Dr Carla Mateus
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
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] |
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] |
Invited Lectures
Professional Associations
Honors and Awards
Employment
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 |