Applications of AI in Water Resources Management and Sustainability

Dr. Sabu Joseph is Professor and Head of the Department of Environmental Sciences and Dean of the Faculty of Applied Sciences and Technology at University of Kerala, India. He earned his Ph.D. in Geology from the University of Kerala in 1997 and is widely recognized for his expertise in water resources management, isotope hydrology, ecosystem service valuation, remote sensing, and, more recently, the application of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) techniques in water resources research. He has successfully completed six major research projects funded by national and international agencies, including an Indo–Israel collaboration under the UGC Joint Research Program and a project funded by the Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences (BRNS), Government of India.Dr. Joseph has mentored 14 Ph.D. scholars to completion, guided several postdoctoral fellows, currently supervises eight doctoral candidates and a postdoctoral fellow. His scholarly output includes over 100 peer-reviewed publications, books, and numerous handbook chapters, with recent works such as Environmental Radon: A Tracer for Hydrological Studies (Springer, 2023) and the edited volume Ecosystem Services Valuation for Sustainable Development (Springer, 2024). He serves as Chairman of the Board of Studies in Environmental Sciences, is a member of the Academic Council and Innovation Council of the University of Kerala. In recognition of his contributions, he received the 2024 ‘Paristhidi Mitram’ (Environmental Steward) Award, in environmental research, instituted by Govt. of Kerala, India. He contributes as an expert to various government committees, including the National River Conservation Directorate (NRCD), Ministry of Jal Shakti Department of Water Resources, Government of India. He also coordinates the Department’s Village Adoption Program, serves on editorial boards, reviews for leading journals, and has represented India in academic exchanges and conferences across more than 30 countries. Further, as the Director, Centre for Global Academics, he has been visiting many universities abroad for global academic excellence.Dr. Sukanya S. is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Kerala specializing in water resources management and sustainability. She earned her Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences in 2022, focusing on hydrochemistry and isotope hydrology. Her doctoral research, conducted in collaboration with Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai, under a Department of Atomic Energy–Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences (DAE–BRNS), Govt. of India funded project (2016 - 19), advanced the application of radon (²²²Rn) as an environmental tracer in hydrogeological investigations. She is first author of Environmental Radon: A Tracer for Hydrological Studies (Springer, 2023). Alongside her research, Dr. Sukanya is actively engaged in teaching postgraduate and undergraduate courses, including MSc Climate Change and Disaster Management, MSc Environmental Sciences, and the Four-Year Undergraduate Program at University of Kerala. She has delivered invited lectures at academic institutions in India and abroad, reflecting the recognition of her research expertise.Her recent work integrates AI and machine learning techniques into groundwater and surface water management, supported by specialized training from reputed institutions. She is a recipient of a scholarship from the Indo–German Centre for Sustainability (IGCS), funded by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) through DAAD, for participating in the 2015 Indo–German Students Exchange Program on Sustainable Water Management in Rural Landscapes at Kiel University, Germany. She is a member of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS), International Water Resources Association (IWRA), and the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD)–UNESCO. She has published research papers and book chapters with international publishers such as Taylor & Francis, Elsevier, and Springer, presented at major international scientific conferences including ICRP 2019 (Australia), and serves as a reviewer for leading international journals.

• 1. Introduction to Artificial Intelligence in Sustainable Water Resources Management.- 2. Harnessing AI for Sustainable Groundwater Management: Trends and Prospects.- 3. Potential of AI/ML in Soil Moisture Retrieval from High-Resolution Remote Sensing Data.- 4. Role of Artificial Intelligence in Hydroclimatology.- 5. Climate Monitoring for Water Resources Management: Enhanced Prediction of Precipitation and Temperature Utilizing Ensemble Machine Learning.- 6. Coastal Water Resources Management: AI Innovations.- 7. Artificial Intelligence (AI) In Agriculture Water Management.- 8. AI in Water Management: Advantages, Risks and Responsible Deployment.- 9. AI-Driven Energy Optimization in Wastewater Treatment Plants.- 10. Water management system: AI prediction and optimization.- 11. Gaps, Future Directions, and Emerging AI Technologies in Water Management.