari, and A. Porporato (2015), Stochastic rainfall-runoff model with explicit soil moisture dynamics. Proceedings of the Royal Society A, 471, 20150389, doi:10.1098/rspa.2015.0389.

34. Porporato, A., X. Feng, S. Manzoni, Y. Mau, A.J. Parolari, and G. Vico (2015), Ecohydrological modeling in agroecosystems: examples and challenges. Water Resources Research, 51(7), 5081-5099, doi:10.1002/2015WR017289.

35. Parolari, A.J., G.G. Katul, and A. Porporato (2015), The Doomsday Equation and 50 years beyond: new perspectives on the human-water system. WIREs Water, 2(4), 407-414, doi:10.1002/wat2.1080.

36. Parolari, A.J., M.L. Goulden, and R.L. Bras (2015), Ecohydrological controls on grass and shrub above-ground net primary productivity in a seasonally dry climate. Ecohydrology, 8(8), 1572-1583, doi:10.1002/eco.1605.

37. Parolari, A.J., G.G. Katul, and A. Porporato (2014), An ecohydrological perspective on drought-induced forest mortality, Journal of Geophysical Research Biogeosciences, 119, 1-17, doi:10.1002/2013JG002592.

38. Parolari, A.J., M.L. Goulden, and R.L. Bras (2012), Fertilization effects on the ecohydrology of a southern California annual grassland, Geophysical Research Letters, 39, L08405, doi:10.1029/2012GL051411. (Open access at: DSpace@MIT)

39. Bain, D.J., M.B. Green, J.L. Campbell, et al. (2012), Legacy Effects in Material Flux: Structural Catchment Changes Predate Long-Term Studies. BioScience, 62(6), 575-584, doi:10.1525/bio.2012.62.6.8. (Open access at: DSpace@MIT)

40. Pastore, C.L., M.B. Green, D.J. Bain, et al. (2010), Tapping environmental history to recreate America's colonial hydrology. Environmental Science and Technology, 44(23), 8798-8803, doi:10.1021/es102672c.

41. Parolari, Anthony. The nitrogen cycle and ecohydrology of seasonally dry grasslands. Ph.D. Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2012. (DSpace@MIT)