Hydrological forecasting

Communicating science to the public – an example after the recent floods in Germany

Bettina Schaefli January 25, 2024

Extensive flooding in the Emsland flood area, photo: Flugschule Dankern

After the wet December 2023, the year 2024 started with widespread flooding in parts of Europe. Flooding during winter times is not unusual but brings particular challenges in terms of spatial extent, and the impact on people can be exacerbated when flooding comes with very low temperatures. The exceptionally wet and warm winter necessarily triggers questions from the public about how this links t ...[Read More]

Hydrological modelling in times of flooding

Bettina Schaefli July 14, 2021

Flood warning issued in Switzerland on 14 July 2021

What a strange summer! Depending on where you live, you might currently be suffering from heat. In Switzerland, we are suffering from an exceptionally rainy and stormy weather situation, with high to very high flood danger issued for many major rivers and lakes (see warning map above, taken from the Federal Office for the Environment FOEN on Wednesday 14 July). For certain rivers, controlled flood ...[Read More]

SciArt & Hydrology: how about having an art exhibition as part of your hydrology PhD thesis?

Maria-Helena Ramos December 4, 2019

On November 1st 2019, Louise Arnal, a PhD candidate at the University of Reading and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), had her art exhibition opening event at The Museum of English Rural Life (Reading, UK). This exhibition was part of her PhD thesis on hydrology, and was called “Gambling with floods?” For me, it was the first time I saw a PhD thesis in hydrology that ...[Read More]