Oliver Lopez

Research Scientists

Research Scientist, Environmental Sciences and Engineering

Current

Biography

Dr Lopez received his PhD in Environmental Science and Engineering from the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. He has formed part of the Hydrology, Agriculture, and Land Observation research group since then, now as a research specialist. His dissertation focused on hydrological fluxes and stores in the MENA region, using Land Surface Modelling and Remote Sensing. His work provided a methodology to estimate agricultural water use at the national scale. 

Research Interests

Dr Lopez’s main research focus encompasses the analysis of geospatial data including satellite images and climate data, as well as the application of computational hydrological models. His research has focused on the mapping of agricultural fields and estimation of crop water use at regional to national scale through cloud computing platforms. 

Selected Publications

Johansen, K., Lopez, O., Tu, Y., Li, T., McCabe, M. (2021). Center Pivot Field Delineation and Mapping: A Satellite-Driven Object-Based Image Analysis Approach for National Scale Accounting. ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 175, 1-19. doi:10.1016/j.isprsjprs.2021.02.019.

 

López Valencia, O. M., Johansen, K., Aragón Solorio, B. J. L., Li, T., Houborg, R., Malbeteau, Y., AlMashharawi, S., Altaf, M. U., Fallatah, E. M., Dasari, H. P., Hoteit, I., and McCabe, M. F.: Mapping groundwater abstractions from irrigated agriculture: big data, inverse modeling, and a satellite–model fusion approach, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 5251–5277, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-5251-2020, 2020.

 

López, O., Houborg, R., and McCabe, M. F.: Evaluating the hydrological consistency of evaporation products using satellite-based gravity and rainfall data, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 323-343, doi:10.5194/hess-21-323-2017, 2017

 

López, O., Stenchikov, G., and Missimer, T.M.: Water Management during climate change using aquifer storage and recovery of stormwater in a dunefield in western Saudi Arabia, Environmental Research Letters, 9, 075008, doi:10.1088/1748-9326/9/7/075008, 2014. 

Education

  • 2018: PhD in Environmental Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia
  • 2013: M. Science in Environmental Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia
  • 2010: B. Science with Honours in Engineering Physics, Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, México

Professional Profile

 

  • 2020-Present: Research Specialist, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
  • 2018-2020: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 

Awards

  • 2011 Provost Award at KAUST
  • 2010 Graduated with honors at ITESM

Research Interests Keywords

Water Resources Hydrology Environmental Monitoring