The DIWA Doctoral education pilot educates future water experts at the University of Oulu

Snow, water, and ice as research topics

Snow plays a vital role in sustaining life on Earth, especially in regions where it serves as a critical water source. When climate change threatens the Earth, snow conditions are shifting due to rising temperatures. These changes disrupt water supplies, threaten agricultural productivity, and increase the risk of floods and other natural disasters.

Getnet Jenberia’s research focuses on estimating snow water characteristics - such as snow cover, depth, and snow water equivalent (SWE) using image processing, remote sensing, and machine learning. His research is supervised by Associate Professor Mourad Oussalah. The expected outcomes of the research focus on improving the accuracy of snow parameter estimation, supporting water resource management, and climate adaptation strategies.

Jiahui Qiu is conducting his doctoral research in the research group of Associate Professor Ali Torabi Haghighi. Qiu’s research focuses on addressing the challenges of real-time river ice prediction through integrated remote sensing and monitoring. The research aims to enable real-time monitoring of the river ice process in Finnish rivers. Qiu will include the digital twin modeling in his research to help mitigate risks associated with ice jams and flooding in sub-Arctic cold region environments.

The role of iron in water systems and the impacts of changing climate on methane emissions from northern fens

Awareness of the role of iron in darkening water bodies and its harmful effects has grown. However, the iron cycle is a complex process that is linked to many geochemical and biological processes in soil, water, and the atmosphere, and therefore it can be difficult to identify where and why iron is leached.

Under the supervision of Senior research fellow Heini Postila, doctoral researcher Elina Raumanni investigates how different land uses, like drainage in a peatland-based forestry area or urban area, affect iron leaching. In addition, she investigates the effectiveness of nature-based water treatment methods in iron retention. The information obtained from Raumanni's research is needed to identify where and why iron is leached.

Eeva Järvi-Laturi, on the other hand, is doing her doctoral research in Associate Professor Hannu Marttila’s research group about the vegetation of northern fens and the impact of individual plant species on methane emissions. The research aims to enhance understanding of the variables that regulate the magnitude of methane emissions in ecosystems.

Combining data on vegetation and environmental variables with ecohydrological analyses, remote sensing, and climate prediction models enables the expansion of local observations to a larger scale and the creation of more realistic forecasts for future methane emissions from northern fens in a changing climate.

DIWA PhD Pilot Kick-off event in Oulu

A kick-off event for doctoral researchers participating in the Digital Waters doctoral education pilot will be held at the University of Oulu on February 6-7, 2025.

The kick-off aims to bring together all doctoral researchers who have started their doctoral studies in the DIWA doctoral training pilot so that they can start their research journey together. Public and private sector organizations have also been invited to the event, which will allow them to get to know the researchers and their research.

The DIWA doctoral training pilot is based on the Digital Waters flagship programme. In addition to the University of Oulu, the following universities are participating in the pilot: Aalto University, University of Turku, University of Eastern Finland, and Åbo Akademi, as well as the following research institutes: Natural Resources Institute Finland, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), Geological Survey of Finland GTK, Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), National Land Survey of Finland and Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI)

See also

Read more about the Digital Waters (DIWA) flagship in English
Read more about the Digital Waters (DIWA) doctoral Education pilot in English

More information:

Hanna Holappa, Communications specialist
Water, Energy and Environmental Engineering research unit, University of Oulu
hanna.holappa@oulu.fi
+358503297539