Mohanna ZareiPhD student

About me

I am Mohanna, a civil engineer with a deep interest in research on the water-climate interplay and understanding the inter-linkages of terrestrial water systems from a whole catchment scale to global scale, particularly where science and policy meet. To me, water is not merely a natural resource. It’s a sacred and magical symbol of life, light, healing, and wisdom. I grew up with this view, which is inspired by Anahita, the ancient Iranian goddess revered as the divinity of “the Waters.” Growing up in a mountainous region full of natural resources, I was drawn to the study of water. During my M.Sc. studies, I had the opportunity to closely explore one of the most pristine natural water sources in western Iran, Kani Bil (Bil Spring) in Kurdistan. Beyond its environmental value, Kani Bil holds deep cultural and literary significance as an ancient and generous gift from Mother Nature. Sadly, this spring is now under threat due to nearby dam construction, which became a turning point in my academic journey. Witnessing this inspired me to think more critically and holistically. I realized that even regions rich in natural resources are vulnerable to human overreach and greed, which have no end. Dams, for example, are not monsters; they are just human-constructed tools, but when built in ecologically sensitive areas, they can cause irreversible harm. I have come to understand that our perspectives, decisions, and values are closely connected with natural resources. Each natural resource is a system, and all of these interconnected systems are parts of a larger whole, and the way we view and manage them shapes our future and guides our present. We are not a single or separate entity from nature; we are nature. It is therefore crucial to pass on what we have inherited in as intact as possible for future generations.

One of the most important lessons I’ve learned, especially in a world facing uncertainty and overwhelmed with wrong decisions, is the importance of remaining hopeful and taking action, even small steps. As Rumi once said, “You are not one; you are a thousand. Just light your lantern.” Having that sense of responsibility, no matter how small the action, can eventually lead to meaningful impact. Michael Rosbash captured this spirit well during the Nobel Week Dialogue when he said, “The notion of hopefulness is really important; people don’t realize that most scientific experiments fail, the vast majority. You come back the next day to try again. That’s what it’s really all about. It’s the craft of the journey; it’s not the destination. I think being hopeful and trying to make your micro-environment, your little community, your laboratory, your extended family, and the world a better place is part of that journey.”

In recent years, my hometown has faced growing challenges: the alarming emergence of sinkholes due to the drastic drainage of groundwater resources, escalating nonstop conflicts over water, and many other clear ominous signs that piqued my curiosity to pursue my research as a PhD student with the hope of making a meaningful impact and contribution to the field. Analyzing data from diverse global sources that track and monitor spatial and temporal variations in terrestrial water resources, especially in the context of our changing climate, is a challenging yet fascinating task, and actually, this is what I'm doing as a researcher. My PhD research focuses on understanding the consistencies and divergences among these data, deciphering the dynamics behind them, and exploring how they shape our understanding of the past, inform our analysis of the present, and guide our predictions for the future. If you are interested in knowing more about my journey, feel free to take a look at:

- Mohanna Zarei & Georgia Destouni, A hydro-climatic data synthesis for Sub-Saharan Africa: facilitating water balance closure with different comparative datasets. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 2025. (https://doi.org/ 10.3389/fenvs.2025.1646528),

- Georgia Destouni & Mohanna Zarei, Hydro-climatic variations, changes, and extremes in the Baltic Sea Drainage Basin, Frontiers in Environmental Science, 13, p.1601433, 2025. (https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2025.1601433),

- Mohanna Zarei & Georgia Destouni, Baltic hydro-climatic data: a regional data synthesis for the Baltic Sea drainage basin, Frontiers in Earth Science, 13, p.1595943, 2025. (https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2025.1595943),

- Georgia Destouni, Daniel Althoff, Mohanna Zarei, Terrestrial water cycle acceleration-deceleration: Non-binary and space-time divergent, Earth's Future, Wiley, 2025. (https://doi.org/10.1029/2025EF006059),

- Mohanna Zarei & Georgia Destouni, A global multi catchment and multi dataset synthesis for water fluxes and storage changes on land. Sci Data 11, Nature, 1333, 2024. (https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-04203-1),

- Mohanna Zarei & Georgia Destouni, Global HydroClimatic Data, Zenodo, 2024. (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10932898),

- Mohanna Zarei & Georgia Destouni, Research gaps and priorities for tressterial water and Earth System connections from catchment to Global scale, Earth's Future, Wiley, 2024. (https://doi.org/10.1029/2023EF003792),

- Mohanna Zarei & Georgia Destouni, Database for terrestrial water system research, Zenodo, 2023. (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7839925),

- My invited interview with the prestigious Eos at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) about how Climate Change Uproots Global Agriculture; water-energy-food resources security especially in the Middle East, challenges, policies and potential solutions, Wiley & Sons, 2021. (https://doi.org/10.1029/2021EO153339),

- Mohanna Zarei, The Water-Energy-Food Nexus: A Holistic Approach for Resource Security in Iran, Iraq, and Turkey, Water-Energy Nexus, Elsevier, 2020.  (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wen.2020.05.004),

- Mohanna Zarei, Wastewater Resources Management for Energy Recovery from Circular Economy Perspective, Water-Energy Nexus, Elsevier, 2020. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wen.2020.11.001),

- Mohanna Zarei et al., Zirconia Nanoparticle Modified Graphitic Carbon Nitride Nanosheets for Effective Photocatalytic Degradation of 4-Nitrophenol in Water, Applied Water Science, Springer, 2019. (https://doi.org/10.1007/s13201-019-1076-8),

- Mohanna Zarei et al., Self-Propelled Micro/Nanomotors for Sensing and Environmental Remediation, Small, Wiley & Sons, 2018. (https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.201800912), etc.