ASU Research papers supporting Life below water

ASU has successfully published several research papers during the 2023/2024 academic year that focus indirectly on supporting Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG14) – Life Below Water. These publications reflect the university’s commitment to advancing knowledge and innovation in addressing climate change. By tackling critical issues related to climate resilience and sustainability, this indirectly reflects the university’s commitment to advancing knowledge and innovation in marine conservation and sustainability. By addressing critical issues related to the health of marine ecosystems and biodiversity, ASU aims to contribute to global efforts in protecting life below water. This research not only enhances the academic environment but also positions the university as a leader in driving impactful change towards the preservation of our oceans and marine life.

• Hdeib, R. (2024) Assessing Students’ Awareness, Attitudes, and Actions Towards Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), 2024 ASU International Conference in Emerging Technologies for Sustainability and Intelligent Systems (ICETSIS, https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10459476
• Hdeib, R. (2024) Towards Resilient Stormwater Management System. Application of Al-Lawzi Lake Stormwater System, 2024 ASU International Conference in Emerging Technologies for Sustainability and Intelligent Systems (ICETSIS), https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10459470

The course ” Environmental Engineering” offered in both the Architectural Engineering and Civil Engineering programs is directly related to the environment. It focuses on practical activities, experiments, and analysis of water quality in different locations of Bahrain. The course aims to educate students on improving water quality, preserving it for human health and welfare, and protecting marine life. In the Graduation Project course of the Civil Engineering program (Project), students work on projects related to ecosystem improvement and preservation. These projects align with the course’s focus on environmental engineering and emphasize the importance of protecting and enhancing ecosystems.

Dr. Rouya is currently involved in a university project on Urban Flood Risk Assessment based on GIS and a hydrodynamic model. The project aims to develop urban flood risk maps to assist government efforts in upgrading and maintaining stormwater infrastructure. Additionally, the project seeks to raise awareness and provide guidance on implementing strategies to protect populations and assets from the risk of rain floods.

Dr. Rouya and Marwan Aouad have co-authored a paper titled “Climate change adaptation: The opportunities of crowdsourced data to monitor the effectiveness of stormwater management systems.” The paper is currently undergoing revision for the “International Conference on Sustainable Futures” scheduled for December 5th and 6th, 2023, in Abu Dhabi.

Another research project led by Dr. Rouya focuses on watershed management and the development of coupled hydrological and hydraulic models for water resources management and flood risk mitigation. Two papers have been published as part of this project:

Paper 1 Citation: Hdeib R., Abdallah C., Colin F., Brocca L., Moussa R., 2018. “Constraining coupled hydrological-hydraulic flood model by past storm events and post-event measurements in data-sparse regions.” Journal of Hydrology, October 2018, Volume 565, pages:160-176. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2018.08.008

Paper 2 Citation: Hdeib R., Moussa R., Colin F., Abdallah C., 2020. “A new cost-performance grid to compare different flood modelling approaches.” Hydrological Sciences Journal, Feb. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2021.1873346

These projects and research align with the sustainable development goal (SDG) 15 indicators related to minimizing alteration of aquatic ecosystems, monitoring the health of aquatic ecosystems, promoting good aquatic stewardship practices, collaborating for shared aquatic ecosystems, and implementing watershed management strategies based on the diversity of aquatic species in specific locations.