Megan McNamara – CWRR Intern at the Grasslands, Forests & Wetlands Node, SAEON.

Prior to starting my internship at SAEON in February 2018, I completed my BSc degree in Hydrology and Soil Science, my Honours degree in Hydrology and most recently graduated with my Masters in hydrology at University of KwaZulu-Natal. My MSc dissertation research, under the supervision of Dr. Michele Toucher, involved estimations of below-ground vegetation and water use parameters for a revised hydrological baseline land cover in South Africa, as well as the development of a repeatable methodology for applying such estimations of root parameters. Here at SAEON, as an intern through the Centre for Water Resources Research (CWRR), building on my knowledge, skills, experience and interest in the field of hydrology, I have been working on the Water Research Commission (WRC) funded project “K5/2437 Resetting the baseline land cover against which streamflow reduction activities and the hydrological impacts of land use change are assessed”, as well as on the research project GLORIOUS: GLObal useRs In the cOpernicUs climate change Service led by the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) and the CWRR, under the supervision of Dr. Michele Toucher.