Maike Schumacher is assistant professor in Geodesy and Surveying at the Department of Planning, Aalborg University (Aalborg-PLAN), Denmark. She received her PhD in Geodetic Engineering from the Institute of Geodesy and Geoinformation, University of Bonn, Germany in 2016. Maike has developed and implemented sequential calibration and data assimilation (C/DA) techniques to merge satellite remote sensing data, e.g., the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), GRACE Follow-On, and soil moisture remote sensing data, with models. Applications of the C/DA method have been demonstrated in weather, hydrology and agricultural monitoring studies. Maike also applies the complementary information of available in-situ and satellite observations as well as model simulations to answer scientific questions related to the global mass transport within the Earth system. Maike has been awarded research grants from various resources including the German Aerospace Center (DLR), German Research Foundation (DFG), and the EU Horizon 2020 program.

Within DOWN2EARTH, Maike will serve as Aalborg-PLAN PI and has a critical role in comparing and validating historical trends in the regional water budget in the Horn of Africa Drylands. In particular, a consistent comparison between GRACE derived terrestrial water storage trends with those from climate data and reanalysis. Further, she will contribute in the evaluation of regional model simulations developed within the DOWN2EARTH project to assess climate impacts on water and food.