Mofan Zhang

Department: Civil & Environmental Engineering

Sarah Fletcher Research Lab

Climate adaptation policy targeting scarce resources for infrastructure investment to help a greater number of vulnerable communities: Climate change and an increase in droughts have caused a surge in water shortages, disproportionately affecting developing countries and vulnerable communities. The World Bank estimates that up to $100 Bn per year in water infrastructure investment will be needed to maintain a reliable water supply globally, with climate uncertainty driving up costs of investments further. A lack of understanding of hydroclimate uncertainty brings challenges to organizations in effectively investing in water resources infrastructure, risking excess design or inadequate preparation for extreme events. Our summer collaborative research project aims to develop a decision support framework to shed light on hydroclimate uncertainty characteristics and identify the hydroclimate conditions under which adaptive infrastructure development can be most effective.