Institute of Hydrology
Topic
Analysis and modelling of the spatiotemporal variability and its ecohydrological significance under climate change conditions
PhD. program
Water Resources Engineering
Year of admission
2026
Name of the supervisor
Ing. Veronika Bačová Mitková, PhD.
Contact:
Receiving school
Faculty of Civil Engineering STU
Annotation
This thesis focuses on investigating runoff and its extreme phases in river basins and on assessing its importance for maintaining the ecohydrological health of rivers under changing climate conditions. The aim of the study is to identify temporal and spatial changes in the runoff regime of surface watercourses, with particular emphasis on baseflow as a key source of discharge during dry periods, which significantly affect water resource availability and the overall vulnerability of catchments to drought. The research will be based on the analysis of long-term hydrological time series using appropriate hydrological indicators, as well as parametric and non-parametric statistical methods for trend detection, homogeneity analysis, and multiple regression. The methodological approach will include a comparison of natural and anthropogenically influenced runoff regimes, the use of hydrological software, and rainfall–runoff modelling. This will enable the simulation of runoff processes and the hydrological balance under current and altered climatic conditions in order to derive scenarios of future discharge development. Special attention will be devoted to the estimation of specific baseflow and its relationship to extreme flows as an important basis for water resources management. The results of the study will contribute to expanding scientific knowledge on the impacts of climate change on river runoff regimes and will support the design of measures to ensure the ecological health of watercourses in a period of increasing hydrological variability and extremes.