Maria J. Machado
Assistant researcher
Maria J. Machado
biochemical indicators in soils; hydrology; land degradation; natural hazards; palaeoenvironmental; palaeohydrology
I am a researcher with a PhD in Geography (Universidad Complutense de Madrid). Degree and MSc in Physical Geography and Land Planning (University of Lisbon).
My research focuses on terrestrial landscape dynamics, adopting an integrated and interdisciplinary approach with particular emphasis on semi-arid (Ethiopia, Tanzania, Spain) and Mediterranean environments (Spain, Portugal). My work explores the links between geomorphology, hydroclimatology, palaeohydrology, and applied statistics, with special attention to flood variability and environmental change.
I have participated as a researcher in more than 20 funded projects at international, national, and regional levels, including projects supported by the European Commission (INCO and STREP programmes) and the Spanish Research Programme (CICYT, FEDER). I have also been involved in the management and coordination of international collaborative actions and in the dissemination of European-funded research results.
My research activity develops along two main lines: palaeoenvironmental reconstruction based on biochemical indicators (silica phytoliths and oxalate–calcium compounds) in sediments, soils, and palaeosols, linked to climatic, land-use, and palaeohydrological changes; and statistical analysis and modelling of flood variability applied to flood risk assessment and management.
2025
Benito G. Ballesteros-Cánovas JA. Bartolomé M. Corella JP. Grodek T. Machado MJ, Medialdea A. Muñoz-Torrero A. Sánchez-Moya Y. Tejedor E. 2025. Changes in flood hazards: Insights from palaeoflood studies. Estudios Geologicos 81 (2), art. no. 1135. https://doi.org/10.3989/egeol.45727.1135
2023
Benito G. Greenbaum N. Medialdea A. Calle M. Sanchez-Moya Y. Machado M. Ballesteros-Cánovas JA. Corella JP. 2023. Late Pleistocene–Holocene multi-decadal patterns of extreme floods in NW Iberia: The Duero River palaeoflood record, Quaternary Science Reviews, Volume 321, 108356. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2023.108356
2022
Bardají T. Roquero E. Cabero A. Zazo C. Goy JL. Dabrio CJ. Machado MJ. Lario J. Silva PG. Martínez-Graña AM. 2022. Abrupt environmental changes during the last glacial cycle in Western Mediterranean (Formentera Island, Balearic archipelago, Spain). Quaternary International, 638-639: 159-179. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2022.01.002
2021
Benito G. Castillo O. Ballesteros-Cánovas JA. Machado M. Barriendos M. 2021. Enhanced flood hazard assessment beyond decadal climate cycles based on centennial historical data (Duero basin, Spain). Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 25: 6107-6132. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-6107-2021
Benito G. Thorndycraft VR. Medialdea A. Machado M. Sancho C. Dussaillant A. 2021. Declining discharge of glacier outburst floods through the Holocene in central Patagonia. Quaternary Science Reviews, 256, 106810. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2021.106810
Rodríguez-Lloveras X. Machado M. Sanchez-Moya Y. Calle M. Medialdea A. Sopeña A. Benito G. 2020. Impacts of sediment connectivity on Holocene alluvial records across a Mediterranean basin (Guadalentín River, SE-Spain). CATENA 187, 104321. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2019.104321
Benito G. Sanchez-Moya Y. Medialdea A. Barriendos M. Calle M. Rico M. Sopeña A. Machado M. 2020. Extreme Floods in Small Mediterranean Catchments: Long-Term Response to Climate Variability and Change. Water, 12, 1008. https://doi.org/10.3390/w12041008
Machado MJ. Medialdea A. Calle M. Rico MT. Sánchez-Moya Y. Sopeña A. Benito G. 2017. Historical palaeohydrology and landscape resilience of a Mediterranean rambla (Castellón, NE Spain): Floods and people. Quaternary Science Reviews, 171:182-198. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2017.07.014