Session programme

Availability of research data, together with the availability of methods/software and open access to the resulting publications, has become an increasingly accepted set of pillars for reproducible science. While more and more journals have moved to openness regarding access of articles, the shift to demanding (or at least strongly encouraging) availability of the underlying data and even software has emerged just recently. For example, since August 2019, the AGU journals enforce major parts of the FAIR principles, which can impose some head scratching during and after submission. Likewise, when asking data repository staff, what data of a Structure-from-Motion study actually should be provided (pictures, calculated point clouds, point cloud derivatives, derivatives of derivatives?), one can get a rich variety of replies. Obviously, as with all freshly laid out directions, trails need time and people to become highways.

Thus, it is now time to ask scientists for their suggestions about how to form this trail into a highway. Which key information should be provided by journals and data repository platforms to simplify the submission process while likewise safeguarding the necessary meta data depth and low level accessibility constraints? What are adequate time lines and work flows for authors? Which type and aggregation stage of data should (or should not) be part of a repository? How can access restriction requirements for different groups be implemented? How can different data repository contents be organised to make real value of the rapidly expanding data source?

This townhall meeting invites researchers from all geoscience disciplines to share their experience with the process of providing data along with manuscripts. Our aim is, besides discussing the above questions, to develop mechanisms to lower learning curves, and to facilitate workflows, for authors, data curators and journal editors and reviewers. We want to fuse a group of active people that collect feedback and ideas, which will be used to ultimately create and share one page how-to’s on fruitful ways to create data repositories, utilise pre-print servers, and submit articles in agreement with open science policies.

We plan to provide mechanisms that safeguard a high degree of auditorium interaction and intend to assemble a panel of publishers, editors, data curators, and scientists.

Publishing is an essential and integral part of scientific life. During a scientist’s career, one may act as author, reviewer and editor. In each of these roles one may experience frustrating moments because of diverging expectations regarding one’s own and another person’s role in this agent triangle during the publication process. It is frustrating as author and editor to get ten lines of review text, or reviews that are merely copy-editing notes. It is frustrating as reviewer to be left with unclear definitions of quality thresholds, recommendation guidelines, and obviously bad manuscripts that should have never gone out for review.

Often, such frustrations arise from a lack of common agreements – across journals and across disciplines – on the expectations and limitations of the roles of all three publication agents (author, reviewer, editor, but all of them scientists by training and at heart). What may be an expected task in journal A could be a don’t-do for journal B, and quite often there is no way to infer that expectation from a journal’s website. Thus, in an environment of ever increasing publication numbers, pressure on all three roles is intense. A consensus regarding transparent, generic and helpful guidelines on the definitions, duties and expected deliverables of authors, reviewers and editors is needed and overdue.

The goal of this Townhall meeting is to shed light onto experiences of authors, reviewers and editors across geoscientific disciplines. We want to collect and share examples of good practice and debate a minimum set of guidelines for each of the three groups of publication agents. We invite researchers from all geoscience disciplines to share their experiences and ideas with the audience and the panel, and intend to share the outcomes of this community-driven discussion transparently and widely.

This Town hall meeting is dedicated discuss the European underground research challenges and opportunities. The meeting will be dedicated to share the findings, present the cases and discuss the underground research and innovation project feasibility via possible scenarios of many existing and conceptional underground laboratories in particular European locations:
• Äspö Hard Rock Laboratory, Sweden
• Callio Lab, Pyhäsalmi mine, Finland
• Reiche Zeche, TU Freiberg Research and Education mine, Germany
• Conceptual Lab development co-ordinated by KGHM Cuprum R&D centre, Poland
• Khlopin Institute Underground Laboratory, Russia
• Ruskeala, Russia
• Other

Scientific drilling has transformed the understanding of our planet by addressing some of the most fundamental questions about Earth´s dynamic history, processes, and structure, and by opening up new lines of inquiry. Understanding climate, sea-level and environmental changes, geohazards, natural resources, the structure and evolution of the Earth’s crust and the nature and extent of the deep biosphere all require having access to information recorded in subsurface layers.

Two major and complementary international programs undertake drilling for the scientific community: IODP (International Ocean Discovery Program) and ICDP (International Continental Scientific Drilling Program), in oceanic and continental environments respectively. This Townhall meeting will be the opportunity to share our views on exciting challenges to take up for a better understanding of the Earth system and its changing environment and to network with colleagues.

PTAL is a research project founded by the European Commission through the H2020 program, which is aimed to provide the scientific community with a novel library of terrestrial analogue materials that have been selected according to their similarity to well-known Martian geological contexts (https://ptal.eu/). Planned to be released to public on January 2022, the PTAL platform (http://erica.uva.es/PTAL/) will provide future users with free access to complementary spectroscopic and diffractometric data gathered from over 100 terrestrial analogues. Beside the use of commercial instruments, this database stands out for providing access to data collected by means of analytical spare models (FS) and representative prototypes of Raman (RLS and SuperCam simulators) VNIR (MicrOmega-FS) and LIBS (ChemCam-FS) systems onboard the Perseverance and Rosalind Franklin rovers soon landing on Mars. As the PTAL database is meant to facilitate the scientific exploitation of the data returned by Mars202
0 and ExoMars missions, this townhall meeting is meant to present the final version of the online PTAL platform and discuss with attendees about PTAL analytical data and spectroscopic tools.

The aim of this townhall meeting is to bring together soil-modeling researchers for developing new activities and future perspectives on modeling soil systems. Contributions are welcome with a short announcement ahead of the meeting to the conveners. Formed to consortium in 2016, we aim for integrating and advancing soil systems modeling, data collection, and observational capabilities. ISMC is a community-based effort that builds on voluntary contributions and scientists, stakeholders and institutions can sign up freely (https://soil-modeling.org/). ISMC is organized around three science panels that parallels a broad workflow from data collection (DO-LINK) to model development and testing (Soil-MIP) to engagement with different scientific communities (CROSS-CONNECT). Together, these panels jointly foster the development of soil modelling tools, support, expertise and knowledge transfer. We anticipate that the discussion will be facilitated through a report of the state-of-affairs an d the activities of the three science panels, followed by an open and engaging dialog with the attendees. The meeting is centred around an open and engaging dialog among the attendees and initiated by a report of the state-of-affairs and the activities of the three science panels, followed by an open and engaging dialog with the attendees.

In this Townhall meeting we will update you on the latest developments within the StraboSpot//EPOS collaboration and demonstrate recently developed tools for experimental rock physics and microscopy.

StraboSpot is an EarthCube sponsored US initiative that is developing mobile and desktop applications to facilitate the collection and curation of field geology, microstructures, and experimental rock deformation data.

EPOS (European Plate Observing System) is a pan-European e-infrastructure project with the goal of improving and facilitating the access, use, and re-use of solid Earth science data. The Multi-scale laboratories are a subdivision within EPOS and responsible for laboratory-generated data, including microscopy and experimental rock deformation.

The StraboSpot//EPOS collaboration aims at harmonizing both initiatives, to ensure both systems are able to communicate with each other and can thus be linked. StraboSpot provides the tools to collect the data, while EPOS provides a platform to make the data available.

In this multidisciplinary Townhall session, we will discuss the current challenges of the publication system, and explore some of the emerging opportunities which aim to render it more open and fair. This event follows a series of engaging articles published in the European Journal of Soil Science in late 2020, initiated by Professor Philippe Baveye from Saint Loup Research Institute in France, on the issues of bypass and hyperbole. A response authored by an international network of early career soil scientists also showcased the difficulties faced by reviewers, as well as the opportunities provided by open access publishing. These likely represent challenges faced across a broad array of geoscience disciplines. The goal of this Townhall is to bring together participants from all EGU divisions to share their perspectives on the limitations of the current publication system, and the emerging possibilities to make it more open and fair to all.

A diverse and international panel comprising both an early career and an established scientist, together with representatives from journal publishing platforms with varying open access options, will present their own perspectives on the challenges and new opportunities in publication practices, which will be followed by an open discussion by all interested conference participants.

ICOS, the Integrated Carbon Observing system is a distributed research infrastructure which makes high quality sustained (25 years ) carbon observations in oceanic, terrestrial and atmospheric environments at the European and global scale to support climate policy development. Observing systems are supported by a head office, a data centre, a calibration lab and sector specific Thematic Centre. The Ocean Thematic Centre is jointly supported by Norway and the U.K. and offers the following services to marine observing systems who are within the ICOS network including, mainly pCO2 instruments on ships and buoys.

Advocacy for improved funding, international engagement and links to the COP Process Assistance with data management

Meeting and documenting ICOS quality thresholds

Training instrument operators and fostering best practice via workshops and intercomparison exercises

Developing new technology to enable better, cheaper, faster or more robust observations, often in new environments or on new platforms.

We invite all interested parties, both current members of the ICOS network, groups interested in joining ICOS and groups from alternative networks, to attend this townhall at which we will describe and showcase the services we offer, including

The IOCOS initiative, designed to transform funding for ocean C observing

The Quince platform for automatic data upload, 1st QC and onward transmission of data to SOCAT and other data repositories

Our 2021 pCO2 intercomparison exercise

The supply of Gas standards from the ICOS calibration laboratory.

How to access the new sensors we are developing

Geosciences communities have strived to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic with the help of their expertises from data management to modelling, while maintaining as much as possible the indispensable collection of geophysical data. This response includes the development of various networks and task forces, as well as the emergence of research programs.

This townhall will be devoted to taking stock and charting perspectives on the engagement of geoscience communities, as well as the necessary support from research agencies around the world. The ambition is to prepare new waves of scientifically-based responses to mitigate risks and develop resilience to this pandemic and its probable successors.

The international Earth and space science community has been working hard to make data sharing a common practice. During this townhall we will provide updates on the current focus areas of COPDESS -The Coalition on Publishing Data in the Earth and Space Sciences, other relevant work being led across our community, and opportunities to participate in upcoming workshops. COPDESS is currently working on challenges with data citation, software citation, supporting journal editors and staff, connecting researchers with appropriate repositories and improving the workflow between data repository ingest and curation and journal peer review.

Join us to discuss the current status, how you can get involved, and next steps we can take.

Since 2006, the German Geophysical Society (DGG) promotes the C.F. Gauss Lecture within the frame of the General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU). Selected authors give an in-depth overview on a specific field of geophysics.

The German Society for Marine Research (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Meeresforschung, DGM) awards the Georg Wüst Prize every two years to a person who has made a significant contribution to ocean research.

This panel critically analysis the role of innovative technology and public policy solutions and their interactions to preserve aquatic ecosystems, including oceans, estuaries, lakes, ponds, wetlands, rivers, and streams.

Organizer: Global Policy Insights and Envipol

Bringing the complementary expertise and perspectives of mountain scientists from across regions and disciplines together to discuss outstanding challenges is beginning to drive substantial progress in science, practice, and policy. This splinter meeting, convened by the Mountain Research Initiative (MRI) and GEO Mountains, intents to further strengthen these efforts by providing a forum in which to discuss – and hopefully collectively identify feasible and practical solutions to – a series of broad challenges that have been identified through work recently carried out under the auspices of the Mountain Research Initiative (MRI) and/or GEO Mountains (see references below for further details).

Briefly, the MRI is a scientific networking organization that seeks to drive and connect mountain research across disciplines and regions. The MRI’s Mountain Observatories and Elevation Dependent Climate Change Working Groups – in collaboration with GEO Mountains – are tasked, inter alia, with compiling a comprehensive inventory of mountain observatories and their associated datasets, including reliable information as to their availability for use. We also strive to improve the incompatibility of observations from mountain sites globally (e.g. by proposing common standards).

The following questions summarise some of the challenges that have been identified:

- How can we help improve the density of in situ monitoring instrumentation where this has been identified to be comparatively lacking (e.g. the mountains of Africa, South America, and Asia, and along transects across wide elevation gradients)?

- How can the ongoing shift from thematic to multi-disciplinary observations at mountain sites be accelerated?

- How can we collect and make available appropriate metadata on existing mountain networks and how should we best advocate for / incentivise the free and open sharing of existing datasets?

- How can greater emphasis be placed on obtaining useful socio-economic data in mountainous regions which, whilst critical, is currently often overlooked at the expense of biophysical data?

- How appropriate are global gridded environmental datasets (which can provide extensive spatial coverage) in mountainous applications, given that their spatial resolution may be limited and/or their reliability compromised in complex terrain?

- From a preliminary set of so-called Essential Mountain Climate Variables, how should we go about formalizing a pragmatic set of so-called Essential Mountain Climate Variables and their associated observation requirements?

The splinter meeting format will combine both plenary and break-out group discussions using an online virtual tool. All interested parties are warmly welcomed to attend and share their views on these important questions.

The outcomes of the discussion will represent important contributions from the community to the activities of the MRI’s Working Groups and GEO Mountains, and will accordingly be integrated into the work programmes and fully acknowledged. Conversely, we expect these discussions to inspire new collaborations and prospects for individual researchers – especially early career researchers - who wish to contribute to and be given recognition for participation in this collective effort.

For further information, please contact GEO Mountains Scientific Project Officer, Dr. James Thornton (james.thornton@unibe.ch).

References:

Pepin et al. Elevation dependence of temperature and precipitation changes in the mountains of the world. in preparation, Reviews of Geophysics.

Shahgedanova, M. et al., Mountain Observatories: Status and Prospects to Enhance and Connect a Global Community, in press, Mountain Research and Development

Thornton, J. M., Palazzi, E., Pepin, N., Cristofanelli, P., Essery, R., Kotlarski, S., Giuliani, G., Guigoz, G., Kulonen, A., Li, X., Pritchard, D., Fowler, H., Randin, C., Shahgedanova, M., Steinbacher, M., Zebisch, M., Adler, C. under review. Towards a definition of Essential Mountain Climate Variables. One Earth.

Mountain Research Initiative EDW Working Group., Pepin, N., Bradley, R. et al. Elevation-dependent warming in mountain regions of the world. Nature Clim Change 5, 424–430 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2563

Organizer(s): James Thornton, Carolina Adler, Elisa Palazzi, Maria Shahgedanova & Nick Pepin

Acquisition and analysis of geochemical data are pervasive in the Earth, environmental, and planetary sciences, but very little of it is FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable). The need for global standards and best practices for geochemical data is increasingly urgent so that scientists can better share geochemical data in a global network of distributed databases. Standard protocols for exchanging geochemical data among distributed data systems, and for making software tools that support the management, publication, and preservation of geochemical data interoperable (see vEGU21 session ESSI3.9) still need to be defined and approved by a global community. Best practices need to be define for researchers and labs to consistently and comprehensively describe samples, data acquisition procedures, and data quality, and these need to be endorsed and promoted. Discovery in many fields will benefit from a global geochemical data network, from the study of global climate ch ange, to present and past biogeochemical cycles, to magmatic processes, to the origin and evolution of our solar system. This Splinter Meeting is intended to present and broaden participation in OneGeochemistry, an initiative to build a global geochemical network that develops and adopts geochemical data standards and approaches for their technical and organizational governance.

Lithosphere of East Antarctica, International Lithosphere Program, Coordinating Committee (2021-2025). A meeting to share news regarding field programs in East Antarctica, and to connect with the those working in this field more widely. The meeting will also discuss and refine specific goals for the CC during its five year span.

The meeting will address the following issues related to the isotope data quality and comparability: (i) different sampling and analytical protocols, (ii) deviations in calibration approaches, origin and quality of reference materials, (iii) improper sample manipulation and preparation; (iv) different methods of data corrections, normalizations and processing protocols, etc. The discussion will be focused on the detection of flaws with special attention to uncertainty estimation, creating standard operational protocols and tools for self-assessment of Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC), proper use of materials for normalization and exploring future trainings needs. Approaches and tools for high quality isotope data to be applied in many earth sciences and cross-disciplinary will be discussed.

The Deep-time Digital Earth (DDE) Program is an innovative International Big Science mission that will provide new opportunities and directions for the development of Earth Sciences. The vision and mission of DDE is to transform Earth Science by harmonizing global DDE data, and sharing global geoscience knowledge.
DDE hopes to further introduce the project planning to global geologists through the splinter meeting, and show part of the recent progress.

Business meeting of the International Astronomical Union / International Association of Geodesy Joint Working Group on Improving Theories and Models of the Earth’s Rotation (IAU/IAG JWG ITMER)

Tentative Agenda:

1. Report on activities
2. Proposal and discussion on the organization of activities relative to the assessment of existing and forthcoming suplementary models for the celestial pole offsets (CPO) evolution, including:
• Updating the amplitudes of the leading nutations of the IAU2000 theory and other relevant ones, if any, and testing series of corrections
• Correcting the major inconsistencies found in the precession-nutation models
• Test the available FCN models (for explaining CPO variance) and consider the convenience of recommending some standard FCN models or not

3. Any other issues

Contributions and suggestions of JWG members are welcome. If you’d like to make a short presentation, please contact the conveners in advance to optimize the time distribution.

This meeting is to discuss and co-ordinate the production of large-sample hydrological datasets worldwide. We would like to bring together people creating and/or using large samples of catchments, to develop collaborations, brainstorm ideas, report on progress of current projects, and discuss concrete issues related to data format and technical procedures in order to facilitate data exchange. This meeting is organised as part of the Panta Rhei working group on Large Sample Hydrology.