Curriculum Vitae

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Positions

  • 2024–2025: Postdoctoral Researcher, Vrije Universiteit Brussel — ICE³ project: Modelling the global multi-century evolution of glacier ice in 3D. Supervised by Harry Zekollari.
  • 2025–present: Postdoctoral Fellow (FWO), Vrije Universiteit Brussel — ICE-BUFFER project: Global glacier buffering of streamflow droughts in a changing climate using deep learning. FWO Postdoctoral Junior Fellowship. Supervised by Harry Zekollari.

Education

  • 2019–2023: PhD in Environmental Sciences, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile. Thesis: Assessment of the impacts of climate change on the spatio-temporal patterns of freshwater sources to the coastal system of Western Patagonia. Supervised by Mauricio Aguayo and Jorge León.
  • 2017–2019: MSc in Civil Engineering (Water Resources), Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile. Thesis: Impacts of anthropogenic climate change on the runoff of a trans-Andean basin in Patagonia. Supervised by Jorge León.
  • 2012–2018: Civil Engineering (Hydraulic-Environmental mention), Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile. Thesis: Hydrological modeling of a Patagonian basin: Application of remote sensing. Supervised by José Vargas. Approved with maximum distinction.

Publications

In Review

  • Mendoza, P. A., Toum, E., Wongchuig, S., Condom, T., Barco, J., Drenkhan, F. and Aguayo, R. (2026). Recent advances and challenges in process-based hydrological modeling over the Andes: A review. WIREs Water (in review).

  • Van Tricht, L., Huss, M., Zekollari, H., Aguayo, R., van Tiel, M., von der Esch, A., Beer, J. and Farinotti, D. (2026). Resolving short-term meteorological variability amplifies projected glacier loss. Nature Communications (in review).

  • Ponds, M., Aguayo, R., Yao, Y., Thiery, W. and Zekollari, H. (2026). Irrigation buffers glacier loss. Nature Climate Change (in review).

  • León-Muñoz, J., Reid, B., Iriarte, J. L., Mardones, J., Aguayo, R., … and Garreaud, R. (2026). Melt-driven freshwater inputs as potential drivers of harmful algal blooms in northwestern Patagonia. Scientific Reports (in review).

  • Fox, C., León-Muñoz, J., Reid, B., Astorga, A., Aguayo, R., Moreno-Meynard, P., Blanchet, L. and Butman, D. (2025). Riverine Biogeochemical Exports from Major Watersheds to the Northwest Patagonian Estuarine Network. JGR – Biogeosciences (in review).

  • Moreno, P., Aguayo, R., Astorga, A., Somos, M., Uribe, L. and Reid, B. (2025). Early detection of anthropogenic impacts on headwater streams in Patagonia through hydrological signatures metrics. Hydrological Sciences Journal (in review).

Mobility

  • 2026: Research Stay — Glacio-hydrological Modelling, Université Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France (2 months). Working with Jordi Bolibar at the Institut des Géosciences de l’Environnement (IGE).
  • 2022: Research Stay — Regional Glacier Modelling, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria (7 months). Working with Fabien Maussion at the Department of Ice & Climate.

Grants & Funding

  • 2025–2028: FWO Postdoctoral Junior Fellowship — ICE-BUFFER project
  • 2023: ANID Doctoral Writing Extension Fellowship —
  • 2019–2023: ANID National Doctoral Fellowship —
  • 2022: ANID International Research Stay Fellowship —
  • 2021–2022: ANID Operational Expenses Grant —

Awards

  • 2025: Outstanding Reviewer Award, The Cryosphere (EGU)
  • 2021: Top 100 in Earth Science — Scientific Reports collection
  • 2017: Professor Edgar Pino Barrueto Prize — Best thesis of the Civil Engineering promotion

Supervision

  • Francesco Calista (MSc, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 2025-2026) — Implications of glacier melt in High Mountain Asia for future water security. Co-supervised with Harry Zekollari and Magali Ponds
  • Fernanda Espinoza (MSc, Universidad de Chile, 2025-2026) — Flood forecasting using deep learning in south-central Chile. Co-supervised with Pablo Mendoza
  • Magali Ponds (PhD, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 2024-2027) — The effect of irrigation on glacier evolution in High-Mountain Asia. Co-supervised with Harry Zekollari
  • Maziar Freki (MSc, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 2024-2025) — Closing the regional water budget in Western Patagonia using SWOT data. Co-supervised with Harry Zekollari
  • Garance du Bus de Warnaffe (MSc, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 2024-2025) — The time of emergence of glacier runoff in Patagonia. Co-supervised with Harry Zekollari
  • Isadora Leon (MSc, Universidad Austral de Chile, 2023-2024) — Effects of land cover on the hydrological propagation of droughts in Southern Chile. Co-supervised with Jorge Leon and Alvaro Gonzalez
  • Paul Sandoval (Bachelor, Universidad del Bío-Bío, 2021) — Potential impacts of global warming in the upper Manso River Basin.

Teaching

KU Leuven / Vrije Universiteit Brussel

  • Surface Water Hydrology (2025-2026) (2 semesters)

Universidad de Concepción

  • GIS Applied to Environmental Science (2023)
  • Fluid Mechanics (2022)
  • Distributed Hydrology (2020)
  • Advanced Hydrology (2019)
  • Hydrology (2016-2018) (5 semesters)
  • Introduction to Environmental Science (2015)
  • Support Center for Learning Basic Sciences (2014-2015) (4 semesters)

Datasets

  • RGI v7.1 Lake Termini Classification (2025) — Global mapping of lake-terminating glaciers — classification of Randolph Glacier Inventory v7.1 glacier termini as lake-terminating or not.. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.15524733
  • Historical and Future Runoff in Western Patagonia (2025) — Simulated historical and future runoff projections for Western Patagonia using hybrid glacio-hydrological modelling.. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.15076803
  • Glacier Runoff Projections in Patagonia (2024) — Ensemble of glacier runoff projections for the Patagonian Andes (40–56°S) under multiple climate scenarios.. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.8384882
  • Model-Based Runoff in Northern Patagonia (2024) — Hydrological model outputs for Northern Patagonia catchments under historical and future climate conditions.. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.10949518
  • PatagoniaMet (2023) — A multi-source hydrometeorological dataset for Western Patagonia (40–56°S). Includes precipitation, temperature, streamflow, and other variables from multiple observational sources.. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.7992760

Outreach & Media

Projects & Collaborations

Research projects

  • 2024: Assessing the impacts of wildfires and generate proposals for fire-resilient landscape based on different environmental change scenarios — Geospatial specialist (PI: Gustavo Saiz), UCSC
  • 2022–2023: Hydrological signature influence on Chilean Aquaculture under climate change and landscape scenarios — PhD student (PI: Jorge Leon), UCSC
  • 2022–2023: Risk analysis as a tool for the prioritization of secondary environmental quality standards in the main tributary rivers to the fjord system of Northwestern Patagonia — Project coordinator (PI: Jorge Leon), UCSC
  • 2021: Instrumentation and habilitation of a reference basin for studies related to changes in the snowpack in the Aysén region — Hydrological modeler and climate analyst (PI: Iñigo Irrazabal), CIEP
  • 2021: Production of bioenergy for combustion from sustainable forest management — Geospatial specialist (PI: Gustavo Saiz), UCSC

Applied research

  • 2025: Development of a predictive system for precipitation and streamflow in the central-southern basins (Chile) — Scientific Advisor (Supervisor: Pablo Mendoza), UCH
  • 2021: Strategic Water Management Plans for the Puelo, Yelcho, Aysén, Baker and Pascua Basins — Project Engineer and Scientific Advisor (Supervisor: David Poblete), GEOSAFE
  • 2020: Book Rivers of South America — Data gathering (Supervisor: Jorge Nimptsch), Universidad Austral de Chile (UACH)
  • 2019: Hydrological Modeling in the Upper Cachapoal River Basin — Hydrological Modeler (Supervisor: Aldo Montecinos), Centro del Agua para la Agricultura
  • 2017: Determination of average monthly flows in a hydrographic basin of continental Chiloé — Hydrological Modeler and Climate Analyst (Supervisor: Jose Vargas), Instituto de Fomento Pesquero (IFOP)
  • 2017: Water Scenarios 2030 — Project Engineer (Supervisor: Jose Vargas), Fundación Chile

Peer Review

  • The Cryosphere
  • Hydrology and Earth System Sciences
  • Regional Environmental Change
  • Nature Communications

Fieldwork

  • 2024: Bordu and Kara-Batkak glaciers, Kyrgyzstan — Glacier monitoring using drones (PI: Lander Van Tricht)
  • 2018–2021: Puelo River basin, Chile — Trimestral hydrological campaigns for fjord land use change study (PI: Jorge Leon)
  • 2017: Aysén region, Chile — Stream surveys in old-growth temperate forests (PI: Anna Astorga and Brian Reid)

Talks & Presentations

  • 2026: ⭐ Séminaire IGE (France) — What past droughts look like when glaciers shrink
  • 2026: ⭐ Simposio Agua, ciencia y sostenibilidad desde los Andes (Online) — Reimaginando cómo los glaciares Andinos amortiguaron las pasadas sequías hidrológicas
  • 2026: EGU General Assembly (Austria) — Glacio-hydrological modelling in Patagonia
  • 2026: EGU General Assembly (Austria) — Reimagining how Andean glaciers buffered past streamflow droughts
  • 2026: III Jornadas de Hidrologia (Chile) — What past droughts look like when glaciers shrink
  • 2026: UCH seminars (Chile) — Reimagining how Andean glaciers buffered past streamflow droughts
  • 2025: ⭐ Glaciological seminars at ETH (Switzerland) — From ice to streams: Climate change impacts on glacier runoff dynamics in the Andes
  • 2025: ⭐ Taller TROPIPOLAR-GLASCLIM (Online) — Glacier buffering of past streamflow droughts in a changing climate: Insights from the Andes
  • 2025: BE-POLAR conference (Belgium) — Glacier buffering of past streamflow droughts in a changing climate: Insights from the Andes
  • 2025: International Mountain Conference (IMC) (Austria) — Glacier buffering of past streamflow droughts in a changing climate: Insights from the Andes
  • 2025: 9th OGGM workshop (Belgium) — Revisiting glacier buffering of past streamflow droughts with OGGM: Pitfalls and Pathways Forward
  • 2025: GlacierMIP workshop (Norway) — Glacier buffering of past streamflow droughts in a changing climate (ICE-BUFFER)
  • 2025: EGU General Assembly (Austria) — Divergent spatial runoff trends in Western Patagonia projected by hybrid glacio-hydrological modelling
  • 2024: ⭐ Summerschool at the Tien Shan International Science Centre (Kyrgyzstan) — On the importance of modelling glaciers for runoff projections
  • 2024: EGU General Assembly (Austria) — Unravelling the sources of uncertainty in glacier runoff in the Patagonian Andes
  • 2024: 8th OGGM workshop (Switzerland) — Divergent glacio-hydrological spatial patterns in Western Patagonia projected by hybrid deep Learning
  • 2023: V Congress of the Chilean Cryosphere Society (Chile) — Assessing the glacier projection uncertainties in the Patagonian Andes
  • 2022: ⭐ Seminar for the strategic planning of water resources in Aysén (Chile) — PatagoniaMet v1.0: Una base de datos hidro-meteorológica para la Patagonia Occidental
  • 2022: 6th OGGM workshop (Norway) — Modeling the freshwater inputs to the coastal system of Western Patagonia
  • 2022: Student for Student Summerschool (Austria) — Climate datasets are the main source of uncertainty of glacier evolution
  • 2021: ⭐ Glaciology Seminars organized by the Center for Scientific Studies (Online) — A multi-institutional effort for an open hydrometeorological dataset in Western Patagonia
  • 2021: III Congress of the Chilean Cryosphere Society (Online) — PatagoniaMet: A quality check observational dataset for Western Patagonia
  • 2021: Scientific Meeting of The Argentine Association Of Geophysicists and Geodesists (Online) — PatagoniaMet: Generation and evaluation of precipitation and air temperature gridded datasets
  • 2019: XXIV Chilean Congress of Hydraulic Engineering (Chile) — The glass half-empty: Climate Change Impacts on Freshwater Input to the North Patagonia Coastal System
  • 2018: XXVIII Latin American Hydraulics Congress (Argentina) — Hydrological modeling of the trans-Andean basin of the Puelo River: Application of Remote Sensors