HS
Hydrological Sciences

floods

Bridging the Gap Between Global Tech and Local Expertise: Why We Open-Sourced Google’s Hydrology Framework

and October 8, 2026
Bridging the Gap Between Global Tech and Local Expertise: Why We Open-Sourced Google’s Hydrology Framework

Dear EGU Hydrology community, Over the past few years, machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence have fundamentally changed what is possible in large-scale hydrological modeling. At Google, our team has worked to develop machine learning river forecast models that operate globally, extending reliable forecasting to ungauged basins and covering almost two billion people through the …[Read More]

What machine learning can and cannot tell us about floods

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 …[Read More]

HydroTalks: Heidi Kreibich about Floods, Human-water Feedbacks, and the IAHS Scientific Decade Panta Rhei

, and January 22, 2026
HydroTalks: Heidi Kreibich about Floods, Human-water Feedbacks, and the IAHS Scientific Decade Panta Rhei

For this month’s episode of HydroTalks, we’re thrilled to welcome Heidi Kreibich. She is  head of the Section Hydrology at GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences and senior lecturer at the Geography Department of Humboldt-Universitat zu Berlin. Heidi is also president of the Natural Hazards division of the EGU and president of the International Commission on …[Read More]

My Riverside journey by bike to EGU, part 2

April 15, 2025
My Riverside journey by bike to EGU, part 2

We’ve now been pedalling (unaided by batteries, in case you were wondering) for six days along the Rhine. I’m writing this in the warmth of the evening sun, sparkling off the river, flowing gently past tonight’s campsite, which occupies the hundred metre wide floodplain between the left bank and a steeply-sloping vineyard. Today’s ride took …[Read More]

How do you ensure quality in your flow modeling? Participate in a survey!

, and December 19, 2024
How do you ensure quality in your flow modeling? Participate in a survey!

The challenges in hydraulic engineering are increasing due to the growing threat of floods and heavy rainfall events caused by climate change (as experienced several times in Europe in recent years) on the one hand and the more frequent low water situations and the associated requirements for ecological enhancement of water bodies, on the other …[Read More]

October 2024 floods in the Valencia region, Eastern Spain: One example too many of hazardous debris

, , , and November 6, 2024
October 2024 floods in the Valencia region, Eastern Spain: One example too many of hazardous debris

The recent devastating flash floods in Valencia region, Eastern Spain, have once more highlighted the role of large debris in enhancing urban flood hazard. Urban debris – so-called Urban Flood Drifters (UFDs) – are very varied as shown by a recent survey. They include vehicles, deadwood, waste bins, containers of many types, construction materials, and …[Read More]