Project description

The Arctic is rapidly warming, leading to changes in freshwater systems through melting glaciers, thawing permafrost, and shifting hydrological regimes. Understanding how these changes affect runoff generation, evapotranspiration, river discharge, and freshwater availability is a key challenge for Arctic hydrology. At the same time, wildfires activity is increasing across large parts of the Arctic, creating an additional disturbance that can alter vegetation, soils, permafrost conditions, and water flow paths.

This PhD project will investigate how climate change and increasing wildfire activity are reshaping the Arctic water cycle. By combining Earth Observation (EO) satellite data with large-scale hydrological modelling, the doctoral student will study the impact of various wildfire-related landscape changes on hydrological processes in Arctic drainage basins. The project will generate new knowledge regarding the drivers and controls of hydrological changes in the Arctic and contribute to an improved understanding and better predictive models for future freshwater resources in northern regions.