2026 Murugesu Sivapalan: Earth Science Researcher – H-Index, Publications & Awards

Discipline name	D-Index	World Ranking	Current World Ranking	National Ranking	Current National Ranking	Publications	Citations
Earth Science	104	109	91	56	46	408	43680

Research.com Recognitions

2026 - Research.com Earth Science in United States Leader Award
2025 - Research.com Earth Science in United States Leader Award
2003 - Fellow of American Geophysical Union (AGU)

Overview

Murugesu Sivapalan is affiliated with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the United States. Their research centers primarily on environmental science, with a strong focus on hydrology and water resource management.

The scientist's recent publications reflect a broad and interdisciplinary approach to water-related studies. Selected recent papers include:

Illuminating water cycle modifications and Earth system resilience in the Anthropocene, 2020, published in Water Resources Research
The Water Planetary Boundary: Interrogation and Revision, 2020, published in One Earth
Socio-hydrologic modeling of the dynamics of cooperation in the transboundary Lancang-Mekong River, 2021, published in Hydrology and Earth System Sciences
Critical drought intensity-duration-frequency curves based on total probability theorem-coupled frequency analysis, 2021, published in Hydrological Sciences Journal
From hard-path to soft-path solutions: slow-fast dynamics of human adaptation to droughts in a water scarce environment, 2020, published in Hydrological Sciences Journal

Their work spans several main topics, including:

Hydrology and Watershed Management Studies
Water resources management and optimization
Flood Risk Assessment and Management
Hydrology and Drought Analysis
Water-Energy-Food Nexus Studies
Transboundary Water Resource Management
Water Governance and Infrastructure

Within environmental science, Sivapalan's research is situated mostly in the subfields of Global and Planetary Change, Water Science and Technology, Ocean Engineering, Sociology and Political Science, and Political Science and International Relations.

The scientist frequently publishes in specific venues, indicating active contributions to the hydrology and water science communities. These venues include:

Water Resources Research
Journal of Hydrology
Hydrology and Earth System Sciences
Hydrological Sciences Journal
Frontiers in Water

Collaborations are a notable aspect of Sivapalan's work. Frequent co-authors include David J. Yu, Yongping Wei, Shuyue Wu, Jianshi Zhao, and Saket Pande, each having multiple joint publications with Sivapalan.

The scientist has been recognized as a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) since 2003.

Best Publications

Scale issues in hydrological modelling: A review

G. Blöschl;M. Sivapalan

2636
Citations
IAHS Decade on Predictions in Ungauged Basins (PUB), 2003–2012: Shaping an exciting future for the hydrological sciences

M. Sivapalan;K. Takeuchi;S. W. Franks;V. K. Gupta

1594
Citations
A decade of Predictions in Ungauged Basins (PUB)—a review

M. Hrachowitz;H. H. G. Savenije;G. Blöschl;J. J. Mcdonnell

1379
Citations
Socio‐hydrology: A new science of people and water

Murugesu Sivapalan;Murugesu Sivapalan;Hubert H. G. Savenije;Günter Blöschl

1296
Citations
Effects of spatial variability and scale with implications to hydrologic modeling

Eric F. Wood;M. Sivapalan;Keith Beven;Larry Band

1031
Citations
Twenty-three unsolved problems in hydrology (UPH)–a community perspective

Günter Blöschl;Marc F.P. Bierkens;Antonio Chambel;Christophe Cudennec

1009
Citations
Hyperresolution global land surface modeling: Meeting a grand challenge for monitoring Earth's terrestrial water

Eric F. Wood;Joshua K. Roundy;Tara J. Troy;L. P. H. van Beek

976
Citations
Catchment Classification and Hydrologic Similarity

Thorsten Wagener;Murugesu Sivapalan;Peter A. Troch;Ross A Woods

895
Citations
Moving beyond heterogeneity and process complexity: A new vision for watershed hydrology

J J McDonnell;J J McDonnell;M Sivapalan;K Vache;S Dunn

887
Citations
“Panta Rhei—Everything Flows”: Change in hydrology and society—The IAHS Scientific Decade 2013–2022

A. Montanari;G. Young;H.H.G. Savenije;D.A. Hughes

844
Citations
Runoff prediction in ungauged basins: Synthesis across processes, places and scales

Günter Blöschl;Murugesu Sivapalan;Thorsten Wagener;Alberto Viglione

763
Citations
The future of hydrology: an evolving science for a changing world.

Thorsten Wagener;Murugesu Sivapalan;Murugesu Sivapalan;Peter A. Troch;Brian L. McGlynn

723
Citations
Prediction in ungauged basins: a grand challenge for theoretical hydrology

Murugesu Sivapalan

601
Citations
On hydrologic similarity: 2. A scaled model of storm runoff production

Murugesu Sivapalan;Keith Beven;Eric F. Wood

600
Citations
Catchment classification: Empirical analysis of hydrologic similarity based on catchment function in the eastern USA

K. Sawicz;T. Wagener;M. Sivapalan;M. Sivapalan;P. A. Troch

564
Citations
Downward approach to hydrological prediction

Murugesu Sivapalan;Günter Blöschl;Lu Zhang;Rob Vertessy

544
Citations
Nutrient loads exported from managed catchments reveal emergent biogeochemical stationarity

Nandita B. Basu;Georgia Destouni;James W. Jawitz;Sally E. Thompson

525
Citations
Similarity and scale in catchment storm response

Eric F. Wood;Murugesu Sivapalan;Keith Beven

464
Citations
Dominant flood generating mechanisms across the United States

Wouter Berghuijs;Ross Woods;Christopher Hutton;Murugesu Sivapalan

458
Citations
Sociohydrology : Scientific Challenges in Addressing the Sustainable Development Goals

Giuliano Di Baldassarre;Murugesu Sivapalan;Maria Rusca;Christophe Cudennec

440
Citations
Pattern, Process and Function: Elements of a Unified Theory of Hydrology at the Catchment Scale

Murugesu Sivapalan

418
Citations
Watershed groundwater balance estimation using streamflow recession analysis and baseflow separation

H. Wittenberg;M. Sivapalan

402
Citations

Frequent Co-Authors

Ciaran J. Harman Johns Hopkins University

Günter Blöschl TU Wien

Alberto Viglione Polytechnic University of Turin

Neil R. Viney Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation

Fuqiang Tian Tsinghua University

Peter Troch University of Arizona

Hubert H. G. Savenije Delft University of Technology

Thorsten Wagener University of Potsdam

Ross Woods University of Bristol

Sally E. Thompson University of Western Australia

External Links

Wikipedia of Murugesu Sivapalan Personal website of Murugesu Sivapalan Google Scholar page

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