Dr. Kristel Chanard is a research scientist at the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPGP) and the Institut National de l’Information Géographique et Forestière (IGN). She earned her Ph.D. in Geophysics from the École Normale Supérieure in Paris in 2015, followed by postdoctoral research at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland in 2016. Her academic path reflects a long-standing interest in the interplay between the solid Earth and climate systems. Her research lies today at the interface of geodesy, hydrology, and geophysics, with a central focus on understanding the Earth’s shape, gravity field, and rotation respond to climate forcings, particularly those driven by water in all its forms: groundwater, lakes, glaciers, oceans, and the atmosphere.
Dr. Chanard has helped shape the emerging field of hydrogeodesy by leveraging multiple satellite geodetic techniques to monitor both natural and anthropogenic water redistribution and its impact on the solid Earth. By integrating observations with physics-based models, she investigates how hydrological forcing can be used to probe the mechanical properties of the Earth’s interior and explores how water fluctuations may influence the timing and distribution of earthquakes. Her work on water-driven deformation contributes to the improvement of geodetic standards, including the International Terrestrial Reference Frame, which underpins all precise geodetic measurements. Her findings have far-reaching implications for monitoring and understanding long-term mantle dynamics, sea-level change, and the seismic cycle. Her research sheds new light on the complex feedback between the solid Earth and climate forcings, with broad implications in geodynamics and pressing water-related challenges.
Dr. Chanard’s contributions have been recognized by the EGU Outstanding Early Career Scientist Award (2022), the AGU John Wahr Award (2023), and the French CNRS Bronze Medal (2024). Beyond her scientific achievements, her career is also marked by a profound commitment to improving equity, diversity, and inclusion in science. Through academic initiatives, mentoring, public engagement and media outreach, she works to make academia more accessible and welcoming to all.