The 2012 GIFT (Geosciences Information for Teachers) symposium will take place on April 23-25, 2012 during the EGU General Assembly 2012 in Vienna Austria. The general theme of the workshop is «Water!» and will be dedicated to the study of the hydrological problems of our planet. The deadline for applications is 30 November 2011. This pdf gives more details (also available on the EGU website.
In the GIFT workshop “Water!” all the different aspects of the water cycle will be described and discussed. Talks will focus on global freshwater availability and distribution, overexploitation of water, strategies for sustainable use of water in the future and the threats by environmental change. Particular regions where global warming will have a major impact, such as the regions depending on the water supply from the Himalayan, Alpine and Andes mountain glaciers will be used as exemplars. The use of naturally occurring isotopes to “fingerprint” sources of water in precipitation and rivers, and the presence of ‘ancient’ water beneath the deserts and other areas, will also be discussed.