Hydrology and Water Management research team
Vision
It is a truism to state that water is a vital element of the earth and its environment, supporting (human) life, yet also posing risks such as flooding and droughts. Many of society’s largest challenges are nowadays caused by extremes in the global hydrological cycle, i.e. extreme rainfall and droughts. These extremes are expected to become even more exceptional due to anthropogenic climate change, posing further increasing risks to our society. The impact on the environment and the cities we live in can be immense. However, preparedness can help us in the management and mitigation of these problems.
Our research team mainly focuses on assessing hydrologic extremes and their consequences with special attention for floods and soil moisture. These can be assessed with multiple tools, both technological, i.e. remote sensing, and computational, i.e. modelling and data assimilation. We aim to apply these tools in different types of watersheds, ranging from natural river systems to urban areas, where sustainable water management is becoming one of the most important challenges of the 21st century.
Lines of research
- Stochastic modelling for climate impact predictions
- Microwave-based soil moisture retrieval
- SAR-based flood monitoring
- Data assimilation of remotely sensed observations for improved hydrological predictions
Members
Prof. dr. ir. Niko Verhoest (team leader)