Gonzalo Espinoza Dávalos, PhD

Civil Engineering • Water Resources & Environment • GIS & Geospatial Analysis • Earth Observations & Remote Sensing • Stakeholder Engagement

I’m the founder of Remanz, an independent consultancy that turns global earth observation and data into GIS tools agencies and utilities rely on every day.
I also serve as GIS Manager at Citian.

Expertise

Over 15 years building and contributing to GIS and remote sensing projects such as GEOGLOWS, NOAA's National Water Model, IHE's Water Accounting+, FAO's WaPOR, and the Johns Hopkins COVID-19 dashboard, turning complex geospatial data into decisions stakeholders can act on.

GIS & Geospatial Analysis

Building ArcGIS and Tethys Platform workflows that process large-scale hydrologic datasets into interactive tools — from the NASA Data Rods Explorer to national-scale water accounting dashboards.

Remote Sensing & Earth Observation

Integrating satellite products — CHIRPS precipitation, SSEBop evapotranspiration, MODIS and NLDAS datasets — into engineering models that deliver local-scale water resource answers from global data.

Applied Water Resources Research

Turning peer-reviewed research into operational tools — streamflow forecasting for NOAA's National Water Model and GEOGLOWS, and water accounting frameworks used by FAO and IHE Delft.

Highlights

Conference leadership, editorial roles, and entrepreneurial awards from across the geospatial and water resources community

2nd Place Winner

ESA φ-week Entrepreneurship Bootcamp

Frascati, Italy, 2018
Conference General Chair

AWRA Geospatial Water Technology Conference (GWTC)

Niagara Falls, NY, 2026
Website →
Technical Program Chair

AWRA Geospatial Water Technology Conference (GWTC)

Orlando, FL, 2024
Website →
Consulting Editor

Geowater: A Geographic Approach to Water Data and Forecasting

Esri Press, 2026
Book →
Contributor

The Power of Where: A Geographic Approach to the World's Greatest Challenges

Esri Press, 2024
Book →

Featured Projects

Geospatial tools and web applications for water management with local impact through national and international collaboration

GEOGLOWS Streamflow Forecasting

Global hydrologic model providing streamflow forecasts and historical simulations for rivers worldwide, democratizing water management at a global scale.

Global Scale Hydrologic Modeling Forecasting
View Application →

National Water Model

NOAA's operational hydrologic model providing hourly streamflow forecast across the United States, enabling flood forecasting and inundation mapping.

NOAA National Scale Streamflow Forecasting Flood Inundation Mapping
Explore Model →

Remote Sensing for Water Productivity

FAO initiative using satellite data to measure agricultural water productivity and establish water accounting frameworks across Africa and the Middle East.

FAO Water Accounting Water Productivity Agriculture Remote Sensing
Learn More →

NASA Data Rods Explorer

Interactive tool for exploring and accessing multidimensional climate and hydrologic datasets for water resources analysis.

Data Access Climate Data Global Models Visualization
Try the Tool →

Esri Drought Aware

App for visualizing U.S. drought conditions over time with weekly automated updates, assessing impacts on population, agriculture, and water resources across varying drought intensities.

ArcGIS Drought Monitoring Web App
Explore Application →

Water Accounting+

Water Accounting Framework using global remote sensing data, tracking water flows, stocks, and consumption to support water governance, hydrodiplomacy and informed water management decisions in river basins.

IHE Delft Remote Sensing Basin Management
Explore Framework →

Research

Research contributions to water resources and geospatial science

Journal Articles

Rating Curve Modeling Using Machine Learning: A Case Study in the Largest Gauging Stations in the Amazon River
Paca, VHdM; Espinoza Dávalos, GE; de Souza, EB; Queiroz, JCB
Remote Sensing, 2026, 18(9), 1337
View Publication →
Assessment of Precipitation and Evapotranspiration in an Urban Area Using Remote Sensing Products (CHIRP, CMORPH, and SSEBop): The Case of the Metropolitan Region of Belem, Amazon
Paca, VHdM; de Souza, EB; Queiroz, JCB; Espinoza-Dávalos, GE
Water, 2023, 15(19), 3498
View Publication →
Remote Sensing Products Validated by Flux Tower Data in Amazon Rain Forest
Paca, VHdM; Espinoza-Dávalos, GE; da Silva, R; Tapajós, R; Gaspar, AB;
Remote Sensing, 2022, 14(5), 1259
View Publication →
Variability of Trends in Precipitation across the Amazon River Basin Determined from the CHIRPS Precipitation Product and from Station Records
Paca, VHdM.; Espinoza-Dávalos, GE; Moreira, DM; Comair, GF
Water, 2020, 12(5), 1244
View Publication →
The spatial variability of actual evapotranspiration across the Amazon River Basin based on remote sensing products validated with flux towers
Paca, VHdM.; Espinoza-Dávalos, GE; Hessels, TM; Moreira DM; Comair, GF, Bastiaanssen WGM.
Ecological Processes, 2019, 8(1), 6
View Publication →
Evaluating the Benefits of Merging Near-Real-Time Satellite Precipitation Products: A Case Study in the Kinu Basin Region, Japan
Mastrantonas, N; Bhattacharya, B; Shibuo, Y; Rasmy, M; Espinoza-Dávalos, GE; Solomatine, D
Journal of Hydrometeorology, 2019, 20(7), 1295-1311
View Publication →
Studying soil moisture at a national level through statistical analysis of NASA NLDAS data
Espinoza-Dávalos, GE; Arctur, DK; Teng, W; Maidment, DR; García-Martí, I; Comair, GF
Journal of Hydroinformatics, 2016, 18(2), 277-287
View Publication →
A new open source platform for lowering the barrier for environmental web app development
Swain, NR; Christensen, SD; Snow, AD; Dolder, H; Espinoza-Dávalos, GE; Goharian, E; Jones, NL; Nelson, EJ; Ames, DP; Burian, SJ
Environmental Modelling & Software, 2016, 85, 11-26
View Publication →
Large-scale statistical analysis of NLDAS variables and hydrologic web applications
Espinoza-Dávalos, GE
Doctoral dissertation, The University of Texas at Austin, 2016
View Publication →
Assessing Water Security in the Jordan River Basin: Temporal Changes for Precipitation, Evapotranspiration and Land Cover
Comair, GF; Espinoza-Dávalos, GE; McKinney, DC
Water, 2023, 15, 4064
View Publication →
Hydrology of the Jordan River Basin: A GIS-Based System to Better Guide Water Resources Management and Decision Making
Comair, GF; McKinney, DC; Maidment, DR; Espinoza-Dávalos, GE; Sangiredy, H; Fayad, A; Salas, FR
Water Resources Management, 2014, 933–946
View Publication →
Transboundary cooperation in international basins: Clarification and experiences from the Orontes River Basin agreement: Part 2
Comair, GF; McKinney, DC; Scoullos, MJ; Flinker, RH; Espinoza-Dávalos, GE
Environmental Science & Policy, 2013, 31, 141-148
View Publication →
Transboundary cooperation in international basins: Clarification and experiences from the Orontes river basin agreement: Part 1
Comair, GF; McKinney, DC; Scoullos, MJ; Flinker, RH; Espinoza-Dávalos, GE
Environmental Science & Policy, 2013, 31, 133-140
View Publication →

Professional Engagement

WaPOR Database Methodology Version 2
FAO, 2020
Water Productivity through remotely sensed derived data
View Report →
Water Accounting in the Litani River Basin
FAO and IHE Delft, 2019
WaPOR water accounting reports
View Report →
Geowater: A Geographic Approach to Water Data and Forecasting
Consulting Editor
Esri Press
View Book →
The Power of Where: A Geographic Approach to the World's Greatest Challenges
Dangermond, J., 2024 — Contributor
Esri Press
View Book →

Education & Training

Rigorous engineering training paired with years of teaching professionals worldwide to apply GIS, remote sensing, and global datasets to real water challenges

PhD, Civil Engineering

The University of Texas at Austin, 2016

Advisor: Dr. David Maidment.

MS, Environmental and Water Resources Engineering

The University of Texas at Austin, 2012

Advisor: David Maidment.

BE, Civil Engineering

Autonomous University of Aguascalientes, 2009

Specialization in Geotechnical Engineering.

Lecturer & Course Coordinator

IHE Delft, 2016–2018

Taught and coordinated modules in Water Accounting, Geostatistics for Water Resources and Environmental Scientists, Remote Sensing for Agricultural Water Use, and Hydroinformatics for Decision Support.

International Training & Workshops

Building global capacity through hands-on technical training

Delivered water accounting, GIS, and remote sensing training for institutions such as FAO, the International Livestock Research Institute (Ethiopia), Egypt's Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, the Litani River Authority (Lebanon), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Nicaragua, PUCMM (Dominican Republic), and AmeriGEO/AWRA workshops on GEOGLOWS and machine learning.

Digital Learning Resources

Practical guides to the latest geospatial tools and technologies

Online tutorials, blogs, and interactive platforms delivering educational content that makes geospatial and hydrologic data accessible to practitioners and the public.

Let's Connect

Through Remanz, I offer civil engineering consulting, geospatial intelligence, and custom web application development — integrating spatial datasets into decision-support tools built around stakeholder engagement. Let's talk about your project.

Phi-week bootcamp 2nd place award at ESA ESRIN, Frascati, November 2018