Molnar, Peter, Dr.

Position

• Senior Research Associate
• Fluvial Systems Group, Leader

Education

• PHD, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, Colorado, USA (2001)
• MS, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, Colorado, USA (1996)
• Dipl.Eng., Slovak Technical University, Bratislava, Slovakia (1992)

Research interests

• Study of Fluvial Systems
  Sediment transport and erosion dynamics in fluvial systems. Climate effects on watershed and channel changes. Modelling of aggradation/degradation processes in rivers and watersheds. Mountain stream morphology.
• Rainfall-Runoff Modelling
  Distributed rainfall-runoff modelling. The effect of spatial heterogeneity in rainfall and land surface properties on runoff production. Stochastic modelling of rainfall fields.
• Fluvial Geomorphology and River Network Structure
  Topological description, scaling properties and self-organization of river networks. Prediction of instability and potential geomorphic adjustment in river systems based on theories of optimal energy expenditure.

Teaching at ETH

• Fluvial Systems, Autumn Semester
• Watershed modelling, Spring Semester
• Hydrology 2 (50% with P. Burlando), Autumn Semester
• Golden Owl Award by students for best teacher in D-BAUG (2011) >>

My links

• International Workshop on Precipitation in Urban areas, next version 6-9 Dec 2012, co-ordinator
• SNF project STEPsoc (Modelling of step formation in steep streams) 20012-2015
• SNF project SCALP (Scaling of space-time precipitation in the Swiss Alps and its impact on basin response) 2009-2012
• SNF project SedyMONT (Analysis and modelling framework for sediment production and yield in mountain basins under climate change) 2009-2012

Selected publications

Full publication list (PDF)

• Paschalis, A., Molnar, P., and Burlando, P., 2012. Temporal dependence structure in weights in a multiplicative cascade model for precipitation, Water Resour. Res., 48, W01501, doi:10.1029/2011WR010679.
• Savina, M., Schäppi, B., Molnar, P., Burlando, P., and Sevruk, B., 2012. Comparison of a tipping-bucket and electronic weighing precipitation gauge for snowfall, Atmospheric Res., 103, 45–51, doi:10.1016/j.atmosres.2011.06.010.
• Perona, P., Molnar, P., Crouzy, B., Perucca, E., Jiang, Z., McLelland, S., Wütrich, D., Edmaier, K., Francis, R., Camporeale, C., and Gurnell, A., 2012. Biomass selection by floods and related timescales: Part 1. Experimental observations, Adv. Water Resour., 39, 85–96, doi:10.1016/j.advwatres.2011.09.016.
• Savina, M., Molnar, P., and Burlando, 2011. P. Seasonal long-term persistence in radar precipitation in complex terrain, Water Resour. Res., 47, W10506, doi:10.1029/2010WR010170.
• Konz, M., Chiari, M., Rimkus, S., Turowski, J., Molnar, P., Rickenmann, D., and Burlando, P., 2011. Sediment transport modeling in a distributed physically based hydrological catchment model. Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 15, 2821–2837, doi:10.5194/hess-15-2821-2011.
• Molnar, P., Densmore, A.L., McArdell, B.W., Turowski, J.M., and Burlando, P., 2010. Analysis of changes in the step-pool morphology and channel profile of a steep mountain stream following a large flood, Geomorphology, doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2010.08.014.
• Seybold, H.J., Molnar, P., Devrim, A.M., Duomi, M., Cavalcanti Tavares, M., Shinbrot, T., Andrade, J.S., Kinzelbach, W., and Herrmann, H., 2010. The topography of an inland delta: observations, modelling, experiments, Geophys. Res. Lett., 37, L08402, doi:10.1029/2009GL041605.
• Perona, P., Molnar, P., Savina, M., and Burlando, P., 2009. An observation-based stochastic model for sediment and vegetation dynamics in the floodplain of an Alpine braided river, Water Resour. Res., 45, W09418, doi:10.1029/2008WR007550.
• Seybold, H., Molnar, P., Singer, H.M., Andrade, J.S., Herrmann, H.J., and Kinzelbach, W., 2009. Simulation of birdfoot delta formation with application to the Mississippi Delta, J. Geophys. Res., 114, F03012, doi:10.1029/2009JF001248.
• Molnar, P., and P. Burlando, 2008. Variability in the scale properties of high-resolution precipitation data in the Alpine climate of Switzerland, Water Resour. Res., 44, W10404, doi:10.1029/2007WR006142.
• Molnar, P., 2006. The geometrical scaling of Cayley trees and river networks, Journal of Hydrology, 322, 199-210, doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2005.02.035.
• Milzow, C., Molnar, P., McArdell, B., and Burlando, P., 2006. Spatial organization in the step-pool structure of a steep mountain stream (Vogelbach, Switzerland), Water Resour. Res., 42, W04418, doi:10.1029/2004WR003870.
• Schuerch, P., Densmore, A.L., McArdell, B.W., and Molnar, P., 2006. Sediment supply by landsliding in a steep mountain catchment, Geomorphology, 78, 222-235, doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2006.01.025.
• Birsan, M., Molnar, P., Burlando, P., Pfaundler, M., 2005. Streamflow trends in Switzerland, J. Hydrol., 314, 312-329.
• Molnar, P., and Burlando, P., 2005. Preservation of rainfall properties in stochastic disaggregation by a simple random cascade model, Atmos. Res., 77(1-4), 137-151.
• Molnar, P., Burlando, P., and Ruf, W., 2002. Integrated catchment assessment of riverine landscape dynamics, Aquatic Sciences, 64(2), 129-140.
• Molnar, P., and Ramirez, J.A., 2002. On downstream hydraulic geometry and optimal energy expenditure: Case study of the Ashley and Taieri Rivers, J. Hydrol., 259(1-4), 105-115.
• Molnar, P., and Ramirez, J.A., 2001. Recent trends in precipitation and streamflow in the Rio Puerco Basin, J. Climate, 14(10), 2317-2328.
• Molnar, P., and Ramirez, J.A., 1998. Energy dissipation theories and optimal channel characteristics of river networks, Water Resour. Res., 34(7), 1809-1818.
• Molnar, P., and Ramirez, J.A., 1998. An analysis of energy expenditure in Goodwin Creek, Water Resour. Res., 34(7), 1819-1829.