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Nishan Bhattarai

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Postdoctoral Researcher
Geospatial Data Sciences
Conservation + Restoration
nbhattar@umich.edu
(734) 764-6453
Office
2004 Dana

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About

Nishan is a physical and remote sensing scientist with expertise in agro-hydro-climatic assessments, big data processing, digital image analysis, GIS, and vegetation modeling. He studies the impacts of climate change on agricultural sustainability by combining remote sensing with other disciplines. His research also focuses on advancing the use of remote sensing for modeling evapotranspiration through which he developed automated and multi-model remote sensing tools

Publications

  • Niraula, R., Saleh, A., Bhattarai, N., Bajgain, R., Kannan, N., Osie, E., Gowda, P., Neel, J., Xiao, X., & Basara, J. 2020. Understanding the effects of pasture type and stocking rate on the hydrology of Southern Great Plains. Science of the Total Environment 708: 134873.
  • Bhattarai, N., Mallick, K., Stuart, J.**, Vishwakarma, B.D., Niraula, R., Sen, S., & Jain, M. 2019. An automated multi-model evapotranspiration mapping framework using remote sensing and reanalysis data. Remote Sensing of Environment 229: 69-92.
  • Cohn, A., Bhattarai, N., Campolo, J., Crompton, O., Dralle, D., Duncan, J., & Thompson, S., 2019. Forest loss in Brazil increases maximum temperatures within 50km. Environmental Research Letters 14: 084047.
  • Bhattarai, N. & Liu, T. 2019. LandMOD ET Mapper: a new Matlab-based graphical user interface (GUI) for automated implementation of SEBAL and METRIC models in thermal imagery. Environmental Modelling and Software 118: 76-82.
  • Kafley, H., Lamichane, B.R., Maharjan, R., Thapaliya, B., Bhattarai, N., Khadka, M., & Gompper, M.E. 2019. Estimating prey abundance and distribution from camera trap data using bionomical mixture models. European Journal of Wildlife Research 65:77.
  • Kafley, H., Lamichane, B.R., Maharjan, R., Khadka, M., Bhattarai, N., Gompper, M.E., 2019. Tiger and leopard co-occurrence: intraguild interactions in response to human and livestock disturbance. Basic and Applied Ecology 40: 78-89.
  • Bhattarai, N., Mallick, K., Brunsell, N. A., Sun, G., & Jain, M. 2018. Regional evapotranspiration from an image-based implementation of the Surface Temperature Initiated Closure (STIC1.2) model and its validation across an aridity gradient in the conterminous United States. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 22:2311-2341.
  • Mallick, K., Wandera, L., Bhattarai, N., Hostache, R., Chormanski J., & Kleniewska, M. 2018. A critical evaluation on the role of aerodynamic and canopy-surface conductance parameterization in SEB & SVAT models for simulating evapotranspiration: a case study in the Upper Biebrza National Park wetland. Water 10 (12): 1753
  • Niraula, R., Meixner, T., Dominguez, F., Bhattarai, N., Rodell, M., Ajami, H., Gochis, D., & Castro, C. 2017. How might recharge change under projected climate change in the western US? Geophysical Research Letters, 44:10407-10418
  • Bhattarai, N., Quackenbush, L.J., Im, Jungho, & Shaw, S.B. 2017. A new optimized algorithm for automating endmember pixel selection in the SEBAL and METRIC models. Remote Sensing of Environment, 196: 178-192.
  • Bhattarai, N., Wagle, P., Gowda, P., & Kakani, V. 2017. Utility of remote sensing-based surface energy balance models to track water stress in rain-fed switchgrass under dry and wet conditions. ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 133: 128-141.
  • Richards, P., Cohn, A., Arima, E., VanWey, L., & Bhattarai, N. 2017. Enforcement evasion highlights need for better satellite monitoring for forest governance. Conservation Letters, 10:497-498. [Link]
  • Wagle, P., Bhattarai, N.*, Gowda, P., & Kakani, V. 2017. Performance of five surface energy balance models for estimating daily evapotranspiration in high biomass sorghum. ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 128: 192-203.
  • Richards, P. Arima, E., VanWey, L., Cohn, A., & Bhattarai, N. 2017. Are Brazil’s deforesters avoiding detection? Conservation Letters, 10:470-476.
  • Bhattarai, N., Shaw, S. B., Quackenbush, L. J., Im, J., & Niraula, R. 2016. Evaluating five remote sensing-based single-source surface energy balance models for estimating daily evapotranspiration rates in a humid subtropical climate. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation 49: 75-86.
  • Bhattarai, N., Quackenbush, L.J., Dougherty, M., & Marzen, L. 2015. A simple Landsat–MODIS fusion approach for monitoring seasonal evapotranspiration at 30 m spatial resolution. International Journal of Remote Sensing 36: 115-143.
  • Shaw, SB., Marrs, J.**, Bhattarai, N., & Quackenbush, L.J. 2014. Longitudinal study of the impacts of land cover change on hydrologic response in four mesoscale watersheds in New York State, USA. Journal of Hydrology 519: 12-22.
  • Bhattarai, N., Dougherty, M., Marzen, L., & Kalin, L. 2012.Validation of evaporation estimates from a modified surface energy balance algorithm for land model in the south-eastern US. Remote sensing letters 3: 511-519.

Education

Ph.D. in Environmental Resources Engineering (Geospatial Information Science & Engineering), SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry, Syracuse, NY

MS in Forestry (Hydrology), Auburn University, Auburn, AL

BS in Forestry, Tribhuvan University, Nepal