Study

Supervisor: Mgr. Ján Novotný, PhD.

Georelief is the result of the opposing action of endogenous and exogenous factors. In the current morphoclimatic conditions in the Western Carpathians, the dominant organizational element of georelief are river systems. Based on their properties, it is possible to identify manifestations of neotectonics, which is one of the main control factors in the development of georelief. However, in a tectonic active environment, it is necessary to distinguish the influence of tectonic processes from other factors, especially from the influence of heterogeneous lithology. Therefore, the aim of the work will be to perform a comprehensive geomorphological analysis of the selected area, to extract data from available digital relief models and other sources (geological maps) and to analyze differences in rock resistance in the field. The resulting synthesis will provide knowledge about the development of the studied area, with an emphasis on distinguishing the main factors that contributed to its formation.

Supervisor: Mgr. Ján Novotný, PhD.

The increase of interest of human society in active recreation is associated with increasing demands on the recreational functions of landscape. The period of the COVID-19 pandemic, associated with limited travel options, highlighted the need to find new locations suitable for tourism and recreation, especially in the hinterland of larger cities. The aim of the PhD. thesis will be, based on a complex geomorphological analysis of the selected territory, to evaluate its potential from the point of view of the development of tourism, with regard to the attractiveness of individual localities (geomorphosites), nature protection, the safety and well-being of tourists, as well as the suitability for the construction and development of tourist infrastructure. The results of the work will be usable for the creation of new tourism products and can contribute to a more sustainable use of the landscape.

Supervisor: Mgr. Róbert Pazúr, PhD.

The loss of ecological connectivity in increasingly fragmented human-dominated landscapes threatens the long-term persistence of many species. The Northern Carpathians are a European hotspot of natural wildness harbouring the umbrella species, e.g. brown bear or European bison. However, land-use changes such as infrastructure or settlement development, agricultural intensification, forest harvesting put the wildlife in the constant thread. The goal of this PhD is to assess the ecological connectivity and its changes based on GPS telemetry and remote sensing data. The successful candidate will integrate telemetry data for species movement, remote sensing imagery and the stakeholder knowleadge ino powerful, spatially explicit connectivity assesment. A successful candidate should be fluent in English and has a passion for wildlife and remote sensing. This PhD position offers a great way of joining international research projects. A good knowledge of the Slovak language is advantageous.

Supervisor: Mgr. Róbert Pazúr, PhD.

Nowadays, machine learning is reaching our everyday life. Remote sensing benefits from machine learning, besides others, by automating the classifications, identifying the patterns in the time-series or identification of the landscape patterns. The goal of this PhD is to develop an automated near-realtime biodiversity monitoring on agricultural areas based on visual AI combining the Landsat and Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2 and Planetscope imagery. The mapping will support the identification of the grassland biodiversity and its documentation process. A successful candidate should be fluent in English and has a passion for AI and remote sensing. This PhD position offers a great way of joining international research projects.

Supervisor: Mgr. Róbert Pazúr, PhD.

Agricultural land may be used by humans in different ways and intensities. This PhD aims to investigate the availabilities of remote sensing instruments and other spatial/statistical data to map the land use intensities over agricultural landscapes. You will explore the time series of Landsat and Sentinel-2 imagery, in combination with additional data (e.g., Copernicus spatial data platform, aerial imagery) to identify the evidence of the specific land-use types in agricultural landscapes (e.g., moving, grazing, plowing, fertilizing). A successful candidate should be fluent in English and capable of working in spatial analysis, remote sensing and data science. This PhD position offers a great way to join international research projects.

Supervisor: Mgr. Miloš Rusnák, PhD.

Physical habitat parameters will be extracted from detailed 3D models. Selected river reaches will be analysed using drone imagery for calculation river bathymetry model, reconstructing the channel bed structure, gravel bars, submerged bed substrate and identifying habitat patterns. From hydraulic modelling, we used flow velocity. For final class mapping, will be used a combination of velocity data, water depth, substrate grain size and morphology unit (pool, glide, run, riffle).

Supervisor: Mgr. Miloš Rusnák, PhD.

High-resolution topography data offers new opportunities for detailed sediment transfer research. Bedload transport modelling will be calculated based on the standard transport equations, calculated in HecRAS hydraulic modelling software, and validated by field measurement. Bedload transport equations will be applied with detailed 3D topography data from UAV and grain size distribution. This theoretical transport capacity calculation (sensitive to the inputs values and data) will calibrate and validate against field data for a specific section of the river.

Supervisor: Doc. RNDr. Matej Vojtek, PhD.

Changes in the frequency, magnitude, and spatial variability of floods are attributed, on the one hand, to ongoing climate change and, on the other hand, to increasing anthropogenic pressure on the landscape. Due to human activities, there are ongoing changes in the landscape and its use, which significantly affect the rainfall-runoff processes in river basins and at the same time the level of vulnerability of the economic, social, and environmental system to floods. Flood risk thus changes in space and time. The aim of the thesis is the mapping and assessment of spatio-temporal changes in flood risk in selected time horizons. The thesis is based on an integrated and comprehensive assessment of flood risk, which is expressed as a synergistic effect of flood hazard and vulnerability to floods, using geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing (RS) methods, and hydrologic-hydraulic modeling.

Supervisor: Doc. RNDr. Matej Vojtek, PhD.

Pluvial floods in urbanized areas are caused by local and intense rainfall events with very short duration, which lead to flooding of these areas before the rainwater reaches the watercourse. Changes in the frequency and intensity of heavy rainfall events and the expansion of urbanized areas can thus negatively affect the risk of pluvial flooding. The aim of the thesis is to predict the risk of pluvial floods in selected model areas. The risk of pluvial floods will be assessed from the point of view of the hazard itself, but also from the point of view of vulnerability segment with the use of geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing (RS) methods, and hydrologic modeling.

Supervisor: Mgr. Róbert Pazúr, PhD.

The goal of this PhD project is to assess the current ecosystem services of the national parks in Slovakia, trade-offs of their different future development and its hinterland, and their implementation into strategic planning. The successful candidate will integrate landscape ecology, remote sensing, and social sciences to provide a scientifically sound baseline about the different pathways of landscape development. A good knowledge of the Slovak language is advantageous.

Supervisor: Mgr. Róbert Pazúr, PhD.

Land-use change is caused by multiple drivers acting on multiple scales. While some causes of land change may be identified on the local scale, others may act on the regional or continental level. Additionally, land change often results from telecoupling between distant socio-ecological systems. The goal of this PhD is to identify the drivers of land change in a selected region with a specific focus on agriculture. A successful candidate should be fluent in English and has a passion for land-use modelling, remote sensing, and exploring the causalities of processes shaping the landscape. This PhD position offers a great way to join international research projects.

Supervisor: Mgr. Róbert Pazúr, PhD.

Same as in past decades, the future landscape in Europe will need to adapt to current natural and societal challenges (climate change, urbanisation pressure, demography). This PhD aims to develop the scenarios of plausible pathways of future development of land-use and ecosystem services in selected areas of Europe. Core data used would be the land cover data, natural and socioeconomic statistics and outcomes of stakeholder workshops. A successful candidate should be fluent in English and has a passion for land-use modelling, modelling of ecosystem services and exploring the causalities of processes shaping the landscape. This PhD position offers a great way of joining international research projects and practical integration of research findings.

Supervisor: Mgr. Michala Sládeková Madajová, PhD.

Contact supervisor for more detailed information.