Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences at the Universiteit van Amsterdam, 1992

 During my PhD research I worked on the role of preferred flow paths in relation to  hydrological and geomorphological processes in a small catchment in Luxembourg under semi-natural forest. A 4 Ha catchment was instrumented following a nested design, enabling the monitoring of runoff and the spatial and temporal dynamics of the perched water table for different sub-catchments. 3 years of intensive monitoring showed that

• Most runoff is generated in small partial areas, which were draining faster than the surrounding non-partial areas through macro-pores.
• Biological activity in the topsoil, especially moles and earthworms played an important role in the development preferential flow paths
• Soil hydraulic conductivity showed strong seasonal dynamics, also after correction for evapotranspiration and interception
• Several fine scale processes (organic matter turnover by  biological activity, swelling and shrinkage of topsoil) resulted in emerging broader scale patterns and properties (micro topography, perched water spatial dynamics, soil depth, runoff dynamics)
• Which resulted at the catchment scale in faster hydrological response to rainfall in forest when compared to nearby catchments under grass on similar substratum from late summer to early winter, related to the presence of semi-permanent soil pipes, increasing in importance and connectivity during summer  

M.Sc. in Physical Geography, University of Amsterdam, 1986

with specialization in Glacial Geomorphology and Quaternary Geology. 

Research topic: The deglaciation and glacial geomorphology of the Lechquellengebirge, Voralrberg, Austria

Within the framework of my Masters studies I investigated:

• The deglaciation history of the Lechquellengebirge in Vorarlberg, Austria using: geomorphological mapping techniques and material analysis such as gravel countings, heavy mineral analysis, thin section analysis and grain size distributions of lodgement and ablation tills 
• Hydrochemical characteristics of mixed carbonate-gypsum waters in relation to cementation of Holocene and Pre-Würm breccia's, using hydrological EC routing techniques, field analysis of pH and alkalinity, hydrochemical water sample analysis, sediment description and mapping of materials and sedimentary rocks, thin section analysis
• Consultancy work with Dr. J. Rupke for the the Swiss Cantons of Appenzell and St Gallen on active mass movement areas on the Rhine valley hillslopes -detailed 1:2000 geomorphological mapping -mass wasting risk analysis