Ecology of Environmental Change - eChanges

Maria Alexandra Oliveira

Researcher

Geomorphology extreme events lichenometry Monitoring air pollution modelling remote sensing

I completed a Ph.D. in Environmental and Applied Geology in 2017, which addressed recent geological deposits generated by extreme marine inundations, differentiation between storm and tsunami origin, estimate wave parameters (height, length, and direction) and age of the events based on lichenometry.
In parallel, since 2017, I also have been working on air pollution (monitoring and modeling) and its effects on terrestrial ecosystems. This work started within a capacity-building European project (NitroPortugal) and has been gradually becoming a major contribution to governance. Recently, I have been involved in the implementation of a network to monitor the effect of air pollution on terrestrial ecosystems in Portugal, in conjunction with the national environmental agency, as well as providing technical and scientific support in the implementation of the European Directive (2016/2284).
In the past 5 years, I have been working in collaborative research projects focusing on the incorporation of technological advances in remote sensing using both multi-spectral imaging and LiDAR, to improve data acquisition and processing. These tools have been applied to air and water pollution monitoring, ecosystem monitoring, ecological modelling, geological characterization, and age estimation using lichenometry. Specifically, I am to apply this approach in the identification of recent North Atlantic (paleo)storminess periods that have affected the west coast of Europe using geological deposits developing on rocky coastlines.