Research
Watershed Hydrology
Dr. Arias’s lab investigates how water moves through large and often highly dynamic river basins, with a particular emphasis on tropical and subtropical systems. This research examines rainfall–runoff processes, flood generation, groundwater–surface water interactions, and sediment transport. A major focus is understanding how human interventions—such as dams, diversions, canals, and land‑use change—alter natural hydrologic regimes. His group uses advanced hydrologic models to quantify changes in flow timing, magnitude, and variability, and to assess how these changes propagate downstream. Much of this work is applied to the Mekong River Basin, where hydropower development has significantly reshaped seasonal flooding patterns and sediment delivery, with cascading ecological and social consequences.
Ecohydrology & Ecosystem Response
Ecohydrology research in the Coupled Water Systems Lab lab explores how hydrologic conditions shape ecological structure and function across wetlands, lakes, rivers, and estuaries. The group studies how water‑level fluctuations influence vegetation communities, nutrient cycling, primary productivity, and habitat availability. They also examine how climate change—through altered rainfall, temperature, and sea‑level rise—modifies ecological resilience and biodiversity. This work often focuses on systems where hydrology is the dominant ecological driver, such as Tonle Sap Lake in Cambodia, whose annual flood pulse supports one of the world’s most productive inland fisheries. By linking hydrologic models with ecological observations, the lab provides insight into how ecosystems respond to both natural variability and engineered water management.
Water‑Quality & Harmful Algal Bloom Modeling
A central research area in the lab is the development of coupled watershed–lake–estuary models that simulate nutrient dynamics, pollutant transport, and harmful algal bloom (HAB) formation. Dr. Arias’s team builds biogeochemical models that track nitrogen and phosphorus from upstream sources through aquatic systems, capturing processes such as algal growth, oxygen depletion, and microbial activity. Their HAB prediction work integrates hydrology, climate drivers, nutrient inputs, and engineered water releases to forecast bloom severity, timing, and spatial distribution. These models are applied to Florida’s most challenged water bodies—including Lake Okeechobee and the St. Lucie Estuary—where HABs pose major risks to ecosystems, public health, and coastal economies.
Environmental Flows & Hydropower Impacts
The Coupled Water Systems Lab is internationally recognized for research on environmental flows—how engineered water releases from hydropower dams affect downstream ecosystems, geomorphology, and human livelihoods. His work quantifies how altered flow regimes disrupt fish migration, reduce nutrient delivery, change sediment budgets, and modify floodplain productivity. The lab also examines how hydropower development influences food security, particularly in regions where fisheries are a primary protein source. Using integrated hydrologic–ecological models, the group evaluates trade‑offs between hydropower generation and ecological health, and develops strategies for optimizing dam operations to support both energy production and environmental sustainability. This research has been especially influential in the Mekong Basin.
Stormwater & Ecological Engineering
In urban environments, Coupled Water Systems Lab designs and tests ecological engineering solutions that improve stormwater quality and restore degraded aquatic systems. This includes developing bio‑infiltration systems that use engineered soils and vegetation to remove nutrients, metals, and organic pollutants from stormwater. The lab also advances biochar‑enhanced filtration technologies that significantly improve nitrogen and phosphorus removal. A major initiative involves rehabilitating “zombie ponds”—stormwater ponds that have become stagnant, nutrient‑loaded, and ecologically dysfunctional—by transforming them into active treatment systems that support biodiversity and improve downstream water quality. These projects directly benefit communities in the Tampa Bay region and serve as models for sustainable urban water management.
Climate‑Driven Hydrologic Forecasting
Dr. Arias’s group develops subseasonal‑to‑seasonal (S2S) forecasting tools that integrate climate predictions with hydrologic models to anticipate water conditions weeks to months ahead. These forecasts incorporate climate signals such as ENSO, temperature anomalies, and precipitation outlooks to predict streamflow, reservoir storage, flood risk, and drought conditions. The lab builds decision‑support systems that help water managers optimize reservoir operations, plan ecological flow releases, and prepare for hydrologic extremes. This work is applied both in Florida and in Southeast Asia, where climate variability strongly influences water availability, agricultural productivity, and ecosystem health. S2S forecasting is increasingly vital as climate change amplifies hydrologic uncertainty.
Laboratory Collaborations
UF
SFWMD
NASA Goddard