Water Resources

We do research on the geological, physical and chemical processes that govern fluxes of water and matter across hydrological domains, from meter scale to regional scale. Our research is frequently based on field data collected by our students, our collaborators, and ourselves. The research frequently pivots around the implications for sustainable use of water resources in a changing climate.

Example headlines include:

  • Interception: effects of land use and climate change on groundwater recharge
  • Hydrogeophysics: Cross borehole ground probing radar, cosmic ray neutron intensity measurements and gamma ray spectroscopy
  • Isotope hydrology: using and commercializing the application of stable isotopes of water
  • Development of hydrological remote sensing products
  • Sustainable water resources management in semi-arid regions
  • Sub-permafrost groundwater flow
  • Carbon sequestration by enhanced weathering
  • Surface water-groundwater interaction
  • Reactive transport modelling
  • Rewetting of drained peatlands: effects on greenhouse gas emissions and implications for biodiversity

We teach the following courses

BSc courses
  • Grundvand og Rumlige Data
  • Modellering af det Hydrologiske Kredsløb
  • Geodataanalyse og Præsentation med Python
  • Hydrogeologisk feltkursus
MSc courses
  • Climate Change and Water Resources
  • Aqueous Geochemistry
  • Integrated Water Resources
  • Contaminant Hydrogeology

Hydrology taught outside the Water Resources Research Group

In addition to the courses listed above, several other courses within the field of hydrology and water resources are taught at University of Copenhagen. The Water Resources research group strongly encourages students’ efforts in creating the best hydrological curriculum from their own perspective.

The courses can be found at kurser.ku.dk (search term examples: hydrolog*, hydrogeology*, groundwater, grundvand, vådområde*, wetland, ecohydrol*).

The courses available include, to name just a few:

BSc courses
  • Klimatologi og hydrologi
  • Klimafysik
  • Vandløbsforvaltning (Summer course!)
  • §3 i praksis – Naturbeskyttelsesloven (Summer course!)
MSc courses
  • Surface Hydrology
  • Ecology and Ecosystems Science in relation to Environmental Economics
  • Modelling of Soil-Plant-Atmosphere Systems

 

Every year in early spring our group develops a catalogue over MSc thesis project ideas. The catalogue usually contains contributions from external national and international partners.

Find the 2023 catalogue here: MSc Thesis Ideas catalogue.

As a student, you can use the catalogue to get inspiration for you own MSc thesis project. You are always welcome to come by our offices and discuss your thesis ideas, whether or not in the catalogue.

Many students choose their thesis subject before the middle of June. The formal project period runs from August to May, but some students informally begin field work before August.

Link for students to thesis contract page on KUnet: MSc in Geology-Geoscience - Thesis.

Find the Water Resources Research Group here:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For many years, a central activity of the Water Resources Research Group was the hydrological observatory HOBE Center for Hydrology, led by professor Karsten Høgh Jensen, and funded by the Villum Foundation.

During the HOBE Center’s lifetime, a rich data collection took place from a Meadow Site (Skjern Enge), Agricultural Site (Voulund), and a Forest Site (Gludsted Plantation).

The database is available for research to all interested parties from https://www.enoha.eu. From enoha ‘Home’, click ‘Data portal’ ‘Hobe Observatory’ to browse and download data.

 

 

 

 

Researchers

Name Title Phone E-mail
Search in Name Search in Title Search in Phone
Elisa Bjerre Postdoc +4535225322 E-mail
Filippa Fredriksson PhD Fellow +4535324910 E-mail
Georgios Ikaros Xenakis PhD Fellow +4535332067 E-mail
Karsten Høgh Jensen Professor +4535322484 E-mail
Majken Caroline Looms Zibar Associate Professor +4535322444 E-mail
Søren Jessen Associate Professor +4535322478 E-mail
Torben Obel Sonnenborg Affiliate Professor +4591333635 E-mail
Trine Enemark Postdoc +4535328281 E-mail
Xuliang Li Visiting PhD Student   E-mail

Head of Research Group

Søren JessenSøren Jessen. Photo Kent Pørksen
Associate Professor

sj@ign.ku.dk

Phone: +45 35 32 24 78
Mobile: +45 51 37 06 93

 

The CONTRA-project aims to use stable isotopes of water and nitrate together with the chemical element composition of different water sources to line out/map the hydrological cycle within a river catchment and quantify different water sources to rivers and the turn-over age in hydrological catchments.