Mohanna ZareiPhD student

About me

I am Mohanna, a civil engineer with a deep interest in research on the water-climate interplay and understanding the inter-linkages of terrestrial water systems from a whole catchment scale to global scale, particularly where science and policy meet. To me, water is not merely a natural resource. It’s a sacred and magical symbol of life, light, purity, healing, and wisdom. I grew up with this view, which is inspired by Anahita, the ancient Iranian goddess revered as the divinity of “the Waters.” Growing up in a mountainous region full of natural resources, I was drawn to the study of water. During my M.Sc. studies, I had the chance to explore one of the most pristine natural water sources in western Iran—Kani Bil (Bil Spring) in Kurdistan. Beyond its environmental value, Kani Bil holds deep cultural and literary significance as an ancient and generous gift from Mother Nature. Unfortunately, the spring is now under threat due to nearby dam construction, which became a turning point in my academic journey. Witnessing this inspired me to think more critically and holistically. I realized that even regions rich in natural resources are vulnerable to human overreach and greed, which have no end. For example, dams are not monsters that come from nowhere or other planets; they are just human-constructed tools, but when misused or constructed in ecologically sensitive areas, they can do irreversible harm. In recent years, my hometown has faced growing challenges: the alarming emergence of sinkholes due to the drastic drainage of groundwater resources, escalating nonstop conflicts over water, and many other clear ominous signs that piqued my curiosity to pursue my research as a PhD student with the hope of making a meaningful impact and contribution to the field. Analyzing data from diverse global sources that track and monitor spatial and temporal variations in terrestrial water resources, especially in the context of our changing climate, is a challenging yet fascinating task, and actually, this is what I'm doing as a researcher. My PhD research focuses on understanding the consistencies and divergences among these data, deciphering the dynamics behind them, and exploring how they shape our understanding of the past, inform our analysis of the present, and guide our predictions for the future. If you are interested in knowing more about my journey, feel free to take a look at:

I. Mohanna Zarei & Georgia Destouni, A global multi catchment and multi dataset synthesis for water fluxes and storage changes on land. Sci Data 11, Nature, 1333, 2024. (https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-04203-1),

II. Mohanna Zarei & Georgia Destouni, Global HydroClimatic Data, Zenodo, 2024. (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10932898),

III. Mohanna Zarei & Georgia Destouni, Research gaps and priorities for tressterial water and Earth System connections from catchment to Global scale, Earth's Future, Wiley, 2024. (https://doi.org/10.1029/2023EF003792),

IV. Mohanna Zarei & Georgia Destouni, Database for terrestrial water system research, Zenodo, 2023. (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7839925),

V. My invited interview with the prestigious Eos at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) about how Climate Change Uproots Global Agriculture; water-energy-food resources security especially in the Middle East, challenges, policies and potential solutions, Wiley & Sons, 2021. (https://doi.org/10.1029/2021EO153339),

VI. Mohanna Zarei, The Water-Energy-Food Nexus: A Holistic Approach for Resource Security in Iran, Iraq, and Turkey, Water-Energy Nexus, Elsevier, 2020.  (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wen.2020.05.004),

VII. Mohanna Zarei, Wastewater Resources Management for Energy Recovery from Circular Economy Perspective, Water-Energy Nexus, Elsevier, 2020. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wen.2020.11.001),

VIII. Mohanna Zarei et al., Zirconia Nanoparticle Modified Graphitic Carbon Nitride Nanosheets for Effective Photocatalytic Degradation of 4-Nitrophenol in Water, Applied Water Science, Springer, 2019. (https://doi.org/10.1007/s13201-019-1076-8),

IX. Mohanna Zarei et al., Self-Propelled Micro/Nanomotors for Sensing and Environmental Remediation, Small, Wiley & Sons, 2018. (https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.201800912), etc.