Ongoing PhD projects

The Chair of Hydrology particularly promotes PhD studies that advance hydrological process understanding. Innovative field experiments can be conducted in existing field laboratories and experimental sites. A combination of cutting-edge field and modelling techniques requires talent, motivation as well as comprehensive theoretical and practical skills.
In this context, we advocate exchanges with national and international research groups.

Current PhD studies at the Chair of Hydrology:

student	thesis	assistance	keywords
Anys, Markus	Quantification of ecohydrological processes of urban trees	Markus Weiler, Christiane Werner	urban environmental impact factors on urban trees (drought and heat stress, rooting space, …) ecosystem services of urban trees (cooling potential via transpiration, mitigation of stormwater runoff, ...) urban tree water balance root water uptake of urban trees analysis of stable water isotopes in twigs and soils water resources of urban trees; modelling ecosystem services of urban trees
Dedden, Lea	Ecohydrological fluxes and processes within forest ecosystems	Markus Weiler	in-situ ecohydrological sensor network linking the spatio-temporal dynamics of precipitation, soil water content, root water uptake and sap flow rainfall redistribution effects on soil moisture patterns, persistence and depth propagation and tree transpiration and root water uptake effects on soil moisture patterns
Frenzel, Immanuel	Understanding pathways of trifluoric acid (TFA) in natural and urban water cycles	Markus Weiler	Tracing influent and effluent TFA concentrations of waste water treatment plants (WWTP) Sampling different sewer system in search for TFA point sources Evaluating TFA as a hydrological tracer
Geissler, Joschka	Understanding and predicting the spatial and temporal variability of snow processes under different vegetation covers combining laser observations and point measurements	Markus Weiler	Monitoring snow accumulation and ablation underneath different canopy In-situ measurements using SnoMoS-stations in the black forest and the alps UAV-based LiDAR measurements to compute high resolution vegetation indices
Glaser, Daniel	Interaction of streams and aquifers in the public water supply areas of Freiburg	Markus Weiler Jens Lange	Monitoring of water levels and discharges in streams around Freiburg Quantification of groundwater-surface water interaction Developing methods for UAV-based remote-sensing of discharges Identifying nitrate stress in local drinking water supply
Mach, Judith	Plant water uptake strategies and travel times of different tree species (beech and spruce) with focus on the effect of competition in pure and mixed stands	Natalie Orlowski, Markus Weiler	In-situ measurements of stable water isotopes Determination of travel times and water ages within the different ecohydrological compartments Integration into an ecohydrological model including isotope transport
Paulsen, Heinke	Water storage and redistribution in the forest floor affect percolation, evaporation and DOM loss	Markus Weiler	leaching of dissolved organic matter (DOM) or dissolved organic carbon (DOC) spatial and temporal patterns of water fluxes in the Forest Floor (FF) understanding hydrological properties and services of FF
Pyschik, Jonas	Comparing dynamics and pathways of subsurface stormflow (SSF) among hillslopes	Markus Weiler	hydrologic behaviour and SSF dynamics of different hillslope types timing and location of SSF generation relating depth distributions of stable water isotopes and water-soluble organic matter to subsurface flow pathways spatial distribution of hillslope connectivity to stream
Seeger, Stefan	The influence of biodiversity on soil water redistribution and the amounts and source depths of plant water uptake	Markus Weiler, Michael Scherer-Lorenzen	In-situ measurement of stable water isotope in the soil Determination of transpiration rates and water uptake depths of different vegetation types Quantification of soil water redistribution

Graduiertenschule "Environment, Society and Global Change" (ESGC)