theoretical ecohydrology lab
in brief
Theoretical Ecohydrology Lab | Institute of Geoecology
Technische Universität Braunschweig
Langer Kamp 19c, 4th floor
38106, Brunswick, Germany
(e) igoe-tee@tu-braunschweig.de
(f) +49 531 391-5606
(h) https://www.tu-braunschweig.de/geooekologie/institut/tee
about
We use theoretical methods—conceptual, mathematical, and numerical models—to study ecohydrological processes in terrestrial systems. We are currently working on:
- urban ecohydrological units
- differential equations-based mathematical models and
- their numerical solution
We teach courses on terrestrial ecohydrology in the Environmental Sciences, Civil Engineering, and Environmental Engineering graduate programmes.
statement
We believe that the integration of Ecohydrology into Geoecology is essential for exploring the feedback between terrestrial ecosystems and the hydrological cycle. This includes the impact of changes in land use and land cover, as well as the effects of urbanisation and ecological disturbances on hydrological and ecological functions.
By incorporating geoecological perspectives, our research provides a more complete understanding of the relationship between terrestrial ecosystems, water, and human activities, with important implications for water management and biodiversity conservation in an increasingly urbanised world.
We consider ourselves as a bridge between the Institute of Geoecology and the Leichtweiß-Institute for Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resources at Technische Universität Braunschweig.
teaching
summer term 23
- Urban Ecohydrology (Gillefalk)
winter term 22–23
- Foundations of Ecohydrology (Özgen, Gillefalk)
- Ecohydrological Project (Özgen, Gillefalk)
summer term 22
- Urban Ecohydrology (Gillefalk)
- Ecohydrological Modelling (Özgen)
projects
Urban ecohydrology
- Anthrosole und Technosole — Interdisziplinäre Zugänge zu historischen Deponien als urbane Bodenarchive. Technische Universität Braunschweig, 2022 Interdisciplinary Collaboration Strengthening Interdisciplinarity - Expanding Research Collaboration, 1 Apr 2023 – 30 Nov 2023. – link
Ecohydrological model development
Disturbance ecology
- FIREDYN: Simulación y Análisis Dinámico de la Propagación de Incendios Forestales Utilizando Herramientas Computacionales de alta Resolución. Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Spain, under project-nr. PID2022-141051NA-I00, in collaboration with Universidad de Zaragoza, Spain, 2023–2026. – link
- inter-fire: Interdisciplinary research in ecological, numerical, and mathematical analysis of wildfire hazards. Technische Universität Braunschweig, 2022 Interdisciplinary Collaboration Strengthening Interdisciplinarity - Expanding Research Collaboration, 1 Apr 2023 – 30 Nov 2023. – link
postdocs
- Dr. Mikael Gillefalk, 2021–now, Urban ecohydrology
phd students
- Vera Hörmann, 2023–now, Abiotic stress on urban trees
- Gregor Rickert, 2023–now, Computational methods for high-performance isotope-aided ecohydrology
graduate students
- Dharini Balachandran, 2022–now, Soil–plant–atmosphere continuum modelling
- Fabian Weigl, 2023–now, Urban ecohydrology
- Co-supervision with Dr. Sascha Iden, Soil Physics Group, Technische Universität Braunschweig
co-advised students
in progress
- Hemant Kumar, MTech. Neural networking to predict transpiration using sap flow and soil moisture data from tropical rainforest, PI: Hemalatha, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, India.
- Lennart Steffen, PhD. Performance optimisations for the Hydroinformatics Modeling System (hms++), PI: Hinkelmann, Technische Universität Berlin.
- Aziz Hassan, PhD. Optimization methods for shallow water flow modeling, PI: Hinkelmann, Technische Universität Berlin.
- Rachel Middleton, MSc. Flux re-scaling in ecohydrological systems, Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship, PI: Molins, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, USA.
past
- Franziska Tügel, PhD, 2022. Flash flood modeling with a specific
focus on arid regions and infiltration, PI: Hinkelmann, Technische
Universität Berlin.
First position: Postdoc, Technische Universität Berlin, Germany - Jiaheng Zhao, PhD, 2019. Fully coupled robust shallow water flow
and sediment transport model on unstructured grids, PI: Hinkelmann,
Technische Universität Berlin.
First position: Postdoc, Loughborough University, UK.
visitors
- Adrián Navas Montilla, Universidad de Zaragoza, 2023.
collaborations
- We have an Erasmus+ agreement with the Escuela de Ingeniería y Arquitectura, Universidad de Zaragoza to exchange undergraduate and graduate students as well as teaching staff.
- We have a letter of understanding with the Geoinformatics and Earth Observation Group, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham to exchange graduate students.