Climate & Earth
Focus on human-environment interactions in the context of a changing environment and climate.
News in the spotlight
Mobile phone traffic can help measure how hard it is raining. The Department of Geography at Ghent University is collaborating with the Royal Meteorological Institute (KMI) on an innovative system to monitor local precipitation more accurately using GSM signals. Geographer Kwinten Van Weverberg explains that the signal attenuation of GSM traffic can be directly converted into rain intensity. The technique offers particular added value in hilly terrain such as the Ardennes, where radars are less effective, or in places where precipitation data is scarce, such as in Central Africa. The system can also be used to determine the type of precipitation in winter and to control early warning systems.
https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2025/08/22/weer-voorspellen-universiteit-gent-kmi-lokaal-neerslag/
Research themes
The research group Climate & Earth (CLEAR) focuses on the impact of human activities on soil-land-atmosphere interactions. A first research pillar comprises geomorphological processes and specifically the influence of land use and climate on land degradation and soil conservation. A second research pillar concentrates on atmospheric science and addresses the impact of soil and land use change on local and regional climate.
The research group investigates fundamental processes related to geomorphology and atmospheric science as well as impacts on society and ecosystems. To do so, advanced and state-of-the-art methods, including erosion and climate modelling, photogrammetry, sediment fingerprinting and data science is used.
Prof. dr. Amaury Frankl
Prof. dr. Kwinten Van Weverberg
PhD and postdoc research in the spotlight
Project research in the spotlight
Disdrometer
The CLEAR team's disdrometer setup and processing backend produces daily updated graphs of precipitation measurements from the disdrometer and rain gauge at ILVO, Merelbeke.
The data supports the CLEAR team's essential research on splash erosion in agricultural fields and on developing models for improved predictions of extreme precipitation across weather and climate time scales.
Interested in even more data? Contact Kwinten Van Weverberg.
Looking for more information about UGent researchers, (current) projects and PhDs, organizations,... in this research field?