Christiaan van der Tol (1978) is an associate professor in 'Ecohydrology and Earth Observation' at the Water Resources department. His interest is in the relations between water, energy and other resources on Earth.
He obtained his MSc in Hydrology at Wageningen University (2001), and PhD in Earth Sciences at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (2007) with the thesis ‘Climatic Constaints on Cabon Assimilation and Transpiration of sub-Mediterranean forests’. He developed the ‘Soil-Canopy Observation of Photosynthesis and Energy fluxes’ (SCOPE) model, and worked on the interpretation of Solar Induced Chlorophyll fluorescence: https://github.com/christiaanvandertol
Expertise
Earth and Planetary Sciences
- Model
- Canopy
- Fluorescence
- Observation
- Vegetation
- Soil
- Photosynthesis
- Radiative Transfer
Organisations
- ‘Soil-Canopy Observation of Photosynthesis and Energy fluxes’ (SCOPE) model
- Radiative transfer and energy budgets of vegetation
- Solar Induced Chlorophyll fluorescence
- Vegetation structure and functioning
- Energy dissipation pathways at the Earth surface
- Rainfall interception, evaporation and transpiration
- Photosynthesis and heat, water, and nutrient stress
- FLEX satellite mission
Publications
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2025
2024
2023
2022
Research profiles
Christiaan van der Tol has supervised nearly 50 Msc research thesis projects on topics of remote sensing of water fluxes and vegetation processes. He coordinates the curriculum of the Water Resources specialization of the MSc course of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation. He also trains young researchers in (among others) the PhD training network TRuStEE.
Courses academic year 2024/2025
Courses in the current academic year are added at the moment they are finalised in the Osiris system. Therefore it is possible that the list is not yet complete for the whole academic year.
Courses academic year 2023/2024
My research projects funded by NWO and the EU focus on understanding the interactions between plants, hydrology and climate.
Current projects
TRuStEE
emote sensing (RS) data at a range of scales from proximal observations to global extent sampling can detect essential changes in plant traits (PTs), biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, providing a method for scaling-up. However there are still methodological and technical constraints that hamper a systematic incorporation of RS in ecosystem models, including scalability and multi-source data integration issues. TRuStEE will train a new generation of scientists with complementary and interdisciplinary skills in ecosystem modelling, plant physiology, RS technologies and big data analysis, addressing the specific objectives: 1) to identify essential biodiversity variables (EBVs) and the link with PTs and ecosystem functional properties (EFPs), inferable from RS, 2) to investigate a completely new avenue for assessing vegetation photosynthetic efficiency from RS measurements of canopy fluorescence, 3) to assimilate diverse RS data streams with varying spatial and temporal resolution in dynamic ecosystem models and 4) to exploit new satellite missions (e.g. ESA-FLEX, ESA-Sentinels, NASA-GEDI) and EO products for the upscaling of PTs, EBVs and EFPs. The early stage researchers (ESRs) involved will strongly benefit from the network of internationally recognized scientists and private companies with relevant expertise in these topics. The cooperation program proposed will link academic and non-academic participants to allow the circulation of ESRs giving them the opportunity to become new research and innovation leaders in the most cutting edge sophisticated technologies in the field, increasing their employability in both academic and private sectors.
Exploring vegetation strategies to utilize light and water for primary productivity through remote sensing of reflectance and fluorescence.
Plants have played a crucial role in the history of Earth. They have turned the planet into a habitable place, while developing new ways to colonize the planet and adapting to climate change. The recent launch of a large number of satellites observing Earth makes it possible to better understand the role of vegetation in climate by investigating plant functional traits. We propose to use data of OLCI and SLSTR on Sentinel-3 satellites together with GOME-2 data of solar induced fluorescence (SIF), to analyse strategies of plants to utilize light and water and avoid stress. We use a dedicated computer simulation model for remote sensing of vegetation, SCOPE, coupled to an atmospheric radiative transfer model, MODTRAN. We will first exploit the dual-view mode of the SLSTR sensor (near- to thermal infrared) and the bands of OLCI (visible to shortwave infrared) on Sentinel 3 to retrieve vegetation structure and temperature. Second, we will use SIF detected with GOME-2 on Metop to retrieve the fluorescence quantum emission efficiency (FQE), a variable that determines the light saturation of photosynthesis. We will finally evaluate the light and water use strategy of the vegetation across a precipitation and illumination gradient in tropical Africa.
News on utwente.nl
https://www.utwente.nl/nieuws/!/2015/11/384777/itc-onderzoekers-dragen-bij-aan-esa-satelliet
Address
University of Twente
Langezijds (building no. 19), room 1102
Hallenweg 8
7522 NH Enschede
Netherlands
University of Twente
Langezijds 1102
P.O. Box 217
7500 AE Enschede
Netherlands
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