Dr Shasha Han

Dr Shasha Han

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences
Assistant Professor in Hydrology and Water Resources

Contact details

Email
s.han.2@bham.ac.uk
Twitter
@DrShashaHan
View my research portal
Address
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Dr Shasha Han is an Assistant Professor in Physical Geography (Hydrology and Water Resources) in the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences (GEES) at the University of Birmingham (UoB). Her research mainly focuses on three interlinked themes: 1) Enhancing probabilistic flood forecasts, flood inundation mapping, and advancing the modelling of hydroclimatic extremes with reduced uncertainty; 2) Investigating changes in floods (e.g. magnitude, frequency, timing, and flashness) over time in the changing world and attributing the drivers (e.g. climate, land use, and pre-flood conditions) behind these changes; and 3) Advancing our theoretical understanding of hydrological processes considering both natural dynamics and the impacts from human activities. 

Dr Han is passionate about hydroclimatic extremes, flood non-stationarity, hydrologic modelling, flood forecasting, climate change impacts, uncertainty analysis, urban hydrology, climate extremes and health, and data science.

Google Scholar | ORCID | Twitter: @DrShashaHan

Qualifications

Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education (PGCHE) – University of Birmingham, 2024

PhD in Hydrology and Water Resources – McMaster University, 2019

MSc in Environmental Science – Beijing Normal University, 2014

Biography

Dr Shasha Han completed her PhD at McMaster University (Canada), where her work focused on probabilistic flood forecasting using advanced Bayesian techniques. She contributed to the development of the Canadian Adaptive Flood Forecasting and Early Warning System (CAFFEWS), and predicted future flood inundation by incorporating various sources of uncertainty and accounting for climate change impacts.  Before joining the University of Birmingham, Dr Han worked as a research associate at the University of Oxford (UK), where the focus was on investigating the impacts of urbanisation on river flooding and projecting river flows in the UK considering both urban expansion and climate change. At the University of Birmingham, her research has expanded into diverse areas, including flood non-stationarity, short-term flood prediction, long-term flood projection, integration of machine learning in hydrology, flood and drought alterations, surface water and groundwater interactions, as well as flooding and public health.

Teaching

Quantitative Analysis of Hydrological Processes (PGT, module lead)

Hydrology and Geomorphology (UG, module lead)

Field Research Skills (UG)

Dissertation Supervision

Personal Tutor

Postgraduate supervision

Dr Shasha Han welcomes inquiries from prospective PGR students in her areas of interest.

Research

Dr Shasha Han is an Assistant Professor in Physical Geography (Hydrology and Water Resources) in the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences (GEES) at the University of Birmingham (UoB). Her research mainly focuses on three interlinked themes: 1) Enhancing probabilistic flood forecasts, flood inundation mapping, and advancing the modelling of hydroclimatic extremes with reduced uncertainty; 2) Investigating changes in floods (e.g. magnitude, frequency, timing, and flashness) over time in the changing world and attributing the drivers (e.g. climate, land use, and pre-flood conditions) behind these changes; and 3) Advancing our theoretical understanding of hydrological processes considering both natural dynamics and the impacts from human activities.

Dr Han is passionate about hydroclimatic extremes, flood non-stationarity, hydrologic modelling, flood forecasting, climate change impacts, uncertainty analysis, urban hydrology, climate extremes and health, and data science.

Google Scholar | ORCID | Twitter: @DrShashaHan

A selection of involved funded research projects:

IDAI Pump Prime fund: Preprocessing multi-modal hydrological data to develop a causal foundation AI model of hydrological system (01/02/2025 - 31/07/2025)

NERC Doctor Training Partnerships (DTP): Towards the next generation probabilistic flood forecasting system for the UK (01/04/2024 – 21/10/2027)

NERC Doctor Training Partnerships (DTP): Flood futures: how is flood risk evolving in the UK? (25/09/2023 – 30/04/2027)

NIHR RIGHT5 grant (£3M): Improving primary healthcare for patients with non-communicable diseases during severe flooding in India (01/01/2024 – 31/12/2028)

John Fell Fund: The impacts of urbanisation on river flooding (10/09/2020 - 17/01/2022)

NSERC FloodNet Project (CAD $5M) Theme 3: Development of Canadian Adaptive Flood Forecasting and Early Warning System (01/09/2014 – 26/08/2019)

Current research group members:

Mohammed Alharbi (PhD; co-supervisor; 2022 - 2026): Integrated analyses of groundwater and surface water – impact of bedform geometry and flood conditions on groundwater-surfacewater interactions

Chenlu Yang (PhD; lead supervisor; 2023 – 2027): Flood futures: how is flood risk evolving in the UK?

Ritesh Moon (PhD; lead supervisor; 2023 - 2027): Integrating machine learning with process-based models to enhance flood forecasting

Saad Al-Yousuf (PhD; co-supervisor; 2023 - 2027): Evolution of the transition between floods and droughts across the UK

Hanqi Zuo (PhD; co-supervisor; 2024 – 2027): Towards the next generation probabilistic flood forecasting system for the UK

Chandni Thakur (Postdoc; co-supervisor; 2025 – 2027): Flood risk and flood forecasting in Kerala and Bihar (India)

Ben Niu (Visiting PhD; host; 2025-2026): Three-dimensional analysis of drought dynamics and their driving mechanisms

Past research group members:

Chenguang Xiao (Data Scientist): Hydrological multi-modal machine learning

Daryl Cortez (Visiting Student): Integrating ML models with human signatures to enhance streamflow forecasting across urbanized catchments

Dan Yang (Visiting Scholar): Runoff hydrodynamics and soil erosion processes in dry-hot regions

Other activities

  • Journal Reviewer for Water Resources Research, Journal of Hydrology, Journal of Hydrometeorology, Hydrology Research, Journal of Hydrologic Engineering, Natural Hazards, Journal of Flood Risk Management, Monthly Weather Review, Frontiers in Water, etc.
  • International Editorial Board for Pearl River Journal
  • Convener for the EGU session on ‘Hydrological forecasting in urban and regulated catchments’
  • Co-convener for the AGU Frontiers in Hydrology Meeting session on ‘interpreting and attributing the drivers of hydrological non-stationarity’
  • Membership: British Hydrological Society (BHS), European Geosciences Union (EGU), American Geoscience Union (AGU), and International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS)
  • Fellow of Advance Higher Education Academy
  • Environmental Science Admissions Tutor

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Riazi, M, Khosravi, K, Samani, MR, Han, S & Eslamian, S 2024, 'Assessing groundwater drought vulnerability through baseflow separation and index-based analysis under climate change projections', Groundwater for Sustainable Development , vol. 25, 101179. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gsd.2024.101179

Han, S, Slater, LJ, Wilby, RL & Faulkner, D 2022, 'Contribution of urbanisation to non-stationary river flow in the UK', Journal of Hydrology, vol. 613, no. Part A, 128417. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2022.128417

Zahmatkesh, Z, Han, S & Coulibaly, P 2021, 'Understanding uncertainty in probabilistic floodplain mapping in the time of climate change', Water, vol. 13, no. 9, 1248. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13091248

Han, S, Coulibaly, P & Biondi, D 2019, 'Assessing Hydrologic Uncertainty Processor Performance for Flood Forecasting in a Semiurban Watershed', Journal of Hydrologic Engineering. https://doi.org/10.1061/(asce)he.1943-5584.0001828

Han, S & Coulibaly, P 2019, 'Probabilistic Flood Forecasting Using Hydrologic Uncertainty Processor with Ensemble Weather Forecasts', Journal of Hydrometeorology. https://doi.org/10.1175/jhm-d-18-0251.1

Han, S & Coulibaly, P 2017, 'Bayesian flood forecasting methods: A review', Journal of Hydrology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2017.06.004

Zhao, Y, Han, S, Chen, Z, Liu, J & Hu, H 2015, 'Comparative study of heavy metals in "soil-wheat" systems between sewage-irrigated areas and clean-water-irrigated areas in suburban Beijing', Journal of Environmental Health.

Zhao, Y, Mao, G, Han, S & Gao, L 2015, 'Effect of Namomaterials on Heavy Metal Transport in Alkaline Soil', Soil and Sediment Contamination. https://doi.org/10.1080/15320383.2015.1001057

Zhou, L, Zhao, Y, Wang, S, Han, S & Liu, J 2015, 'Lead in the soil–mulberry (Morus alba L.)–silkworm (Bombyx mori) food chain: Translocation and detoxification', Chemosphere. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2015.01.031

Conference contribution

Han, S & Slater, L 2021, Projecting future streamflow under changing climate and urban land cover across the UK. in EGU General Assembly 2021., EGU21-3084, European Geosciences Union, EGU General Assembly 2021, 19/04/21. https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu21-3084

Han, S 2018, Performance of Hydrologic Uncertainty Processor with Ensemble Weather Forecasts Used in Flood Forecasting. in AGU Fall Meeting 2018., H31A-04.

Han, S 2017, Uncertainty Estimation through Bayesian Forecasting System: A Case Study. in 2017 World Environmental & Water Resources Congress.

Editorial

Ganguli, P, Han, S, Munoz, D & Pal, S 2025, 'Editorial: Spatiotemporal modelling and assessment of water-related multi-hazards', Frontiers in Water, vol. 7, 1579106. https://doi.org/10.3389/frwa.2025.1579106

Review article

Slater, LJ, Anderson, B, Buechel, M, Dadson, S, Han, S, Harrigan, S, Kelder, T, Kowal, K, Lees, T, Matthews, T, Murphy, C & Wilby, RL 2021, 'Nonstationary weather and water extremes: a review of methods for their detection, attribution, and management', Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, vol. 25, no. 7, pp. 3897–3935. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-3897-2021

View all publications in research portal