Earth Surface and Water – (M.Sc.)

Earth Surface and Water is the study of physical phenomena within the Earth's environment, their spatial and temporal characteristics and relationships and the evolution towards our modern landscape.

Physical Geographers and Hydrologists have an important role as identifiers of nature's action in our modern world because societal pressure on the natural environment increases more and more. The themes represent decades of knowledge related to coastal and river sciences, hydrological processes, land degradation in mountainous regions and Quaternary geology. The programme is concerned with a wide range of societal problems, such as the increased vulnerability of our society to climate change, natural hazards such as flooding, storms and mass movements, and the adverse effects of human activities on our physical environment, including the impact on the hydrological cycle. Earth Surface and Water has a strong international profile based on its pioneering work and international expertise in the field of Environmental Modelling and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and the development and application of Geostatistics. Attention is further paid to water-related aspects, such as climate and environment, bioremediation and virus transport in subsurface water.