Co-Manager, J. Amorocho Hydraulics LaboratoryResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ali_Ercan
RESEARCH INTERESTS
scaling and self-similarity in hydraulic and hydrologic processes, stochastic processes, fractional calculus applications, environmental hydraulics, time series modeling, impacts of changing climate, and Computational Fluid Dynamics.
EDUCATION
- Ph.D., Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Davis, 2007
Dissertation: Prediction of Flow and Bank Erosion in Natural Rivers Using Computational Fluid Dynamics - M.S., Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Davis, 2004
- B.S., Civil Engineering, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey, 2002
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
- Co-manager of J. Amorocho Hydraulics Laboratory at UC Davis (Jan. 2009 – present)
- Assistant Professional Researcher, UC Davis (July 2016 – present)
- Assistant Project Scientist, UC Davis (July 2012 – July 2016)
- Postdoctoral Researcher, UC Davis (Jan. 2009 – July 2012)
- Engineer at Montgomery Watson Harza, Sacramento (Aug. 2006 – Dec. 2008)
- Researcher at Bay Delta Office/Hydrology and operations section of California Department of Water Resources (Jul. 2005 – Jul. 2006)
- Research / Teaching Assistant, UC Davis (Sep. 2002 – Dec. 2005)
AWARDS and PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
- Associate Editor of Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
- Editorial Board Member of the Science of the Total Environment
- Member of Environmental and Water Resources Institute (EWRI)’s Hydroclimate Technical Committee
- 2021, Best Associate Editor Award of the ASCE Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
- 2020, Docent, Turkish Inter-University Board
- 2017 Outstanding reviewer of Journal of Hydrology by Elsevier
- 2016 and 2018 Outstanding reviewer of Science of the Total Environment by Elsevier
- 2013 Outstanding reviewer of Journal of Hydrologic Engineering by ASCE
PUBLICATIONS
Monograph
Ercan, A., Kavvas, M. L. Abbassov, R. K., (2013). Long-range Dependence and Sea Level Forecasting. SpringerBriefs in Statistics. Springer International Publishing, Cham. Book ISBN: 978-3-319-01505-7.
Book Chapter
Kavvas, M.L., Ohara, N. Ishida, K. and Ercan A. (2016). Chow’s Handbook of Applied Hydrology, Second Edition, Vijay Singh, (ed), Time-Space Modeling of Precipitation, McGraw-Hill Education, ISBN: 978-0071835091.
Refereed Journal Articles
2021
55. Tu, T, Ishida, K, Ercan, A, Kiyama, M, Amagasaki, M, Zhao, T. (2021). Hybrid precipitation downscaling over coastal watersheds in Japan using WRF and CNN. Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, 37.
54. Ercan, A., Kavvas M.L. (2021). Numerical Evaluation of Fractional Vertical Soil Water Flow Equations. Water, 13(4): 511.
53. Kavvas M.L., Tu, T., Ercan, A. (2021). Space and Time Fractional Governing Equations of Unsteady Overland Flow. Journal of Hydrologic Engineering, 26(7): 04021023.
52. Yokoo K., Ishida K., Ercan A., Tu T., Nagasato T., Kiyama M., Amagasaki M. (2021). Capabilities of deep learning models on learning physical relationships: Case of rainfall-runoff modeling with LSTM. Science of the Total Environment.
2020
51. Trinh T., Ho C., Do N., Ercan A., Kavvas M.L. (2020). Development of high-resolution 72 h precipitation and hillslope flood maps over a tropical transboundary region by physically based numerical atmospheric–hydrologic modeling. Journal of Water and Climate Change, 11(1S): 387-406.
50. Ho, C., Nguyen, A., Ercan, A., Kavvas, M.L., Nguyen, V., Nguyen, T. (2020). Assessment of atmospheric conditions over the Hong Thai Binh river watershed by means of dynamically-downscaled ERA-20C reanalysis data. Journal of Water and Climate Change, 11(2): 540-555.
49. Ishida,K., Ercan, A., Trinh, T., Jang, S., Kavvas, M.L., Ohara, N., Chen, Z.Q., Kure, S., Dib, A. (2020). Trend analysis of watershed-scale annual and seasonal precipitation in Northern California based on dynamically downscaled future climate projections. Journal of Water and Climate Change, 11(1): 86-105.
48. Tu, T., Ercan, A., Carr, K.J., Kavvas M.L., Trinh T., Ishida, K., Nosacka, J., Brown, K. (2020). Coupling hydroclimate-hydraulic-sedimentation models to estimate flood inundation and sediment transport during extreme flood events under a changing climate. Science of the Total Environment, 740: 140117.
47. Ishida K., Tsujimoto G., Ercan A., Tu T., Kiyama M., Amagasaki M. (2020) Hourlyscale coastal sea level modeling in a changing climate using long short-term memory neural network. Science of the Total Environment, 720: 137613.
46. Tu T., Ercan, A., Kavvas M.L. (2020). Modeling One-Dimensional Nonreactive Solute Transport in Open Channel Flows Under Uncertain Flow and Solute Loading Conditions. Journal of Hydrologic Engineering, 25(8), Doi: 10.1061/(ASCE)HE.1943-5584.0001957.
45. Tu T., Ercan, A., Kavvas M.L. (2020). Probabilistic solution to two-dimensional stochastic solute transport model by the Fokker-Planck equation approach. Journal of Hydrology, 580, Doi: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2019.124250.
44. Ravaud M.M, Kavvas M.L., Ercan, A. (2020). Estimating the probability density function of nonlinearstochastic processes by use of asymptotic expansions in the Kubo number. Nonlinear Studies, 27(1), 1-22.
43. Ercan, A. (2020). Self-similarity in fate and transport of contaminants in groundwater. Science of The Total Environment, 706, Doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.135738.
42. Kavvas M.L., Tu T., Ercan, A., Polsinelli J. (2020). Fractional governing equations of transient groundwater flow in unconfined aquifers with multi-fractional dimensions in fractional time. Earth System Dynamics, 11(1), 1-12., Doi: 10.5194/esd-11-1-2020.
2019
41. Amin M. Z. M., Ercan, A., Ishida K.,Kavvas M. Levent,Chen Z. Q. Richard,Jang S. (2019). Impacts of Climate Change on the Hydro-Climate of Peninsular Malaysia. Water, 11(9), 1798, Doi:10.3390/w11091798.
40. Tu, T., Ercan, A., and Kavvas, M.L. (2019). One-dimensional solute transport in open channel flow from a stochastic systematic perspective. Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00477-019-01699-7.
39. Ishida, K., Ohara, N., Ercan, A., Jang, S., Trinh, T., Kavvas, M.L., Carr, K., Anderson, M. L. (2019). Impacts of climate change on snow accumulation and melting processes over mountainous regions in Northern California during the 21st century. Science of The Total Environment, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.05.255. 2.
38. Ho, C., Trinh, T., Nguyen, A., Nguyen, Q ., Ercan, A ., Kavvas, M.L. (2019). Reconstruction and evaluation of changes in hydrologic conditions over a transboundary region by a regional climate model coupled with a physically-based hydrology model: Application to Thao river watershed. Science of The Total Environment, 668, 768-779.
37. Ishida, K., Ercan, A., Trinh, T., Kavvas, M.L., Ohara, N., Carr, K., Anderson, M. L. (2019). Analysis of future climate change impacts on snow distribution over mountainous watersheds in Northern California by means of a physically-based snow distribution model. Science of The Total Environment, 645:1065-1082.
2018
36. Tu, T., Ercan, A., and Kavvas, M.L. (2018). Time–space fractional governing equations of transient groundwater flow in confined aquifers: Numerical investigation. Hydrological Processes, 32(10), 1406-1419.
35. Ercan, A. (2018). Scaling Analysis and Self-Similarity of One-Dimensional Transport Process. Uludağ University Journal of the Faculty of Engineering, 23 (1), 235-246.
34. Trinh, T., M. L. Kavvas, K. Ishida, A. Ercan, Z. Q. Chen, M. L. Anderson, C. Ho, and T. Nguyen. (2018). Integrating global land-cover and soil datasets to update saturated hydraulic conductivity parameterization in hydrologic modeling. Science of The Total Environment 631: 279-288.
2017
33. Carr, K., Tu, T., Ercan, A., Kavvas, M.L. (2017). Evaluating the Applicability of a Two-Dimensional Flow Model of a Highly Heterogeneous Domain to Flow and Environmental Management. Journal of the American Water Resources Association, https://doi.org/10.1111/1752-1688.12602.
32. Tu, T., Ercan, A., and Kavvas, M. L. (2017). Fractal Scaling Analysis of Groundwater Dynamics in Confined Aquifers. Earth Syst. Dynam., https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-2017-27.
31. Kavvas, M. L., Tu, T., Ercan, A., and Polsinelli, J. (2017). Fractional Governing Equations of Transient Groundwater Flow in Confined Aquifers with Multi-Fractional Dimensions in Fractional Time. Earth Syst. Dynam., https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-2017-47.
30. Tu, T., Carr, K., Ercan, A., Trinh, T. Kavvas, M.L., Nosacka, J. (2017). Assessment of the effects of multiple extreme floods on flow and transport processes under competing flood protection and environmental management strategies. Science of Total Environment, 607, 613-622.
29. Ercan, A., and Kavvas, M. L. (2017). Scaling Relations and Self-Similarity of 3-Dimensional Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes Equations. Nature-Scientific Reports, doi:10.1038/s41598-017-06669-z.
28. Ercan, A., and Kavvas, M. L. (2017). Time-Space Fractional Governing Equations of One-Dimensional Unsteady Open Channel Flow Process: Numerical Solution and Exploration. Hydrological Processes,
27. Ishida, K., Gorguner, M., Ercan, A., Trinh, T., Kavvas, M.L. (2017). Trend Analysis of Watershed-scale Precipitation over Northern California by Means of Dynamically-Downscaled CMIP5 Future Climate Projections. Science of Total Environment, 592, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.03.086.
26. Kavvas, M.L., Ercan, A., Polsinelli, J. (2017). Governing equations of transient soil water flow and soil water flux in multi – dimensional fractional anisotropic media and fractional time. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 21, 1547-1557, doi:10.5194/hess-21-1547-2017.
25. Trinh, T.Q., Ishida, K., Kavvas, M.L., Ercan, A., Carr, K. (2017). Assessment of 21st Century Drought Conditions at Shasta Dam Based on Dynamically Projected Water Supply Conditions by a Regional Climate Model Coupled with a Physically-Based Hydrology Model. Science of Total Environment. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.01.202.
24. Kavvas, M.L., Ishida K., Trinh, T.Q., Ercan, A., Darama, Y.Carr, K. (2017). Current Issues in and an Emerging Method for Flood Frequency Analysis under Changing Climate. Hydrological Research Letters, 11(1), 1-5. http://doi.org/10.3178/hrl.11.1.
23. Ercan, A., Kavvas, M.L., Carr, K., Hockett, Z., Bandeh, H., Mussen, T.D., Cocherell, D., Jamilynn, P., Cech, Jr., J.J., and N.A. Fangue. (2017). Hydraulics near Unscreened Diversion Pipes in Open Channels: Large Flume Experiments. Journal of American Water Resources Associations (JAWRA), 1-11. DOI: 10.1111/1752-1688.12503.
22. Amin, M.Z.M., Shaaban, A.J., Ercan, A., Ishida, K., Kavvas, M.L., Chen, Z.Q., Jang, S. (2017). Future climate change impact assessment of watershed scale hydrologic processes in Peninsular Malaysia by a regional climate model coupled with a physically-based hydrology model. Science of the Total Environment, 575, 12–22. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.10.009.
2016
21. Kavvas, M. and Ercan, A. (2016). Time-Space Fractional Governing Equations of Unsteady Open Channel Flow. ASCE Journal of Hydrologic Engineering, 10.1061/(ASCE)HE.1943-5584.0001460 , 04016052.
20. Ercan A., Dogrul, E.C., Kadir, T.N. (2016). Investigation of the groundwater modelling component of the Integrated Water Flow Model (IWFM). Hydrological Sciences Journal, DOI: 10.1080/02626667.2016.1161765.
2015
19. Ercan, A. and Kavvas, M.L. (2015). Self-similarity in incompressible Navier-Stokes Equations. Chaos 25(12). DOI:10.1063/1.4938762.
18. Jamilynn, P., Cocherell, D., Mussen, T.D., Ercan, A., Bandeh, H., Kavvas, M.L., Cech, J.J., and Fangue, N.A. (2015). Fish protection devices at unscreened water diversions can reduce entrainment: Evidence from behavioral laboratory investigations. Conservation Physiology, 3(1):cov040.
17. Mussen, T.D., Cocherell, D., Patton, O., Jauregui, D., Ercan, A., Bandeh, H., Meier, D., Thomas, S., Kavvas, M.L., Cech, Jr., J.J., and N.A. Fangue. (2015). Modified water-diversion structures can behaviorally deter juvenile Chinook Salmon from entrainment. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society, DOI:10.1080/00028487.2015.1064476.
16. Ercan, A., and Kavvas, M.L. (2015). Scaling and Self-similarity in Two-Dimensional Hydrodynamics. Chaos 25(7). DOI:10.1063/1.4913852.
15. Carr, K., Ercan, A., Kavvas, M.L. (2015). Scaling and Self-Similarity of One-dimensional Unsteady Suspended Sediment Transport with Emphasis on Unscaled Sediment Material Properties. ASCE Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, 141(5), 04015003.
2014
14. Jamilynn, P., Cocherell, D., Mussen, T.D., Ercan, A., Bandeh, H., Kavvas, M.L., Cech, J.J., and Fangue, N.A. (2014). Efficacy of a sensory deterrent and pipe modifications in decreasing entrainment of juvenile green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris) at unscreened water diversions. Conservation Physiology, 2(1), doi:10.1093/conphys/cou056.
13. Ercan, A. and Kavvas, M.L. (2014). Fractional Governing Equations of Diffusion Wave and Kinematic Wave Open Channel Flow. II. Numerical Simulations. ASCE Journal of Hydrologic Engineering. 10.1061/(ASCE)HE.1943-5584.0001081, 04014097.
12. Kavvas, M.L. and Ercan, A. (2014). Fractional Governing Equations of Diffusion Wave and Kinematic Wave Open Channel Flow. I. Development of the Equations. ASCE Journal of Hydrologic Engineering. 10.1061/(ASCE)HE.1943-5584.0001136, 04014096.
11. Kim, S., Kavvas, M.L., Ercan, A. (2014). Fractional Ensemble Average Equations of Transport by Time-Space Nonstationary Stochastic Fractional Advective Velocity and Fractional Dispersion: Numerical Investigation. ASCE Journal of Hydrologic Engineering. DOI:10.1061/(ASCE)HE.1943-5584.0000994.
10. Kavvas, M.L., Kim, S., Ercan, A. (2014). Fractional Ensemble Average Equations of Transport by Time-Space Nonstationary Stochastic Fractional Advective Velocity and Fractional Dispersion. ASCE Journal of Hydrologic Engineering. DOI: 10.1061/ (ASCE)HE.1943-5584.0000992.
9. Ercan, A., Kavvas, M. L., Haltas, I. (2014). Scaling and Self-similarity In One-Dimensional Unsteady Open Channel Flow. Hydrological Processes, 28(5), 2721-2737.
2013
8. Mussen, T.D., Cocherell, D., Reardon, J., Poletto, J.B., Hockett, Z., Ercan, A., Bandeh, H., Kavvas, M.L., Cech, J.J., and Fangue, N.A. (2013). Unscreened Water-diversion Pipes Threaten the Survival of Green Sturgeon, Acipenser medirostris. PLOS ONE, 9(1), e86321. DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0086321.
7. Mussen, T.D., Patton, O., Cocherell, D., Ercan, A., Bandeh, H., Kavvas, M.L., Cech, J.J., and Fangue, N.A. (2013). Can behavioral fish-guidance devices protect juvenile Chinook salmon from entrainment into unscreened water-diversion pipes? Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 71(8), 1209-1219.
6. Ercan, A., Mohamad, M. F., Kavvas, M. L. (2013). The impact of climate change on sea level rise at Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah–Sarawak. Hydrological Processes, 27(3), 367-377.
5. Mussen, T.D., Cocherell, D., Hockett, Z., Ercan, A., Bandeh, H., Kavvas, M.L., Cech, J.J., and Fangue, N.A. (2013). Assessing Juvenile Chinook Salmon Behavior and Entrainment Risk near Unscreened Water Diversions: Large Flume Simulations. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society, 142(1), 130-142.
2012
4. Ercan, A., and Kavvas, M. L. (2012). Ensemble modeling of hydrologic and hydraulic processes at one shot: Application to kinematic open channel flow under uncertain channel properties by the Stochastic Method of Characteristics. ASCE Journal of Hydrologic Engineering, 17(1), 168-181.
3. Ercan, A., and Kavvas, M. L. (2012). Ensemble modeling of hydrologic and hydraulic processes at one shot: Application to kinematic open channel flow under uncertain channel properties and uncertain lateral flow conditions by the Stochastic Method of Characteristics. ASCE Journal of Hydrologic Engineering, 17(3), 414-423.
2009
2. Ercan, A., and Younis, B. A. (2009). Prediction of bank erosion in a reach of the Sacramento River and its mitigation with groynes. Water Resources Management, 23(15), 3121-3147.
1. Ercan, A., and Younis, B. A. (2009). Uncertainties in the prediction of flow in a long reach of the Sacramento River. Water and Environment Journal, 23(4), 272-285.
Conference Proceedings
Kavvas, M., Kim, S., and Ercan, A. (2016) Fractional Random Walk and Fractional Differential Equation Models of Transport by Time-Space Nonstationary Stochastic Fractional Flow. World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2016: pp. 535-544. doi: 10.1061/9780784479872.055.
Carr, K., Ercan, A., and Kavvas, M. (2016) Investigations of Self-Similarity and Scale Invariance of One-Dimensional Unsteady Bedload Transport. World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2016: pp. 481-487. doi: 10.1061/9780784479872.049.
Ishida, K., Ercan, A., Chen, R., Ohara, N., Kavvas, M., Dağdeviren, M., and Selek, B. (2016) Atmospheric Model Component of an Atmospheric-Hydrological Model-Based Real-Time Flood Forecasting System for the Kızılırmak River Basin in Turkey. World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2016: pp. 618-625. doi: 10.1061/9780784479872.063.
Ercan, A., Chen, Z., Ishida, K., Ohara, N., Kavvas, M., Dağdeviren, M., and Selek, B. (2016) Hydrologic Model Component of an Atmospheric-Hydrologic Model-Based Real-Time Flood Forecasting System for the Kızılırmak River Basin in Turkey. World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2016: pp. 529-534. doi: 10.1061/9780784479872.054.
Carr, K., Tu, T., Ercan, A., Kavvas, M., and Nosacka, J. (2015) Two-Dimensional Unsteady Flow Modeling of Flood Inundation in a Leveed Basin. World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2015: pp. 1597-1606. doi: 10.1061/9780784479162.156.
Amin, M., Shaaban, A., Kavvas, M., Chen, Z., Jang, S., Ercan, A., and Ishida, K. (2015) Historical Climatic and Hydrologic Modeling over a Watershed at Peninsular Malaysia. World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2015: pp. 1019-1025. doi: 10.1061/9780784479162.099.
Tu, T., Carr, K., Ercan, A., Kavvas, M., and Nosacka, J. (2015) Two-Dimensional Sediment Transport Modeling in Cache Creek Settling Basin, California. World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2015: pp. 1851-1858. doi: 10.1061/9780784479162.181.
Carr, K, Ercan, A., Kavvas, M.L. (2014). Scaling and Self-Similarity of One-Dimensional Suspended Sediment Transport Equations. Proceedings of the 2014 World Environmental and Water Resources Congress, Portland-Oregon, pp. 1199-1206., doi: 10.1061/9780784413548.120.
Ercan, A., Kavvas, M. L., Haltas, I., (2013). Self-Similarity in One-Dimensional Unsteady Open Channel Flow through Rectangular Channels of Varying Width. World Environmental and Water Resources Congress, Cincinnati-OH, pp. 1234-1239, doi: 10.1061/9780784412947.121.
Ercan, A., and Kavvas, M. L., (2012). Ensemble Modeling of Kinematic Open Channel Flow Under Uncertain Channel Properties. 2012 World Environmental and Water Resources Congress, New Mexico. pp. 168-181, doi http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/9780784412312.182.
Ercan, A., Kavvas, M. L., Mohamad, M. F. (2011). Sea level changes along the Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah and Sarawak coastlines for the 21st century. Proceedings of the 2011 World Environmental and Water Resources Congress. Palm Springs, California. pp. 1292-1297, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/41173(414)134
Carr, K, Ercan, A., Kavvas, M. L. (2010). Hydraulic and Sediment Transport Modeling for Cache Creek Settling Basin. Proceedings of the 2010 World Environmental and Water Resources Congress. Providence, Rhode Island. pp. 1634-1642, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/41114(371)172
Ercan, A., and Younis, B. A. (2007). Effects of groin structures on the Sacramento River flow. Proceedings of the 2007 World Environmental and Water Resources Congress. Tampa, Florida. pp. 1-10, doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/40927(243)364.
Ercan, A., and Younis, B. A. (2006). Prediction of flow and bank erosion in Sacramento River. Proceedings of the 2006 World Environmental and Water Resources Congress. Omaha, Nebraska. pp. 1-10, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/40856(200)352.