Hilary McMillan
@mcmillanhydro.bsky.social
Professor of Water Resources at San Diego State University. Watershed hydrology and hydrological processes.
Reposted by Hilary McMillan
Same as it ever was.
A fun case study since there have been 72 million articles on the cold in the east and 4 on the warmth in the west
January 2026 temperature rankings compared to all Januarys since 1895.
February 1, 2026 at 6:51 PM
Same as it ever was.
Thanks for the share - and here's a link to view the article: rdcu.be/eXM3l
January 28, 2026 at 6:41 PM
Thanks for the share - and here's a link to view the article: rdcu.be/eXM3l
Reposted by Hilary McMillan
One final reminder!
Bettina Schaefli and I warmly invite you to submit abstracts to a new EGU session
A strong focus on theory in times of big data
HS2.2.5 New Developments in Hydrological Synthesis
Abstract submission: www.egu26.eu/session/55911
Bettina Schaefli and I warmly invite you to submit abstracts to a new EGU session
A strong focus on theory in times of big data
HS2.2.5 New Developments in Hydrological Synthesis
Abstract submission: www.egu26.eu/session/55911
Bettina Schaefli and I warmly invite you to submit abstracts to a new EGU session
HS2.2.5 New Developments in Hydrological Synthesis
Abstract submission: www.egu26.eu/session/55911
1/6
HS2.2.5 New Developments in Hydrological Synthesis
Abstract submission: www.egu26.eu/session/55911
1/6
Session HS2.2.5
www.egu26.eu
January 12, 2026 at 5:29 PM
One final reminder!
Bettina Schaefli and I warmly invite you to submit abstracts to a new EGU session
A strong focus on theory in times of big data
HS2.2.5 New Developments in Hydrological Synthesis
Abstract submission: www.egu26.eu/session/55911
Bettina Schaefli and I warmly invite you to submit abstracts to a new EGU session
A strong focus on theory in times of big data
HS2.2.5 New Developments in Hydrological Synthesis
Abstract submission: www.egu26.eu/session/55911
Reposted by Hilary McMillan
National assessment of river protection in the U.S.
Article: doi.org/10.1038/s418...
Policy Brief: doi.org/10.1038/s418...
Rivers Explorer: map.myriver.americanrivers.org
Collaboration b/t American Rivers, Conservation Science Partners, Univ WA @americanrivers.bsky.social
Thread 👇 | DM for PDF
Article: doi.org/10.1038/s418...
Policy Brief: doi.org/10.1038/s418...
Rivers Explorer: map.myriver.americanrivers.org
Collaboration b/t American Rivers, Conservation Science Partners, Univ WA @americanrivers.bsky.social
Thread 👇 | DM for PDF
January 9, 2026 at 6:18 PM
National assessment of river protection in the U.S.
Article: doi.org/10.1038/s418...
Policy Brief: doi.org/10.1038/s418...
Rivers Explorer: map.myriver.americanrivers.org
Collaboration b/t American Rivers, Conservation Science Partners, Univ WA @americanrivers.bsky.social
Thread 👇 | DM for PDF
Article: doi.org/10.1038/s418...
Policy Brief: doi.org/10.1038/s418...
Rivers Explorer: map.myriver.americanrivers.org
Collaboration b/t American Rivers, Conservation Science Partners, Univ WA @americanrivers.bsky.social
Thread 👇 | DM for PDF
I wrote a commentary discussing Daniele's huge new global synthesis of controls on hydrological processes in forested catchments: read it here: rdcu.be/eXTrq . Some surprising findings on the importance of overland flow, soils and antecedent conditions.
January 7, 2026 at 4:54 PM
I wrote a commentary discussing Daniele's huge new global synthesis of controls on hydrological processes in forested catchments: read it here: rdcu.be/eXTrq . Some surprising findings on the importance of overland flow, soils and antecedent conditions.
Reposted by Hilary McMillan
When did hydrologists become historians? #FDRI has released 35 years of hi-res data from the Plynlimon Research Catchments!
Read about our process of unearthing 35 years of measurements and what it means for understanding river processes: https://f.mtr.cool/grqzmwiqsd 🧪
Read about our process of unearthing 35 years of measurements and what it means for understanding river processes: https://f.mtr.cool/grqzmwiqsd 🧪
January 6, 2026 at 10:11 AM
When did hydrologists become historians? #FDRI has released 35 years of hi-res data from the Plynlimon Research Catchments!
Read about our process of unearthing 35 years of measurements and what it means for understanding river processes: https://f.mtr.cool/grqzmwiqsd 🧪
Read about our process of unearthing 35 years of measurements and what it means for understanding river processes: https://f.mtr.cool/grqzmwiqsd 🧪
Reposted by Hilary McMillan
@rarakihydro.bsky.social leads an exiting new preprint that maps dominant hydrologic processes across >14k US watersheds using streamflow signatures + ML. It’s been such fun following Ryoko and Hilary’s leadership alongside Admin, Anne and Gemma.
egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/20...
egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/20...
December 18, 2025 at 6:32 PM
@rarakihydro.bsky.social leads an exiting new preprint that maps dominant hydrologic processes across >14k US watersheds using streamflow signatures + ML. It’s been such fun following Ryoko and Hilary’s leadership alongside Admin, Anne and Gemma.
egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/20...
egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/20...
Reposted by Hilary McMillan
💧 Check out McMillan lab research at #AGU25! @mcmillanhydro.bsky.social. Shoutout to @alessing26.bsky.social for the cute flyer!
💧 Visit runoff generation processes poster session on Monday PM by @aliva-nanda.bsky.social, @nitinsingh.bsky.social, @kjmcguire.bsky.social, Bryn Stewart and me!
💧 Visit runoff generation processes poster session on Monday PM by @aliva-nanda.bsky.social, @nitinsingh.bsky.social, @kjmcguire.bsky.social, Bryn Stewart and me!
December 8, 2025 at 7:05 PM
💧 Check out McMillan lab research at #AGU25! @mcmillanhydro.bsky.social. Shoutout to @alessing26.bsky.social for the cute flyer!
💧 Visit runoff generation processes poster session on Monday PM by @aliva-nanda.bsky.social, @nitinsingh.bsky.social, @kjmcguire.bsky.social, Bryn Stewart and me!
💧 Visit runoff generation processes poster session on Monday PM by @aliva-nanda.bsky.social, @nitinsingh.bsky.social, @kjmcguire.bsky.social, Bryn Stewart and me!
Reposted by Hilary McMillan
How about some real actual hydrology? 🌊
West Kettle River near Rhone
Sep 2 2021 ~ 0.53 m3/s typical late season low flow
Apr 20 2025 ~53 m3/s ramping up to Q2 at start of freshet
West Kettle River near Rhone
Sep 2 2021 ~ 0.53 m3/s typical late season low flow
Apr 20 2025 ~53 m3/s ramping up to Q2 at start of freshet
April 22, 2025 at 4:52 PM
How about some real actual hydrology? 🌊
West Kettle River near Rhone
Sep 2 2021 ~ 0.53 m3/s typical late season low flow
Apr 20 2025 ~53 m3/s ramping up to Q2 at start of freshet
West Kettle River near Rhone
Sep 2 2021 ~ 0.53 m3/s typical late season low flow
Apr 20 2025 ~53 m3/s ramping up to Q2 at start of freshet
Reposted by Hilary McMillan
Hydrology Paper of the Day @iflscience.com on weird hydrology: rivers that flow in different drainage basins; why some rivers flow in two directions or have a reversed direction of flow; a lake that drains into two oceans; river capture and geological controls; modelling; and management challenges.
In a new study, scientists have reviewed nine rivers and lakes in the Americas that appear at first to break away from the conventional rules of hydrology.
www.iflscience.com/scientists-s...
www.iflscience.com/scientists-s...
Scientists Spot Rivers That Are "Hydrologic Equivalent Of A Wormhole Between Two Galaxies"
These rivers at first seem to defy the rules of hydrology.
www.iflscience.com
April 8, 2025 at 4:24 AM
Hydrology Paper of the Day @iflscience.com on weird hydrology: rivers that flow in different drainage basins; why some rivers flow in two directions or have a reversed direction of flow; a lake that drains into two oceans; river capture and geological controls; modelling; and management challenges.
Reposted by Hilary McMillan
OUT NOW: A fantastic new read for hydrologists 📚: a wrap-up of the Panta Rhei scientific decade of @iahs-aish.bsky.social. Between 2013 and 2022, it explored links between changes in hydrology and society. 🌍 In this paper, Heidi Kreibich and her colleagues present ten years of progress. 👇
Panta Rhei: a decade of progress in research on change in hydrology and society
To better understand the increasing human impact on the water cycle and the feedbacks between hydrology and society, the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS) organized the scie...
www.tandfonline.com
April 4, 2025 at 12:33 PM
OUT NOW: A fantastic new read for hydrologists 📚: a wrap-up of the Panta Rhei scientific decade of @iahs-aish.bsky.social. Between 2013 and 2022, it explored links between changes in hydrology and society. 🌍 In this paper, Heidi Kreibich and her colleagues present ten years of progress. 👇
New paper! After much work by me and my students we created a global database of hundreds of research watersheds, and perceptual models of their hydrologic processes. We use the data to test classic theories on how climate and landscape control dominant processes. www.nature.com/articles/s44...
Global patterns in observed hydrologic processes - Nature Water
This study presents a global, searchable database of 400 research watersheds with published descriptions of dominant hydrologic flow pathways, supporting efficient hypothesis testing to investigate em...
www.nature.com
April 6, 2025 at 4:24 PM
New paper! After much work by me and my students we created a global database of hundreds of research watersheds, and perceptual models of their hydrologic processes. We use the data to test classic theories on how climate and landscape control dominant processes. www.nature.com/articles/s44...
Reposted by Hilary McMillan
Today we were in the Re della Pietra #catchment
danielepenna.wixsite.com/redellapietra.
We installed a new #weather station and showed the site to some private #stakeholders.
And this little paper came out right today.
rdcu.be/efM8w
Congrats @mcmillanhydro.bsky.social and coauthors!
danielepenna.wixsite.com/redellapietra.
We installed a new #weather station and showed the site to some private #stakeholders.
And this little paper came out right today.
rdcu.be/efM8w
Congrats @mcmillanhydro.bsky.social and coauthors!
March 31, 2025 at 9:13 PM
Today we were in the Re della Pietra #catchment
danielepenna.wixsite.com/redellapietra.
We installed a new #weather station and showed the site to some private #stakeholders.
And this little paper came out right today.
rdcu.be/efM8w
Congrats @mcmillanhydro.bsky.social and coauthors!
danielepenna.wixsite.com/redellapietra.
We installed a new #weather station and showed the site to some private #stakeholders.
And this little paper came out right today.
rdcu.be/efM8w
Congrats @mcmillanhydro.bsky.social and coauthors!
Thank you John for highlighting our work!
“Global patterns in observed hydrologic processes” @mcmillanhydro.bsky.social @rarakihydro.bsky.social @jansei.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s44...
Global patterns in observed hydrologic processes - Nature Water
This study presents a global, searchable database of 400 research watersheds with published descriptions of dominant hydrologic flow pathways, supporting efficient hypothesis testing to investigate em...
www.nature.com
April 6, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Thank you John for highlighting our work!
Where does macroplastic pollution in rivers come from? In urban San Diego, most is dumped directly in the river corridor. Volunteer clean up efforts are essential, but plastic stored in the river keeps increasing. Paper from MS student TJ Palmer agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Quantifying Sources, Sinks and Mitigation of Macroplastic and Other River Debris: A Trash Balance Model
We developed a holistic model of riverine macroplastic and debris sources, sinks and transport dynamics for urban rivers Much more debris is directly deposited on the floodplain by dumping and ab...
agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
March 24, 2025 at 11:03 PM
Where does macroplastic pollution in rivers come from? In urban San Diego, most is dumped directly in the river corridor. Volunteer clean up efforts are essential, but plastic stored in the river keeps increasing. Paper from MS student TJ Palmer agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Hope to see CSU students at this meeting! I will be attending alongside graduate students from SDSU Geography
Hey CSU grad students-deadline to submit your abstract to the #GordonResearchConference is March 16! #GRC is an amazing meeting, you should go!!! #sciencerocks #hydrology #biology #geochemistry #calstate
Remember to apply and register for this summer's Catchment Science GRC! The best conference you'll ever go to. Deadlines coming up on March 16 for graduate students to submit their oral abstracts to the GRS.
www.grc.org/catchment-sc...
www.grc.org/catchment-sc...
March 14, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Hope to see CSU students at this meeting! I will be attending alongside graduate students from SDSU Geography
Are you a graduate student or postdoc interested in the GRS/GRC Catchment hydrology conferences this June? GRS Chair Ally Jacoby has just published this first-time attendees guide! younghs.com/2025/03/03/a...
A First-Time Attendee’s Guide to the 2025 Catchment Science Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) and Conference (GRC)
Written by Ally Jacoby When I first heard the Gordon Research Conference on Catchment Science described as ‘hydrology summer camp’, I was immediately sold on going. I attended for the first time in…
younghs.com
March 4, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Are you a graduate student or postdoc interested in the GRS/GRC Catchment hydrology conferences this June? GRS Chair Ally Jacoby has just published this first-time attendees guide! younghs.com/2025/03/03/a...
Reposted by Hilary McMillan
Hydrology Paper of the Day @rarakihydro.bsky.social on how soil moisture metrics and observations improve the outputs of a rainfall-runoff model: evaluation of model performance with hydrologic signatures; application to watersheds in New Zealand and the US; partitioning; and calibration.
My 1st PhD chapter is (finally) out! 🥳
We have tested soil moisture as an objective metric in a Next-Gen rainfall-runoff model—a Conceptual Functional Equivalent (CFE) of WRF-Hydro.
Thank you my mentor @mcmillanhydro.bsky.social and Dr. Fred Ogden for their guidance!
doi.org/10.1111/1752...
We have tested soil moisture as an objective metric in a Next-Gen rainfall-runoff model—a Conceptual Functional Equivalent (CFE) of WRF-Hydro.
Thank you my mentor @mcmillanhydro.bsky.social and Dr. Fred Ogden for their guidance!
doi.org/10.1111/1752...
February 28, 2025 at 3:31 AM
Hydrology Paper of the Day @rarakihydro.bsky.social on how soil moisture metrics and observations improve the outputs of a rainfall-runoff model: evaluation of model performance with hydrologic signatures; application to watersheds in New Zealand and the US; partitioning; and calibration.
Reposted by Hilary McMillan
Talk abstracts for Catchment Science Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) before GRC are due on 3/15/25. Submit early for a talk! Exciting venue for science + networking for early careers!
Keynote speaker Dr Ryan Emanuel on Environmental Justice. @waterpotential.bsky.social
www.grc.org/catchment-sc...
Keynote speaker Dr Ryan Emanuel on Environmental Justice. @waterpotential.bsky.social
www.grc.org/catchment-sc...
February 26, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Talk abstracts for Catchment Science Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) before GRC are due on 3/15/25. Submit early for a talk! Exciting venue for science + networking for early careers!
Keynote speaker Dr Ryan Emanuel on Environmental Justice. @waterpotential.bsky.social
www.grc.org/catchment-sc...
Keynote speaker Dr Ryan Emanuel on Environmental Justice. @waterpotential.bsky.social
www.grc.org/catchment-sc...
I'm really looking forward to this talk!
I’m excited to be the keynote speaker for this summer’s Gordon Research Seminar on Catchment Science! I’ve never attended a Gordon Conference before, and the early career seminar seems like a great opportunity for grad students and postdocs. Check it out!
#EnvironmentalJustice
#EnvironmentalJustice
Talk abstracts for Catchment Science Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) before GRC are due on 3/15/25. Submit early for a talk! Exciting venue for science + networking for early careers!
Keynote speaker Dr Ryan Emanuel on Environmental Justice. @waterpotential.bsky.social
www.grc.org/catchment-sc...
Keynote speaker Dr Ryan Emanuel on Environmental Justice. @waterpotential.bsky.social
www.grc.org/catchment-sc...
February 27, 2025 at 2:28 AM
I'm really looking forward to this talk!
Remember to apply and register for this summer's Catchment Science GRC! The best conference you'll ever go to. Deadlines coming up on March 16 for graduate students to submit their oral abstracts to the GRS.
www.grc.org/catchment-sc...
www.grc.org/catchment-sc...
February 20, 2025 at 9:27 PM
Remember to apply and register for this summer's Catchment Science GRC! The best conference you'll ever go to. Deadlines coming up on March 16 for graduate students to submit their oral abstracts to the GRS.
www.grc.org/catchment-sc...
www.grc.org/catchment-sc...
Reposted by Hilary McMillan
My 1st PhD chapter is (finally) out! 🥳
We have tested soil moisture as an objective metric in a Next-Gen rainfall-runoff model—a Conceptual Functional Equivalent (CFE) of WRF-Hydro.
Thank you my mentor @mcmillanhydro.bsky.social and Dr. Fred Ogden for their guidance!
doi.org/10.1111/1752...
We have tested soil moisture as an objective metric in a Next-Gen rainfall-runoff model—a Conceptual Functional Equivalent (CFE) of WRF-Hydro.
Thank you my mentor @mcmillanhydro.bsky.social and Dr. Fred Ogden for their guidance!
doi.org/10.1111/1752...
February 20, 2025 at 4:50 PM
My 1st PhD chapter is (finally) out! 🥳
We have tested soil moisture as an objective metric in a Next-Gen rainfall-runoff model—a Conceptual Functional Equivalent (CFE) of WRF-Hydro.
Thank you my mentor @mcmillanhydro.bsky.social and Dr. Fred Ogden for their guidance!
doi.org/10.1111/1752...
We have tested soil moisture as an objective metric in a Next-Gen rainfall-runoff model—a Conceptual Functional Equivalent (CFE) of WRF-Hydro.
Thank you my mentor @mcmillanhydro.bsky.social and Dr. Fred Ogden for their guidance!
doi.org/10.1111/1752...
Amongst all of this, our students are still publishing excellent papers. My recent Masters student Annie Holt, now at NWS, shows how geologic age and (region-dependent) wetland fraction metrics can be used to improve our predictions of baseflow in watersheds across the U.S.: doi.org/10.1002/hyp....
New Predictors for Hydrologic Signatures: Wetlands and Geologic Age Across Continental Scales
This article contributes to the longstanding effort to use landscape metrics to predict streamflow dynamics. We introduce two new metrics describing wetlands and geologic age and use random forests t....
doi.org
February 20, 2025 at 2:51 AM
Amongst all of this, our students are still publishing excellent papers. My recent Masters student Annie Holt, now at NWS, shows how geologic age and (region-dependent) wetland fraction metrics can be used to improve our predictions of baseflow in watersheds across the U.S.: doi.org/10.1002/hyp....
Reposted by Hilary McMillan
A little bit delayed, but I hear it's picking up over here so sending this out into the world: our Lafayette team including Rachel Hurley (now grad student at WPI), Dave Brandes, and me put out this piece on flashiness across the Mid-Atlantic: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
Drivers and Buffers of Stream Flashiness in the Mid‐Atlantic United States
In this study, we investigated flashiness across 195 Mid-Atlantic sites, each within one of seven different physiographic regions. Our findings identified several drivers and buffers of flashiness, e...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
January 2, 2025 at 4:06 PM
A little bit delayed, but I hear it's picking up over here so sending this out into the world: our Lafayette team including Rachel Hurley (now grad student at WPI), Dave Brandes, and me put out this piece on flashiness across the Mid-Atlantic: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...