Open research positions: Investigation of the Terrestrial HydrologicAl Cycle Acceleration (ITHACA)

We offer one Ph.D. and one post-doctoral researcher position within the ITHACA project. Funded by the Czech Science Foundation, this 5-year Junior STAR grant will provide an answer on how the acceleration of the hydrological cycle will influence water availability over land. We will achieve this by using a combination of statistical and process-based approaches, aiming to high-impact …

Integrated Multi-Satellite Retrievals for Global Precipitation Measurement

The validation of satellite precipitation estimates with ground observations plays a vital role in the search for sources of errors. Additionally, satellite estimates and their performance change with precipitation types, intensities, and geographical conditions. An international team of scientists led by Rajani Kumar Pradhan of the Czech University of Life Sciences recently published an article …

Review of GPM IMERG performance: A global perspective

Remote Sensing of Environment | Pradhan et al. [2021] Accurate, reliable, and high spatio-temporal resolution precipitation data are vital for many applications, including the study of extreme events, hydrological modeling, water resource management, and hydroclimatic research in general. In this study, we performed a systematic review of the available literature to assess the performance of …

The Global Water Cycle Budget: A Chronological Review

Surveys in Geophysics | Vargas Godoy et al. [2021] Like civilization and technology, our understanding of the global water cycle has been continuously evolving, and we have adapted our quantification methods to better exploit new technological resources. The accurate quantification of global water fluxes and storages is crucial in studying the global water cycle. These …

A cross-scale framework for integrating multi-source data in Earth system sciences

Environmental Modelling & Software | Markonis et al. [2021] Integration of Earth system data from various sources is a challenging task. Except for their qualitative heterogeneity, different data records exist for describing similar Earth system processes at different spatiotemporal scales. Data inter-comparison and validation are usually performed at a single spatial or temporal scale, which …

The rise of compound warm-season droughts in Europe

Science Advances | Markonis et al. [2021] Drought is one of the main threats to food security and ecosystem productivity. During the past decades, Europe has experienced a series of droughts that caused substantial socioeconomic losses and environmental impacts. A key question is whether there are some similar characteristics in these droughts, especially when compared …

Atmospheric circulation as a factor contributing to increasing drought severity in Central Europe

Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres | Lhotka et al. [2020] Long‐lasting and severe droughts seriously threaten agriculture, ecosystems, and society. Summer 2018 in central Europe was characterized by unusually persistent heat and drought, causing substantial economic losses, and became a part of a several years long dry period observed across this region. This study assesses …

The chemical composition of impact craters on Titan – I. Implications for exogenic processing

Astronomy & Astrophysics | Solomonidou al. [2020] We investigate the spectral behavior of nine Titan impact craters in order to constrain their composition. Past studies that have examined the chemical composition of impact craters on Titan have either used qualitative comparisons between craters or combined all craters into a single unit, rather than separating them …

Increased future occurrences of the exceptional 2018–2019 central European drought under global warming

Scientific Reports | Hari al. [2020] Since the spring 2018, a large part of Europe has been in the midst of a record-setting drought. Using long-term observations, we demonstrate that the occurrence of the 2018–2019 (consecutive) summer drought is unprecedented in the last 250 years, and its combined impact on the growing season vegetation activities …

An Index-Flood Statistical Model for Hydrological Drought Assessment

Water | Strnad et al. [2020]