Catchment hydrology
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Catchment hydrology is the study of water’s ways from rain to stream within a specific geographical area (known as a catchment) to understand water availability, quality, and flow patterns. Our research group investigates how water interacts with the physical landscape, ecosystems, and human activities within the catchment, and how it is affected by local climate conditions.
Our research
A catchment is the geographical area from which a stream or a groundwater system derives its water. Bounded by elevated terrains that direct rain and meltwater in different directions, all precipitation - be it rain or snow - within a catchment converges at an outlet point. The characteristics of a catchment, including its shape, size, topography, land cover, climate, stream network, underlying soil and geology, land-use and human activities, greatly influence its hydrological dynamics. They determine the ways water takes, whether it infiltrates into the ground or runs off, how fast it moves across the landscape or below the surface, and how it is stored. They even affect the chemical composition of both ground- and surface water.
In our ever-changing world, catchments serve as the fundamental landscape unit for exploring hydrological processes, monitoring water quality, and efficiently managing water resources. Contemporary environmental challenges urge stakeholders and scientists alike to increasingly adopt a catchment-centered approach that acknowledges the underlying complexity of physical, biological, chemical, and societal factors. Moreover, the EU Water Framework Directive mandates member countries to manage water resources within catchment boundaries, underscoring the critical role of catchment-based management strategies in promoting sustainable water governance.
Therefore, our group studies how catchments respond to climate change, land-cover shifts, and other human drivers at various spatial (plot to country) and temporal scales (hours to decades). Focusing on the effects of wetland restoration, pollution, and extreme events (floods and droughts), we explore the interactions among hydrological and biogeochemical processes that shape terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.