New hydrological PhD theses online at hydrology.nl

New hydrological PhD theses online at www.hydrology.nl, including a few classics:

Linkages between streamflow, climate and catchment characteristics: a global analysis
   by Hylke E. Beck (2013), PhD thesis, VU University Amsterdam, 122 pp.
The general objectives of this thesis are to relate streamflow characteristics and catchment physiographic attributes over a wide range of catchment and climatic conditions, and to determine the value of specific satellite remote-sensing products for use in meso- and macroscale hydrological modeling. In order to fulfil these general objectives, five specific objectives have been defined, which are addressed in separate chapters. The specific objectives are to:
1. Assess the possible improvement in stormflow estimates when using soil moisture proxies (chapter 2)
2. Globally evaluate four AVHRR-based NDVI datasets (chapter 3)
3. Analyze the possible impact of forest regeneration and urbanization on streamflow characteristics for a series of catchments on the island of Puerto Rico (chapter 4)
4. Relate selected catchment physiographic attributes and two important baseflow characteristics using a global streamflow dataset consisting of 3520 catchments, and examine the feasibility of producing global maps of these baseflow characteristics using an artificial neural network approach (chapter 5)
5. Examine whether global maps of selected streamflow characteristics can be used to calibrate a simple conceptual rainfall-runoff model (chapter 6).
Finally, a summary of the present findings, chief conclusion reached, and suggestions for possible directions for future research are presented in chapter 7.
To achieve these specific objectives, use is made of large observational datasets which have become available free of charge thanks to organizations such as the Global Runoff Data Centre (GRDC; Koblenz, Germany), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), rather than restricting oneself to case studies in comparatively small homogeneous regions. The aim is to move away from the reporting of the idiosyncrasies of single sites or catchments which has dominated so much of the older hydrological literature, and instead attempt to identify robust, generalizable relationships applicable to different environments worldwide.

Groundwater salinization processes in the coastal area of the Netherlands due to transgressions during the Holocene
   V.E.A. Post (2004); PhD thesis, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, 138 pp.
The primary objective of Vincent Post’s thesis is to develop quantitative understanding of the processes that caused salinization of groundwater in the coastal area of the Netherlands during the Holocene under natural conditions.

Satellite passive microwave surface moisture monitoring
   B.T. Gouweleeuw (2000); PhD thesis, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, 184 pp.
Ben Gouweleeuw’s thesis investigates the interaction between land use change, climate variability and the regional hydrology in a semi-arid are ain Central Spain. The study has used passive microwave monitoring to investigate spatial variation in soil moisture and produced a model.

Groundwater flow in layered aquifers
   C.J. Hemker (2000); PhD thesis, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, 143 pp.
The focus of this work is deterministic models of saturated groundwater flow in layered aquifer systems. The term ‘layered aquifer system’ is used to denote two types of system: a) a system of multiple aquifers or multi-aquifer system which comprises a series of aquifers separated by confining layers, and b) a vertically heterogeneous, stratified or multi-layered aquifer which is a single aquifer composed of a number of sublayers. Analytical solutions for many different types of well flow in single aquifers are known and used for pumping test analysis, while only few solutions for two-aquifer systems are available. Pumping tests in the Netherlands have shown that sometimes four or more aquifers are involved. The lack of a proper solution for multi-aquifer systems was felt as an omission in well flow theory. The main objective of this study, therefore, was to develop analytical solutions that can be used for determining geohydrological properties from pumping tests in layered aquifer systems. The study was carried out in two separate periods. Flow in multi-aquifer systems was investigated during the years 1979 to 1986 and, more recently, the same solution method was further developed to investigate flow near wells in multi-layered aquifers.

Periodic flow of groundwater: A Systematic Study of Wave Propagation under Confined, Semiconfined and Unconfined Flow Conditions
  Garth S.J.P. van der Kamp (1973); PhD thesis, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, 128 pp.

>> More hydrological PhD theses