Markus Casper

Markus Casper is a full professor at the University of Trier, holding a position in Physical Geography within Faculty VI. His career spans from being a Junior Professor (2003-2009) to a Universitätsprofessor (W2) since 2009. He has been involved in significant roles such as member of the University of Trier Senate, the DFG-funded Modelbildung und Simulation working group, and leadership in the German Hydrological Society.

• Education: Diplom in Geoökologie (University of Karlsruhe, 1995), Dr.-Ing. (University of Karlsruhe, 2002).
• Research Interests:

  Dr. Casper’s work focuses on hydrological modeling, catchment classification, and climate change impacts on water balance. Key projects include:

  • DFG-funded mesoscale hydrological modeling with remote sensing data assimilation (2019-2022)
  • SOFI: Smart soil information for farmers (BMEL-funded, 2019-2022)
  • Catchment regionalization with Self-Organizing Maps (SOM) (DFG, 2012-2017)

  His research integrates groundwater-surface water interactions, soil erosion, and remote sensing for process identification.

• Scientific Trends:

  His recent articles emphasize multi-criteria model evaluation, machine learning (SOM) in hydrology, and uncertainty quantification in water balance simulations. Themes include climate nonstationarity, pedotransfer functions, and soil-vegetation-atmosphere modeling.

• Advising:

  He has supervised numerous doctoral students, including Gayane Grigoryan (climate impacts on water balance), Philipp Reiter (hydrological modeling), and Hadis Mohajerani (hydrological processes). Completed works address flood prediction, SVAT modeling, and land use sustainability.

• Labs & Teams:

  He leads the Modelbildung und Simulation working group at the University of Trier and collaborates with institutions like the University of Leipzig, FH Trier, and LUWG Mainz. His team utilizes GIS pools, hydrological test basins, and field laboratories for runoff and erosion studies.