I – The impact of recurrent drought conditions on European forests
Drought is a major driver for European forest mortality. The frequency of drought over Europe is projected to increase due to global warming.
Here, you will characterize the observed impact of repetitive droughts on forest damage in Europe.
Impact of the 2018 drought on Swiss beech trees
(Hemishofen, canton of Schaffhausen source: WSL)
The research objectives:
- Identify forest reduced greenness events triggered by drought conditions in Europe.
- Assess the impact of recurring dry conditions on forest health.
- Compare the impacts of repetitive dry years with the impacts of isolated dry years.
Low forest NDVI events, July-August
Prerequisites
- Interest in extreme weather events and their impacts on vegetation.
- Experience in programming – or the willingness to learn.
- Interest in causality and statistical significance, willingness to learn.
Contact Dr. Pauline Rivoire
II – Societal impacts and weather systems of floods in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
Despite the arid climate of the MENA region, heavy rainfall events often cause floods with devastating impacts, and frequently lead to loss of life and economic damage.
Here, you will clarify the societal impacts and driving weather systems of floods in the Middle East and in North Africa.
Floods Libya September 2023 (source: BBC, Reuters)
The research objectives:
- Quantify the impacts (fatalities and damages) result from floods.
- Characterize their spatial distribution, seasonality, and interannual variability.
- Identify the weather systems associated with flood disasters.
Prerequisites
- Interest in meteorology, extreme weather, and their impacts.
- Experience in programming – or the willingness to learn.
Contact Dr. Andries de Vries