Citizen science (the involvement of the public in scientific processes) is gaining momentum in one discipline after another, thereby more and more data on biodiversity, earthquakes, weather, climate, health issues among others are being collected at different scales that can extend the frontiers of knowledge. Successful citizen observatories can potentially be scaled up in order to contribute to larger environmental and policy strategies and actions (such as the European Earth Observation monitoring systems) and to be integrated in GEOSS and Copernicus. Making credible contributions to science can empower citizens to actively participate in environmental decision making, can raise awareness about environmental issues and can help bridge the science-society gap. Often, citizen science is seen in the context of Open Science, which is a broad movement embracing Open Data, Open Access, Open Educational Resources, Open Source, Open Methodology, and Open Peer Review to transparently publish and share scientific research - thus leveraging Citizen Science and Reproducible Research.

Both, open science in general and citizen science in particular, pose great challenges for researchers, and to support the goals of the various openness initiatives, this session looks at what is possible nowadays and what is ready for application in geosciences. Success stories, failures, best practices and solutions will be presented, in addition to various related networks. We aim to show how researchers, citizens, funding agencies, governments and other stakeholders can benefit from citizen science and open science, acknowledging the drawbacks and highlighting the opportunities available for geoscientists.

In this session, we are looking for successful approaches of working with citizen science and open science to bridge the gap between a multitude of stakeholders in research, policy, economy, practice and society at large by finding emerging environmental issues and empowering citizens. This session shall be an open space to exchange experiences and to present either successful examples or failed efforts. Learning from others and understanding what to adopt and what to change help the participants in their own undertakings and new initiatives, so that they become future success stories.

We want to ask and find answers to the following questions:
Which approaches can be used in Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences?
What are the biggest challenges and how to overcome them?
What kind of citizen scientist involvement and open science strategies exist?
How to ensure transparency in project results and analyses?
How to evaluate successful bridging of the science-society-gap?

Soil degradation; in particular under anthropogenic activities such as agricultural practices or mining reduces the capacity of soils to provide services in quantity and quality leading to crop failure, desertification and reduction of food security and biodiversity. Soil rehabilitation on the other hand aims at improving soil functions and ecosystem services - mostly responsible for crop production and ecosystem health. Hence, soils are currently subjected to an impact never observed since agriculture revolution. The impact of humans on soil reached to a level that can be considered a forming factor - the 6th factor of soil formation. This session gathers studies investigating the impacts of human on pedogenesis. A special focus should be given to the attenuation or improvement of soil functions and ecosystem services as consequence of intensive management. Research focusing on soil degradation or rehabilitation in arid, semi-arid and Mediterranean environments are highlighted in this session as the effects of anthropogenic activities can be intensified by the challenges of prolonged periods of drought and intense and irregular rainfall. We especially acknowledge research linking agricultural practices to soil formation - to develop the theory of agropedogenesis.

Soil erosion and the lateral movement of sediment have a substantially effect on the terrestrial carbon budget. The detachment, transport and deposition of soil and associated carbon strongly regulate the storage of carbon in soils. Given the magnitude and the degree of uncertainty associated with the erosion-induced carbon changes, it is crucial to identify sinks and sources of carbon and its interplay with soil redistribution processes to develop and set up reliable soil carbon management strategies.
Soil organic carbon (SOC) is a fundamental determinant of soil fertility and affects the biological, chemical and physical properties of the soil contributing to its capability to improve soil quality and diminishing soil degradation. To control the loss of SOC by induced erosion efficiently and reduce its environmental impact, there is a critical need to quantify soil redistribution rates and investigate the mechanism of soil erosion processes and its effect on the movement and fate of SOC.
This session intend to present a cross-disciplinary approach to Soil Science research focuses on the quantification of erosion-induced changes on soil carbon storage across landscapes.

Soil erosion has been traditionally divided into sheet, rill, and gully erosion. Rills and gullies concentrate overland flow, leading to a significantly increased flow erosivity. These forms of concentrated flow erosion, both above and below ground, represent an important sediment source within watersheds and produce sizeable economic losses (e.g. reduced crop yields, reservoir sedimentation). Moreover, rills and gullies are effective links for transferring runoff, sediment and pollutants. In addition, channel erosion plays a key role in the development of badlands. Despite their relevance, the physical mechanisms that constitute concentrated flow erosion remain poorly understood.

This session aims to address this research gap and will focus on recent studies aiming to better understand the process of rill and gully erosion, with the ultimate aim of developing predictive tools and effective management strategies. As such we welcome contributions on: monitoring and measurement techniques; the factors and processes controlling rill, piping and gully erosion; modelling approaches; restoration and control; the role of piping, rills and gullies in hydrological and sediment connectivity; and rills, gullies and badland dynamics in a context of Global Change.

Structures and techniques aiming at controlling sediment transport-related or erosion-related issues are numerous and sometimes very old. Hillslope management and bioengineering, reforestation, and torrent control works using transverse structures, as check dams and more recently open check dams, are common all over the world to curtail soil erosion and torrential hazards. These actions may be launched for the control of sediment supply (i) to the stream fans and valley rivers for flood protection, (ii) to dam reservoirs for water storage, and basically, (iii) for the mere mountain soil conservation and agriculture protection. The profound objectives of each action are diverse and vary depending on the geomorphic context and local state of the sediment cascade, where the implementation takes place. The lack of sufficient understanding of soil erosion processes, sediment (dis)connectivity activation and torrential hazards propagation continues to make soil erosion prevention and torrent control complex topics with insufficient implementation criteria and long-term effect assessment methods. Consequently, some projects still experience disappointing results due to many different reasons, such as poor construction quality, inadequate location or lack of adequate design criteria. In addition, these actions induce secondary effects (e.g., block of the downstream transfer of water and sediments), which should be better controlled or possibly prevented. This EGU session aims at gathering the whole community interested in human actions on control works and soil conservation techniques at the waterhed scale. Any contributions to the understanding of soil erosion control and sediment transport management based on detailed field experiences, high-quality laboratory works, validated numerical models and effectiveness assessment methods are welcome. Using the knowledge gaps identified above as a starting point, the proposed EGU session wishes, for the third year, to join and share scientific and technical opinions from all around the world, related to the legacy effects of soil erosion control and (open) check-dam design criteria, highlighting the role of the complex interactions between ecological elements, geomorphic processes and engineering activities.

The quantification and understanding of hydrological, erosive, and biogeochemical processes in catchments are essential to the sustainable management of water and soil resources. Assessment of the environmental impact of economic activities in catchments should be based on the acquisition of experimental data to implement and/or to evaluate conservation practices at different scales. Simulation models are important tools to address environmental problems in a cost-effective way. This technology has to be be coalesced with coherent scientific assumptions and experimental data to minimize the degree of uncertainty involved in representing existing conditions and to provide for instrumental information about alternative sustainable scenarios.

In this session, the authors are encouraged to present new environmental challenges related with the use of models or innovative approaches to quantify hydrological and soil erosion approaches. In addition to classical modeling procedures such as evaluation and recognition of model structures, sensitivity analysis, calibration, validation and degree of uncertainty quantification; the authors are encouraged to present new conceptualizations and experiments to address current environmental problems facing society as well as all kinds of tools and techniques aimed at the conservation of water, soil and nutrients.

Soil is the key element in the Earth System for controlling hydrological, biological, erosional and geochemical cycles. Moreover, the soils are the source of food and fiber services and resources for human societies. This key role that soils play makes soil conservation necessary to achieve a sustainable world. Soil erosion is a key threat because agriculture, deforestation, grazing, fire, road construction and mining accelerate soil erosion rates. Soil erosion control can be achieved at the pedon scale and slope scale where the detachment of sediments can be controlled with conservation tillage, catch crops, weeds, mulches or geotextiles, afforestation, check-dams and so on. Generally, the protection of the soil on the slopes needs complementary strategies on the channels as the low sediment concentration of the runoff increases the overland flow efficiency and results in rill and gully incision. In order to avoid the incision of channels and high erosion rates on slopes, management strategies must to be applied. Improving vegetation cover and biodiversity may help to avoid soil degradation. This session will show examples of successful and unsuccessful management actions to rehabilitate and restore degraded ecosystems taking into account soil and vegetation interfaces. We will pay special attention to the strategies and the techniques for restoring arid and semi-arid ecosystems. Thus, this session proposes an exchange of knowledge, ideas and new techniques and strategies that are used in arid and semi-arid ecosystems worldwide. We encourage you to submit papers from your own research experience, review papers, and your experience on research and applied projects in order to establish future guidelines for soil erosion and plant conservation.

Among the many mitigation measures available for reducing the risk to life related to landslides, early warning systems certainly constitute a significant option available to the authorities in charge of risk management and governance. Landslide early warning systems (LEWS) are non-structural risk mitigation measures applicable at different scales of analysis: slope and regional. Systems addressing single landslides at slope scale can be named local LEWS (Lo-LEWS), systems operating over wide areas at regional scale are referred to as territorial systems (Te-LEWSs). An initial key difference between Lo-LEWSs and Te-LEWSs is the knowledge “a priori” of the areas affected by future landsliding. When the location of future landslides is unknown and the area of interest extends beyond a single slope, only Te-LEWS can be employed. Conversely, Lo-LEWSs are typically adopted to cope with the risk related to one or more known well-identified landslides.

Independently by the scale of analysis, the structure of LEWS can be schematized as an interrelation of four main modules: setting, modelling, warning, response. However, the definition of the elements of these modules and the aims of the warnings/alerts issued considerably vary as a function of the scale at which the system is employed.

The session focuses on landslide early warning systems (LEWSs) at both regional and local scales. The session wishes to highlight operational approaches, original achievements and developments useful to operate reliable (efficient and effective) local and territorial LEWS. Moreover, the different schemes describing the structure of a LEWS available in literature clearly highlight the importance of both social and technical aspects in the design and management of such systems.

For the above-mentioned reasons, contributions addressing the following topics are welcome:
• rainfall thresholds definition;
• monitoring systems for early warning purposes;
• warning models for warning levels issuing;
• performance analysis of landslide warning models;
• communication strategies;
• emergency phase management;
• landslide risk perception.

Mountain environments host highly dynamical and widespread erosion, sedimentation, and weathering processes. These processes cover a wide range of temporal and spatial scales, from glacial & periglacial erosion, mechanical & chemical weathering, rock fall, debris flows, landslides, to river aggradation & incision. These processes react to a wide spectrum of external and internal forcings, including permafrost retreat, strong precipitation events, climate change, earthquakes or sudden internal failure. Measuring the dynamical interplay of erosion, sedimentation as well as quantifying their rates and fluxes is an important part of source to sink research but it is highly challenging and often limited by difficult terrain. Furthermore, these dynamical processes can threaten important mountain infrastructures and need to be understood and quantified for a better societal and engineering preparation to the natural hazards they pose.

We welcome contributions investigating:
- sediment mobilization and deposition
- links between erosion, weathering, and the carbon cycle
- concepts of dynamics and connectivity of sediments and solutes
- quantification of erosion, sedimentation, and weathering fluxes in space and time
- sediment travel times and transport processes
- interaction of stabilizing and destabilizing processes on the slopes
We invite presentations that focus on conceptual, methodological, or modelling approaches or a combination of those in mountain environments and particularly encourage early career scientists to apply for this session.

Soil-forming processes can be observed at various spatial and temporal scales, including molecular - microscopic - pedon - landscape scales, and a similarly wide range of temporal scales. They are influenced not only by the “classical five” soil-forming factors, but also by the factor “humans”. This holds true not only for the industrial period and urbanized areas, but also for palaeopedological and archaeological contexts.

In this session, we seek abstracts on all of these aspects of “soils as records in time and space”:
- soil processes proceeding at different scales, incl. interactions across scales (both spatial and temporal)
- human-induced soil changes (incl. mechanical and chemical changes, as well as the introduction of artificial parent materials)
- advances in understanding weathering mechanisms and mineralogical changes in time and space
- linkages of spatial patterns and processes in soil landscapes over time
- processes taking place on short time scales, thereby contributing to long-term soil changes
- aeolian inputs to soils, implications for soil genesis and ecologically relevant soil properties
- palaeosols and geomorphic features as records of former environments and human activity

In the past two decades, connectivity has emerged as a relevant conceptual framework for understanding the transfer of water and sediment through landscapes. In geomorphology, the concept has had particular success in the fields of fluvial geomorphology and soil erosion to better explain rates and patterns of hydro-geomorphic geomorphic change in catchment systems. Although much progress has been made in the understanding of the physical processes that control the flows of matter through the landscape, applying this understanding across a range of scales has long hampered progress.
This session invites contributions from all areas of geomorphology (incl. soil science and hydrology) illustrating or identifying the role of connectivity for geomorphology on a local, regional or global scale. Specific themes we would like to promote are:
- advancement of the theory of connectivity, including sound and unambiguous definitions of
connectivity and related parameters,
- methodology development for measuring connectivity in field and laboratory settings,
having a special focus on experiments for conceptualizing the different processes involved,
- the development and application of suitable models and indices of connectivity,
- determining how the concept can be used to enable sustainable land and water management
The session is organized by the IAG-working group “Connectivity in geomorphology” aiming to develop an international network of connectivity scientists, to share expertise and develop a consensus on the definition and scientific agenda regarding the emerging field of connectivity in geomorphology.

Aeolian processes operate at a myriad of spatial and temporal scales both on Earth and other planetary bodies. Process and form are linked by feedback mechanisms that drive the evolution of forms and at the larger scale the landscape itself. This session brings together research traversing the spectrum of scale, from long term landscape dating and evolution modelling to small-scale process studies. It will be of interest to researchers that study wind-blown sediment (both sand and dust sized particles) and associated bedforms in a range of environments, from coastal and semi-arid regions, to hyper arid deserts and other planets. Contributions that use novel instrumentation in field or laboratory studies, remote sensing at the landscape scale, innovative numerical modelling or theoretical approaches, are encouraged, particularly those which attempt to elucidate feedback between surface properties and sediment transport.

This session is co-sponsored by the International Society for Aeolian Research (ISAR; http://www.aeolianresearch.com/). The best student presentation (oral or poster) in this session will receive two-year ISAR membership and a book prize.

During the Quaternary Period, the last 2.6 million years of Earth's history, changes in environments and climate shaped human evolution. In particular, large-scale features of atmospheric circulation patterns varied significantly due to the dramatic changes in global boundary conditions which accompanied abrupt changes in climate. Reconstructing these environmental changes relies heavily on precise and accurate chronologies. Radiocarbon dating continues to play a vital role in providing chronological control over the last 50,000 years, but advances in recent years on a range of other geochronological techniques that are applicable to the Quaternary have made available a much wider diversity of methods. In this session, contributions are particularly welcome that aim to (1) reduce, quantify and express dating uncertainties in any dating method, including high-resolution radiocarbon approaches, (2) use established geochronological methods to answer new questions, (3) use new methods to address longstanding issues, or (4) combine different chronometric techniques for improved results, including the analysis of chronological datasets with novel methods, such as Bayesian age-depth modelling. Applications may aim to understand long-term landscape evolution, quantify rates of geomorphological processes, or provide chronologies for records of climate change.

To fully diagnose the mechanisms behind the complex teleconnections of past abrupt climate transitions accurate dating and correlation is imperative. This is one of the main goals of the INTIMATE initiative. Furthermore, we aim towards a global approach to integrating climate data, by considering archives from the tropics to the poles and develop our understanding of proxy-sensitivities to different aspects of climate and environmental change (e.g. temperature, precipitation, nutrient availability, sunlight). Finally, we should test our hypotheses and challenge our ideas using models of atmosphere-ocean-biosphere processes. INTIMATE aims to provide a better understanding of the mechanisms of abrupt climate change, with a particular emphasis on the integration and interpretation of global records of abrupt climate changes during the last glacial to interglacial cycle.

Our invited speaker is Prof. Tim Jull, the Editor of the Radiocarbon Journal who will speak about
"Annual carbon-14 variability in tree-rings: Causes and Implications for the calibration curve."

The interactions between plants and soil microbes are an important focus of terrestrial ecology. While synergistic, mutualistic and antagonistic interactions have been a primary focus in the literature, recent work with high-throughput sequencing methods has found that the whole soil microbial community can have a strong effect on plant success. Thus, much development has been made to understand the mechanisms underlying plant-microbe interactions in a community context.
At the same time, our planet is under increasing global change pressures. Climate change, land-use change, pollution - among other pressures - can disrupt the critical interactions between plants and soil microbes. Yet many questions remain: how disrupted interactions can reorganize and affect ecosystem functions - from soil nutrient cycling to plant productivity. In this session, we welcome studies examining how plant-soil-microbe interactions are affected by global change pressures and the ramification of these disruptions for ecosystem processes. We especially encourage contributions that examine interactions in a community or ecosystem context.

Soil biodiversity and function are highly responsive to natural and anthropogenically inflicted changes. Soil biota are affected by climatic factors (temperature and soil moisture) as well as by the quality of above and belowground litter. Climatic variables affect soil community structure and activity by direct and indirect interactive factors. Directly, via suppression of particular groups by low/high mean annual temperatures or by drought/flooding, and indirectly, via regulation of plant community composition and productivity. Plant communities determine structure and activity of microorganisms by chemical composition of litter and root exudates (nutrients), as well as modifying soil chemical properties (pH, soil organic matter content and quality). In addition, anthropogenic practices strongly modify climatic conditions, impact nutrient cycling and cause an input of man-made substances and toxins, which may shift or even tilt the natural equilibrium of microbial communities and processes in soil.

In a series of oral and poster presentations this session will present advances in soil biological and functional diversity. Topics presented in this session will include, but are not limitted to, the formation of soil microbial community structures and activities under the effects of i) temperature and soil moisture fluctuations (climatic factors), ii) plant community types (forests, grasslands, biological soil crusts, agricultural lands) iii) various agricultural practices (including flooding, application of mineral and organic fertilizers). Particular attention will be given to the i) separation of the effects of climatic and biotic factors, and ii) simultaneous estimation of microbial community structure and activity to reveal the driving factors for both. Overall, this session will give a broad overview about the effect of environmental conditions on formation and functioning of biological communities in soils and possible new research directions.

Microorganisms living in soil are usually well adapted to environmental fluctuations, but are challenged by unfavourable conditions related to the food supply combined to variations in temperature, soil moisture, electron acceptor availability, predators, viruses, and mechanical forces. Despite being well-adapted, we do not know how microbial metabolism and community composition will be affected by changes in these conditions. In fact, climate scenarios predict not only continued global warming but also strong changes in temperature and precipitation. At the same time, we have seen major shifts in land use with an increase in large-scale agricultural practices and urbanization. Both climate and land-use change alter the metabolism of soil organisms and soil biodiversity from the micro-scale (bacteria, fungi, archea, protozoa, virus) to the macro-scale (soil animals, earthworms, arthropods, nematodes, etc.). This can have significant ramifications for soil functions including soils’ ability to store organic carbon, support agriculture and conserve biodiversity.
This session collects experimental and modelling studies to understand microbial life, propagation, communication, growth, functioning, adaptations, maintenance metabolism, death, and necromass stabilisation in soil. Plant-microbe interactions and soil biota contribution to carbon sequestrations and crop production are also considered. In this broad context, this session also presents contributions on carbon use efficiency (CUE=ratio of biomass production over carbon substrate consumption) as an indicator or microbial metabolism. These include CUE estimation in soil using advanced methods – isotope labelling, kinetic studies, isothermal calorimetry, and approaches disclosing the effect of microbial community composition and activity on CUE – and modelling studies. A major common challenge in all these areas of soil ecology is how to scale observations and model concepts from organism and communities to soil profiles, ecosystems and finally to scales relevant to management and policy, all the way to the global scale. We thus welcome innovative and interdisciplinary studies that are pushing the field of soil ecology from the understanding of ecological and biogeochemical processes in soils to addressing global sustainability issues.

Soils host a vast biodiversity across various kingdoms, with multiple interactions within and between communities and with the surrounding environment. In this session, we will investigate how biodiversity in soils responds on biotic and abiotic factors across various spatial scales. We will study the functional roles of these communities in processes like nutrient and water cycling, trace gas exchange with the atmosphere, soil erosion, mineral weathering, and vascular plant germination and growth. We will put one special focus on extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and their role in promoting microbial adhesion to surfaces, reducing cellular desiccation, protecting against antibiotics or toxic molecules, and even acting as a final source of nutrition under extreme scarcity. The amount, composition and functionality of EPS in soils, biological soil crusts, sediments or other porous media will be investigated. Responses of soil communities to land use and climate change as well as other potential threats will also be included in this session. Besides temperate soil communities, we will focus on biological soil crusts occurring in hot and cold deserts around the world, and biofilms forming in coastal regions of freshwater and marine environments.

Soil is a heterogeneous and structured environment that is characterised by variable geometry, composition and stability, across spatial scales spanning several orders of magnitude. The physical structure of solid and pore space results in a complex distribution of oxygen, water films and gradients of solutes spanning distances as small as a few micrometers, all of which have a profound effect on the ecological and hydrological functioning of soil.
The soil structure is determined by an interplay of physical, chemical and biological mechanisms, the quantitative role of which is still poorly understood. Soil structure is difficult to study as it is a 3D opaque matrix. To shed light into soil structure, the concept of aggregate has often been used and defines “pieces” of soil structure, that remain bounded under disrupting forces. Microaggregates (250µm) are larger soil units, composed by microaggregates and primary particles, bound together by biological agents, such as roots, fungal hyphae or even earthworm activity. Cutting edge imaging techniques are as well used to observe “in situ” associations of mineral and organic material at micro- and macro-scales and the resulting ever changing pore space, which is partly destroyed when focusing on aggregates, even though it has a fundamental role in soil ecology and functioning.

In this session we integrate the description of structure and its dynamics, using new imaging techniques, with the ecological, functional and physical consequences of the spatial arrangement of soil constituents. A strong interdisciplinary approach is thus required, merging soil physicists, chemists and ecologists. The ultimate aim is to understand how soil structure, from micro-architecture to macropores, emerges from interactions within soil and how it determines the outcome of soil processes, in order to create models of soil functioning that integrate structure dynamics.
This session is divided into two oral blocks, one focusing more on the micro-scale in relation to microbial activities and the other accounting for micro- and macro-scale in relation to soil ecology of larger organisms and soil functioning. Carsten Mueller is the solicited speaker of the first oral block and Matthias Rillig is solicited for the second oral block.

The interactions between plants and their environment in biogeochemical cycles have drawn substantial attention in the domains of soil science, hydrology, plant physiology, ecology and climatology in recent years. This interest stems from the need for improved predictability of plant-related transfer processes to face fundamental environmental and agricultural issues, like for instance crop drought tolerance, contaminant transport, and the impact of global change on plant-mediated resource and energy fluxes in terrestrial systems.
Emerging experimental techniques and system modeling tools have deepened our insights into the functioning of water and nutrient transport processes in the soil-root system. Yet, quantitative approaches connectable across disciplines and scales nowadays constitute step stones to foster our understanding of fundamental biophysical processes at the frontier of soil and roots.

This session targets researchers investigating plant-related resource transfer processes from the rhizosphere to the field scale, and aims at gathering scientists from multiple disciplines ranging from soil physics to plant physiology. This includes:
- Novel experimental techniques assessing below-ground plant processes
- Measuring and modeling soil and plant water fluxes across scales
- Bridging the gap between biology and soil physics through numerical modeling
- Plant water and nutrient uptake under abiotic stress
- Impact of plant uptake on solute transport in soil
- etc…

Invited speakers:
Prof. Dr. Andrea Carminati from the Chair of Soil Physics, University of Bayreuth, Germany.
Prof. Dr. Paul Hallett from the Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom

During the passage of precipitation through the soil-plant-atmosphere interface, water and solutes are redistributed by the plant canopy, subsurface flow and transport processes. Many of these dynamic interactions between vegetation and soil are not yet well understood. This session brings together the vibrant community addressing a better understanding of ecohydrological processes taking place between the canopy and the root zone. Innovative methods investigating throughfall, stemflow, hydraulic redistribution, and root water uptake in various environments shed light on how water and solutes are routed in the thin layer covering the terrestrial ecosystems. The session further covers open questions and new opportunities within the ecohydrological community regarding methodological developments such as the analysis of stable isotope, soil moisture, throughfall or solute dynamics.

Invited speakers:
Daniele Penna (University of Florence, Italy)
Darryl Carlyle-Moses (Thompson Rivers University, Canada)

Advancing our understanding of how biotic and abiotic processes control soil organic matter stocks, stability, stabilisation mechanisms, biochemical transformations, and loss from terrestrial ecosystems remains a major focus in biogeochemistry today. This session aims to facilitate discussions that improve our understanding of how complex biotic and abiotic processes interact in the terrestrial ecosystem, in particular during periods of natural- or anthropogenic-induced change and across a range of scales from molecular, profile, plot, landscape, and global scales to control soil organic matter dynamics. Furthermore, the session welcomes submissions that focus on: (a) relationship of soil organic matter transformations with length and intensity of weathering processes that modify minerals and create a distinct soil matrix in which biological processes take place; (b) dynamics of soil organic matter in deep soil layers using experimental and modeling approaches and (c) plant-soil interactions on soil carbon and nutrient cycling. This session will contribute to improving our understanding and future predictive capabilities of carbon dynamics in the earth system by bringing together scientists working on improving our mechanistic understanding of key soil organic matter processing, with the explicit goal of promoting inclusion of the interplay of biology, climate, geochemistry and pedology into large-scale model frameworks.

Ecosystems, particularly soils, are a globally important reservoir for organic carbon (OC) and contribute significantly to CO2 emissions. Soil organic matter is further vital for soil fertility and sustainable agriculture, and has the potential to increase and safeguard agricultural yields against climate change. Reducing losses of organic carbon (OC) from soils and restoring or even further enhancing soil OC stocks therefore offers a strategy to combine the benefits of climate change mitigation with improved soil quality. Nevertheless there are still a range of frontier areas of research on soil OC that have to be tackled to understand and manage the potential of soils to sequester additional or maintain carbon. These include for example soil carbon saturation, carbon stability in subsoils, carbon input quality, soil structure and management practices, as well as ways to verify changes in soil carbon stocks. Also, there is still large uncertainty on the time scales at which carbon stays in soils and other ecosystem compartments, with flux based and modelling approaches often suggesting faster OC turnover than radiocarbon based approaches.
We invite presentations addressing these or other areas of pioneering research on SOM sequestration and temporal dynamics using experimental, synthesis, or modelling approaches.

Dissolved and particulate organic carbon (DOM, POM) are key components of the global C cycle and important as potential sources of CO2, and for the long-term preservation of carbon stabilized in subsoils and sediments. DOM and POM are key sources of energy for microbial metabolism within terrestrial ecosystems, the aquatic continuum, and ultimately the ocean. Despite recent evidence showing this lateral transport of carbon is linked to anthropogenic perturbations, efforts to integrate DOM and POM fluxes across the terrestrial-aquatic continuum are just emerging. A comprehensive understanding of the dynamics of DOM and POM in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems remains challenging due to complex interactions of biogeochemical and hydrological processes at different scales, i.e. from the molecular to the landscape scale.
This session aims to improve our understanding of organic matter processing at the interface of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. We solicit contributions dealing with amounts, composition, reactivity and fate of DOM and POM and its constituents (i.e. C, N, P, S) in soils, lakes, rivers and the coastal ocean as well as the impact of land use change and climatic change on these processes. For example, it is important to recognize the key role of peatlands as sources of organic matter for many streams and rivers as well as soil erosion induced lateral fluxes of sediment and carbon at the catchment scale when assessing C dynamics across the terrestrial-aquatic continuum. Therefore, we aim to bring together scientists from various backgrounds, but all devoted to the study of dissolved and/or particulate organic matter using a broad spectrum of methodological approaches (e.g. molecular, spectroscopic, isotopic, 14C, other tracers, and modeling).

Stability of soil functioning is closely related to biochemical turnover and microbial recycling of carbon (C) and nutrients. Despite numerous studies aimed on soil organic matter (SOM) formation, accumulation, and decomposition, most of them consider only one direction: formation or decomposition, sorption or mineralization. Consequently, the questions of C turnover and nutrients recycling remain opened.
This session invites contributions to cycles of organic substances in soil, turnover processes and rates, as well as recycling of nutrients and soil organic matter compounds by microorganisms. We appreciate studies focused on turnover mechanisms of fast and slow cycling pools, as well as on substances preferably reutilized by bacteria and fungi. Investigations based on an application of isotope labeling (e.g. 13C, 14C, 15N, 33P, 18O), as well as pools dating approaches are very welcome. Soil and environmental controls of turnover and recycling rates are of a special interest.

Soil organic matter (SOM) plays a key role not only in soil fertility and quality (by providing a number of physical, chemical, and biological benefits), but also in C cycling. The decline of SOM represents one of the most serious threats facing many arable lands of the world. Beside this, there is an imperative necessity of a sustainable management for the increasing quantity of organic waste. Crop residues and animal manures have long been successfully used as soil organic amendments to preserve and enhance SOM pools. During the last decade, pyrolysis (the combustion of biomass under low or no oxygen supply) is showing a promising approach for managing carbon-rich wastes such as sewage sludge, the pulp and paper industry residues or crop residues and to create added value co-products.
Besides serving as a source of organic matter and plant nutrients, these materials may contribute to fight plant diseases and reduce soil contamination, erosion, and desertification. A safe and useful application of organic amendments requires an in-depth scientific knowledge of their nature and impacts on the soil-plant system, as well as on the surrounding environment. While the benefits biochar or fly ashes as soil ameliorants and fertilizers are very well known, the knowledge of the use of other sorts of pyrogenic organic matter as well as the effects of biochar in SOM composition at a long term are very scarce.
This interdisciplinary session will focus on the current research and recent advances on the use of organic amendments including pyrogenic organic materials such as biochar or wood ash in modern agriculture as well as for the restoration of degraded soils, covering physical, chemical, biological, biochemical, environmental and socio-economical aspects by bringing together scientists from the diverse fields of soil, applied pyrolysis, bioenergy waste management, SOM characterization, carbon dynamics and plant nutrition.

Tropical ecosystems play an important role for the regional and global climate system through the exchange of greenhouse gases (GHG), water and energy and provide important ecosystem services that we as humans depend on, such as wood, foods, and biodiversity. Historic and recent human activities have, however, resulted in intensive transformation of tropical ecosystems impacting on the cycling of nutrients, carbon, water, and energy.

Here we invite contributions that provide insights on how land-use and land-use change influences biogeochemical cycles and ecohydrology in tropical ecosystems at the plot, landscape, and continental scale. Examples include nitrogen and carbon cycles in soil and vegetation, the exchange of GHG between soil and atmosphere as well as ecosystem and atmosphere, changes in the energy balance, impacts on the water cycle, scaling issues from plots to country to continent; and the influence of management activities (i.e. fertilization, drainage, etc.) on GHG fluxes.

The session covers forests, but also managed land-use systems such as agriculture, pastures or oil palm plantations. Experimental studies (chamber or eddy covariance flux measurements, stable isotopes, sap flux), inventories, as well as remote sensing or modelling studies are welcomed.

Soil is an environment where minerals undergo steady changes with consequences to the bioavailability and cycling of elements. Chemical weathering of primary minerals provides nutrients to soil biota and results in the formation of secondary minerals that react strongly with pollutants, organic matter, and organisms. Soil minerals, therefore, are major controls in the biogeochemical cycling of elements in soil. The complex interactions between minerals and their abiotic and biotic environment offer numerous challenges to modern environmental research, such as (1) the identification of relevant mineral-related processes at different spatial and temporal scales, (2) the determination of properties of soil minerals, and (3) the resulting impact of soil minerals on element speciation, mobility, and bioavailability. The session aims at bringing together expertise in field, laboratory, and modelling studies for shedding light on all aspects of soil minerals as determinants in the biogeochemical cycling of major (e.g., carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulphur) and trace elements (e.g., antimony, cadmium, molybdenum, and selenium).

Terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems of the boreal to polar regions face tremendous alterations due to a fast changing climate. Besides geophysical and hydrological impacts like vanishing permafrost, coastal erosion and altered runoff, biogeochemical cycles are highly affected by the ongoing changes. Although we are completely aware of the importance of high latitude ecosystems for instance for carbon sequestration, we have a restricted understanding of the biogeochemical processes especially in terrestrial ecosystems. This session aims to bring together scientists working on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems in the high latitudes, both in Arctic, Antarctic, and Boreal regions, reaching from microbiological functioning and stoichiometric constraints of organic matter turnover and nutrient cycling (e.g. nitrogen, phosphorus) to carbon stabilization and trace gas emissions. We further welcome contributions on interactions between vegetation, microbiota and soils and/or sediments, and the exchange between terrestrial and aquatic systems. Let’s come to together and share results, views and concepts to better understand biogeochemical cycling in boreal and polar regions.

Soil structure, function and ecosystem services are discussed within each soil discipline: biology, chemistry and physics and it is recognised that each one of these soil disciplines have great importance in determining the overall soil health and characteristics. Moreover, there is an interrelationship between soil biota and the chemical and physical properties of the soil. For example, soil chemical composition can influence the survival of organisms in the soil and in return, soil organisms may change soil pH, aggregate stability and rate of organic matter decomposition. Healthy, bio-diverse, fertile soil that is rich in nutrients and elements required for food security and proper human nutrition can lead to personal physical fitness as well as social wellbeing for both the individual and broader society. Despite sessions and discussions within each soil discipline, there is very little talk between disciplines and one of the main reasons is the difficulties of the members of one discipline to understand the jargon used by another.
The aim of this session is to bring experts and ECSs from the different soil disciplines to present on soil structure, function and ecosystem services where the only rule is that jargon is not allowed! Our main objective is to facilitate discussion and feed soil information between the biology, chemistry and physics disciplines.
We have dedicated our session to the work of Professor Lily Pereg who was the initiator of this session and President of Soil System Sciences Division at EGU until she died tragically and unexpectedly earlier this year.

Karst areas with carbonate bedrock comprise approximately 20 % of ice-free land on earth and provide water resources for about 25% of the Earth’s population, as well as under-pinning substantial food production. The critical zone extends from the base of the groundwater system to the top of the vegetation canopy, and comprises a complex system of coupled chemical, biological, physical and geological processes, which together support life at the Earth’s surface. Human impacts including intensive land use, contamination, and consequences of climate change have brought severe changes to the functioning of the critical zone. Owing to the inherent vulnerability of many karst ecosystems to disturbance, these are often particularly severe in karst areas. This has resulted in many emerging challenges for soil science, hydrology and related disciplines to understand how land-management practices impact biogeochemical cycles, and consequently the ability of the karst critical zone to provide future ecosystem services. The special characteristics of the critical zone in karst areas include heterogeneity of aquifer properties, thin soil profiles with a direct soil-rock contact, and unique weathering processes. This results in challenges to biogeochemical cycles studies in karst systems, requiring novel techniques and different approaches to non-karst areas.

Critical zone science is necessarily interdisciplinary. This session strongly encourages work drawing on a range of disciplines that will further our understanding of biogeochemical cycling in the karst critical zone. This will provide the knowledge base on which future management of karst areas is based, in order to secure their ability to provide ecosystem services. Work from all relevant disciplines is encouraged, including soil science, water quality, geology, karst hydrology, ecology, agronomy, and ecosystem services in karstic systems, which may draw from both long-term monitoring and high resolution study of occasional or extreme events. Work may include modelling, experimentation, reviews or a combination of the three.

Cracks, fractures and macropores are typical features of natural soils and fissured rock formations, and promote preferential flow and mass transfer. Lithological heterogeneity (e.g., soil layering, lateral and vertical bedding, channels, etc.) adds its contribution to preferential flow at larger scales. In addition to these physical factors, chemical and geochemical processes (e.g., organic matter) may promote typical hydraulic behaviors leading to preferential flow (e.g., hydrophobicity and finger flow). This session focuses on experimental and theoretical challenges and state of the art of methods to characterize, measure and model preferential flows, and their effects on water infiltration into the soil, flow in the vadose zone, and their implications for the water-soil-plant-atmosphere continuum. The session also welcomes studies on the impact of preferential flows on mass transfer in the vadose zone of fractured porous media and heterogeneous soils. Preferential flows are expected to regulate the access of pollutants and solutes to soil reactive particles, and thus the efficiency of pollutant removal by soils and the geochemical processes that govern soil evolution and weathering processes (e.g., precipitation / dissolution processes). On larger scales, some landforms, such as mine waste covers are known to have highly heterogeneous properties, and yet quantifying and modelling water and solute movement in these systems is often required for regulatory and management purposes.
The proposed session will welcome studies including but limited to the following topics:
• Tracking preferential flows and mass transfers in soils using high-tech tracer techniques including MRI, tomography CAT, etc.
• Visualization or abstraction of the pore and fracture structure (pore size distribution, pore connectivity, type of macroporosity) or field heterogeneity (lithological and geological heterogeneity) and implications for preferential flow
• Linking preferential flow pattern with soil geochemical properties (e.g. organic matter and hydrophobicity)
• Coupling the physical processes of preferential flows and geochemical processes for understanding solute sorption and solute desorption, and mineral precipitation and dissolution
• Fracture network geometry and connectivity, its influence on volume-effective flow and mass transport dynamics, and on matrix-fracture interaction processes
• Recent theoretical developments for modeling preferential flows across scales – with scaling efforts from the pore and fracture to the Darcian and landscape scales
• Quantification and modelling of water flow and solute transport within heterogeneous substrates and complex geological structures such as mine wastes (e.g. tailings and waste rocks), mine waste covers and rocky/gravelly substrate

The analysis of infiltration, especially when infiltration experiments are used to estimate soil hydraulic properties, is becoming increasingly important for the geosciences community. Indeed, infiltration process is an important component of the hydrological cycle; it refers to the entry into the soil of water and all substances transported by it. Thus, estimates of soil infiltrability are mandatory key tasks to be performed on a number of hydrologic, agronomic, ecological or environmental studies. Under natural conditions, infiltration is characterized by high spatial variability resulting from a high degree heterogeneity of both soil texture and structure. On the other hand, local infiltration experiments are sensitive to space-time variability of the unsaturated soil properties. High-resolution infiltration measurement is crucial to properly describe and analyze soil water properties needed to model soil water flow. The aim of the session focus is on the principles, capabilities, and applications of both infiltration techniques and models at different scales, including, but not limited to: - field infiltration measurements for a wide variety of infiltration devices, from the most simple to the most sophisticated and complete, combined to complementary information provided by other methods (i.e., TDR probes, GPR, ERT, etc.), - new or revisited numerical and analytical models to account for multiple-porosity, hydrophobicity, organic matter, or swelling on infiltration, clogging, biofilm development; and many other factors that are not taken into account in classic infiltration models, - estimation of soil hydraulic parameters, among which the saturated-unsaturated hydraulic conductivity and sorptivity which are fundamental in soil science. We will explore diverse topics of infiltration and interactions encompassing soil processes. The session is not limited by methodology or approach and we welcome studies including laboratory or numerical simulation of infiltration, in-situ studies of water and solutes infiltration. We welcome contributions from simulated and real data investigations in the laboratory or field, successful and failed case studies as well as the presentation of new and promising infiltration approaches.

The continuum approach is a classical framework to describe and understand the soil—water dynamics and the soil effective—stress state in unsaturated soils. This approach is greatly dependent on the soil—water constitutive laws, viz soil—water retention curve, relative hydraulic conductivity, and those derived by these two principal ones. They link the real soil and its model. Advancements along their development and the comprehension of their role stand at the intersection of experimental measurements, mathematical representation and modelling, numerical solutions, theoretical understandings and practical applications. The growing possibility of monitoring soil moisture with rather simple tools has allowed to perform many field experiments devoted to understand the links between environmental variables and soil moisture. Also, climate change research has boosted this field of knowledge. Many terrestrial critical zone observatories have been installed, therefore new information both at the local and at the catchment scale is now available. Many open issues still exist in understanding the role of soil moisture in the environment, in combination with other factors such as soil and air temperature, air humidity, carbon and nitrogen availability, etc. Also, it is necessary the study of the structure of time and spatial variability of soil moisture itself, for example to combine the different scales of measurements. Usually soil moisture is measured at the local scale, but hydrogeophysics allows to have larger scale measurements and micrometeorological tools such as eddy covariance provide even larger scale estimation of gas and energy fluxes. The cosmic ray have increasing applications and the remote sensing images are powerful tools, therefore interesting issues regard the spatial upscaling, and the sampling frequency.

We invite contributions related to the understanding of the soil--water constitutive laws and to soil moisture monitoring, both finalised to understand the effects of its time and spatial variability, and to study soil moisture itself.

Scientists working both in the biogeosciences, and in soil sciences field are encouraged to participate, for example with study related to the implications of soil moisture on carbon and nitrogen dynamics, as well as on root and plant growth. The growing possibility of monitoring soil moisture with rather simple tools has allowed to perform many field experiments devoted to understand the links between environmental variables and soil moisture. Also, climate change research has boosted this field of knowledge. Many terrestrial critical zone observatories have been installed, therefore new information both at the local and at the catchment scale is now available.

Mining and industrial activities, particularly in the past, have left waste deposit sites and contaminated former fertile soils in many countries. Due to future shortage of arable areas as well as raw materials, the recovery of raw materials as well as remediation for future agricultural utilization, and prevention of hazardous leachings to the groundwater continues to be a goal of current and future research. Bioremediation and biomining techniques are considered as cost-effective and environmentally friendly, “green” technologies for the in situ restoration of the health and productive capacity of soils, mitigating environmental impacts of impaired soils, and last but not least, the gain of raw materials (e.g. by phytoextraction). However, optimization of these technologies requires a sound understanding of related biogeochemical processes and the consequences of site management.
This session aims to bring together contributions of all aspects of biomining and bioremediation research including the effects of rhizosphere processes, soil management and microbial leaching.
This includes, among others:

-advances in the understanding of functions of plant-soil-microbe interactions in the rhizosphere

-factors influencing the mobility and leaching of target elements or soil contaminants

-distribution of target elements inside the organisms

-final recovery of metals from accumulator plants or leachates

We welcome presentations of laboratory and field research results as well as theoretical studies. We intend to bring together scientists from multiple disciplines. Young researchers are especially encouraged to submit their contributions.

Pre-anthropogenic evolution of biosphere based on mechanisms of struggle for life created dynamic stability of the Earth ecosystems comprised of species with maximum matching to all the biogeochemical niches. Intellect specific of only one species changed biosphere to support civilizations but at the same time interfered natural processes and transformed the state of the organized natural biogeochemical cycles. As a result, soil as the main basis of nutrients and biomass production is subjected to physical and chemical degradation and needs reclamation. To survive and develop as a species, Man should escape short-term decisions and use his knowledge and scientifically based approaches to find the ways for stable existence in changeable noosphere.
The main idea of the present session is to discuss the problem of optimization of eco-geochemical state of anthropized soil to improve the quality of agricultural and forestry production and, finally, human health in conditions of inevitable man-made contamination.
We invite specialists in soil science and all stakeholders to:
1) present their ideas and experience in assessment of the ecological and health risk due to soil contamination in their regions, countries and localities;
2) discuss how we should evaluate soil contamination in conditions of: a) natural nutrients deficiency; b) soil over-fertilization; soil pollution;
3) clear up what levels of elements concentration may be treated as pollution and demonstrate theoretical approaches and modern technologies that may be considered optimum in reclamation of technogenically transformed soils to improve their ecological quality and to contribute to human health.

Sorbent materials have various environmental applications, i.e. water filtration, separation, and purification. Rapid progress in nanotechnology and a new focus on biomass-based instead of non-renewable starting materials have produced a wide range of novel engineered sorbents. The development and evaluation of novel sorbents requires a multidisciplinary approach encompassing environmental, nanotechnology, physical, analytical, and surface chemistry. The necessary evaluations encompass not only the efficiency of these materials to remove contaminants from surface waters and groundwater, industrial wastewater, polluted soils and sediments, etc., but also the potential side-effects of their environmental applications. Contributions examining the use of novel sorbents for environmental remediation are welcome. More specifically the contributions may be focused on:

• biosorbents: characterization; evaluation;
• biochars: process optimization; physically and chemically activated biochars;
• reactive sorbents: development; characterization; evaluation;
• nanotechnology based sorbents: development; characterization; evaluation;
• development of sorbents, reactive sorbents, or catalysts from geomaterials;
• sorbent-based in-situ remediation of contaminated soils, aquifers and sediments: experimental work; field studies;
• ecotoxicity of novel sorbents.

The world annual consumption of pesticides has amounted to 2.7 × 106 tons in recent years. Agricultural land is the first recipient of pesticides after its application; even if the pesticides are applied in accordance with the regulations, only a minor amount reaches its objectives, while the rest represent possible environmental contaminants and short or long-term harvest products, with a wide range of possible negative impacts. For many pesticides or their degradation products, soils become the non-point source of groundwater contamination (leaching of soluble compounds and compounds linked to colloids) and / or surface water (runoff of soluble compounds, compounds bound to colloids and soil particles, transport from groundwater). On the other hand, these pesticides represent a potential risk for soil biota, such as nematodes, microorganisms and plants.
The purpose of the session is to share the knowledge generated by researchers whose interest lies in the role of soil in the destination and the behavior of emerging contaminants, including pesticides.
This session will include contributions from different areas:
1. Development, validation and application of analytical methods for pesticides and their degradation / transformation products in water, soil, sediment, air and food samples for direct consumption or fresh consumption.
2. Studies of adsorption, desorption, physical transport, synergies, etc. between soil and organic pollutants of agricultural production (pesticides, pharmaceutical products, other emerging pollutants, which favor their environmental availability.
3. Field tests, monitoring and modeling of environmental destinations of pesticides.
4. Effects of mixtures of pesticides and pesticides on non-target organisms and interactions of various classes of pesticides detected in the natural environment.
5. Evaluation of risks of environmental contamination by pesticides.
6. Assessments regarding climate change on the fate and behavior of pesticides.
The scientific session “Soils as a non-point source of contamination by pesticides or their degradation products” will provide an opportunity to research teams working in different parts of the world to discuss their findings within the settings of a large conference.

The session gathers geoscientific aspects such as dynamics, reactions, and environmental/health consequences of radioactive materials that are massively released accidentally (e.g., Fukushima and Chernobyl nuclear power plant accidents, wide fires, etc.) and by other human activities (e.g., nuclear tests).

The radioactive materials are known as polluting materials that are hazardous for human society, but are also ideal markers in understanding dynamics and chemical/biological/electrical reactions chains in the environment. Thus, the radioactive contamination problem is multi-disciplinary. In fact this topic involves regional and global transport and local reactions of radioactive materials through atmosphere, soil and water system, ocean, and organic and ecosystem, and its relation with human and non-human biota. The topic also involves hazard prediction and nowcast technology.

By combining >30 year (halftime of Cesium 137) monitoring data after the Chernobyl Accident in 1986, >5 year dense measurement data by the most advanced instrumentation after the Fukushima Accident in 2011, and other events, we can improve our knowledgebase on the environmental behavior of radioactive materials and its environmental/biological impact. This should lead to improved monitoring systems in the future including emergency response systems, acute sampling/measurement methodology, and remediation schemes for any future nuclear accidents.

The following specific topics have traditionally been discussed:
(a) Atmospheric Science (emissions, transport, deposition, pollution);
(b) Hydrology (transport in surface and ground water system, soil-water interactions);
(c) Oceanology (transport, bio-system interaction);
(d) Soil System (transport, chemical interaction, transfer to organic system);
(e) Forestry;
(f) Natural Hazards (warning systems, health risk assessments, geophysical variability);
(g) Measurement Techniques (instrumentation, multipoint data measurements);
(h) Ecosystems (migration/decay of radionuclides).

The session consists of updated observations, new theoretical developments including simulations, and improved methods or tools which could improve observation and prediction capabilities during eventual future nuclear emergencies. New evaluations of existing tools, past nuclear contamination events and other data sets also welcome.

Several types of nature-based solutions (NbS) for land and water management have been implemented. They are multi-beneficial, not only to prevent and mitigate climate-related risks, providing more resilient cities, but also to improve human well-being and further pave the way towards a more resource efficient, competitive and greener economy. However, adequate proof-of-concept for economic, social and environmental benefits provided by NbS is needed to promote their inclusion in planning and decision-making processes.
This session aims to promote exchange of knowledge regarding NbS and to discuss their relevance for sustainable development, through evidence-based and scalable case studies. The session seeks to:
• Better understand advantages and disadvantages of NbS, based on field applications;
• Provide new insights and perspectives of NbS at catchment level, particularly their role on water, sediment, nutrient and pollutant fluxes;
• Introduce new methods and tools to investigate the role of NbS in the context of climate change, namely its effectiveness for mitigation and/or adaptation to it;
• Identify opportunities and barriers driven by current regulatory frameworks and management practices, and how the former can be reaped and the latter overcome, for successful implementation of NbS;
• Present an overview of case studies and examples of NbS projects that could involve the private sector and market-based mechanisms;
• Discuss the interactions between NbS and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The soil environment hosts a vast array of interfaces, ranging from those between microbes and aggregates, bulk soils and roots, to the interactions of soils with the bedrock and atmosphere. A range of physical, biological and chemical processes occur at these interfaces across different spatial and temporal scales, sustaining a wealth of ecosystem functions and services.

Soil systems are therefore dynamic environments. The behaviour and response of these complex systems to short-term perturbation and long-term environmental change pose fascinating challenges for soil scientists. Many of the major drivers of environmental change are anthropic in origin, including accelerated climatic change and shifts in land use and management. To ensure soils continue to provide valuable functions and services it is vitally important that we study the wide variety of soil interfaces and understand how the processes occurring across them may respond to current and potential future environmental change scenarios.

In this session we hope to bring together researchers at all career stages from different sub-disciplines of soil science to discuss these interactions and how these are affected by broader changes within the environment. Soil systems encompass an exceptional array of biogeochemical components; as such we welcome studies from a wide range of researchers using empirical or modelling-based approaches. We especially encourage contributions which present research encompassing different components of the soil system and the interactions between soil processes and the wider environment.

Acid sulfate soils are found around the world in both coastal and freshwater environments. These soils are dominated by metal sulfides, which, when exposed to oxygen, oxidise and result in acidification of soil and water. Acidification causes detrimental impacts to agricultural land, natural and managed ecosystems and infrastructure in urban environments. We invite submissions on all aspects of acid sulfate soils, sulfidic materials, and wetland soils in natural, managed and anthropogenic ecosystems.

Environmental systems often span spatial and temporal scales covering different orders of magnitude. The session is oriented in collecting studies relevant to understand multiscale aspects of these systems and in proposing adequate multi-platform surveillance networks monitoring tools systems. It is especially aimed to emphasize the interaction between environmental processes occurring at different scales. In particular, a special attention is devoted to the studies focused on the development of new techniques and integrated instrumentation for multiscale monitoring high natural risk areas, such as: volcanic, seismic, slope instability and other environmental context.
We expect contributions derived from several disciplines, such as applied geophysics, seismology, geodesy, geochemistry, remote sensing, volcanology, geotechnical and soil science. In this context, the contributions in analytical and numerical modeling of geodynamics processes are also welcome.
Finally, a special reference is devoted to the integration through the use of GeoWeb platforms and the management of visualization and analysis of multiparametric databases acquired by different sources

Organic farming is based on the natural cycles of energy and nutrients, and relies on the use of crop rotations, compost and green manure. The International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) agrees to define the “Organic agriculture as a production system that sustains the health of soils, ecosystems and people. It relies on ecological processes, biodiversity and cycles adapted to local conditions, rather than the use of inputs with adverse effects".
This Scientific Session invites you to contribute with your experience in organic farming in relation to soil changes (biota, water, mineral and organic matter, erosion), soil productivity, plant protection, food quality or socio-economic aspects. Studies focused on optimal energy efficiency, water footprint (with an emphasis in green and grey water), greenhouse gasses (GHC) and soil nutrient balancing as indicators of sustainable agricultural practices, are also welcomed. Research conducted on different continents will be shown in order to know the sustainability of organic agriculture under different environmental, social and economic conditions. All these studies could provide robust scientific basis for governmental agricultural policies development and decision tools for stockholders.

Fundings provided by INIA (Spanish National Institute for Agricultural and Food Research and Technology)and Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN)

A growing population is exerting an unprecedented pressure on water and energy resources, maximizing food production and reducing the impact on ecosystem services. Sociotechnical and socioecological variables are not just terms of our current scientific and technologic dictionary but key variables to increase agricultural productivity and fulfil food and fiber supplies in a dissimilar world experiencing climate, land use, market and social changes. With more than 45 % of the world’s agricultural production, irrigation has integrated scientific advancements in soil-plant-water relationships, engineering technologies of variable rate and sub-drip irrigation and innovation that have impacted farmers across the world. Furthermore, in the past decade, we have experienced the massification of proximal and remote sensing, modeling and field data, as well as the “explosion” of robotics, artificial intelligence and information technologies, genetics and high throughput phenotyping --all built upon previous experiences are creating the conditions necessary to innovate in irrigation and contribute to tackle local-to-global challenges.
The proposed session sets the scene for a sustainable irrigation in a changing world. This scenario is based on the integration of applied and basic research, which enables irrigation’s science, engineering and design revolutionize “again” food production with a clearer purpose of preserving water, energy and ecosystem services:
On the one hand, water demands for irrigation have steadily increased since the last decades of the twentieth century, and has created conflicts among water users over a finite water resource jeopardizing food and energy security. Additionally, projected climate change foresees warmer temperatures and shifting precipitation patterns which all together will modify stationary assumptions used to manage water supply, increasing water demands, shifting cropping regimes and triggering volatile markets and socioeconomic responses across the world. Consequently, soil and water productivity could be drastically reduced and thus, food, energy, and ecosystem services too.
On the other hand, technologic developments and innovation on monitoring and predicting future food, water, energy and ecosystems states highlight the role irrigation may play in creating a resilient agriculture to a volatile and complex environment. The following questions need to be addressed: (1) How water and natural resources will be managed for the sustainability of irrigated agriculture? (2) How well irrigated agriculture will adapt to water scarcity scenarios? (3) How information technologies and innovation are contributing to integrate complex systems (i.e. FEWES), maximize food production, optimize water and energy consumption and preserve the ecosystem services? A key element in answering such questions has been and will be the improvement of water, energy and fertilizer use efficiency. The increase of water, energy and fertilizer use efficiency, the accurate estimation in evapotranspiration, and the maintenance of the agroecosystem productivity and ecosystem services will be key topics in the present session. Likewise, the use of other water resources such as treated wastewater, both from industrial and domestic origin, is becoming a source for irrigation in semi-arid and arid regions where the future of irrigated agriculture is threatened by existing or expected water shortages of fresh water and rising concerns of potential water quality hazards to the environment and/or humans.
Within the above framework, this session offers an opportunity to present studies or professional works regarding irrigated agriculture with disciplinary and multidisciplinary approaches including (but not exclusively) the following key topics:
• Efficiency and productivity of water irrigation and fertigation
• Scale-dependent and driven resilience in irrigated working landscapes
• Resilience in coupled natural and human systems where ground and surface water and land are limiting resources for irrigation
• Traditional, novel, and transitional technologies for irrigation management and improvement
• Pros and cons of marginal water use in irrigated agriculture
• Better agronomic and irrigation management practices for soil biodiversity and natural ecosystems improvements and recovery.
• Information technologies and complex system integration as alternatives to tackle current irrigation problems
• Data science, robotics, artificial intelligence and high throughput phenotyping, proximal and remote sensing, and modeling in irrigated agriculture
• Agro-hydrological models and decision support systems to improve decisions in irrigation management and in safe surface water-groundwater interactions.

The implementation of information technology solutions in agriculture is required, particularly in the area of sensing and mapping systems to provide critical data for decision support and help different stakeholders (agricultural producers and researchers) to evaluate the status of soil and propose soil management strategies in the context of climate change.
New sensor technologies allow collecting fine-scale information to provide spatial and temporal variability related data on soil, crop and environmental factors. Over the last few decades, visible and near infrared (visNIR) spectroscopy provided a high through put tool to carry out large sample quantities. This enables the efficient assessment of soil property patterns such as C, N, clay content. Furthermore, technology development and information management systems (e.g., geographic information systems, photogrammetry and remote sensing techniques, global positioning systems, sensors and communication devices for real-time soil sensing and monitoring) have been advanced to deal with agricultural soil sustainability and productivity. The purpose of the session is to present the current knowledge on relevant methodologies and techniques concerning soil diagnostics and crop monitoring by using remote sensing techniques at short–medium term.

Viticulture is one of the most important agricultural sectors of Europe with an average annual production of 168 million hectoliters (54% of global consumption). The concept of “Terroir” links the quality and typicity of wine to the territory, and, in particular, to specific environmental characteristics that affect the plant response (e.g. climate, geology, pedology). The environmental factors that drive the terroir effect vary in space and time, as well as soil and crop management.
Understanding the spatial variability of some environmental factors (e.g. soil) is very important to manage and preserve terroirs and face the current and future issue of climate change. In this sense, it is important to stress that in the last decade, the study of terroir has shifted from a largely descriptive regional science to a more applied, technical research field, including: sensors for mapping and monitoring environmental variables, remote sensing and drones for crop monitoring, forecast models, use of microelements and isotopes for wine traceability, metagenome approach to study the biogeochemical cycles of nutrients.
Moreover, public awareness for ecosystem functioning has led to more quantitative approaches in evidencing the relations between management and the ecosystem services of vineyard agroecosystems. Agroecology approaches in vineyard, like the use of cover crops, straw mulching, and organic amendments, are developing to improve biodiversity, organic matter, soil water and nutrient retention, preservation from soil erosion.
On those bases, the session will address the several aspects of viticultural terroirs:
1) quantifying and spatial modelling of terroir components that influence plant growth, fruit composition and quality, mostly examining climate-soil-water relationships; 2) terroir concept resilience to climate change; 3) wine traceability and zoning based on microelements and isotopes; 4) interaction between vineyard management practices and effects on soil and water quality as well as biodiversity and related ecosystem services.

Soils provide many essential functions which are indispensable for terrestrial ecosystems and the health of human societies. Beyond the production of biomass these functions are nutrient cycling, filter and buffer for water, storage of carbon and habitat for an overwhelming biodiversity.
In view of an increasing pressure on agricultural soils and the need for sustainable soil management all these functions need to be taken into account. They emerge from complex interactions between physical, chemical and biological processes in soil. This need to be understood and disentangled to predict the impact of agricultural soil management on soil functions. The intention of this session is fourfold. We seek contributions which (i) broaden and advance our perspective on soil functions, (ii) enhance our current process understanding of how soil management practices impact one or more soil functions, (iii) show how to quantify soil functions based on suitable proxies or indicators and (iv) demonstrate how soils resist and recover from perturbations.

Mediterranean and other semi-arid regions are prone to cyclic droughts and flood events due to their high climate variability. Agricultural and forest practices have evolved to adapt to these conditions to increase productivity and the economic viability of these activities. Soil and water conservation (SWC) measures have been implemented in these regions to preserve natural resources while maintaining and/or increasing agriculture productivity. Currently a large variety of traditional SWC and relatively modern recent SWC approaches co-exist. However, it still been difficult to provide a robust appraisal of their effectiveness, or a detailed understanding to facilitate its adoption in situations different from those in which they have been developed, mostly through a combination of technical skills and trials and errors in commercial conditions. Finally, the use of SWC measures takes a new dimension with the prospect of climate change and the need to improve the provision of key ecosystems services.

In this frame, this session will try to promote discussion and networking among researches interested in this issue from different background, focusing on recent and past development of SWC, especially related to:
i) The effectiveness SWC measures applied in Mediterranean and other fragile environments in term of productivity, provision of ecosystem services and socio-economic impact (including both on- and off-site effects);
ii) Scientific advances in the understanding of the impact of SWC in the dynamics of hydrological and sediment fluxes, and in the spatial distribution of water and sediment sources and pathways to the improvement of best management practice (BMPs) aimed to minimize on-site and offsite erosion impacts.
iii) Advances in technologies to monitor and evaluate the efficiency of SWC and BMP by different stakeholders.
This session encompasses activities related to the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 15.3 on Land Degradation Neutrality.

Wildfire is a global phenomenon responsible in each summer for tremendous environmental, social and economic losses. In the last two years, many lives were lost during the fires occurred in Portugal, Greece and California. The conjunction of land abandonment, long drought periods, flammable monocultures, lack of forest management and urban development planning, resulted in an unprecedented destruction. This phenomenon have become a persistent threat worldwide, and this risk may increase in the future due to the combination of future fire-prone climate, together with the recent trends of afforestation, land abandonment and fire suppression.
A reflection focused in these variables is essential to understand the recurrence of these extreme fires, and the consequent fatalities that occurred in Portugal, California and Greece. These high-severity mega-fires have also an important impact on the environment as a result of the reduction of vegetation cover and high volatilization of nutrients. Despite the fact that several ecosystems such as the Mediterranean have a high resilience to fires, the high wildfire recurrence is reducing their capacity for recuperation, contributing importantly to land degradation.
The aim of this session is to join researchers that study fire effects on the ecosystems, from prevention to suppression, wildfire modelling, climate change impacts on fire and post-wildfire impacts, either by means of laboratory, field experiments, or numerical modelling. It is time for scientists to join their strengths to give accurate answers to prevent and mitigate the effects of wildfires.

Wildfires have long been considered as a dynamic ecological factor and an effective agricultural and landscape management tool, but more recently they are increasingly seen as a hazard, which has motivated governments to develop spatio-temporal datasets and to produce risk and prognostic maps. A key factor in this respect is to study the spatial and temporal distribution of wildfires and understand its relationships with the surrounding socio-economic, environmental and climatological factors.
In recent years, innovative algorithms and methodologies have been developed for the analysis of spatially distributed natural hazards and ongoing phenomena such as wildfires. Considering the fast growing availability of high quality digital geo-referenced databases, it is important to develop and promote methods and new tools capable of easily take them into account, especially for large scale analysis. Convert the available datasets into meaningful and valuable information is the new challenge.
This session will bring together wildfire hazard scientists and researchers of various geo-disciplines, economists, managers and people responsible for territorial and urban defense and planning policies. The goal is to improve the understanding of the fire regime and discuss new technologies, methods and strategies to mitigate the disastrous effects of wildfires.
In this context, this session will examine empirical studies, new and innovative technologies, theories, models and strategies for wildfire research, especially to identify and characterize the patterns of spatial and temporal variability of wildfires. Therefore, investigation on the relationships between wildfires and predisposing anthropogenic, environmental and climatological factors are also considered.

Research topics include, but are not limited to:
• pre- and post-fire assessment: fire incidence mapping and variability, fire severity and damage (vegetation composition, decrease in forests, loss of biodiversity, soil degradation, alteration of landscape patterns and ecosystem functioning), including fire-planning and risk management
• development of methodology, based on expert knowledge or data driven, for the recognition, modelling and prediction of structured patterns in wildfires
• fire spread models, ranging from case studies to long-term climatological assessments
• long-term trend patterns: relation between wildfires and global changes (e.g., climate, land use/land cover, socioeconomic)
• fire impacts on the environment, in particular on the atmosphere, human health and natural/anthropogenic environment
• post-fire vegetation recovery and vegetation phenology

Both Oral and Poster presentations are very much encouraged, as we plan to have both lively oral and poster sessions.

The Amazon forest is the world’s largest intact forest landscape. Due to its large biodiversity, carbon storage capacity, and role in the hydrological cycle, it is an extraordinary interdisciplinary natural laboratory of global significance. In the Amazon rain forest biome, it is possible to study atmospheric composition and processes, biogeochemical cycling and energy fluxes at the geo-, bio-, atmosphere interface under near-pristine conditions for a part of the year, and under anthropogenic disturbance of varying intensity the rest of the year. Understanding its current functioning at process up to biome level is elemental for predicting its response upon changing climate and land use, and the impact this will have on global scale.

This session aims at bringing together scientists who investigate the functioning of the Amazon and comparable intact forest landscapes across spatial and temporal scales by means of remote and in-situ observational, modeling, and theoretical studies. Particularly welcome are also presentations of novel, interdisciplinary approaches and techniques that bear the potential of paving the way for a paradigm shift.

The proper management of water resources is a key aspect of soil conservation in arid and semiarid environments, where any irrigation activity is structurally and deeply related to the understanding of soil hydrological behavior. In these areas, irrigation should be regarded to as an axle for oases and an effective defense against desertification. Its importance goes beyond the technological aspects, often being traditional irrigation a cultural heritage, which requires to be faced with an (at least) interdisciplinary approach which involves also humanities. On the other hand, improper practices may dramatically contribute to soil degradation. As an example irrigation may lead to soil salinization, with dramatic fallout on agricultural productivity, and overgrazing may lead soil to compaction, with negative effects on the soil capability of water buffering.

This session welcomes contributions ranging from the understanding of the soil hydrological behavior and of the mass fluxes, through the soil, in arid and water—scarce environments and also under stress conditions (e.g. water shortage, compaction, salinization), to the interaction between soil hydrology and irrigation, and to the design of irrigation systems in arid districts and oases. Particular attention will be given to the maintenance and improvement of traditional irrigation techniques as well as to precision irrigation techniques, also with local community involvement. Interdisciplinary contributions, which deal with different aspects and functions of the link between soil hydrology and irrigation techniques in arid environments, are encouraged.

Soil biogeochemical data-modeling integration focuses on:
- soil hydrology and its links with soil respiration and biogeochemistry
- biogeochemical processes studied in feedbacks with soil structure and by high-resolution imaging
- biogeochemical models development and up-scaling issues

Water is a critical driver for soil biogeochemical processes. Hydrologic connections within the soil pore network facilitate flow and transport that enable microbial processing of soil organic materials, and other redox-associated biogeochemical processes. As extreme events such as droughts and storms increase in frequency, a focused understanding of the coupling between water, microorganisms, and biogeochemistry is needed to improve both empirical understanding and simulation models of C cycling processes at all scales. Dormant microorganisms may revive, or functional shifts in microbial activities may occur, that can be related to changing hydrologic states. Studies that couple hydrology to soil structure, microbial C cycling and biogeochemistry are welcome, as are those that emphasize ‘omics-based diagnostics or metrics for monitoring and predicting soil microbial community activities and biodiversity in response to hydrologic changes.

Spatial soil information is fundamental for environmental modelling and land use management. Spatial representation (maps) of separate soil attributes (both laterally and vertically) and of soil-landscape processes are needed at a scale appropriate for environmental management. The challenge is to develop explicit, quantitative, and spatially realistic models of the soil-landscape continuum to be used as input in environmental models, such as hydrological, climate or vegetation productivity (crop models) while addressing the uncertainty in the soil layers and its impact in the environmental modelling. Modern advances in soil sensing, geospatial technologies, and spatial statistics are enabling exciting opportunities to efficiently create soil maps that are more consistent, detailed, and accurate than previous maps while providing information about the related uncertainty. The production of high-quality soil maps is a key issue because it enables stakeholders (e.g. farmers, planners, other scientists) to understand the variation of soils at the landscape, field, and sub-field scales. The products of digital soil mapping should be integrated within other environmental models for assessing and mapping soil functions and addressing soil security issues and support sustainable management.
Examples of implementation and use of digital soil maps in different disciplines such as agricultural (e.g. crops, food production) and environmental (e.g. element cycles, water, climate) modelling are welcomed. All presentations related to the tools of digital soil mapping, the philosophy and strategies of digital soil mapping at different scales and for different purposes are also welcome.

The importance of soil quality and its functions such as nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration, water quality and biodiversity for a sustainable agriculture is more and more recognized. As a limited resource, soil is permanently under pressure and new management strategies for optimizing yields are developed continuously. It often remains unclear how such management strategies influence the various soil functions and their interactions.
Computational models can help to understand and predict effects of a changing environment on soil functions and their relationship by describing soil processes and organism dynamics. However, combining different interrelated functions and processes of a complex system such as soil remain rather challenging.
With this session, we want to address several open questions for tackling this challenge, including (but not limited to): How to quantify soil functions for parametrizing such models? What is the specific relationship between different soil functions? How much details are needed to adequately describe the system, while keeping models simple enough for understanding their dynamics? How important is the incorporation of space? What can we gain from such models to optimize field experiments? How should such models be designed to provide implications for management strategies?
We invite contributions on theoretical and mechanistic simulation models incorporating one or more soil functions relevant for agricultural systems; as well as experimental or field studies which may help to improve modelling approaches.
We especially aim to stimulate a discussion with experts from various fields of soil science including biology, physics, and chemistry.

Data assimilation is becoming more important as a method to make predictions of Earth system states. Increasingly, coupled models for different compartments of the Earth system are used. This allows for making advantage of varieties of observations, in particular remotely sensed data, in different compartments. This session focuses on weakly and strongly coupled assimilation of in situ and remotely sensed measurement data across compartments of the Earth system. Examples are data assimilation for the atmosphere-ocean system, data assimilation for the atmosphere-land system and data assimilation for the land surface-subsurface system. Optimally exploiting observations in a compartment of the terrestrial system to update also states in other compartments of the terrestrial system still has strong methodological challenges. It is not yet clear that fully coupled approaches, where data are directly used to update states in other compartments, outperform weakly coupled approaches, where states in other compartments are only updated indirectly, through the action of the model equations. Coupled data assimilation allows to determine the value of different measurement types, and the additional value of measurements to update states across compartments. Another aspect of scientific interest for weakly or fully coupled data assimilation is the software engineering related to coupling a data assimilation framework to a physical model, in order to build a computationally efficient and flexible framework.

We welcome contributions on the development and applications of coupled data assimilation systems involving models for different compartments of the Earth system like atmosphere and/or ocean and/or sea ice and/or vegetation and/or soil and/or groundwater and/or surface water bodies. Contributions could for example focus on data value with implications for monitoring network design, parameter or bias estimation or software engineering aspects. In addition, case studies which include a precise evaluation of the data assimilation performance are of high interest for the session.

Analytical methods are the foundation of every scientific discipline. Therefore have they very important role in soil science and in all other related disciplines. From the choice of analytical method there depends the accuracy of researches and quality of the findings, and according to this the novelty and usefulness for society. Today we can see the usage of a very wide spectrum of methods and techniques in soil science from quite simple classical methods up to high-precision methods based on high-tech instruments. The wise usage of analytical methods and techniques allows the investigation of the processes and mechanisms in soils and to assess the status of the environment. Unfortunately, the importance of their utilisation in soil analysis is often underestimated. The main purpose of our session is to emphasize the importance of the analytical methods used to achieve the results in soil research.

The aim of this session is to present the usage of different laboratory methods and techniques in soil research and give possibility for researchers to exchange their experiences. The special goal of this session will be to promote a wider use of innovative analytical methods and hyphenated instrumental techniques for separation and determination of chemical and biochemical compounds of both known and unknown structures in mineral and organic soils, sediments, substrates and composts. Modern analytical methods and hyphenated techniques can be utilized for the investigation of the processes and mechanisms in soils like formation, transformation, and conversion.
The session is an opportunity to present the works describing the usage of wide range of equipment, from smartphones to MS in the analysis of soils. The session is not limited to these techniques or methods. Works describing the methods of soil physical analysis are accepted also. The studies connected with methodology of soil chemical analysis and particularly soil organic matter are welcome.

A well-designed experiment is a crucial methodology in Soil Science, Geomorphology and Hydrology.
Depending on the specific research topic, a great variety of tempo-spatial scales is addressed.
From raindrop impact and single particle detachment to the shaping of landscapes: experiments are designed and conducted to illustrate problems, clarify research questions, develop and test hypotheses, generate data and deepen process understanding.
Every step involved in design, construction, conduction, processing and interpretation of experiments and experimental data might be a challenge on itself, and discussions within the community can be a substantial and fruitful component for both, researchers and teachers.
This PICO session offers a forum for experimentalists, teachers, students and enthusiasts.
We invite you to present your work, your questions, your results and your method, to meet, to discuss, to exchange ideas and to consider old and new approaches.
Join the experimentalists!

Soil is the key element in the Earth System acting as a control on hydrological, biological, erosional and geochemical cycles. Moreover, the soils are a critical resource for food and fiber production that sustains human societies. Because of the crucial role that soils play in the Earth System, soil conservation is necessary to achieve a sustainable world. Considering the upcoming challenges, different kinds of stakeholders, including researchers, farmers, policy makers, have an urgent need for tools based on metrics, information and statistics that can facilitate the transferability and communication of soil complexity.
This session provides the premier forum for the presentation of new advances and research results in the fields of experimental, theoretical, and applied soil conservation and eco sustainability. Further, it focuses on advances in the information technologies that publish data, metrics and statistics on soil and earth critical zone or assist their production with the special emphasis of supporting the decision making.
The session will bring together leading researchers, engineers and scientists in the domain of interest from around the world. Topics of interest for submission include, but are not limited to:

TOOLS
Modeling in the GIS / WebGIS framework
Geospatial processing & cyber infrastructures
Big geospatial data & software
Economic technology and instruments
Web based geospatial decision support systems

METHODS
Isotopes
Remote sensing
Lab / Field experiments
Dating
Modeling the Earth Critical Zone
Environmental regulation and monitoring
Environmental systems approach

GEOECOLOGY
Soil micromorphology / mineralogy
Surface and subsurface Hydrology
Water balance
Geomorphology
Erosional and depositional processes
Watershed geomorphology

LANDSCAPE EVOLUTION
Soil evolution and weathering
Paleosols
Soils and surface processes
Hydrologic / Geomorphic change
Land use impacts on geomorphology
Landscape degradation and restoration

SUSTAINABILITY
Soil and water conservation
Environmental sustainability
Resource management
Sustainable cities
Health and the Environment
Hazardous substances and detection techniques
Toxicity assessment and epidemiological studies
Water resources and river basin management

Keywords
Analogue modeling, Landscape evolution, Sustainability, Geospatial decision support

Ecosystems, their abiotic and biotic compartments as well as their internal processes and interactions can be interpreted as the result of numerous evolutionary steps during system development. Understanding ecosystem development can be regarded, therefore, as crucial for understanding ecosystem functioning. This session will highlight research in this field within two parts.

The first part of this session is dedicated to experimental approaches to disentangle these complex processes and interactions of the Critical Zone. Well-known flagship sites in this sense are, e.g., Biosphere2 in the USA or Hydrohill in China. In addition, post-mining landscapes worldwide offer multiple opportunities for establishing artificial experimental sites for various purposes. Many experimental sites are based on hydrological catchments as integrative landscape units. Other large-scale experiments focus on selected parts of ecosystems which were modified or transplanted. This part of the session tries to create a global overview on large-scale landscape experiments on ecohydrological, pedological, biogeochemical or ecological processes within the Critical Zone.

The second part is related to the co-evolution of spatial patterns of vegetation, soils and landforms. These patterns are recognized as sources of valuable information that can be used to infer the state and function of ecosystems. Complex interactions and feedbacks between climate, soils and biotic factors are involved in the development of landform-soil-vegetation patterns, and play an important role on the stability of landscapes. In addition, large shifts in the organization of vegetation and soils are associated with land degradation, frequently involving large changes in the functioning of landscapes. This part of the session will focus on ecogeomorphological and ecohydrological aspects of landscapes, conservation of soil resources, and the restoration of ecosystem functions.

Invited talks will be given by Dr. Abad Chabbi (Director of Research at the French National Institute for Agricultural Research, INRA) on “Challenges, insights and perspectives associated with combining observation and experimentation research infrastructure“. Part two of the session is proud to announce the invited talk of Prof. Praveen Kumar (Lovell Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois, USA, Director of the US NSF Critical Zone Observatory for Intensively Managed Landscapes) on "Co-evolution of landscape and carbon profile through depth: understanding the interplay between transport and biochemical dynamics".

The interactions between geo-environmental and anthropic processes are increasing due to the ever-growing population and its related side effects (e.g., urban sprawl, land degradation, natural resource and energy consumption, etc.). Natural hazards, land degradation and environmental pollution are three of the possible “interactions” between geosphere and anthroposphere. In this context, spatial and spatiotemporal data are of crucial importance for the identification, analysis and modelling of the processes of interest in Earth and Soil Sciences. The information content of such geo-environmental data requires advanced mathematical, statistical and geomorphometric methodologies in order to be fully exploited.

The session aims to explore the challenges and potentialities of quantitative spatial data analysis and modelling in the context of Earth and Soil Sciences, with a special focus on geo-environmental challenges. Studies implementing intuitive and applied mathematical/numerical approaches and highlighting their key potentialities and limitations are particularly sought after. A special attention is paid to spatial uncertainty evaluation and its possible reduction, and to alternative techniques of representation of spatial data (e.g., visualization, sonification, haptic devices, etc.).

In the session, two main topics will be covered (although the session is not limited to them!):
1) Analysis of sparse (fragmentary) spatial data for mapping purposes with evaluation of spatial uncertainty: geostatistics, machine learning, statistical learning, etc.
2) Analysis and representation of exhaustive spatial data at different scales and resolutions: geomorphometry, image analysis, machine learning, pattern recognition, etc.

Soil moisture is a crucial variable in many scientific areas, including hydrology, environmental studies, agriculture, climate research and other fields of geoscience. Electromagnetic devices enable fast, non-destructive and easy-to-automate soil water content determination. We invite presentations concerning in situ measurements and monitoring of soil moisture by the use of electromagnetic sensors, including TDR, FDR, GPR, capacitance, impedance inductance and resistance devices.
The subject of the session will include:
 progress in measurement methods and devices,
 calibration and verification studies,
 practical applications of soil moisture measurements in agriculture, environmental studies, hydrology, civil engineering, etc.,
 electromagnetic determination of physical properties of materials in the context of soil moisture measurements,
 standardization of soil moisture measuring methods and equipment,
 computational methods of electromagnetic wave propagation in dispersive and lossy dielectrics including theory and applications of electromagnetic mixing rules and formulas,
 integrated techniques using RF and/or microwave dielectric measurements with other methods such as impedance spectroscopy, THz spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, NMR, etc.

The advancement of hydrological research relies on innovative methods to determine states and fluxes at high a spatiotemporal resolution. The emergence of novel measurement techniques has been and will continue to be an important driver for the ability to analyze hydrological processes and to evaluate process based models. Recent advances in noninvasive techniques allow continuous contactless and integrative measurements of hydrological state variables and fluxes from the field to basin scale (e.g. cosmic-ray neutron probes, GNSS reflectometry, ground-based microwave radiometry, gamma-ray monitoring, terrestrial gravimetry, “MacGyver” field solutions).
In this session, we encourage submissions dealing with such new types of sensing methods, ranging from instrumental aspects, improved algorithms of signal conversion, data analysis to applications of the new methods for investigating hydrological processes, and the integration of noninvasive monitored data into models from the field to the catchment scale.
In addition, we invite presentation on new data storage or transmission solutions sending data from the field (e.g. LoRa, WIFI, GSM) or started initiatives (e.g., Open-Sensing.org) that facilitate the creation and sharing of novel sensors, data acquisition and transmission systems.

This session is co-organized by the MOXXI: Observations in the 21st century working group of the IAHS.

Progressively stricter requirements in geophysical prospecting, in urban and inter-urban monitoring make it important to look continuously for innovative solutions to new and old complex problems. In particular, investigation and monitoring of pollution, hydrological resources, energy efficiency, cultural heritage, cities and transportation infrastructures nowadays require technological and methodological innovations of geophysical and sensing techniques in order to properly understand the limits of the current state of art and to identify where possible the most convenient strategies to overcome limitations of current approaches. This goal can be achieved either with more advanced solutions in a general sense or with dedicated solutions, particularly suitable for the specific problem at hand.
Integrated prospecting, refined data processing, new models, hardware innovations, new ICT information and telecommunications systems can and should cooperate with each other in this sense. It is important that the scientific community finds a moment for considering the connection between adjacent aspects of the same problem, e.g. to achieve improved geophysical data, safe and reliable environmental and structural monitoring, improved processing as much as possible.
The session “ Innovative instrumentations, techniques, geophysical methods and models for near surface geophysics, cities and transportation infrastructures aims to propose one such moment, where multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary competences can interact with each other, possibly finding possible new ways to cooperate and to exchange experiences reciprocally to reach sustainable solutions.

Topographic data are fundamental to landscape characterization across the geosciences, for monitoring change and supporting process modelling. Over the last decade, the dominance of laser-based instruments for high resolution data collection has been challenged by advances in digital photogrammetry and computer vision, particularly in ‘structure from motion’ (SfM) algorithms, which offer a new paradigm to geoscientists.

High resolution topographic (HiRT) data are now obtained over spatial scales from millimetres to kilometres, and over durations of single events to lasting time series (e.g. from sub-second to decadal-duration time-lapse), allowing evaluation of dependencies between event magnitudes and frequencies. Such 4D-reconstruction capabilities enable new insight in diverse fields such as soil erosion, micro-topography reconstruction, volcanology, glaciology, landslide monitoring, and coastal and fluvial geomorphology. Furthermore, broad data integration from multiple sensors offers increasingly exciting opportunities.

This session will evaluate the advances in techniques to model topography and to study patterns of topographic change at multiple temporal and spatial scales. We invite contributions covering all aspects of HiRT reconstruction in the geosciences, and particularly those which transfer traditional expertise or demonstrate a significant advance enabled by novel datasets. We encourage contributions describing workflows that optimize data acquisition and post-processing to guarantee acceptable accuracies and to automate data application (e.g. geomorphic feature detection and tracking), and field-based experimental studies using novel multi-instrument and multi-scale methodologies. A major goal is to provide a cross-disciplinary exchange of experiences with modern technologies and data processing tools, to highlight their potentials, limitations and challenges in different environments.

Solicited speaker: Kuo-Jen Chang (National Taipei University of Technology) - UAS LiDAR data processing, quality assessment and geosciences prospects

Seismic techniques are becoming widely used to detect and quantitatively characterise a wide variety of natural processes occurring at the Earth’s surface. These processes include mass movements such as landslides, rock falls, debris flows and lahars; glacial phenomena such as icequakes, glacier calving/serac falls, glacier melt and supra- to sub-glacial hydrology; snow avalanches; water storage and water dynamics phenomena such as water table changes, river flow turbulence and fluvial sediment transport. Where other methods often provide limited spatial and temporal coverage, seismic observations allow recovering sequences of events with high temporal resolution and over large areas. These observational capabilities allow establishing connections with meteorological drivers, and give unprecedented insights on the underlying physics of the various Earth’s surface processes as well as on their interactions (chains of events). These capabilities are also of first interest for real time hazards monitoring and early warning purposes. In particular, seismic monitoring techniques can provide relevant information on the dynamics of flows and unstable slopes, and thus allow for the identification of precursory patterns of hazardous events and timely warning.

This session aims at bringing together scientists who use seismic methods to study Earth surface dynamics. We invite contributions from the field of geomorphology, cryospheric sciences, seismology, natural hazards, volcanology, soil system sciences and hydrology. Theoretical, field based and experimental approaches are highly welcome.

The IR (MWIR 3-5micron and LWIR 7-12micron) sensing technologies have reached a significant level of maturity and has become a powerful method of Earth surface sensing.
Thermal sensing is currently used for characterize land surface Temperature (LST) and Land Surface Emissivity (LSE) and many other environmental proxy variables, which part of them can have a further relevance when assimilated into hydrological and climatological models.
The usefulness of IR sensing has been experimented in many environmental applications and also in the spatio-temporal domain for spatial patterns identification.
The session welcomes communications based on the actual of next future IR imagery from broadband to multi/hyperspectral applied to proximal or remote sensing (ECOSTRESS, ASTER, Sentinel3, Landsat etc. and airborne sensors) in the following specific objectives:
- IR instruments solution
- Instrument radiometric calibration procedures
- Algorithms retrieval for Temperature and Emissivity
- Soil properties characterization
- Evapo-Transpiration, water plants stress and drought
- IR targets identification
- Archaeological prospection
- Urban areas and infrastructure investigation
- Geophysical phenomena characterization
- IR synergy with optical imagery

LINKED TO THIS SESSION IS A REMOTE SENSING JOURNAL SPECIAL ISSUE "Proximal and Remote Sensing in the MWIR and LWIR Spectral Range" WITH DEADLINE DECEMBER 2019.

https://www.mdpi.com/journal/remotesensing/special_issues/EGU_TIR

SUBMISSIONS TO THIS SESSION AND TO THE RS JOURNAL SPECIAL ISSUE ARE WELCOME

This session is open to all contributions in biogeochemistry and ecology where stable isotope techniques are used as analytical tools, with a focus on stable isotopes of light elements (C, H, O, N, S, ...). We welcome studies from both terrestrial and aquatic (including marine) environments as well as methodological and experimental, theoretical and modeling studies that introduce new approaches or techniques (including natural abundance work, labeling studies, multi-isotope approaches, clumped and metal isotopes).

Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) is a safe, advanced, non-destructive and non-invasive imaging technique that can be effectively used for inspecting the subsurface as well as natural and man-made structures. During GPR surveys, a source is used to send high-frequency electromagnetic waves into the ground or structure under test; at the boundaries where the electromagnetic properties of media change, the electromagnetic waves may undergo transmission, reflection, refraction and diffraction; the radar sensors measure the amplitudes and travel times of signals returning to the surface.

This session aims at bringing together scientists, engineers, industrial delegates and end-users working in all GPR areas, ranging from fundamental electromagnetics to the numerous fields of applications. With this session, we wish to provide a supportive framework for (1) the delivery of critical updates on the ongoing research activities, (2) fruitful discussions and development of new ideas, (3) community-building through the identification of skill sets and collaboration opportunities, (4) vital exposure of early-career scientists to the GPR research community.

We have identified a series of topics of interest for this session, listed below.

1. Ground Penetrating Radar instrumentation
- Innovative GPR equipment
- Design, realization and optimization of GPR antennas
- Equipment testing and calibration procedures

2. Ground Penetrating Radar methodology
- Survey planning and data acquisition strategies
- Methods and tools for data analysis and interpretation
- Data processing algorithms, electromagnetic modelling, imaging and inversion techniques
- Studying the relationship between GPR sensed quantities and physical properties of inspected subsurface/structures useful for application needs
- Advanced data visualization methods to clearly and efficiently communicate the significance of GPR data

3. Ground Penetrating Radar applications and case studies
- Earth sciences
- Civil engineering
- Environmental engineering
- Archaeology and cultural heritage
- Management of water resources
- Humanitarian mine clearance
- Vital signs detection of trapped people in natural and man-made disasters
- Planetary exploration

4. Contributions on the combined use of Ground Penetrating Radar and other geoscience instrumentation, in all applications fields

5. Communication and education initiatives and methods

Additional information
This session is organized by Members of TU1208 GPR Association (www.gpradar.eu/tu1208); the association is a follow-up initiative of COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) Action TU1208 “Civil engineering applications of Ground Penetrating Radar”.

The session is addressed to experimentalists and modellers working on land surface fluxes from local to regional scales. The programme is open to a wide range of new studies in micrometeorology. The topics include the development of new devices, measurement techniques and experimental design methods, as well as novel findings on surface layer theory and parametrization at the local scale. The theoretical parts encompass soil-vegetation-atmosphere transport, internal boundary-layer theories and flux footprint analyses, etc.. Of special interest are comparisons of experimental data, parametrizations and models. This includes energy and trace gas fluxes (inert and reactive) as well as water, carbon dioxide and other GHG fluxes. Specific focus is given to outstanding problems in land surface boundary layer descriptions such as complex terrain, energy balance closure, stable stratification and night time fluxes, as well as to the dynamic interactions with atmosphere, plants (in canopy and above canopy) and soils including the scale problems in atmosphere and soil exchange processes.

Ongoing climate change and a shorter return period of climate and hydrological extremes has been observed to affect the distribution and vitality of ecosystems. In many regions, available water is a crucial point of survival. Risk can be enhanced by the exposure and/or by the vulnerability of the affected ecosystem.
The session focuses on the complex assessment of all determining factors through a joint utilization of a broad spectrum of databases and methods (e.g. field and laboratory measurements, remote sensing, modelling and monitoring techniques) that can provide a suitable basis for developing long-term strategies for adaptation.
The session should provide a multidisciplinary platform for sharing experiences and discussing results of local and catchment scale case studies from a wider range of relevant fields such as
• observed impacts and damage chains in natural ecosystems induced by climate and hydrological extremes;
• correlation between the underlying environmental factors (e.g. climate, water holding capacity, soil characteristics) and the distribution/vitality of ecosystems;
• integrated application or comparison of databases and methods for the identification and complex assessment of ecosystem responses to abiotic stress factors;
• expected tendencies of abiotic risk factors affecting and limiting the survival of the vulnerable species.
Contributions are encouraged from international experiences, ongoing research activities as well as national, regional and local initiatives.

The Critical Zone comprises the Earth's permeable near-surface layer from the top of the canopy to the bottom of the groundwater(see also: criticalzone.org/national/research/the-critical-zone-1national). It is the Zone where hydrosphere, atmosphere, pedosphere and geosphere interact with the biosphere. This fragile skin of the Earth, which supports the life and survival of humans maintaining food production and drinking water quality, is endangered by threats like climate change and land use change.

This multidisciplinary session will bring together scientists from all disciplines that contribute to our understanding of the Critical Zone from the molecular to the global scale and from fast to slow processes. We invite empirical and theoretical studies, as well as presentation of novel methods, aiming to reveal the processes connecting surface and subsurface und assessing the depth of the surface influence and potential feedbacks.

Globally, 10–20% of peatlands have been drained for agriculture or forestry, and they emit close to 5% of global anthropogenic CO2 emissions. There are countries in Europe that have more than 60% of their agricultural emissions originating from cultivated organic soils, and the fate of South-East Asian peatlands is of global concern. Drainage causes losses of specialized species and further ecosystem services such as nutrient retention. However, most peatland-rich countries address peatlands poorly in national emission reporting and climate change mitigation strategies.
Innovative mitigation measures that sustain economically viable biomass production while reducing negative environmental impacts including greenhouse gas emissions, fire risk and supporting ecosystem services of organic soils are currently vigorously studied. Management measures include, but are not limited to, productive use of wet peatlands (“paludiculture”), improved water management in conventional agriculture and innovative approaches in conservation-focused rewetting projects. Production systems where peatland water table is 40 cm below the surface or higher, can generate food (e.g. fish, berries, mushrooms), feed (e.g. fodder for livestock), fiber (for construction, furniture) and fuel, and raw materials for chemical industry. How to implement these innovations in practice and integrate them into national GHG inventories remains a challenge.
We invite studies addressing peat-preserving management practices on organic soils as well as their implementation into GHG inventories. Work on all spatial scales from the laboratory to the national level addressing biogeochemical as well as biological aspects and both experimental and modelling studies are welcome. Especially research on development of traditional systems with details on commodities with viable value chains and income generation would be of interest. Furthermore, we invite contributions that address policy coherence and identify policy instruments for initiating and implementing new management practices on organic soils.
This session is organized as a joined effort of Global Research Alliance “Peatland Management” working group, Global Peatlands Initiative, Greifswald Mire Center, Thünen Institute and RePeat (REstoration and prognosis of PEAT formation in fens - linking diversity in plant functional traits to soil biological and biogeochemical processes 2016-2019; BiodiVErSA) and PeatWise (Wise use of drained peatlands in a bio-based economy: development of improved assessment practices and sustainable techniques for mitigation of greenhouse gases 2017-2020; FACCE ERA-GAS) – projects.

This session aims to bridge the existing gap between the process-focused fields (hydrology, geomorphology, soil sciences, natural hazards, planetary science, geo-biology, archaeology) and the technical domain (engineering, computer vision, machine learning, and statistics) where terrain analysis approaches are developed.
The rapid growth of survey technologies and computing advances and the increase of data acquisition from various sources (platforms and sensors) has led to a vast data swamp with unprecedented spatio-temporal range, density, and resolution (from submeter to global scale data), which requires efficient data processing to extract suitable information. The challenge is now the interpretation of surface morphology for a better understanding of processes at a variety of scales, from micro, to local, to global.

We aim to foster inter-disciplinarity with a focus on new techniques in digital terrain analysis and production from any discipline which touches on geomorphometry, including but not exclusive to geomorphology (e.g., tectonic/volcanic/climatic/glacial), planetary science, archaeology, geo-biology, natural hazards, computer vision, remote sensing, image processing.
We invite submissions related to the successful application of geomorphometric methods, innovative geomorphometric variables as well as their physical, mathematical and geographical meanings. Submissions related to new techniques in high-resolution terrain or global scale data production and analysis, independent of the subject, as well as studies focused on the associated error and uncertainty analyses, are also welcome. We actively encourage contributors to present work “in development”, as well as established techniques being used in a novel way. We strongly encourage young scientists to contribute and help drive innovation in our community, presenting their work to this session.

We want to foster collaboration and the sharing of ideas across subject-boundaries, between technique developers and users, enabling us as a community to fully exploit the wealth of knowledge inherent in our digital landscape. Just remember, the driver for new ideas and applications often comes from another speciality, discipline or subject: Your solution may already be out there waiting for you!

Arid to sub-humid regions contribute ca. 40 % to the global land surface and are home of more than 40 % of the world’s population. During prehistoric times many important cultures had developed in these regions. Due to the high sensitivity of dryland areas even to small-scale environmental changes and anthropogenic activities, ongoing geomorphological processes but also the Late Quaternary palaeoenvironmental evolution as recorded in sediment archives are becoming increasingly relevant for geomorphological, palaeoenvironmental and geoarchaeological research. Dryland research is also boosted by methodological advances, and especially by emerging linkages with other climatic and geomorphic systems that allow using dryland areas as indicator-regions of global environmental change.
This session aims to pool contributions from the broad field of earth sciences that deal with geomorphological processes and different types of sediment archives in dryland areas (dunes, loess, slope deposits, fluvial sediments, alluvial fans, lake and playa sediments, desert pavements, soils, paleosols etc.) at different spatial and temporal scales. Besides case studies from individual regions and archives, methodical and conceptual contributions, e.g. dealing with the special role of eolian, fluvial, gravitational and biological processes in dryland environments, their preservation over time in the sedimentary records, and emerging opportunities and limitations to resolve past and current dynamics, are especially welcome in this session.

Analysing the geomorphic response to environmental change is crucial to improve the understanding, interpretation and prediction of surface process activity. Environmental drivers such as land cover and land use change, climate variability and tectonic activity are mutable in space and time, which renders the analysis of their impact on Earth surface dynamics anything but trivial. In turn, geomorphic processes have a strong impact on both natural ecosystems and artificially transformed land surfaces, with consequences ranging from increasing environmental diversity to economic damage.
This session aims to cluster latest advances in land surface research that address interrelationships between land cover dynamics, climate, evolving topography and geomorphic processes. Herein, the focus is set on the analysis, modelling and prediction of land surface processes that are linked to:
1) Natural and anthropogenic land cover dynamics, including land use changes, management practices, cultivation of field crops or grassland management, soil reinforcement of different vegetation types and parameterisation of prediction models.
2) Climate variability on a variety of spatial and temporal scales, from freeze-thaw cycles, monsoonal precipitation and extreme climatic events to Plio-Pleistocene glacial cycles and Late-Pleistocene to Holocene climatic changes.
Studies are welcome that pay heed on the geomorphic response to changes in land cover or climate, as well as the resulting feedbacks between land cover, climate and Earth surface dynamics over different temporal and spatial scales.

Denudation, including both chemical and mechanical processes, is of high relevance for Earth surface and landscape development and the transfers of solutes, nutrients and sediments from slope and headwater systems through the main stem of drainage basin systems to ocean basins. Denudational slope and fluvial processes are controlled by a range of environmental drivers and can be significantly affected by man-made activities. Only if we have a better quantitative knowledge of drivers, mechanisms and rates of Holocene to contemporary denudational processes across a range of different climatic environments, an improved assessment of the possible effects of global environmental changes (e.g., higher frequencies of extreme rainfall events, accelerated permafrost thawing, rapid glacier retreat), anthropogenic impacts and other disturbances (e.g., land use, fires, earthquakes) on denudation can be achieved.

This session combines contributions on denudational hillslope and fluvial processes, sedimentary budgets and landscape responses to environmental changes in different morphoclimates, including both undisturbed and anthropogenically modified landscapes. The presented studies apply a diverse set of tools and data analyses, including up to date field measurements and monitoring techniques, remotely sensed/GIS-based analyses, modelling, geochemical and fingerprinting measurements and techniques, dendrochronological approaches, and cosmogenic radionuclide dating.

This session is organized by the I.A.G./A.I.G. Working Group on Denudation and Environmental Changes in Different Morphoclimatic Zones (DENUCHANGE).

Remarkable technological progress in remote sensing and geophysical surveying, together with the recent development of innovative data treatment techniques are providing new scientific opportunities to investigate landslide processes and hazards all over the world. Remote sensing and geophysics, as complementary techniques for the characterization and monitoring of landslides, offer the possibility to effectively infer and correlate an improved information of the shallow -or even deep- geological layers for the development of conceptual and numerical models of slope instabilities. Their ability to provide integrated information about geometry, rheological properties, water content, rate of deformation and time-varying changes of these parameters is ultimately controlling our capability to detect, model and predict landslide processes at different scales (from site specific to regional studies) and over multiple dimensions (2D, 3D and 4D).

This session welcomes innovative contributions and lessons learned from significant case studies using a myriad of remote sensing and geophysical techniques and algorithms, including optical and radar sensors, new satellite constellations (including the emergence of the Sentinel-1A and 1B), Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) / Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) / drones, high spatial resolution airborne LiDAR missions, terrestrial LIDAR, Structure-from-Motion (SfM) photogrammetry, time-lapse cameras, multi-temporal Synthetic Aperture Radar differential interferometry (DInSAR), GPS surveying, Seismic Reflection, Surface Waves Analysis, Geophysical Tomography (seismic and electrical), Seismic Ambient Vibrations, Acoustic Emissions, Electro-Magnetic surveys, low-cost (/cost-efficient) sensors, commercial use of small satellites, Multi-Spectral images, Real time monitoring, in-situ sensing, etc.

The session will provide an overview of the progress and new scientific approaches of Earth Observation (EO) applications, as well as of surface- and borehole-based geophysical surveying for investigating landslides. A special emphasis is expected not only on the collection but also on the interpretation and use of high spatiotemporal resolution data to characterize the main components of slope stability and dynamics, including the type of material, geometrical and mechanical properties, depth of water table, saturation conditions and ground deformation over time. The discussion of recent experiences and the use of advanced processing methods and innovative algorithms that integrate data from remote sensing and geophysics with other survey types are highly encouraged, especially with regard to their use on (rapid) mapping, characterizing, monitoring and modelling of landslide behaviour, as well as their integration on real-time Early Warning Systems and other prevention and protection initiatives. Other pioneering applications using big data treatment techniques, data-driven approaches and/or open code initiatives for investigating mass movements using the above described techniques will also be considered on this session.

We invited prof. Denis Jongmans (Isterre, Université Grenoble Alpes, France), as guest speaker for the session.

Weathering, tectonics, gravitational and volcanic processes can transform the regular sediment delivery from unstable slopes in catastrophic landslides. Mass spreading and mass wasting processes can potentially evolve in rapid landslides are among the most dangerous natural hazards that threaten people and infrastructures, directly or through secondary events like tsunamis.

Documentation and monitoring of these phenomena requires the adoption of a variety of methods. The difficulties in detecting their initiation and propagation have progressively prompted research into a wide variety of monitoring technologies. Nowadays, the combination of distributed sensor networks and remote sensing techniques represents a unique opportunity to gather direct observations. A growing number of scientists with diverse backgrounds are dealing with the monitoring of processes ranging from volcano flak deformations to large debris flows and lahars. However, there is a need of improving quality and quantity of both documentation procedures and instrumental observations that would provide knowledge for more accurate hazard assessment, land-use planning and design of mitigation measures, including early warning systems. Successful strategies for hazard assessment and risk reduction would imply integrated methodology for instability detection, modeling and forecasting. Nevertheless, only few studies exist to date in which numerical modelling integrate geological, geophysical, geodetic studies with the aim of understanding and managing of terrestrial and subaqueous volcano slope instability.

Scientists working in the fields of hazard mapping, modelling, monitoring and early warning are invited to present their recent advancements in research and feedback from practitioners and decision makers. We encourage multidisciplinary contributions that integrate field-based on-shore and submarine studies (geological, geochemical), geomorphological mapping and account collection, with advanced techniques, as remote sensing data analysis, geophysical investigations, ground-based monitoring systems, and numerical and analogical modelling of volcano spreading, slope stability and debris flows.

Significant recent changes in climate are linked to an increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather and weather-related events such as heat and cold waves, floods, wind and snow storms, droughts, wildfires, tropical storms, dust storms, etc. This underscores the critical need for: (i) monitoring such events; (ii) evaluating the potential risks to the environment and to society, and; (iii) planning in terms of adaptation and/or mitigation of the potential impacts. The intensity and frequency of such extreme weather and climate events follow trends expected of a warming planet, and more importantly, such events will continue to occur with increased likelihood and severity.

Agricultural and forested areas cover large surfaces over many countries and are a very important resource that needs to be protected and managed correctly for both the environment and the local communities. Therefore, potential impacts deriving from a changing climate and from more frequent and intense extreme events can pose a serious threat to economic infrastructure and development in the coming decades, and also severely undermine food, fodder, water, and energy security for a growing global population.

Remote Sensing that includes the use of space, aerial and proximal sensors provide valuable tools to monitor, evaluate and understand ecosystem response and impacts at local, regional, and global scales based on spatio-temporal analysis of long-term imagery and related environmental data. Further, studies allowing the quantitative or qualitative evaluation of the risks, including integrating environmental and socio-economical components are particularly important for the stakeholders and decision-makers at all administrative levels. Thus, it is important to better understand links between climate change/extreme events in relation to associated risks for better planning and sustainable management of our resources in an effective and timely manner.

Relevant abstracts will be encouraged to submit a full paper to a related special issu in the journal NHESS (Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences - https://www.nat-hazards-earth-syst-sci.net/special_issue980.html).

We especially encourage, but not limit, the participation of Early Career Scientists interested in the field of Natural Hazards.

The session is organized in cooperation with NhET (Natural hazard Early career scientists Team).

The purpose of this session is to: (1) showcase the current state-of-the-art in global and continental scale natural hazard risk science, assessment, and application; (2) foster broader exchange of knowledge, datasets, methods, models, and good practice between scientists and practitioners working on different natural hazards and across disciplines globally; and (3) collaboratively identify future research avenues.
Reducing natural hazard risk is high on the global political agenda. For example, it is at the heart of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (and its predecessor the Hyogo Framework for Action) and the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage Associated with Climate Change Impacts. In response, the last 5 years has seen an explosion in the number of scientific datasets, methods, and models for assessing risk at the global and continental scale. More and more, these datasets, methods and models are being applied together with stakeholders in the decision decision-making process.
We invite contributions related to all aspects of natural hazard risk assessment at the continental to global scale, including contributions focusing on single hazards, multiple hazards, or a combination or cascade of hazards. We also encourage contributions examining the use of scientific methods in practice, and the appropriate use of continental to global risk assessment data in efforts to reduce risks. Furthermore, we encourage contributions focusing on globally applicable methods, such as novel methods for using globally available datasets and models to force more local models or inform more local risk assessment.

In recent years an increasing number of research projects focused on natural hazards (NH) and climate change impacts, providing a variety of information to end user or to scientists working on related topics.

The session aims at promoting new and innovative studies, experiences and models to improve risk management and communication about natural hazards to different end users.

End users such as decision and policy makers or the general public, need information to be easy and quickly interpretable, properly contextualized, and therefore specifically tailored to their needs. On the other hand, scientists coming from different disciplines related to natural hazards and climate change (e.g., economists, sociologists), need more complete dataset to be integrated in their analysis. By facilitating data access and evaluation, as well as promoting open access to create a level playing field for non-funded scientists, data can be more readily used for scientific discovery and societal benefits. However, the new scientific advancements are not only represented by big/comprehensive dataset, geo-information and earth-observation architectures and services or new IT communication technologies (location-based tools, games, virtual and augmented reality technologies, and so on), but also by methods in order to communicate risk uncertainty as well as associated spatio-temporal dynamic and involve stakeholders in risk management processes.

However, data and approaches are often fragmented across literature and among geospatial/natural hazard communities, with an evident lack of coherence. Furthermore, there is not a unique approach of communicating information to the different audiences. Rather, several interdisciplinary techniques and efforts can be applied in order to simplify access, evaluation, and exploration to data.

This session encourages critical reflection on natural risk mitigation and communication practices and provides an opportunity for geoscience communicators to share best methods and tools in this field. Contributions – especially from Early Career Scientists – are solicited that address these issues, and which have a clear objective and research methodology. Case studies, and other experiences are also welcome as long as they are rigorously presented and evaluated.

New and innovative abstract contributions are particularly welcomed and their authors will be invited to submit the full paper on a special issue on an related-topics Journal.

In cooperation with NhET (Natural hazard Early career scientists Team).

The nature of science has changed: it has become more interconnected, collaborative, multidisciplinary, and data intensive. Accordingly, the main aim of this session is to create a common space for interdisciplinary scientific discussion, where EGU-GA delegates involved in geoscientific networks can share ideas and present the research activities carried out in their networks. The session represents an invaluable opportunity for different networks and their members to identify possible synergies and establish new collaborations, find novel links between disciplines, and design innovative research approaches.

Part of the session will be focused on COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) Actions*. The first edition of the session (successfully held in 2018) was actually entirely dedicated to the COST networking programme and hosted scientific contributions stemming from 25 Actions, covering different areas of the geosciences (sky, earth and subsurface monitoring, terrestrial life and ecosystems, earth's changing climate and natural hazards, sustainable management of resources and urban development, environmental contaminants, and big data management). Inspiring and fruitful discussions took place; the session was very well attended. We are looking forward to continuing the dialogue this year and to receiving new contributions from COST Action Members.

Another part of the session will be dedicated to the activities of other national and international scientific networks, associations, as well teams of scientists who are carrying out collaborative research projects.

Finally, the session is of course open to everyone! Accordingly, abstracts authored by scientists not involved in wide scientific networks are most welcome, too! In fact, in 2018 we received a good number of such abstracts, submitted by individual scientists or small research teams who wished to disseminate the results of their studies in front of the multidisciplinary audience that characterizes this session, as an alternative to making a presentation in a thematic session. This may be a productive way to broaden the perspective and find new partners for future interdisciplinary research ventures. We hope to receive this kind of abstracts this year, as well.


-- Notes --

* COST (www.cost.eu) is a EU-funded programme that enables researchers to set up their interdisciplinary research networks (the “Actions”), in Europe and beyond. COST provides funds for organising conferences, workshops, meetings, training schools, short scientific exchanges and other networking activities in a wide range of scientific topics. Academia, industry, public- and private-sector laboratories work together in Actions, sharing knowledge, leveraging diversity, and pulling resources. Every Action has a main objective, defined goals and clear deliverables. This session was started as a follow up initiative of COST Action TU1208 “Civil engineering applications of Ground Penetrating Radar” (2013-2017, www.GPRadar.eu).

This session aims at bringing together multidisciplinary studies that address the current state of Arctic observing systems, including strategies to improve them in the future. We invite contributions covering atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere and terrestrial spheres, or combinations thereof, by use of remote sensing, in situ observation technologies, and modeling. Particular foci are placed on (i) the analysis of strengths, weaknesses, gaps in spatial/temporal coverage, and missing monitoring parameters in existing observation networks and databases, and (ii) studies describing the development and/or deployment of new sensors or observation platforms that extend the existing observing infrastructure with multidisciplinary measurements. This session will be supported by the EU-H2020 project INTAROS, and welcomes contributions from other pan-Arctic networks (e.g. INTERACT, GTN-P, NEON, ICOS, SIOS, IASOA, AOOS), multi-disciplinary campaigns (e.g. ABoVE, NGEE Arctic, Arctic Ocean 2018, RV Polarstern cruises) or databases.

Modeling soil and vadose zone processes is vital for estimating physical states, parameters and fluxes from the bedrock to the atmosphere. While the media soil, air and water physically affect biogeochemical processes, transport of nutrients and pollutants, their implications on ecosystem functions and services, and terrestrial storage capacities are vital to the understanding of global, land use and climate change. This session aims to bring together scientists advancing the current status in modelling soil processes from the pore to the catchment and continental scale. We welcome contributions with a specific focus on soil hydrological processes but also those that address the role of soil structure on land surface processes, soil biogeochemical processes and their interactions with hydrology, transport of pollutants, soil vegetation atmosphere modelling and root-soil processes.

The originality of the session is to emphasize on the central position of human activities in environmental research (both terrestrial and atmospheric), as a driving factor and/or a response, by combining different spatio-temporal scales.
Continental environments (under various climatic conditions) experience profound societal and physical changes, which prompt scientists to investigate the complex interactions between environmental functioning and human activities.
The complexity originates from the multiplicity of factors involved and resulting spatial and temporal variabilities, of their multiple origins in time (historical integration) and/or legacy.
As a consequence, causal links in this societal-environmental relationship are difficult to establish but, it is fundamental to understand these causal links to adapt, conserve, protect, preserve and restore the functioning of the environment as well as human activities. From this point of view, the geographical approach highlights the relationships (or their absence) through the expression of the spatial and temporal trajectories of the processes studied by clarifying the observation of signals.
The ensuing issues on the relevance of indicators used in different supports of nowadays research (imagery, archives, models ...) are raised as a methodological open up.
In this context, oral and poster presentations dealing with any studies related to the following issue(s) are welcome:
- human forcing on the environments and environmental resilience
- response of socio-systems to environmental changes
- scenarios, prospective and retrospective models of the evolution of environments and human activities
- management modes (adaptive management) of anthropised continental environments, reciprocity, mutual benefits (ecosystem services), positive feedback

The session may include the following methodological aspects:
- in situ metrology,
- statistical and numerical modeling,
- spatio-temporal analysis,
- remote Sensing,
- surveys,
- landscape analysis,
- paleoenvironmental approach,
at various scales:
- spatial scales, from the station and site through watershed,
- time scales from the event to the Holocene.

Geodiversity is an interest for all geosciences, where the natural environment for our science is recorded and assessed. Geoheritage is the appreciation, valuation, and sustainable exploitation of part of this geodiversity for the good of the environment, for society and for science. Geodiversity and geoheritage provide essential links to other disciplines in the natural and social sciences, and they give geosciences a voice to the greater public and to local to global governance.
The EGU geodiversity and geoheritage session has been a large and vibrant meeting spot for a large diverse assemblage of geoscientists and stakeholders for over 5 years, growing with the increasing appreciation of the central role these topics have.
This EGU 2019 session aims to highlight the hottest issues and challenges pending or emerging, as well as inviting a broad range of topics, to engage in a far reaching discussion. As in previous years, we will hold a Splinter Meeting to further discuss hot topics, and will animate the poster session with a special picnic session.

Five main themes to tackle have been identified for 2019:

1) Society, climate change and geodiversity: the problems related to economic and environmental dynamics affecting geodiversity under changing climate and global development conditions. This topic has implications for and links to the IUGS RFG (Resourcing Future Generations) initiative and is a central theme for UNESCO Global Geoparks and World Heritage, and concerns also the management of all types of natural risk.

2) Geo- to ecosystem services and geoheritage: this follows from the first theme in exploring the possibility of developing a holistic and integrated approach to geodiversity, by considering geosystem services, in a perspective of sustainable management of geoheritage to the benefit of the whole environment.

3) Geodiversity, geosites and geoheritage assessments at multiple spatial scales: integrating data from global to local: the present lack of integration between global, regional and local geological and geomorphological data can limit the validity of geodiversity assessment and prevent its applicability for enhancement and protection of geoheritage. This subject relates to practical issues on different spatial scales for geodiversity immediately applicable to the protection of geodiversity, geoheritage and has links with the problems raised in the first two themes.

4) Virtual and Augmented Reality and Geoheritage: the strong innovation potential for this research field due to enhanced application of geoinformation technologies (GIS and Semantic Web). This use of global platforms, such as Google Earth, to outcrops scale augmented reality is a powerful research and educational tool that is developing fast. This theme will draw together demonstrations of the ongoing development of such techniques and their practical implementation into geodiversity and geoheritage sites.

5) Towards a fruitful integration/collaboration of international designations; this is a topic that we invite discussion about, and which is being hotly discussed between the major geoscience unions, associations, programmes and global instances like the UNESCO’s International Geoscience and Geoparks Programme and Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, the IUGS International Geoheritage Commission and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, especially through the Geoheritage Specialist Group/WCPA. It will form a subject of the Splinter Meeting, where these major unions will be open to discuss the theme.

Geodiversity and Geoheritage attract a broad range of people from all sides of geosciences and therefore we invite all this diversity to participate in the session.

The session is co-sponsored by the Working Group on Geomorphosites and the Working Group on Landform Assessment for Geodiversity of the International Association of Geomorphologists; ProGEO, the European Association for the Conservation of the Geological Heritage; the IUGS International Commission on Geoheritage; the Geoheritage Specialist Group of the World Commission on Protected Areas of the International Union of Conservation of Nature, the International Lithosphere Program, and the IAVCEI Commission on Volcanic Geoheritage and Protected Volcanic Landscape.
The session is closely linked to the those of Geoheritage Stones, and to Volcano Resources.

Cities all over the world are facing rising population densities. This leads to increasing fractions of built-up and sealed areas, consequencing in a more and more altered and partly disrupted water balance - both in terms of water quantities and qualities. On top, climate change is altering precipitation regimes.

This session focuses on according urban ecohydrological problems and approaches to solve them spanning from technical to nature-based solutions in different time and spatial scales from the building to the whole city.

The Anthropocene is a topic of broad and current interest that is being discussed across various disciplines, within Earth Sciences, but also in the humanities and in the media. Its significance and usefulness as the youngest epoch of the Geological Time Scale is examined by the Working Group of the Anthropocene of the Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy, part of the International Commission on Stratigraphy. A multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary approach for investigating and discussing the Anthropocene is feasible, including not only various Earth Sciences disciplines such as stratigraphy, sedimentology, geochemistry and palaeontology, but also archaeology, geography, geomorphology and various disciplines of the humanities and the arts. This session invites transdisciplinary and interdisciplinary contributions on the significance, usefulness and application of the term, as well as case studies including proposals on possible GSSPs (Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point) for a definition of the Anthropocene as part of the Geological Time Scale. The session will foster transdisciplinary dialogue and interdisciplinary cooperation and understanding on the scale and reach of anthropogenic changes within the Earth System.

Fires are a complex phenomenon that may generate a chain of responses and processes that affect each part of the ecosystem. Some ecosystems need fire to be sustainable. Soils are a crucial element of the environment and are the base for forest development. Thus, is important to understand the magnitude of the impacts of fire on soil properties and the response of plants to this disturbance. Soils are a poor conductor, thus the direct impacts of fire on soils are limited to the first centimetres. These impacts are especially important after high severity fires as a consequence of the high temperatures reached and the high consumption of organic matter. In this case, the direct impacts of fire can last more time comparing to low and moderate fire severities. Post-fire and indirect impacts on soil depend on fire history, ash properties, topography, post-fire weather, topography, vegetation recuperation and post-fire management. Vegetation recuperation depends also very much from the impacts of fire on soil. The aim of this course is to give an overview of fire impacts on soil properties, the latest methods that we used to assess it and contribute to building proper management guidelines for managers.

10:45-10:55: Presentation of the book "Fire impacts on soil properties"

10:55-11:25: "Fire in northern boreal forests - effects on biogeochemical cycles"
Kajar Koster, University of Helsinki, Finland

11:25-11:50: "Effects of prescribed fires on soil and plant ecosystems" Manuel Lucas Borja, University of Castilla y la Mancha, Spain

11:50-12:20: "Ash and soils. A close relationship in fire-affected areas" Paulo Pereira, Mykolas Romeris University, Lithuania

12:20-12:30: Course clausure

This course is supported by the POSTFIRE Project (CGL2013-47862-C2-1 and 2-R) and the POSTFIRE_CARE Project (CGL2016-75178-C2-2-R) sponsored by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and AEI/FEDER, EU. This course is also supported by the Academy of Finland project BOREALFIRE (294600, 307222).

In times of climate change, current debates about carbon dynamics make waves in both the science and policy community. Several international policy frameworks* spearhead global efforts to streamline state governments, industry, and civil society into agreements for a sustainable development while mitigating climate change. The contribution of science to this process is critical to better prepare, implement, and measure the ambitious goals. Geoscientists from all fields are welcome to join this debate at the science-policy interface.

We will start with a scientific introduction on a topic of increasing focus in the policy-sphere; land and soil carbon dynamics, highlighting recent findings on carbon fluxes, whether it be source or sink. After discussing how these relate with policy guidelines, from our second speaker we will learn how scientific findings enter the policy arena, how policy organizations work, and why targeted-reports are crucially important for policy-makers. Our third speaker will present on how policies are turned into agreements at national or regional scales. To conclude, in an open discussion, the keynote speakers and audience will have the opportunity to discuss how the policy frameworks can boost science, which burning research needs are missing out, and how to explore career opportunities, especially for early career scientists. During the discussion, the expertise of the audience will be crowdsourced in an exercise on how to get involved and integrate your research ideas into policy-making decisions.

* like the Sustainable Development Goals, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the 4 per 1000 Initiative and others

The analysis of grain-size distributions has a long tradition in sedimentology and related disciplines studying Earth surface processes. The decomposition of multimodal grain-size distributions into inherent subpopulations by grain-size end-member modelling analysis (EMMA) allows inferring the underlying sediment sources, transport, depositional and post-depositional processes.

This course aims to introduce the concept of EMMA and it fields of application. It will show and practice the major steps needed to decompose large data sets into robust grain size end-members using the EMMAgeo package in R.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please, send registration info (your name and e-mail address to Marina Karsanina: marina.karsanina@gmail.com), this is necessary to estimate the number of participants and redistribute training materials and software prior to the course!
Also note that you will need a laptop (preferably fully charged) for practical work.

Motivation: In numerous scientific areas dealing with flow and transport in porous media such as hydrology, soil and rock physics, petroleum engineering, X-ray microtomography (XCT) is the key tool to obtain information on rock/soil structure under study. If structural information is obtained, one can utilize so-called pore-scale modelling to simulate fluid flow directly in the pore space of the 3D porous media images. Even the simplest workflow to simulate single phase flow and compute permeability requires a number of steps, image processing including segmentation and solution of the Stokes equation in 3D geometry being the most critical or time consuming. Recent developments in the field of pore-scale modelling allow to perform decent simulations using a modern personal computer, but such tools are still not widespread in routine research work.

Aim: To provide an introduction and basic tools to perform all necessary steps from X-ray microtomography images to single-phase flow simulations.

Plan: 1) Introduction to 3D imaging, image processing and pore-scale modelling (20 min.); 2) Overview of available software/solutions and typical problems (10 min.); 3) Description of solutions developed by our group and available to the public (10 min.); 4) Hands-on image processing and segmentation (30 min.); 5) Hands-on single phase flow modelling (20 min.); 6) Interpretation and visualization of results (20 min.); 7) Interactive session with questions (5 min.).
For all hands-on sessions you will use free software developed by our research group (FaT iMP) and some other freely available packages. All necessary materials, including sample XCT images, will be distributed by organizers prior to the course.

What will you learn: 1) The basics of porous media imaging, 2) how to prepare and crop XCT images for pore-scale modelling, 3) how to segment images using current state-of-the-art local thresholding techniques, 4) how to simulate single phase flow and compute permeability of porous media samples from 3D images.
At the end of the course you will be able to simulate single-phase flow based on grey-scale XCT images of porous media.

Ecosystem Services (ESs) assessment is increasingly used as a decision guiding tool, with a high potentiality for many environmental impact assessment through its threefold valuation: i.e. social, biophysical and economic. ESs assessment is a way to obtain a more holistic view on a framework to bring human life to a more enhanced level of sustainability. Soil is at the heart of the assessment of ESs.
By answering the question of how the study of physical, chemical and biological processes in soil can contribute to ESs assessment, the purpose of the short-course is to review recent surveys through the eyes of the ESs user, taking stock of what we know, what we do not know, and what we need to know as soil scientist and hydrologist.
Speakers: Prof. Nunzio Romano, University of Naples, Italy, and Prof. David Ellison, Swedish University of Agriculture SLU & Ellison Consulting, Sweden.