Dr. Ashraf Rateb

Ashraf is a Research Assistant Professor with deep expertise in hydroclimate assessments, geodesy, and remote sensing. Trained as a geodesist and driven by a passion for environmental stewardship, he integrates satellite-based observations, modeling frameworks, and advanced signal processing to investigate pressing challenges—ranging from local-scale water management to global climate extremes and sea-level rise.

Research Interests

His research interests include the following:

1. Geodesy for Hydrology & Climate

• Satellite geodesy (GRACE/FO, InSAR, GNSS) to track groundwater, land motion, and sea-level rise.
• Fusing geodetic data with models to refine freshwater budgets and sea-level rise assessments.

2. Hydroclimate Extremes

• Past/future flood/drought risks via large-ensemble climate models.
• Socio-environmental impacts to guide adaptation strategies.

3. Climate Dynamics

• Teleconnections driving regional water cycles.
• Anthropogenic vs. natural drivers of hydroclimate changes and extremes.

4. Probabilistic Modeling

• Bayesian frameworks for uncertainty-aware hydrologic inferences and predictions.

Employment History

University of Texas, Bureau of Economic Geology, Austin, TX

• Research Assistant Professor (2023-present)
• Research Scientist Assoc. IV, 2021-2023)
• Postdoctoral Fellow (2018-2021)

Geomatics Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan

• Research Assistant (2012-2017)

National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences, Cairo, Egypt

• Researcher (2018)
• Research Assistant (2009-2012)

Education

• Ph.D. Geomatics Engineering (Geodesy), National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan, 2017
• M.Sc. Applied Geophysics, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt, 2012
• B.Sc.  Geophysics, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt, 2009

Selected Publications

• Scanlon, B.R., Pool, D.R., Rateb, A. et al. Multidecadal drought impacts on the Lower Colorado Basin with implications for future management. Commun Earth Environ 6, 214 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02149-9
• Rateb, A., Save, H., Sun, A. Y., & Scanlon, B. R. (2024). Rapid mapping of global flood precursors and impacts using novel five-day GRACE solutions. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 13841.
• Sun, A.Y., Save, H., Rateb, A., Jiang, P. and Scanlon, B.R., 2024. Deciphering the role of total water storage anomalies in mediating regional flooding. Geophysical Research Letters, 51(16), p.e2023GL108126.
• Zheng, S., Zhang, Z., Scanlon, B.R., Yan, H., Sun, A.Y., Rateb, A. and Li, Y., 2024. High spatial resolution in total water storage variations inferred from GPS: Case study in the Great Lakes watershed, US. Water Resources Research, 60(7), p.e2023WR035213.
• Bibi, S., Zhu, T., Rateb, A., Scanlon, B. R., Kamran, M. A., Elnashar, A., Bennour, A., & Li, C. (2023). Benchmarking multimodel terrestrial water storage seasonal cycle against GRACE observations over major global river basins. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Discussions, 2023, 1-36.
• Scanlon, B. R., Fakhreddine, S., Rateb, A., de Graaf, I., Famiglietti, J., Gleeson, T., Grafton, R. Q., Jobbagy, E., Kebede, S., & Kolusu, S. R. (2023). Global water resources and the role of groundwater in a resilient water future. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, 4(2), 87-101.
• Rateb, A., Sun, A., Scanlon, B. R., Save, H., & Hasan, E. (2022). Reconstruction of GRACE Mass Change Time Series Using a Bayesian Framework. Earth and Space Science, e2021EA002162.
• Rueda, V., Young, M. H., Faust, K., Rateb, A., & Leibowicz, B. D. (2022). System Dynamics Modeling in Local Water Management: Assessing Strategies for the City of Boerne, Texas. Water, 14(22), 3682.
• Scanlon, B. R., Rateb, A., Anyamba, A., Kebede, S., MacDonald, A. M., Shamsudduha, M., Small, J., Sun, A., Taylor, R. G., & Xie, H. (2022). Linkages between GRACE water storage, hydrologic extremes, and climate teleconnections in major African aquifers. Environmental Research Letters, 17(1), 014046.
• Mehrnegar, N., Jones, O., Singer, M. B., Schumacher, M., Jagdhuber, T., Scanlon, B. R., Rateb, A., & Forootan, E. (2021). Exploring groundwater and soil water storage changes across the CONUS at 12.5 km resolution by a Bayesian integration of GRACE data into W3RA. Science of The Total Environment, 758, 143579.
• Rateb, A., Scanlon, B. R., & Kuo, C.-Y. (2021). Multi-decadal assessment of water budget and hydrological extremes in the Tigris-Euphrates Basin using satellites, modeling, and in-situ data. Science of The Total Environment, 766, 144337.
• Scanlon, B. R., Rateb, A., Pool, D. R., Sanford, W., Save, H., Sun, A., Long, D., & Fuchs, B. (2021). Effects of climate and irrigation on GRACE-based estimates of water storage changes in major US aquifers. Environmental Research Letters, 16(9), 094009.
• Sun, A. Y., Scanlon, B. R., Save, H., & Rateb, A. (2021). Reconstruction of GRACE total water storage through automated machine learning. Water Resources Research, 57(2), e2020WR028666.
• Rateb, A., & Abotalib, A. Z. (2020). Inferencing the land subsidence in the Nile Delta using Sentinel-1 satellites and GPS between 2015 and 2019. Science of The Total Environment, 729, 138868.
• Rateb, A., Scanlon, B. R., Pool, D. R., Sun, A., Zhang, Z., Chen, J., Clark, B., Faunt, C. C., Haugh, C. J., & Hill, M. (2020). Comparison of groundwater storage changes from GRACE satellites with monitoring and modeling of major US aquifers. Water Resources Research, 56(12), e2020WR027556.
• Rateb, A., & Kuo, C.-Y. (2019). Quantifying vertical deformation in the Tigris–Euphrates basin due to the groundwater abstraction: Insights from GRACE and Sentinel-1 satellites. Water, 11(8), 1658.
• Imani, M., Chen, Y.-C., You, R.-J., Lan, W.-H., Kuo, C.-Y., Chang, J.-C., & Rateb, A. (2017). Spatiotemporal prediction of satellite altimetry sea level anomalies in the tropical Pacific ocean. Ieee Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters, 14(7), 1126-1130.
• Rateb, A., Ching, K.-E., Kuo, C.-Y., Rau, R.-J., & Chen, C.-L. (2017). Kinematics of the tectonic blocks and active faults at the post-orogenic stage: Northern Taiwan. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 149, 29-40.
• Rateb, A., Kuo, C. Y., Imani, M., Tseng, K. H., Lan, W. H., Ching, K. E., & Tseng, T. P. (2017). Terrestrial Water Storage in African Hydrological Regimes Derived from GRACE Mission Data: Intercomparison of Spherical Harmonics, Mass Concentration, and Scalar Slepian Methods. Sensors (Basel), 17(3), 566. https://doi.org/10.3390/s17030566