Our lab offers in collaboration with the Soil Sciences Lab the specialisation Modelling Flow and Transport in the Critical Zone in the Environmental Sciences programme.
The Earth's critical zone is the near-surface part of the environment, extending from the top of the canopy to the aquifer. It is governed by a variety of complex, interacting processes which sustain life on Earth, and it is closely intertwined with human society through issues such as land use and climate change. A quantitative understanding of the fluxes of water, energy, solutes and gases is fundamental to sustainable land use and the development of climate adaptation strategies. In this specialization, students learn the conceptual and mathematical description of the transport processes of water, energy and substances in the critical zone. Crucial aspects are physical-chemical fundamentals, the translation into mathematical models and the solution of equations or systems of equations using numerical methods. The focus is on transport processes in soil, groundwater and vegetation. The course is rounded off with methods of statistical parameter estimation, monitoring the soil water balance in the field and the fundamentals and applications of urban ecohydrology. The aim of the specialization is to enable students to understand process-based models and apply them in research and practice. Typical professional fields are research (universities, authorities, companies) and consulting (companies, NGOs).
In the winter term, we offer the following modules:
We supervise theses on modelling and model development for ecohydrological applications. Interested students can find a list of thesis topics here.
Collaborations with Forschungszentrum Jülich and Niedersächsisches Kompetenzzentrum Klimawandel are possible.
Contact: Özgen
We have an Erasmus+ agreement, Escuela de Ingeniería y Arquitectura, Universidad de Zaragoza, Spain.