Research team: Hydrology and Climate

Environmental scientist with a genuine interest in climate change and ways to mitigate it.

I am currently a doctoral researcher at the Laboratory of Hydrology and Water Management of Ghent University.  In 2018, I obtained my Master’s degree in Geography with a major in Landscape Sciences, Man and Environment. Particularly interested in the mechanisms behind weather and climate, I decided to pursue a Master in Meteorology during my Erasmus programme in Madrid. My research within the DRY-2-DRY project aims to explore the role of land cover in the propagation of meteorological droughts, more specifically by evaluating the impact of deforestation on the hydrological cycle.

CONTACT

Address: Coupure links 653 - Room A2.007

               9000 Ghent, Belgium

E-mail: Femke.Smessaert@UGent.be

TRAJECTORY

• 2019 – Present: PhD candidate, Laboratory of Hydrology and Water Management, Ghent University
• 2017 – 2018: MSc. in Geography, major Landscape Sciences, Man and Environment – Ghent University
• 2016 – 2017: MSc. in Meteorology and Geophysics (24 ECTS) and MSc. In Environmental Geology (6 ECTS) – Complutense University Madrid (Erasmus programme)
• 2013 – 2016: BSc. in Geography and Geomatics – Ghent University

RECENT OR ONGOING PROJECTS

• DRY-2-DRY (ERC) – Do droughts self-propagate and self-intensify? (2019–2022)