dr. Irina Yu. Petrova

Bio

My main professional interest lies in studying the processes that govern the interactions between the land and the atmospheric boundary layer, in comprehending how these interactions affect rainfall formation, or, vice versa, drought development on local and regional scales. Within the H-CEL team, I research the role of land-atmosphere feedbacks, in particular those dependent on soil moisture conditions, in the exacerbation of dry extremes under present and future climates.

Before joining the H-CEL group at the University of Ghent, I worked on quantifying the effect of soil moisture on convection and rainfall formation (MPI-M, Germany); on the application of complex networks to the problem of precipitation–evaporation relationship using observations, as well as its representation in Global Climate Models (MPI-M, Germany); as well as on the assessment of atmospheric transport of pollutants using backward and forward trajectory analyses (RSHU, Russia).

In addition to my job roles, I am also passionate about climate knowledge communication to the public: from schools to companies. I enjoy giving talks and lecturing on various topics in climate science, weather extremes, and climate change. Recently, I joined the non-profit NGO Lecturers Without Borders, wherein I currently act as a moderator and adviser for a school climate action project.

Trajectory

• 2017–Present: Post-doctoral research fellow | Hydro-Climate Extremes Lab (H-CEL), Ghent University
• 2013–2017: PhD in natural sciences (Dr. rer. nat.) | International Max Planck Research School on Earth System Modelling, Max Planck Institute for Meteorology (MPI-M), Hamburg, Germany

• 2010–2013: MSc. in Integrated Climate System Sciences | School of Integrated Climate System Sciences, University of Hamburg, Germany
• 2006–2010: BSc. in Hydrometeorology | Russian State Hydrometeorological University (RSHU),  Meteorological Faculty, St. Petersburg, Russia

Contact

E-mail: Irina.Petrova@UGent.be

Publications