Ten years ago I wrote a blogspot paper that contained five reference papers of mine. Or, as I wrote, five papers that represented my earlier research. If I have to choose other 5 papers for the most recente decade, I would chose the following.
Rigon R., Bancheri M., Green T., Age-ranked hydrological budgets and a travel time description of catchment hydrology, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 20, 4929-4947, 2016
This paper introduces the concept of age-ranked hydrological budgets as a novel framework for understanding catchment water storage and release mechanisms. The work demonstrates how water age distributions can be used to characterize catchment behavior and link storage-discharge relationships with travel time theory. The approach provides a physically-based method for interpreting hydrological responses that bridges the gap between traditional storage-based and travel time-based descriptions of catchment hydrology. The mathematical framework presented offers new insights into how different water ages contribute to streamflow generation and storage dynamics. This contribution represents, IMHO, a significant clarification of the travel time in catchment hydrology theory with important implications for water resource management and hydrological modeling. In perspective, some parts of this paper are better treated in subsequent parts, but this was the starting point. For an alternative, maybe more mature, view of the subject, view also the blogpost here.
Rigon, Riccardo, Giuseppe Formetta, Marialaura Bancheri, Niccolò Tubini, Concetta D'Amato, Olaf David, and Christian Massari. 2022. HESS Opinions: Participatory Digital Earth Twin Hydrology Systems (DARTHs) for Everyone: A Blueprint for Hydrologists. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences.
This opinion paper presents a visionary blueprint for developing participatory Digital Earth Twin Hydrology Systems (DARTHs) that democratize access to advanced hydrological modeling capabilities. The work advocates for open-source, component-based modeling frameworks that enable collaborative development and knowledge sharing across the global hydrological community. We propose a paradigm shift toward more inclusive and participatory approaches to hydrological modeling, emphasizing the importance of reproducible science and community-driven development. The paper outlines the technical and social infrastructure needed to support such systems, including considerations for data sharing, model interoperability, and user engagement. This contribution provides a roadmap for transforming hydrological modeling from isolated research activities into collaborative, community-based endeavors that can better serve societal needs.
Tubini, Niccolò, and Riccardo Rigon. 2022. Implementing the Water, HEat and Transport Model in GEOframe (WHETGEO-1D v.1.0): Algorithms, Informatics, Design Patterns, Open Science Features, and 1D Deployment. Geoscientific Model Development 15 (1): 75-104.
This paper presents the comprehensive implementation of WHETGEO-1D, a physically-based model for simulating coupled water, heat, and solute transport in variably saturated soils within the GEOframe modeling system. The work demonstrates advanced software engineering practices applied to geoscientific modeling, including object-oriented design patterns, component-based architecture, and reproducible computational workflows. The model implements sophisticated numerical solutions for Richards' equation coupled with heat and solute transport, providing a robust tool for understanding subsurface processes. The paper emphasizes open science principles through detailed documentation, version control, and community-accessible code repositories that facilitate model reuse and collaborative development.
D'Amato, Concetta, and Riccardo Rigon. 2025. Elementary Mathematics Helps to Shed Light on the Transpiration Budget under Water Stress. Ecohydrology: Ecosystems, Land and Water Process Interactions, Ecohydrogeomorphology 18 (2).
This paper employs elegant mathematical analysis to illuminate the fundamental relationships governing plant transpiration under water stress conditions. The work demonstrates how relatively simple mathematical formulations can provide profound insights into complex ecohydrological processes, particularly the trade-offs between water use and carbon assimilation. We develop analytical solutions that reveal the underlying mechanisms driving transpiration responses to drought stress, offering new perspectives on plant-water interactions. The mathematical framework presented provides a foundation for understanding how vegetation adapts its water use strategies under varying environmental conditions. This contribution bridges theoretical ecology and practical water management by providing clear mathematical descriptions of transpiration dynamics that can inform both scientific understanding and agricultural applications.
D'Amato, Concetta, Niccolò Tubini, and Riccardo Rigon. 2025. A Component Based Modular Treatment of the Soil-Plant-Atmosphere Continuum: The GEOSPACE Framework (v.1.2.9). GMDD.
This paper introduces GEOSPACE, a comprehensive modeling framework that treats the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum as an integrated system using component-based software architecture. The work represents an advancement in ecohydrological modeling by providing modular, interoperable components that can simulate complex interactions between soil water, plant physiology, and atmospheric processes. The framework is a blueprint representing the state-of-the-art of plant hydraulics, stomatal regulation, and soil-root interactions within a flexible, extensible software environment. The component-based design allows researchers to customize model configurations for specific applications while maintaining scientific rigor and computational efficiency.
In the decade I co-authored other relevant papers. You can find them by browsing this blog @Accepted papers They were concerned mainly with applications and data analysis, while the above papers are more theoretical-numerical investigations. In fact I did not published very much, against the current tendency, but most of my papers represent a step in doing better and understanding better hydrological modeling.
