Details of the Researcher

PHOTO

Mbugua Jacqueline Muthoni
Section
Graduate School of Engineering
Job title
Specially Appointed Assistant Professor(Research)

Research History 2

  • 2025/04 - Present
    Tohoku University　Graduate School of Engineering Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering　Special appointed assistant professor (research)

  • 2024/06 - 2025/03
    Tohoku University　Graduate School of Engineering Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering　Special Appointed Researcher

Education 4

  • Tohoku University　Graduate School of Engineering Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering　Doctoral Program

    2018/10 - 2021/09

  • Tohoku University　Graduate School of Engineering Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering　Master's Program

    2016/10 - 2018/09

  • Tohoku University　Graduate School of Engineering Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering　Research Student

    2016/04 - 2016/09

  • Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology　Center for Disaster Management, Disaster Mitigation and Sustainable Development　Bachelor of Science Program

    2009/08 - 2013/12

Professional Memberships 3

  • Japan Geoscience Union (JPGU)

    2025/02 - Present

  • Japan Association for Nilo-Ethiopian Studies (JANES)

    2020/03 - Present

  • Japan Society of Civil Engineering (JSCE)

    2018/03 - Present

Research Interests 5

  • Endorheic lakes

  • Land cover

  • Water resources

  • Climate change

  • Hydrology

Research Areas 1

  • Social infrastructure (civil Engineering, architecture, disaster prevention) / Hydroengineering / Hydrology

Awards 1

  1. Japanese Government (Monbukagakusho: MEXT) Scholarship

    2016/04　Ministry of Education, Culture Sports, Science and Technology- Japan

Papers 5

  1. Numerical experiments of cloud seeding for mitigating localization of heavy rainfall: a case study of Mesoscale Convective System in Japan

    Yusuke Hiraga, Jacqueline Muthoni Mbugua, Shunji Kotsuki, Yoshiharu Suzuki, Shu-Hua Chen, Atsushi Hamada, Kazuaki Yasunaga, Takuya Funatomi

    Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences　2026/03/11

    DOI： 10.5194/nhess-26-1287-2026 　

  2. Supplementary material to "Numerical Experiments of Cloud Seeding for Mitigating Localization of Heavy Rainfall: A Case Study of Mesoscale Convective System in Japan"

    Yusuke Hiraga, Jacqueline Muthoni Mbugua, Shunji Kotsuki, Yoshiharu Suzuki, Shu-Hua Chen, Atsushi Hamada, Kazuaki Yasunaga, Takuya Funatomi

    2025/09/19

    DOI： 10.5194/egusphere-2025-3524-supplement 　

  3. Recent Advances in Long-Term Wind-Speed and -Power Forecasting: A Review

    Jacqueline Muthoni Mbugua, Yusuke Hiraga

    Climate　2025/07/23

    DOI： 10.3390/cli13080155 　

  4. Wetland Loss Intensifies Regional Heat and Stress: Insights from the 2023 Southeast Asia Heatwave

    Chang Liu, Yusuke Hiraga, Jacqueline Mbugua, Jose Angelo Hokson, So Kazama

    2025/06/25

    Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

    DOI： 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6812001/v1 　

    More details Close

    Abstract <p>Wetlands play a crucial role in regulating regional climate through their effects on surface energy balance and evapotranspiration. However, rapid wetland loss in Southeast Asia has raised concerns about its potential to intensify extreme weather events such as heatwaves. This study investigates the impact of wetland loss on regional temperature and human heat stress during the 2023 heatwave in the Cambodia Lower Mekong Delta (CLMD). Using the WRF model coupled with the Noah-MP land surface scheme, we conducted high-resolution ensemble simulations under three land cover scenarios: baseline, historical wetland extent, and current wetland extent. Additional simulations were performed using a Pseudo Global Warming (PGW) approach with future climate deltas derived from 30 CMIP6 global climate models under SSP2-4.5. Results show that wetlands reduce surface temperatures by 1 to 3°C on average, with broader cooling effects extending beyond wetland boundaries. Under future warming, these cooling effects persist, demonstrating the resilience of wetland-regulated climate moderation. The combined scenario of climate warming and wetland loss produces amplified heat exposure. Although the reduction in Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) due to wetlands was modest (1–2°C), it has meaningful implications for heat stress mitigation. This study underscores the importance of wetlands as a natural defense against heat extremes and introduces a replicable framework for integrating wetland changes into regional climate modeling. These findings highlight the need to preserve and restore wetland ecosystems as part of climate adaptation strategies in heat-vulnerable regions.</p>

  5. DETECTING CHANGES IN IRRIGATED AREA USING MULTI-TEMPORAL MODIS AND LAND SURFACE MODEL SURFACE TEMPERATURE WITHIN AMU DARYA DELTA

    Jacqueline Muthoni MBUGUA, Yoshiya TOUGE, So KAZAMA, Temur KHUJANAZAROV, Kenji TANAKA

    Journal of Japan Society of Civil Engineers, Ser. B1 (Hydraulic Engineering)　2019

    DOI： 10.2208/jscejhe.75.2_i_277 　

    ISSN： 2185-467X