乐鱼后台

鈥淚 focus on understanding future sea-level rise, a topic of increasing national and international importance.鈥�

Research focus: sea level changes, ocean warming, climate change

Roderik van de Wal is Professor of Sea level change and coastal impacts at Utrecht University. Research in this area requires a combined modelling and observational approach at the interface of natural and earth sciences. Van der Wal's research focuses on climate dynamics and changes in the cryosphere.

Causes of sea level rise

Climate change is one of the main drivers of sea level rise. Think for example of thermal expansion due to the warming of the oceans. Another cause is melting land ice, which brings more water into the oceans. The higher the air and ocean temperatures, the more intense and frequent coastal storms will become. This will result in large storm surges that will further exacerbate the existing sea level rise.

Collaboration

With his appointment, Van der Wal strengthens the cooperation between oceanographers, meteorologists and glaciologists of the Faculty of Science and the hydrologists, geologists and physical geographers of the Faculty of Geosciences. 

Areas of interest:

鈥�    paleoclimate modelling
鈥�    climate sensitivity 
鈥�    interpretation of ice cores and sea-level variations and patterns
鈥�    ice dynamics of Greenland and Antarctica 
鈥�    glacier modelling