Catchment hydrology

eDNA4Hydrology

Maria Magdalena Warter September 3, 2026

Sampling eDNA, stable isotopes and organic matter profiles at Padastertal, Austria in September 2022 © Yvonne Schadewell

What flows around comes around For centuries, hydrologists have studied the flow of water through landscapes near and far. We measured flow rates, mapped aquifers and followed invisible paths of raindrops through soil and bedrock. Hydrology is a meticulous, beautiful science that has taught us much over the years. From the water cycle, surface water in rivers, wetlands and snowpack and groundwater ...[Read More]

Drought in Europe

Bettina Schaefli August 18, 2026

On the shore of lake Constance (Ermatingen), 12 Aug 2026, Tobias Wechsler

Many of us are experiencing it right now: Europe is suffering from a long lasting large scale drought (Fig. 1), with record heat and low-flow levels that probably nobody of us has seen before; and current forecasts do not announce any relieve for the coming weeks. The pictures of record low levels in the river Rhine are scaring – knowing how strongly Europe depends on this fluvial transport ...[Read More]

What machine learning can and cannot tell us about floods

Emma Ford July 23, 2026

Collage based on a picture by Imad Clicks via Pexel

Floods are shaped by complex and nonlinear interactions between weather patterns, rainfall, soil properties, topography, land cover, and how wet a catchment already is. This complexity is one reason machine learning (ML) is increasingly used in hydrology. ML models can learn patterns from large and complex datasets with many variables. Early in my PhD, while exploring machine learning models for ...[Read More]

Communicating and Managing Residual Risk with Perfect Storms and Other Counterfactual Stories

Bruno Merz March 26, 2026

The aim of risk management is to prepare society in order to limit loss and damage when an extreme event occurs and to restore the functioning of society afterwards . While current risk management practices are helpful in many regards, they fall short when it comes to unprecedented events. An analysis of event pairs and recent disasters show that societies often fail to cope with events that are l ...[Read More]