Selected publications

Desiccating salt lakes are an underappreciated source of greenhouse gases that could become even more relevant as a result of climate change. This study, examining greenhouse gas emissions from the drying lake bed of Great Salt Lake, Utah, calculates that 4.1 million tons of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases were released in 2020. 

A study of oxygen and temperature trends in 46 German lakes showed that temperatures have risen mainly at the surface, but not in the deep water. This led to increased stratification and lower oxygen concentrations. Scenarios showed that these effects of climate change on oxygen content could be compensated by reducing nutrients.

Urban stormwater runoff is an untapped source of freshwater for many water-scarce regions, but improved stormwater treatment is needed for safe use and to protect human and aquatic health. This work provides insights into the kinetic limitations of contaminant removal within biochar and regenerated activated carbon filters and discusses implications for stormwater filter design and operation.

Process-based, tracer-aided ecohydrological modelling and ML were combined to estimate the effects of long-term drought on water fluxes/storage in the Spree catchment. The recent major droughts resulted in declines in groundwater recharge (>40 %), evapotranspiration (up to 16 %) and soil moisture (up to 6 %). Groundwater levels may not recover in 15 years if precipitation anomalies persist.

Long-term water chemistry and isotope data were integrated to investigate hydrological function and water ages in the Scottish Girnock Burn catchment with an Atlantic Salmon population. Changing climatic conditions and stream flow responses continue to cause changes in water quality and ecosystem services with an increase in low flows, derived from older groundwater with more alkaline chemistry.

The authors used remote sensing data and wavelet analysis to quantify dynamics in floodplain inundation and riverfloodplain connectivity in the Lower Oder Valley National Park. They found marked inter-annual variation of wetland inundation. Heavy precipitation caused summer flooding in only one polder. This information is important for managing flows and sustaining valuable wetland habitats.

Six decades of ecological monitoring provided the science needed to preserve Atlantic salmon. The unique long-term data revealed quantitative changes in the return rates, distribution, size, growth and age of salmon, increasing understanding on how ecosystems are changing in response to a warming climate.

The authors used advanced process-based ecohydrological modelling to assess the effects of realistic land use scenarios for the Berlin/Brandenburg region on water flux and storage dynamics. Replacing conifer forests with uneven-aged mixed forests with younger, broad-leaved trees had the greatest potential for reducing evapotranspiration and increasing groundwater recharge