Dr Carla Mateus

Geography, ICARUS

Lecturer
Assistant Professor

Biography

I am an Assistant Professor in the Geography Department at Maynooth  University. My research interests mainly focus on climate science, namely climate change, extreme weather events and impacts, historical climatology and environmental history. I am also interested in climate action, climate adaptation and climate mitigation topics.

I am passionate about teaching, outreach, public engagement and science communication. I have written for RTÉ Brainstorming and disseminated my research to the public at science communication events, such as Pint of Science Ireland and Soapbox Science Dublin. I have been awarded a Public Engagement Grant from the European Geosciences Union to carry out the project ‘Prison talks: bringing climate change conversations into the Irish prisons’. I have also been awarded a Teaching and Learning Fellowship from the Centre for Teaching and Learning at Maynooth University. I have been a guest speaker at public events, such as at Royal Irish Academy and Dalkey Book Festival.

I welcome queries about climate change research from the media.

I am looking forward to working with Master’s Research students, PhD Researchers and Postdoctoral Researchers on climate science research topics. Please feel free to contact me if you want to discuss funding applications and are looking for a supportive supervisor to work with. I am also open to research collaborations. 

Research Interests

Climate change, extreme weather events, impacts of extreme weather events, historical climatology.

Research Projects

Title Role Description Start date End date Amount
European Geosciences Union Public Engagement Grant - 'Prison talks: bringing climate change conversations into the Irish prisons' PI
Maynooth University Seed Funding - 'Impacts of heat waves and cold waves in Ireland derived from documentary sources' PI
Research Incentivisation Award - 'Collection and analysis of historical meteorological observations to reconstruct the storm track and impacts of severe extratropical windstorms in Ireland' PI
Maynooth University Centre for Teaching and Learning - Teaching and Learning Fellowship PI

Peer Reviewed Journal

Year Publication
2023 Murphy, C., Coen, A., Clancy, I., Decristoforo, V., Cathal, S., Healion, K., Horvath, C., Jessop, C., Kennedy, S., Lavery, R., Leonard, K., McLoughlin, C., Moore, R., O'Hare-Doherty, D., Paisley, R., Prakash, B., Vatu, J., Thorne, P., Mateus, C., Ryan, C., Noone, S. (2023) 'The emergence of a climate change signal in long-term Irish meteorological observations'. Weather and Climate Extremes, . [Link] https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wace.2023.100608 [Full-Text]
2023 Mateus, C.; Coonan, B. (2023) 'Return values of temperature and snow loadings for 50, 100 and 120-year return periods to support building design standards in Ireland'. Advances in Science and Reserach, 20 :17-33. [Link] https://doi.org/10.5194/asr-20-17-2023 [Full-Text]
2022 Mateus, C.; Potito, A. (2022) 'Long-term trends in daily extreme air temperature indices in Ireland from 1885 to 2018'. Weather and Climate Extremes, 36 . [Link] [DOI]
2021 Mateus, C.; Potito, A. (2021) 'Development of a quality-controlled and homogenised long-term daily maximum and minimum air temperature network dataset for ireland'. Climate, 9 . [Link] [DOI]
2021 Mateus, C.; Potito, A.; Curley, M. (2021) 'Engaging secondary school students in climate data rescue through service-learning partnerships'. Weather, 76 . [Link] [DOI]
2021 Mateus, C. (2021) 'Searching for historical meteorological observations on the Island of Ireland'. Weather, 76 . [Link] [DOI]
2020 Mateus, C.; Potito, A.; Curley, M. (2020) 'Reconstruction of a long-term historical daily maximum and minimum air temperature network dataset for Ireland (1831-1968)'. Geoscience Data Journal, 7 (2):102-115. [Link] https://doi.org/10.1002/gdj3.92

Published Report

Year Publication
2024 Mateus, C.; Coonan, B. (2024) Distribution of driving rain in Ireland. Met Éireann, . [Link]
2023 Griffin, S.; Mateus, C.; Lambkin, K. (2023) Climate data for use in building design – past and future weather files for overheating risk assessment. Met Éireann, . [Link]
2022 Mateus, C.; Coonan, B. (2022) Snow loadings at 100m above mean sea level in Ireland. Met Éireann, . [Link]
2022 Mateus, C.; Coonan, B. (2022) Isothermals maps of the lowest 10cm soil temperature in Ireland. Met Éireann, . [Link]
2022 Mateus, C.; Coonan, B. (2022) Isothermal maps of maximum and minimum shade air temperatures in Ireland. Met Éireann, . [Link]
2012 Silva, N.; Mateus, C.; Martins, J.; Almeida, M.; Oliveira, C. (2012) Demarcação do leito e da margem das águas do mar na orla costeira Ovar-Marinha Grande. [Shoreline mapping of the coastal region between Ovar and Marinha Grande]. APA - Portuguese Environment Agency (APA - Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente), . [Link]

Newspaper Articles

Year Publication
2023 Carla Mateus (2023) What historical records tell us about changing climate in Ireland. [Newspaper Articles] [Link]
2025 Mateus, C. (2025) A short history of extreme weather events around St Patrick's Day. [Newspaper Articles] [Link]

Blog

Year Publication
2025 Mateus, C.; McCormack, B. (2025) The legacy of historical meteorological observations from Ireland in the archives of the Royal Irish Academy (1783 – 1854). [Blog] [Link]

Curated Exhibition

Year Publication
2025 Mateus, C. (2025) Weathered Pages: Unveiling the Past Through Meteorological Records. Royal Irish Academy: Dublin: [Curated Exhibition]

Invited Lectures

Year Publication
2025 Mateus, C. (2025) Historical early meteorological observations from Ireland in the archives of the Royal Irish Academy (1783-1854). Royal Irish Academy: Dublin: [Invited Lectures]
2018 Mateus, C. (2018) Data rescue of the long-term daily maximum and minimum air temperature records in Ireland. Irish Meteorological Society: Custom House, Dublin: [Invited Lectures]
Certain data included herein are derived from the © Web of Science (2025) of Clarivate. All rights reserved.

Professional Associations

Description Function From / To
Geographical Society of Ireland Member -
Irish Quaternary Association Member -
Irish Meteorological Society Member -
Royal Meteorological Society Member -
All Island Climate and Biodiversity Research Network Member -
Special Interest Group for the History of Meteorology and Physical Oceanography (History Group) - Royal Meteorological Society Member -
European Geosciences Union Member -
Portuguese Association for Risks, Prevention and Safety Member -
Portuguese Association of Geographers Member -

Honors and Awards

Date Title Awarding Body
01/10/2019 Ryan Institute Travel Bursary Ryan Institute, University of Galway
04/11/2018 Geography Postgraduate Travel Bursary in the academic year 2018/2019 Geography, University of Galway
01/06/2018 Postgraduate Research Travel Bursary – academic year 2017/2018 College of Arts, Social Sciences, & Celtic Studies - University of Galway
01/10/2017 Ryan Institute Travel Bursary Ryan Institute, University of Galway
01/06/2017 Postgraduate Research Travel Bursary – academic year 2016/2017 College of Arts, Social Sciences, & Celtic Studies - University of Galway
10/05/2017 Geography Postgraduate Travel Bursary in the academic year 2017/2018 Geography, University of Galway
05/05/2017 Geographical Society of Ireland Postgraduate Travel Award Geographical Society of Ireland
24/04/2017 Geography Postgraduate Travel Bursary in the academic year 2016/2017 Geography, University of Galway
01/05/2016 Geography Postgraduate Travel Bursary in the academic year 2015/2016 Geography, University of Galway
01/09/2015 Dr Tony Ryan PhD Scholarship University of Galway
01/09/2014 Top 3% of the best students enrolled in the Master’s in Physical Geography, Environment and Spatial Planning in the academic year 2013/2014 University of Coimbra
10/01/2014 Erasmus award University of Coimbra
01/09/2013 Top 3% of the best students enrolled in the Master’s in Physical Geography, Environment and Spatial Planning in the academic year 2012/2013 University of Coimbra
01/09/2012 Top 3% of the best students enrolled in the Bachelor’s in Geography in the academic year 2011/2012 University of Coimbra
02/09/2012 Geography Curriculum Award - Best student’s curriculum of the Bachelor’s in Geography completed in 2012. Department of Geography and Tourism - University of Coimbra
16/04/2012 Curricular Award Feijó 2011 - Merit award attributed to the best students of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Coimbra Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Coimbra
01/09/2011 Top 3% of the best students enrolled in the Bachelor’s in Geography in the academic year 2010/2011 University of Coimbra
01/04/2011 Curricular Award Feijó 2010 - Merit award attributed to the best students of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Coimbra Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Coimbra
01/09/2010 Top 3% of the best students enrolled in the Bachelor’s in Geography in the academic year 2009/2010 University of Coimbra
01/09/2010 Top 3% of the best students - best application entry for the Bachelor’s in Geography in the academic year 2009/2010 University of Coimbra

Committees

Committee Function From / To
MU Department of Geography, Undergraduate Curriculum Review Committee Member -
MU Department of Geography, Research Committee Member -
MU Department of Geography, International Coordinator Department Coordinator -

Employment

Employer Position From / To
School of Geography, University College Dublin Lecturer 12/09/2022 - 28/04/2023
Met Éireann Postdoctoral Researcher 26/01/2021 - 05/05/2023
Youth Academy, University of Galway Science Outreach Instructor 10/10/2020 - 14/11/2020
Youth Academy, University of Galway Science Outreach Instructor 22/02/2020 - 07/03/2020
University of Galway Exam Invigilator 16/12/2019 - 20/12/2019
School of Geography, Archaeology and Irish Studies, University of Galway Teaching Assistant 01/09/2016 - 31/05/2021
School of Geography, Archaeology and Irish Studies and Ryan Institute, University of Galway PhD Researcher 01/09/2015 - 18/03/2021
School of Geography, University of Galway Researcher (Erasmus Scholar Placement) 13/01/2014 - 15/08/2014
Geophysical Institute of the University of Coimbra Meteorological Observer (Placement) 01/08/2013 - 31/10/2013
Portuguese Environment Agency Technician (Placement) 03/09/2012 - 29/03/2013

Education

Start date Institution Qualification Subject
University of Galway PhD Geography (Climate science)
University of Coimbra Master’s Physical Geography, Environment and Spatial Planning
University of Coimbra Bachelor's Geography (pre-specialisation in Physical Geography)

Languages

Language Reading Writing Speaking
Spanish Fluent Basic Functional
Portuguese Fluent Fluent Fluent
English Fluent Fluent Fluent
French Functional Basic Basic

Consultancy

Client Description
Reviewer of a funding application - National Science Centre, Poland

Editorial / Academic Reviews

Amount Role From / To
Advances in Meteorology Reviewer -
Weather Reviewer -
Geoscience Data Journal Reviewer -
Routledge Reviewer -
Irish Geography Reviewer -

Outreach Activities

Organisation Type Description
Royal Irish Academy Lunchtime Lecture - Historical early meteorological observations from Ireland in the archives of the Royal Irish Academy (1783-1854) Civic Society
Panelist, Dalkey Book Festival, - ‘Portugal, the new European Tiger' Civic Society
Soapbox Science Ireland 2024: What do historical meteorological records tell us about climate change in Ireland? Civic Society
Pint of Science Dublin 2024: Examining historical meteorological records to assess climate change. Civic Society
Represented Met Éireann at the 2023 BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition Civic Society
Represented Met Éireann at the ESB Science Blast in 2023 Civic Society
Represented Met Éireann during Science Week 2021 Civic Society [Link]
Engaged 145 secondary school students from 8 schools in climate data rescue through service-learning as a teaching tool for climate science education Civic Society [Link]
Lecture at the Irish Meteorological Society, 2018. Civic Society
Talk at the Holy Child Community School in Sallynoggin, 2018. Civic Society