G
Geodesy
Headshot of Kiana smiling directly at the camera

Kiana Karimi

Kiana is a PhD candidate at the University of Twente in the Netherlands. She is working on unraveling watershed fluxes in an intensifying water cycle. Her research focuses on using satellite gravimetry missions to study changes in water storage, with an emphasis on climate change and hydrological extremes such as droughts and floods.

Bits and Bites of Geodesy – Satellite Gravimetry: Studying Earth’s water cycle from space

February 27, 2026
Bits and Bites of Geodesy – Satellite Gravimetry: Studying Earth’s water cycle from space
Figure courtesy: Öykü Koç

During winter, mountains gain mass because of snow covering the peaks. In spring, the snow melts and flows downstream until it reaches the ocean or evaporates into the atmosphere to reach back on the surface as rain or snow. The global water cycle is very complex and essential for life on our planet. Did you know we can measure how the water is distributed by measuring its mass from space? How can ...[Read More]

Expanding the picture: Being a female geodesist in Iran

November 29, 2024
A graphical illustration in watercolour optic with human silhouettes in different colours, and several smaller elements such as an ocean and a satellite.
Figure courtesy: Öykü Koç

Researchers working in STEM fields who also belong to a minority group face more challenges than their more privileged colleagues. Take Maryam Mirzakhani for instance; she was the first woman and the first Iranian to receive the Fields Medal. But along that path, she quietly overcame a lot of barriers on her journey- from being a child during the Iran-Iraq war to educational inequalities and the u ...[Read More]