Biografie

since 2012

PostDoc, University of Potsdam

2007-2012

Post-Doc at the Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Basel

2005-2009

PhD-Thesis: Holocene Climate and Landscape Evolution of the Ugii Nuur basin, Mongolia (Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Brigitta Schütt, Prof. Dr. Manfred Frechen).

2005-2007

Scientific Assistent in Physical Geography at the Freie Universität Berlin

1998-2004

Study of Applied Physical Geography, Climatology and Economics in Trier/Germany

Forschung

My research interests lie in the broad field of Physical Geography. In particular I am interested in combining a "Paleoperspective" with a sound knowledge and numerical models of geomorphological and hydrological catchment processes.

During my Diploma thesis I was concerned with integrating large scale meteorological variables with local processes of dust mobilization. In this study I used meteorological NCEP/NCAR data and the TOMS aerosol index and showed that dust mobilization in the Bodélé Depression, Chad, is related to air pressure variability in the Southern Mediterranean. Please find a comprehensive report of this work here.

Dust is an important factor of landscape evolution in Central Asia, too. During my PhD I was particularly interested in climate and landscape evolution in Mongolia. Results from an analysis of lake sediments of the Ugii Nuur and terrestrial sediments of the adjacent basin enabled me to infer a chronology of environmental changes during the Holocene.

During my work in Mongolia, I realized that lake sediments can be regarded as endmembers of environmental change in their catchments. A sound knowledge of the basin-scale hydrological and geomorphological processes and their sensitivity to environmental changes is required to make valid interpretations of lake sediments. Assessing digital elevation models and computer-based models of hydrological and geomorphological processes contribute to a better understanding of the environmental causes and effects of these processes and support paleoenvironmental research. My research interests in this field are especially geomorphological and hydrological models in semi-arid and arid areas.

Modelling hydrological and geomorphological processes often requires spatially distributed information of variables of all kinds. The methods to estimate values at places where you have not sampled are developed in the broad and exciting field of geostatistics. In this field, my colleague Jan Beck from the Macroecology and Biodiversity Group and me, we are working on advancing knowledge on ecological patterns in space.

Publikationen

Peer-reviewed and ISI listed

2012

Schwanghart, W., Heckmann, T. (2012): Fuzzy delineation of drainage basins through probabilistic interpretation of diverging flow algorithms. Environmental Modelling and Software, 33, 106-113. [DOI: 10.1016/j.envsoft.2012.01.016]

Yair, A., Bryan, R.B., Lavee, H., Schwanghart, W., Kuhn, N.J. (2012): The resilience of a badland area to climate change in an arid environment. CATENA, in press. [DOI: 10.1016/j.catena.2012.04.006]

2011

Beck, J., Schwanghart, W., Khen, C. V., Holloway, J. D. (2011): Predicting geometrid moth diversity in the Heart of Borneo. Insect Conservation and Diversity, 4, 173-183. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-4598.2010.00119.x]

Gartmann, A., Fister, W., Schwanghart, W., Müller, M. (2011): CFD modelling and validation of measured wind field data in a portable wind tunnel. Aeolian Research, 3, 315-325. [DOI: 10.1016/j.aeolia.2011.07.002]

Klinger, R., Schwanghart, W. Schütt, B. (2011): Landscape classification using principal component analysis and fuzzy classification: Archaeological sites and their natural surroundings in Central Mongolia. Die Erde, 142(3), 213-233.

Schwanghart, W., Jarmer, T. (2011): Linking spatial patterns of soil organic carbon to topography - a case study from south-eastern Spain. Geomorphology, 126, 252-263. [DOI: 10.1016/j.geomorph.2010.11.008]

2010

Beck, J., Schwanghart, W. (2010): Comparing measures of species diversity from incomplete inventories: an update. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 1, 38-44. [DOI: 10.1111/j.2041-210X.2009.00003.x]

Schwanghart, W., Kuhn, N. J. (2010): TopoToolbox: a set of Matlab functions for topographic analysis. Environmental Modelling & Software, 25, 770-781. [DOI: 10.1016/j.envsoft.2009.12.002]

2009

Kuhn, N. J., Hoffmann, T., Schwanghart, W., Dotterweich, M. (2009): Agricultural Soil Erosion and Global Carbon Cycle: Controversy over?. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 34, 1033-1038. [DOI: 10.1002/esp.1796]

Schwanghart, W., Frechen, M., Kuhn, N. J., Schütt, B. (2009): Holocene environmental changes in the Ugii Nuur basin, Mongolia. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 279, 160-171. [DOI: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2009.05.007]

2008

Schwanghart, W., Beck, J., Kuhn, N. J. (2008): Measuring population densities in a heterogeneous world. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 17, 4, 566-568. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1466-8238.2008.00390.x]

Schwanghart, W., Schütt, B. (2008): Meteorological causes of Harmattan dust in West Africa. Geomorphology, 95, 3-4, 412-428. [DOI: 10.1016/j.geomorph.2007.07.002]

Schwanghart, W., Schütt, B. (2008): Holocene morphodynamics in the Ugii Nuur basin, Mongolia – insights from a sediment profile and 1D electrical resistivity tomography. Zeitschrift für Geomorphologie, Supplementary Issues, 52, 2, 35-55. [DOI: 10.1127/0372-8854/2008/0052S2-0035]

Schwanghart, W., Schütt, B., Walther, M. (2008): Holocene climate evolution of the Ugii Nuur basin, Mongolia. Advances in Atmospheric Sciences, 25, 6, 986-998. [DOI: 10.1007/s00376-008-0986-4]

Book Chapters

Bemmann, J., Pohl, E., Schütt, B., Schwanghart, W. (2010): Archeological findings in the Upper and Middle Orkhon Valley and their geographical setup. In: Mongolian-German Karakorum Expedition, Bemmann, J., Erdenebat, E., Pohl, E. (eds.), Forschungen zur Archäologie Aussereuropäischer Kulturen, Band 8, Bonn, 307-320.

Schwanghart, W., Schütt, B., Möller, S. (2010): Environmental characteristics of the Upper and Middle Orkhon Valley, Mongolia. In: Mongolian-German Karakorum Expedition, Bemmann, J., Erdenebat, E., Pohl, E. (eds.), Forschungen zur Archäologie Aussereuropäischer Kulturen, Band 8, Bonn, 14-26.

Other publications

Schachenmann, Y., Schwanghart, W., Kuhn, N.J. (2012): Internationale Konferenzen ökologisch effizienter gestalten. Geosciences Actuel, 2012/1, im Druck.

Schwanghart, W., Kuhn, N.J., Berger, S., Beck, J. (2012): Geographische Informationssysteme im Beruf – Anforderungen und Perspektiven für die Lehre, Regio Basiliensis, 53, Heft 1/2, 73-78.

Schwanghart, W. (2010): Ein numerischer Werkzeugkasten für die Reliefanalyse. Geosciences Actuel, 4, 16-18.

Schwanghart, W. (2009): Climate and landscape evolution of the Ugii Nuur basin, Mongolia. Dissertation at the Freie Universität Berlin.

Schwanghart, W. (2004): Großräumige meteorologische Faktoren der Staubmobilisierung in der Bodélé Depression, Tschad. Diploma thesis at the University of Trier.