Dowsing for interesting water science – what’s exciting at EGU 2019?

Is that a crowd of geoscientists wandering through Vienna?

Joint post by Sam Zipper (an EGU first-timer) and Anne Van Loon (an EGU veteran).

Every April, the European Geophysical Union (EGU) holds an annual meeting in Vienna. With thousands of presentations spread out over a full week, it can feel like you’re surrounded by a deluge of water-related options – particularly since the conference center is on an island!  To help narrow down the schedule! Here, we present a few water-related sessions and events each day that caught our attention. Feel free to suggest more highlights on Twitter (using #EGU19) or in the comments section!

Monday 8 April

Using R in Hydrology (SC1.44)

• Short course 16:15-18:00.
• This short course will cover R packages and tools for hydrology with both newcomers and experienced users in mind.

Innovative sensing techniques for water monitoring, modelling, and management: Satellites, gauges, and citizens (HS3.3).

• Posters 16:15-18:00.
• Curious about new approaches to hydrological science? This session features citizen science, crowdsourcing, and other new data collection techniques.

Plastics in the Hydrosphere: An urgent problem requiring global action

• Orals 14:00–17:45
• A session about what we can do to protect our water.

Tuesday 9 April

Nature-based solutions for hydrological extremes and water-resources management (HS5.1.2)

• Posters 08:30-10:15, Orals 10:45-12:30
• Nature-based solutions are meant to be ‘living’ approaches to address water management challenges – this session will explore how they are used in both urban and rural areas.

HS Division meeting: If you want to know more about the organisation of the Hydrological Sciences Division of EGU (and you like free lunch) check this out!

Plinius Medal Lecture by Philip J. Ward: Global water risk dynamics

• Lecture 17:00–18:00

Wednesday 10 April

Large-sample hydrology: characterising and understanding hydrological diversity (HS2.5.2)

• PICOs 08:30–10:15
• What can we learn from looking at a large number of catchments?

Sustainability and adaptive management of groundwater resources in a changing environment (HS8.2.1)

• Posters 10:45-12:30, Orals 16:15-18:00.
• This session features examples of groundwater sustainability (and challenges) all over the world, with a particular focus on Integrated Water Resources Management.

HS Division Outstanding ECS Lecture by Serena Ceola: Human-impacted rivers: new perspectives from global high-resolution monitoring

• Lecture 14:00–14:30

Geoscience Game Night (SCA1)

• Game night! 18:00-20:00.
• Get together with fun folks and play geoscience games!

Thursday 11 April

How can Earth, Planetary, and Space scientists contribute to the UN SDGs? (ITS3.5)

• PICOs 16:15-18:00.
• Check out the fun PICO format – a combination of posters and talks – and help figure out what the role of earth science is in meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Urban groundwater: A strategic resource (HS8.2.7)

• PICOs 10:45-12:30.
• Urban groundwater is understudied relative to groundwater in agricultural areas – what do we know about urban groundwater, and what remains to be learned?

Henry Darcy Medal Lecture by Petra Döll: Understanding and communicating the global freshwater system

• Lecture 19:00–20:00

Friday 12 April

Innovative methods to facilitate open science and data analysis in hydrology (HS1.2.7)

• PICOs 08:30-12:30
• Learn about how you can make your science more open, whether you are an open science beginner or a long-time data sharer!

History of Hydrology (HS1.2.3)

• Orals 8:30-10:15, Posters 14:00-15:45
• What can we learn from the past and how can that help us guide the future of hydrology? Should be a fun trip down memory lane.

Social Science methods for natural scientists (SC1.48)

• Short course 14:00–15:45
• This short course is for everyone who has some dealings with people in their research, such as stakeholders, citizen science, The aim of the session is to demystify Social Science and give practical tips & tricks.

Other Resources

Several other groups and blogs have also compiled water-relevant sessions. Make sure to check out their recommendations, as well!

• EGU Young Hydrology Society events: https://younghs.com/2019/03/09/yhs-at-egu19-plan-your-week/
• IAH Regional Groundwater Flow Commission: https://iah.org/news/regional-groundwater-flow-commission-sessions-at-egu-general-assembly
• Hydrological Ensemble Prediction: https://hepex.irstea.fr/hydrological-forecasting-egu-2019-abstract/

Cover image source: https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2015/09/09/21/33/vienna-933500_960_720.jpg