Hydrological Sciences

Sixty years under the mountain: A geoscientific odyssey through the Mont Blanc tunnel

Asmae Ourkiya July 16, 2025

Aiguiile du Midi, Mont Blanc Massif. Photo by Andy Smedley. Source: Imaggeo

On July 16, 1965, the Mont Blanc Tunnel, 11.611 km of tunnel piercing the heart of the Alps, opened to traffic, marking a triumph of engineering, geology, and international cooperation. Sixty years later, this civilian artery connecting Chamonix (France) and Courmayeur (Italy) stands not just as a testament to human inventiveness but as an ongoing marvel if viewed through a geoscientific lens. On ...[Read More]

September 2024 flooding in Central Europe: The Austrian experience

Günter Blöschl September 26, 2024

This blog post is co-published with the Hydrology Division (HS). Storm Boris is the latest in a series of deluges during one of Europe’s most flood-prone periods in 500 years, yet Vienna managed to avoid major damage. The city’s preparations may offer valuable lessons for other urban areas facing similar challenges. Dealing with record rainfall: September 2024 in Vienna When record rainfall ...[Read More]

Here is how HydroFATE, a new high-resolution model, is predicting contaminant hotspots in global waterways

Asmae Ourkiya September 24, 2024

Figure from journal: estimated risk quotient for sulfamethoxazole (SMX) using HydroFATE in parts of Southeast Asia, with a focus on India and Pakistan. The risk quotient was calculated using Scenario 2 (see paper for details). The black dots represent the location of wastewater treatment plants in the database HydroWASTE. For visual clarity, only rivers exceeding a long-term average flow of 0.1 m3 s−1 are shown on the map. Credit: Macedo et al, 2024.

Ever wonder what happens to the chemicals and medications we use once they go down the drain? The fourth Sunday of September each year marks the World Rivers Day, and this post is dedicated to our global rivers and what humankind can do to preserve our waters. This is because pharmaceuticals and household products, even after being flushed or washed away, don’t just disappear. Many of these substa ...[Read More]

Which pixel represents my gauging station? Tackling an essential issue in gridded hydrology

Juliette Godet September 20, 2024

Do you know how scientists predict and analyse river flows using computer models? In this blog, Juliette Godet explores the tricky task of matching real-world river measurement points to grid cells in these models. Picture a giant digital map of a river basin, divided into grid squares, and a real-life gauge that measures river flow at a specific point. The job is to figure out which grid cell bes ...[Read More]