Union-wide
Inter- and Transdisciplinary Sessions
Disciplinary sessions AS–GM
Disciplinary sessions GMPV–TS

Session programme

SC

SC – Short Courses

Programme group chairs: Michael Dietze, Anouk Beniest

SC1 – Welcome to EGU2021 (EGU-related courses)

Programme group scientific officers: Michael Dietze, Anouk Beniest

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Are you unsure about how to bring order in the extensive program of the General Assembly? Are you wondering how to tackle this week of science? Are you curious about what EGU and the General Assembly have to offer? Then this is the short course for you!

During this coursee, we will provide you with tips and tricks on how to handle this large conference and how to make the most out of your week at this year's General Assembly. We'll explain the EGU structure, the difference between EGU and the General Assembly, we will dive into the program groups and we will introduce some key persons that help the Union function.

Feel free to join us, we are looking forward to meeting you!

Convener: Anouk Beniest | Co-conveners: Gregor Luetzenburg, Meriel J. Bittner
Mon, 19 Apr, 09:00–10:00 (CEST)
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The European Geosciences Union is a the largest Geoscientific Union in Europe, largely run by volunteers. Perhaps you have been to the General Assembly before, maybe you have published in one of the EGU journals, or are you following EGU and/or several EGU divisions on social media.

Whatever your closest link with EGU, would you like to get involved?

This short course is aimed at Early Career Scientists and will provide an overview of all the activities of EGU, which are much more than just the General Assembly. We will give practical tips on how to get involved, who to contact and where to find specific information if you want to organise a event.

More than 50% of EGU's members consist of ECS, let's get active!

Convener: Anouk Beniest | Co-convener: Anita Di Chiara
Tue, 20 Apr, 10:00–11:00 (CEST)
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Recent publications show that many people working in academia experience mental health issues. Factors like job insecurity, limited amount of time and poor management often cause high stress levels and can lead to mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety or emotional exhaustion. Following the EGU blog series and short course ‘Mind your Head’ in 2019-2020, and the successful ECS Great Debate at the General Assembly in 2019, we aim to continue the dialogue and reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness.

In this short course we invite panelists to share their experiences, how they dealt with it and what support they received. Afterwards we aim to actively engage the audience to discuss how to take control of their mental wellbeing and prioritise it in the current academic environment. We invite people from all career stages and disciplines to come and join us for this short course.

Public information:
We kindly invite you to participate to the Short Course in which our two speakers will present their talks about “Mental Health in Academia: Unmet Needs and Self-Assessment" by Jessica Carrasco and
“Being a more mindful scientist” by Maria Scheel
Convener: Anita Di Chiara | Co-convener: Anouk Beniest
Tue, 20 Apr, 16:00–17:00 (CEST)

SC2 – Career development

Programme group scientific officers: Michael Dietze, Anouk Beniest

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COVID-19 has affected our daily lives in an unprecedented range of ways. It is a human, economic and social crisis that has potentially changed the way we live, work and interact with each other forever. Researchers have not been spared from this, facing numerous challenges since the start of the outbreak, both personal and professional. This session will focus on a couple of these challenges in detail and discuss the lessons that we can learn to strengthen the scientific community and research in the future.

The first challenge that this session will address is the impact COVID-19 has had on research activities directly. Since the introduction of lockdowns in Europe, many researchers have had to reduce their research activities due to additional responsibilities at home while others have been locked out of laboratories and libraries, of all kinds, or been unable to undertake fieldwork to collect primary data. This has not only impacted the careers of many scientists but also led to project goals becoming unachievable, issues with funding and PhD candidates unable to complete their research. In this short course we will look at what can be done on an individual level to improve the current situation that many researchers find themselves in.

In addition to the financial, structural difficulties, many researchers are starting to view the way that they do science as more flexible than they might have considered possible before the coronavirus outbreak. This short course will also make space for discussions about how the practicalities of doing research (be it infrastructure, work patterns or styles of employment) could change in the light of what we have learned during this challenging time. We will also ask the question ‘how can large organisations and institutions attempt to better prepare in case another global crisis arises in the future?’

Public information:
Moderator: Chloe Hill, EGU Policy Officer

Speakers
- Janet Metcalfe, Head of Vitae
- Florence Bullough, Head of Policy and Engagement, The Geological Society of London
Convener: Chloe Hill | Co-conveners: Florence Bullough, Hazel Gibson
Mon, 19 Apr, 16:00–17:00 (CEST)
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The European Research Council (ERC) is a leading European funding body supporting excellent investigator-driven frontier research across all fields of science. ERC calls are open to researchers around the world. The ERC offers various different outstanding funding opportunities with grants budgets of €1.5 to €3.5 million for individual scientists. All nationalities of applicants are welcome for projects carried out at a host institution in Europe (European Union member states and associated countries). At this session, the main features of ERC funding individual grants will be presented.

Convener: David Gallego-Torres | Co-conveners: Eystein Jansen, Claudia Jesus-Rydin, Barbara Romanowicz
Tue, 20 Apr, 14:30–15:30 (CEST)
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Drafting your first grant proposal can be daunting. Grant writing improves with experience, so how do early career scientists compete on equal footing with those who are more established? In this short course, a panel of scientists and funding agencies will share their experience on applying to different funding bodies and provide top tips to early career scientists. You can gain insight and (even better) inspiration by discussing with the panel the bits and pieces you may struggle with when writing a strong grant proposal. This session will be followed by a ‘pop-up’ session in the Networking and ECS lounge, for more specific questions to our panel.
NOTE - this course has a broader scope than the more specific ERC and Marie Curie short courses. This course gives broad tips and hints on how to write a successful proposal irrespective of the funding body.

Co-organized by EOS3
Convener: Mengze Li | Co-conveners: Carolyne PicklerECSECS, Jenny Turton
Wed, 21 Apr, 14:30–15:30 (CEST)
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After the PhD, a new challenge begins: finding a position where you can continue your research or a job outside academia where you can apply your advanced skills. This task is not always easy, and frequently a general overview of the available positions is missing. Furthermore, in some divisions, up to 70% of PhD graduates will go into work outside of academia. There are many different careers which require or benefit from a research background. But often, students and early career scientists struggle to make the transition due to reduced support and networking.
In this panel discussion, scientists with a range of backgrounds give their advice on where to find jobs, how to transition between academia and industry and what are the pros and cons of a career inside and outside of academia.
In the final section of the short course, a Q+A will provide the audience with a chance to ask their questions to the panel. This panel discussion is aimed at early career scientists but anyone with an interest in a change of career will find it useful. An extension of this short course will run in the networking and early career scientist lounge, for further in-depth or one-on-one questions with panel members.

Co-organized by AS6/CL6
Convener: Jenny Turton | Co-conveners: Francesco Giuntoli, Stephen Chuter, Anouk Beniest, Silvio Ferrero
Wed, 21 Apr, 16:00–17:00 (CEST)
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Diversity has many dimensions including, but not limited to, race/ethnicity, gender, disability status, nationality, language, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic background. Diversity is key for scientific progress and society because different perspectives and life experiences give rise to diversity in scientific questions and approaches to address them, and stimulate collaboration between academics and local communities. Nevertheless, geosciences remain the least diverse of all STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields.
In this short course, early career scientists will be presented with practical advice on how they can contribute to promoting diversity in both their present and future career stages and help to build a geoscience community that is welcoming and supporting to marginalized scientists.

The short course will consist of the following invited talks, followed by discussion with the speakers:

(1) Asmeret Asefaw Berhe: "Forms of diversity and how can early career scientists support it"

(2) Bala Chaudhary: "Building an anti-racist lab"

(3) Budiman Minasny: "The fair-play of scientific collaborations - beyond helicopter research"

Scientists of all career stages are welcome to participate and join the discussions!

Convener: Olga Vindušková | Co-conveners: Daniel Evans, Avni Malhotra, Layla Márquez San Emeterio, Erika Marín-Spiotta
Mon, 19 Apr, 10:00–11:00 (CEST)
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Bullying and discrimination within academia are widespread and impact science at all levels. Early Career Scientists of underprivileged and underrepresented groups are those most affected by such work environments. Thus, discriminatory work environments further contribute to the continued lack of diversity within the geosciences, ultimately hampering scientific advancement. Systemic power dynamics within academia lead to the fear of retaliation and the impunity of professors, which is why culprits get away with abuse far too often. Despite increased discussions about this topic, institutions tend to provide little or ineffective support for those affected, nor clear steps forward. In this interactive short course, an expert panel will (i) provide practical recommendations on how to combat discriminatory work environments and (ii) explain strategies for bystander intervention. This will be followed by an open discussion between the expert panel and all participants about how to battle discriminatory work environments in the geosciences.
This Short Course is a joint effort of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Working Group of EGU, the Young Hydrologic Society and EGU.
With Prof. Dr. Aradhna E. Tripati, Prof. Dr. Erika Marin-Spiotta, Dr. Anjana Khatwa and Dr. Moses Milazzo we have a great panel consisting of a diverse group of experts and ambassadors for more diversity and equity within the geosciences.

Co-sponsored by YHS
Convener: Andrea Popp | Co-conveners: Claudia Jesus-Rydin, Richard Pancost, Anouk Beniest, Hazel Gibson
Mon, 19 Apr, 14:30–15:30 (CEST)
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Careers in academia exist beyond research and publications. There are always aspects more than what meets the eye. Often, we tend to learn about what is made available and evident, leaving behind many questions. It is only natural for aspiring scientists to have questions that shape their minds and impact their research. Some questions pertain to professional realms, others may relate to more broader perspectives on ambitions, inspirations, and what one deems as meaningful. Not every day do we get the opportunity to present these floating concerns at a forum and have experts address and pay heed to the same. In this session, a successful scientist with many years of experience will provide a look back to give a personal perspective of her/his career.

This year, we have the absolute pleasure of having with us Professor Todd A. Ehlers, who is an all-round geologist, head of the Earth Surface Dynamics group at the University of Tuebingen, Germany. Todd’s work has been contributing to better understand how tectonic, climatic and biogenic forces interact and drive landscape evolution, using an ensemble of techniques such as thermochronology, cosmogenic nuclides, numerical modelling, near-surface geophysics. Besides his research expertise, we shall engage in conversations regarding the challenges that came his way, and the manner in which he overcame those, and how his research shaped his life and in turn, how his life is impacted by the research he does. The discussions shall offer a unique opportunity to learn and empathise with a scholar’s work and life that has inspired many. The session shall conclude with the prospect of questions that Todd shall be happy to answer.

Convener: Aayush Srivastava | Co-conveners: Andrea Madella, Daniel Parsons, Eric PohlECSECS
Tue, 27 Apr, 14:30–15:30 (CEST)
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Over the last decades, research in the Solar-Terrestrial sciences has greatly advanced our understanding of this huge and complex system. For half a century, satellites and a continuously growing network of ground-based observatories have allowed us to make observations in more remote regions of the Sun-Earth system and with higher precision than ever before. Besides, high-performance computing has enabled the development of powerful numerical models, which gives us an unprecedented insight into each level of solar-terrestrial couplings. As new space missions and breakthroughs in numerical simulations fill in today’s missing pieces of knowledge, new questions arise, that need to be tackled by new thoughts. Being an Early Career Scientist, it is often hard to identify which questions are new and what has been answered before. In this short course, we have invited a panel of renowned researchers. They will give their view on how far we have come in our understanding, and most importantly, on what open questions and challenges lie ahead for the young scientists to embark upon. This is an excellent opportunity to meet with the experts and discuss the future of our community. The target audience is students and early-career scientists who want to increase their awareness of current and future research challenges within solar-terrestrial sciences and to discuss their potential contributions. The audience is invited to propose specific topics and/or questions for discussion in advance to ecs-st@egu.eu.

Convener: Theresa RexerECSECS | Co-conveners: Maxime Grandin, Liliana MacotelaECSECS, Jone Peter ReistadECSECS, Christine Smith-JohnsenECSECS
Fri, 23 Apr, 10:00–11:00 (CEST)
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How do you peer-review? Apparently you are just supposed to miraculously know. Many of us never receive formal training in peer review, yet our peer-reviews are the cornerstone of scientific legitimacy. Constructive, respectful, coherent reviews nurture dialogue and advance research. So, how can we review papers in an efficient way? In this course, we suggest a process to help ensure that we give the authors the most useful feedback? We will hear from peer-review experts about how they go about the process and have an open discussion with the audience.

Convener: Mathew Stiller-Reeve | Co-convener: Bronwyn Wake
Fri, 23 Apr, 09:00–10:00 (CEST)
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Publishing your research in a peer reviewed journal is essential for a career in research. The EGU Journals are fully open access which is great, but the open discussion can be daunting for first time submitters and early career scientists. This short course will cover all you need to know about the publication process from start to end for EGU journals, and give you a chance to ask the editors some questions. This includes: what the editor looks for in your submitted paper, how to deal with corrections or rejections, and how best to communicate with your reviewers and editors for a smooth transition from submission to publication. An open discussion will be served to give you time for questions to the editors,and for them to suggest some ‘top tips’ for a successful publication. This course is aimed at early-career researchers who are about to step into the publication process, and those who are yet to publish in EGU journals. Similarly, this course will be of interest to those looking to get involved in the peer-review process through reviewing and editing.

Public information:
Speakers/contributors:

- Nanna Bjørnholt Karlsson (Chief-Executive Editor The Cryosphere)
- Sam Illingworth (Chief-Executive Editor Geoscience Communication)
- Daniel Schertzer (Executive Editor Nonlinear Processes in Geophysics)
Co-organized by GD10/NP9/OS5
Convener: Tommaso Alberti | Co-conveners: Meriel J. Bittner, Anna Gülcher, Jenny Turton
Thu, 22 Apr, 09:00–10:00 (CEST)
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Writing a scientific paper is an essential part of research, and is a skill that needs practice.

This session is organized in cooperation with the Young Hydrologic Society (http://younghs.com/).

Public information:
This years’ session will be formatted as a panel discussion with three speakers (Dr. Wouter Berghuijs, Dr. Manuela Brunner, Dr. Tim van Emmerik). Each speak will give a brief presentation (12-15 minutes) where they will share their experience in scientific writing. This will be followed by an open discussion that goes for 15-20 minutes. The duration of the short course is 1 hours long.
Co-organized by HS11
Convener: Harsh Beria | Co-conveners: Sina Khatami, Andrea Popp
Fri, 23 Apr, 14:30–15:30 (CEST)
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Meet editors of internationally renowned journals in biogeosciences and soil system science and gain exclusive insights into the publishing process. After a short introduction into some basics, we will start exploring various facets of academic publishing with short talks given by the editors on - What are the duties and roles of editors, authors and reviewers? - How to choose a suitable journal for your manuscript and what is important for early career authors? - How can early career scientists get involved in successful peer-reviewing? - What is important for appropriate peer-reviewing? - What are ethical aspects and responsibilities of publishing? - Together with the audience and the editors, we will have an open discussion of all steps and factors shaping the publication process of a manuscript. This short course aims to provide early career scientists across several EGU divisions (e.g. BG, SSS, NH and GM) the opportunity of using first hand answers of experienced editors of international journals to successfully publish their manuscripts and get aware of the potentials and pitfalls in academic publishing.

Public information:
With this short course, we would like to offer you the unique opportunity to meet and discuss with the Editors-in-Chief of four different journals spanning the fields of soil science, biogeosciences and broader earth and environmental sciences. The course is open to anyone interested in learning more about the publication in peer-reviewed journals. We encourage researchers and students from all disciplines to join in.

Prof. Dr. Ingrid Kögel-Knabner (Geoderma, Elsevier), Dr. Heike Langenberg (Communications Earth and Environment, Nature), Prof. Dr. Tina Treude (Biogeosciences, Copernicus) and Prof. Dr. Hermann Jungkunst (Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science, Wiley) will provide us their opinion on questions like:

What are the duties and roles of editors, authors and reviewers?

How to choose a suitable journal for your manuscript and how to address a broader audience?

What are the benefits of open peer-reviewing and what are potential obstacles of inter-/transdisciplinary research publications?

What are ethical aspects and responsibilities of publishing?

We will also be able to collect your questions via chat during our webinar and address them to the Editors.
Co-organized by BG1/GM13/NH11/SSS1
Convener: Marcus Schiedung | Co-conveners: Hana JurikovaECSECS, Steffen A. Schweizer
Fri, 23 Apr, 16:00–17:00 (CEST)
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The short course aims to present the current status of the training and education in raw materials in the world, the evolution of skills and competences in the raw materials sector and show to attendants the free online educational platform developed by the INTERMIN Team. Users will be guided through the diverse facilities of the portal such as a searchable wiki of training centres database interlinked with a geographic information system of the available raw materials training programmes at a global scale. This facility shall be organised by the user based on the interesting skill to be acquired with the different training programmes.
The platform is a tool to help career guidance and lifelong learning within the raw materials community. It encompasses details of the database of training programmes, its strengths, weaknesses, protagonists, languages, content in relation to other courses, number of participants, target audience, duration & workload, and nature of classes. The platform facilitates discussions to support career guidance with the aim of enhancing collaboration between students, career guidance services, employers, education and training institutions, and NGOs. The portal and its network are thus expected to pave the way for establishing common training programmes in the raw materials sectors.
The International Network of Raw Materials Training Centres (INTERMIN) involves a network that represents more than 550 000 geoscientists working in academic research, industry, governments, and NGOs in 5 continents. The network develops synergies and international cooperation with the relevant EU Member States and the leading counterparts in third countries, based on specific country expertise in the primary and secondary raw materials sectors. The network has mapped skills and knowledge in the EU and the third countries, identified key knowledge gaps and emerging needs, developed a roadmap for improving skills and knowledge, as well as established common training programmes in the raw materials sectors.


INTERMIN project has received funding from the EU Horizon2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No 776642

Convener: Laura QuijanoECSECS | Co-conveners: Manuel Regueiro, Slavko Šolar, Krishnan Subramani Ramakrishnan
Mon, 26 Apr, 16:00–17:00 (CEST)

SC3 – Science communication

Programme group scientific officers: Michael Dietze, Anouk Beniest

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Preparation and presentation of research findings at conferences are an important and time-consuming part of a scientist’s life. From a scientific perspective, the lack of time and orientation on how to create the poster one would like to present, can be very dissatisfying. Similar sensations are coming up while attending poster sessions at a conference: often, it’s just being overwhelmed by the amount of information presented in a non-reader-friendly way. Although a properly designed poster gains more attention, is easier to understand and can therefore improve visibility and the chances of having interesting discussions about one’s research, it is still difficult to achieve a well-designed poster. Why is this still the case in times where we can easily look up the Do’s and Don’ts of poster design online?
One reason is that there is more to professional graphic and information design than choosing the right font size or deciding upon the best color combination. Therefore, in this short course we will take a step back and have a look on how professional designers are planning their projects, starting their workflow and how this can help a scientist to design a poster for a conference effectively and properly. The design thinking process consists of a phase of emphasizing, defining the problem, ideating, creating a prototype, testing - and most important: improving again. Implementing this process helps to develop a detailed plan, which can give guidelines and structure when designing posters.
We will go through the design process theoretically and then discuss the different questions together addressing the scientific poster. All you need is curiosity when it comes to visual communication of your research and the willingness to discuss the topic with other participants of the course. Furthermore, it will be useful to bring something to note your thoughts during the course to create your own cheat-sheet to which you can come back to when starting the work on your next poster.

Convener: Dorothee Post | Co-convener: Linda SteinerECSECS
Tue, 20 Apr, 09:00–10:00 (CEST)
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The work of scientists does not end with publishing their results in peer-reviewed journals and presenting them at specialized conferences. One side of the work that is becoming more and more relevant and often is required by funding agencies to be specified in one’s project proposal is outreach. What does outreach mean? Very simply, it means to engage with the non-scientific public and a wider audience than you are commonly used to. There are many ways to do outreach, from blogging and vlogging, using social media, write for a science dissemination journal, participate as a speaker to local science festivals, organize open-days in the laboratory and so on.
With this short course, we aim at giving you some practical examples of different outreach activities and tips and suggestions from personal and peers experiences. In the last part of the course, you will work singularly to come up with an outreach idea based on your research activity. You may use it on your next proposal, you never know!

Public information:
Look for the "Outreach - get your science out there! - Meet the speakers " pop-up event in the related programme section to meet and talk further with the speakers!
Co-organized by EOS6/SSP5
Convener: Anita Di Chiara | Co-conveners: Meriel J. Bittner, Valeria Cigala, Janneke de Laat, Shreya Arora
Thu, 22 Apr, 10:00–11:00 (CEST)
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“Science isn't finished until it's communicated. The communication to wider audiences is part of the job of being a scientist, and so how you communicate is absolutely vital.” - Professor Sir Mark Walport, Chief Scientific Advisor to the UK government

Science is vital to society. It allows civilisations to advance, economies to prosper and provides solutions to societal problems. Unfortunately, the benefits of science aren’t automatically understood by the wider public – they must be communicated!

Communicating your science to a broader audience can also be hugely beneficial on a personal level – potentially boosting you profile as an expert, connecting you with new research and/or industry partners, and sparking ideas for new areas of research. Communicating your research to citizens is obviously important but how to communicate effectively to a non-scientific community isn’t always so straightforward. The first half of this session will outline some tips to communicate your research with the public, the challenges that scientists may face and how these can be overcome.

The second half of the session will feature speakers who are working to bridge the gap between research and society. They will outline some institutionalised routes that scientists can take to connect with citizens and provide examples of when it has had unexpected benefits.

Public information:
Session Moderator: Alicia Newton: Director of Science and Communications, Geological Society of London

Speakers:
- Phil Heron: Winner of a 2019 EGU Public Engagement Grant (https://egu.eu/0FZFM7/)
- Aisling Irwin: freelance science journalist and winner of EGU's 2020 Science Journalism Fellowship (https://egu.eu/9MN60T/)
- Sam Illingworth: Associate Professor at Edinburgh Napier University and Chief Executive Editor of Geoscience Communication (www.samillingworth.com)
Co-organized by SSP5
Convener: Chloe Hill | Co-convener: Alicia Newton
Thu, 22 Apr, 14:30–15:30 (CEST)
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Science and policy often feel like two different worlds, working on different timescales and using different languages. Despite this, almost every policy decision has a scientific component to it. And while science alone will never make policy, it can allow policymakers to more accurately assess the benefits and potential consequences of different policy pathways.

This session will highlight some of the key messages from the European Commission Joint Research Centre's recently published ‘Science for Policy Handbook’ (https://egu.eu/0HNFV9/). It will be hosted by two of the Handbooks key authors, Marta Sienkiewicz and Lene Topp.
Some of the key topics that will be outlined include:

- The importance of strategic planning for engaging relevant policymakers
- The different policy actors and their role in the policymaking process
- Examples of how you can speak the language that policymakers understand and pay attention to
- Finding windows of opportunity and building relationships

Attendees will also be given the opportunity to ask any questions they have about the Handbook or working at the science for policy interface more generally. This session is open to all EGU scientific divisions and scientists at all stages of their careers.

The Joint Research Centre’s Science for Policy Handbook is available free online and will give you a sneak peek into some of this session’s content! https://egu.eu/0HNFV9/

Public information:
Session moderator: Chloe Hill, EGU Policy Officer

Speakers:
- Lene Topp, Project Officer, Knowledge Management for Policy training and network, European Commission Joint Research Centre
- Marta Sienkiewicz, Project Officer, Knowledge Management for Policy training and network, European Commission Joint Research Centre

The Joint Research Centre’s Science for Policy Handbook is available free online and will give you a sneak peek into some of this session’s content! https://egu.eu/0HNFV9/
Convener: Chloe Hill | Co-conveners: marta sienkiewicz, Lene Topp
Tue, 27 Apr, 10:00–11:00 (CEST)
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Never has it been more important that geoscience research feeds into political decisions and policymaking. What is more, today many policymakers and institutions are increasingly receptive to scientific evidence. Yet, whilst researchers are increasingly keen to influence policy and policymaking, for many the mechanisms for engagement and impact seem unclear and inaccessible.

This course will demystify policymaking and give researchers the tools to be able to engage with policy through their research. Researchers will learn about how parliaments use evidence in their policy-shaping processes and the mechanisms that feed science advice into Parliament. This session will be hosted by individuals who work at the interface of science and policy, drawing from real-life examples and providing plenty of opportunities for attendees to ask questions.

Public information:
Moderator: Chloe Hill, EGU Policy Officer

Speakers:
- Sarah Foxen: Knowledge Exchange Lead at POST, UK Parliament
- Theodoros Karapiperis, Head of Scientific Foresight (STOA) Unit at European Parliament
Convener: Sarah Foxen | Co-convener: Chloe Hill
Wed, 28 Apr, 16:00–17:00 (CEST)

SC4 – Scientific approaches & concepts

Programme group scientific officers: Michael Dietze, Anouk Beniest

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This 60-minute short course aims to introduce non-geologists to structural and petrological geological principles, which are used by geologist to understand system earth.

The data available to geologists is often minimal, incomplete and representative for only part of the geological history. Besides learning field techniques to acquire and measure data, geologists need to develop a logical way of thinking to close gaps in the data to understand the system. There is a difference in the reality observed from field observation and the final geological model that tells the story.

In this course we briefly introduce the following subjects:
1) Geology rocks: Introduction to the principles of geology and field data acquisition
2) Failing rocks: From structural field data to (paleo-)stress analysis
3) Dating rocks: Absolute and relative dating of rocks using petrology and geochronology methods
4) Crossover rocks: How geology benefits from seismology and geodynamic research and vice-versa

Our aim is not to make you the next specialist in geology, but we would rather try and make you aware of the challenges a geologist faces when they go out into the field. Additionally, the quality of data and the methods used nowadays are addressed to give seismologists and geodynamicists a feel for the capabilities and limits of geological research. This course is given by Early Career Scientist geologists and geoscientists and forms a trilogy with the short course on ‘Geodynamics 101 (A&B)’ and ‘Seismology 101’. For this reason, we will also explain what kind of information we expect from the fields of seismology and geodynamics and we hope to receive some feedback in what kind of information you could use from our side.

Co-organized by SSP5
Convener: Richard Wessels | Co-conveners: Anouk Beniest, David Fernández-Blanco, Francesco Giuntoli
Wed, 28 Apr, 14:30–15:30 (CEST)
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The main goal of this short course is to provide an introduction into the basic concepts of numerical modelling of solid Earth processes in the Earth’s crust and mantle in a non-technical manner. We discuss the building blocks of a numerical code and how to set up a model to study a simple geodynamic problem. Emphasis is put on what numerical models are and how they work while taking into account the advantages and limitations of the different methods.

We go through the following topics:
(1) The basic equations used in geodynamic modelling studies, what they mean, and their assumptions
(2) A brief introduction to the various numerical methods
(3) The importance of benchmarking a code
(4) How to go from a geological problem to the model setup
(5) How to set initial and boundary conditions
(6) How to interpret the model results
We will use a simple example from the code ASPECT (https://aspect.geodynamics.org) to illustrate points 4-6 through an in-class demonstration. Participants are not required to bring a laptop or have any previous knowledge of geodynamic numerical modelling.

Armed with the knowledge of a typical numerical modelling workflow, participants will be better able to critically assess geodynamic numerical modelling papers and they will learn how to start with numerical modelling.

This short course is run by early career geodynamicists. It is dedicated to everyone who is interested in, but not necessarily experienced with, geodynamic numerical models; in particular early career scientists (BSc, MSc, PhD students and postdocs) and people who are new to the field of geodynamic modelling.

Co-organized by GD10
Convener: Iris van Zelst | Co-conveners: Fabio Crameri, Juliane DannbergECSECS, Anne Glerum, Adina E. Pusok, Cedric Thieulot
Fri, 30 Apr, 14:30–15:30 (CEST)
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How do seismologists detect earthquakes? How do we locate them? Is seismology only about earthquakes? Seismology has been integrated into a wide variety of geo-disciplines to be complementary to many fields such as tectonics, geology, geodynamics, volcanology, hydrology, glaciology and planetology. This 90-minute course is part of the Solid Earth 101 short course series together with ‘Geodynamics 101 (A & B)’ and ‘Geology 101’ to better illustrate the link between these fields.

In ‘Seismology 101’, we will present an introduction to the basic concepts and methods in seismology. In previous years, this course was given as “Seismology for non-seismologists” and it is still aimed at those not familiar with seismology -- in particular early-career scientists. An overview will be given on various methods and processing techniques, which are applicable to investigate surface processes, near-surface geological structures and the Earth’s interior. The course will highlight the role that advanced seismological techniques can play in the co-interpretation of results from other fields. The topics will include:

- the basics of seismology, including the detection and location of earthquakes
- understanding and interpreting those enigmatic “beachballs”
- an introduction to free seismo-live.org tutorials and other useful tools
- how seismic methods are used to learn about the Earth, such as for imaging the Earth’s interior (on all scales), deciphering tectonics, monitoring volcanoes, landslides and glaciers, etc...

We likely won’t turn you in the next Charles Richter in 90 minutes but would rather like to make you aware of how seismology can help you in geoscience. The intention is to discuss each topic in a non-technical manner, emphasizing their strengths and potential shortcomings. This course will help non-seismologists to better understand seismic results and can facilitate more enriched discussion between different scientific disciplines. The short course is organised by early-career scientist seismologists and geoscientists who will present examples from their own research experience and high-impact reference studies for illustration. Questions from the audience on the topics covered will be highly encouraged.

Convener: Maria Tsekhmistrenko | Co-conveners: Janneke de Laat, Eric LöberichECSECS, Javier Ojeda, Michaela WennerECSECS
Thu, 29 Apr, 14:30–15:30 (CEST)
SC4.4 EDI

Rationale
The proper and deep education on ethical issues in geosciences has been evolving in recent times, although not as quickly and deeply as necessary. Many of the professionals dedicated to Earth Sciences have been not in touch with such new concepts and tendencies as the concept of Geoethics. Geoethics is the research and reflection on the values which underpin appropriate behaviors and practices, wherever human activities interact with the Earth system. Geoethics provides a framework from which to define ethical professional behaviors in both geosciences and engineering, and to determine how these should be put into practice for the benefit of society and environment. The Short Course goes is directed towards introducing and training geoscientists in those new concept and ideas as well as exposing the perspectives of this field.

Course Content: (generic until we know the lecturers attending EGU2021 then, adjusted):
1. From Ethics to Geoethics: definition, values, tools
2. Responsible conduct of research and professionalism
3. Tools for Confronting (geo)ethical dilemmas
4. Geoethics for society: sustainable development and responsible mining
5. Geoethics in natural hazards
6. Geoethics in geoscience communication
7. Recent developments in geoethical thinking
8. Perspectives of Geoethics
9. Geoethics’ case studies: Paleontology, Water Management, Ocean Governance, etc.

Learning objectives
After completing this course, participants
1. Will know the basic principles of ethics and how these lead to geoethics
2. Will be aware of the dilemmas involved in making geoethical decisions
3. Will have gained some experience in taking a geoethical approach to real-world cases

Public information:
0. Forewords to Honour Jan Boon (Giuseppe Di Capua)
1. Theoretical foundations of Geoethics (Silvia Peppoloni)
2. Responsible conduct of research and professionalism (David Mogk)
3. Development Perspectives for Geoethical Thoughts? (Martin Bohle)
4. Education for Confronting (geo)ethical dilemmas (Eduardo Marone)
5. Geoethics and responsible mining (Nic Bilham)
6. Geoethics in natural hazards from the perspective of an engineering geologist. (Vince Cronin)
7. Geoethics’ case studies: Paleontology and Geoheritage (Daniel DeMiguel)
8. Geoethics’ case studies: effects of the EU directive on conflict minerals (Vítor Correia)
Co-organized by EOS4, co-sponsored by IAPG and IOI-TC-LAC
Convener: Eduardo Marone | Co-conveners: Giuseppe Di Capua, Silvia Peppoloni
Thu, 29 Apr, 10:00–11:00 (CEST)
SC4.5

Most often observations and measurements of geophysical systems and dynamical phenomena are obtained as time series whose dynamics usually manifests a nonlinear behavior. During the past decades, nonlinear approaches in geosciences have rapidly developed to gain novel insights on fluid dynamics, greatly improving weather forecasting, on turbulence and stochastic behaviors, on the development of chaos in dynamical systems, and on concepts of networks, nowadays frequently employed in climate research.

In this short course, we will offer a broad overview of the development and application of nonlinear concepts across the geosciences in terms of recent successful applications from various fields, ranging from climate to solar-terrestrial relations. The focus will be on a comparison between different methods to investigate various aspects of both known and unknown physical processes, moving from past accomplishments to future challenges.

Public information:
Speakers and topics

Peter Ditlevsen: "The climate history as a time series: How do we dissect it?"
Tommaso Alberti: "A voyage through scales: the myth of turbulence"
Reik Donner: "Internal versus forced variability: Complexity and causality perspectives on space weather"
Co-organized by CL6/EMRP2/NH11/ST2
Convener: Tommaso Alberti | Co-conveners: Peter Ditlevsen, Reik Donner
Wed, 28 Apr, 10:00–11:00 (CEST)
SC4.6

Why to wait hours for computations to complete, when it could take only a few seconds? Tired of prototyping code in an interactive, high-level language like MATLAB, R or Python and rewriting it in a lower-level language such as C, C++ or Fortran to get high-performance code? Or simply curious about how GPUs and supercomputing are game changers in geosciences?

This short course covers trendy areas in modern geocomputing with broad geoscientific applications. The physical processes governing natural systems' evolution are often mathematically described as systems of differential equations. A performant numerical implementation of the solving algorithm leveraging modern hardware is key and permits to tackle problems that were technically not possible a decade ago.

The goal of this short course is to offer an interactive and tutorial-like hands-on to solve systems of differential equations in parallel on GPUs using the Julia language. Julia combines high-level language simplicity and low-level language performance. The resulting codes and applications are fast, short and readable. We will design and implement a numerical algorithm that predicts ice flow dynamics over mountainous topography using a high-performance computing approach.

The course format is online. You will work on (remote) notebooks to enable best participant experience. The course consists of 2 parts:
1. You will learn about the Julia language, parallel and distributed computing and iterative solvers.
2. You will implement a PDE solver to predict ice flow dynamics on real topography.

By the end of this short course, you will:
- Have a GPU PDE solver that predicts ice-flow;
- Have a Julia code that achieves similar performance than legacy codes (C, CUDA, MPI);
- Know how the Julia language solves the "two-language problem";
- Be able to leverage the computing power of modern GPU accelerated servers and supercomputers;
- Know about the rapidly growing and exciting Julia ecosystem and community.

We look forward to having you on board and will make sure to foster exchange of ideas and knowledge to provide an as inclusive as possible event.

Public information:
# Check out the course git repository
> https://github.com/luraess/julia-parallel-course-EGU21
to access:
- Course content (check out the latest changes !!)
- Organisation information
- Getting started direction

# Get prepared
We warmly recommend you to check out the course git repository prior to the course, especially if you wish to actively participate (as this would require to set-up your local Julia environment).

# Follow-up
We plan to host a follow-up discussion to extend the official short course duration (60 min) and allow for further interaction. We will communicate the follow-up Zoom link during the webinar. Stay tuned !
Co-organized by GD10
Convener: Ludovic Räss | Co-convener: Mauro Werder
Thu, 29 Apr, 16:00–17:00 (CEST)
SC4.7

Computer models are essential tools in the earth system sciences. They underpin our search for understanding the earth system functioning and support decision-making across spatial and temporal scales. Predictions of computer models though are conditional on a range of assumptions and input data that are often largely uncertain due to, among others, our limited understanding of earth systems processes and interactions, the simplified representation of spatial heterogeneity in our models, and errors and gaps in the data. To understand the implications of uncertainty and environmental variability on the identification and use of earth system models, we can rely on increasingly powerful Uncertainty and Sensitivity Analysis methods.
In this short course we will:

1) use a set of literature examples to demonstrate the benefits of using Uncertainty and Sensitivity Analysis to support the calibration, evaluation, and simplification of earth systems models and their use to inform decision-making
2) discuss some of the key methodological choices in the set-up of Uncertainty and Sensitivity Analysis and provide guidelines and best-practice examples on how to make such choices
The course will focus on Monte-Carlo methods for uncertainty propagation and Global Sensitivity Analysis (GSA) techniques, such as those discussed in (1) and (2). The course is intended for researchers and practitioners who already have experience of using these techniques as well as beginners.
For those who wants to get some hands-on understanding of GSA before and/or after the course, we have prepared some online tutorials in the form of interactive Jupyter Notebooks (these can be run from browser, no need to install any software):

https://mybinder.org/v2/gh/AndresPenuela/SAFE-Notebooks/HEAD

Co-organized by OS5
Convener: Francesca Pianosi | Co-conveners: Valentina NoaccoECSECS, Andres Peñuela-FernandezECSECS, Fanny SarrazinECSECS, Thorsten Wagener
Fri, 30 Apr, 10:00–11:00 (CEST)
SC4.8

Uncertainty Analysis - using fully- and extra-probabilistic approaches

Uncertainty analysis is an unavoidable task of risk assessments either for natural hazards like landslides, earthquakes, floods, volcanoes, etc., or for environmental issues like groundwater or soil contamination. When dealing with uncertainties, two categories should be considered as outlined by several authors:
1) “aleatoric uncertainty” (also named “randomness” or “intrinsic variability”) and arises from the natural variability owing to either heterogeneity or to the random character of natural processes (i.e. stochasticity). A common example of aleatoric uncertainty is the variability in weather.
2) “epistemic uncertainty” and arises when dealing with “partial ignorance” i.e. when facing “vague, incomplete or imprecise information” such as limited databases and observations or “imperfect” modelling.

Although the probabilistic setting has been used in a broad range of different applications, the use of probabilities as a tool to represent epistemic uncertainties has often been criticized in situations where the available data are imprecise, scarce, incomplete, vague, qualitative, etc. In such highly uncertain situations, the challenge is to formulate appropriate mathematical tools and models in a quantitative manner, on the one hand, accounting for all data and pieces of information, but, on the other hand, without introducing unwarranted assumptions. Therefore, to overcome the shortcomings of the pure probabilistic setting, several alternative representation methods have been developed: probability boxes, possibility distributions, Dempster-Shafer structures, etc.

The purpose of the short course is to describe how these new tools can be used to handle epistemic uncertainty for the different stages:
- Uncertainty representation;
- Propagation;
- Sensitivity analysis;
- Support for decision-making.

Comparisons with fully probabilistic approaches will also be performed. The short course will be supported by real cases taken from risk assessment studies for earthquakes (Rohmer & Baudrit, Nat. Haz., 2011), sea level rise (Le Cozannet et al., ERL, 2017), and groundwater contamination (Baudrit et al., J. Cont. Hydrology, 2007). These illustrations will be performed using R package “HYRISK” (https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/HYRISK/index.html).

Convener: Jeremy Rohmer | Co-convener: Jean-Charles Manceau
Fri, 30 Apr, 09:00–10:00 (CEST)
SC4.9 EDI

Numerical models used for weather and climate prediction have traditionally been formulated in a deterministic manner. In other words, given a particular state of the resolved scale variables, the most likely forcing from sub-grid scale motions and parametrised processes is estimated and used to predict the evolution of the large-scale flow. However, knowledge uncertainties, necessary simplifications in representing the physical processes in numerical models, and the lack of scale-separation in the Earth System mean that this approach is a large source of error in forecasts. Over recent years, an alternative paradigm has developed: the use of stochastic techniques to represent the effects of uncertain small-scale and parametrised processes. Instead of predicting the most likely forcing effect of these processes on the resolved scales, a Monte-Carlo approach is used. Integrations of the numerical model sample possible realisations of the forcing.

Stochastic parametrisations are now the norm in ensemble weather and seasonal forecasts worldwide. By accounting for uncertainty in the forecast due to the limitations of numerical models, stochastic parametrisations improve the reliability of ensemble forecasts. We are now seeing their adaptation for use in climate models, with stochastic parametrisations being developed to represent a wide range of processes in the Earth System, including processes in the atmosphere, oceans, and land surface.

This course will introduce the art and science of stochastic parametrisation, including

> Purpose: model uncertainty, ensemble forecasting, climate applications
> Foundations: stochastic processes
> Theory: how to design a stochastic scheme
> Realisation: the path from a well-designed scheme to an operational implementation in a numerical model

This course is aimed at PhD students, Early Career Scientists, and all those interested in an overview of key concepts in stochastic parametrisation. The course will be taught through a combination of presentations and interactive exercises using python notebooks. No prior knowledge of python is necessary.

Public information:
Due to the reduced length of time allocated to each short course this year, the short course will consist of presentations and Q&A, and will no longer include python exercises.

For further reading on this topic, please find useful references here:
https://mumip.web.ox.ac.uk/stochastic-parametrisation
Co-organized by AS6/NP9/OS5
Convener: Hannah ChristensenECSECS | Co-conveners: Martin Leutbecher, Cecile Penland
Fri, 30 Apr, 16:00–17:00 (CEST)
SC4.10 EDI

In order to be able to have predictive power on extreme events we need to rely on mathematical approaches that provide us with some degree of universality, so that we have rigorous ways to extrapolate information beyond what has been already recorded. In this short course we will introduce frameworks based on dynamical systems theory and statistical mechanics that allow for a rigorous and effective treatment and analysis of extreme events. We will show how extreme value theory and large deviation theory allows for a better understanding of high-impact weather and climate extremes as well as of the basic dynamical properties of the atmosphere. We will introduce the basic theory and show applications on a range of datasets, including outputs of numerical models of various levels of complexity as well as observational data.

Co-organized by AS6/CL6/NH11/NP9, co-sponsored by AGU
Convener: Valerio Lucarini | Co-conveners: Carmen Alvarez-CastroECSECS, Davide Faranda, Vera Melinda Galfi, Gabriele Messori
Fri, 30 Apr, 09:00–10:00 (CEST)
SC4.11

Shaun Lovejoy (lovejoy@physics.mcgill.ca)
Christian Franzke (christian.franzke@gmail.com)
Thomas Laepple (Thomas.Laepple@awi.de)

The climate is highly variable over wide ranges of scale in both space and time so that the amplitude of changes systematically depends on the scale of observations. As a consequence, climate variations recorded in time series or spatial distributions, which are produced through modelling or empirical analyses are inextricably linked to their space-time scales and is a significant part of the uncertainties in the proxy approaches. Rather than treating the variability as a limitation to our knowledge, as a distraction from mechanistic explanations and theories, in this course the variability is treated as an important, fundamental aspect of the climate dynamics that must be understood and modelled in its own right. Long considered as no more than an uninteresting spectral “background”, modern data shows that in fact it contains most of the variance.

We review techniques that make it possible to systematically analyse and model the variability of instrumental and proxy data, the inferred climate variables and the outputs of GCM’s. These analyses enable us to cover wide ranges of scale in both space and in time - and jointly in space-time - without trivializing the links between the measurements, proxies and the state variables (temperature, precipitation etc.). They promise to systematically allow us to compare model outputs with data, to understand the climate processes from small to large and from fast to slow. Specific tools that will be covered include spectral analysis, scaling fluctuation analysis, wavelets, fractals, multifractals, and stochastic modeling; we discuss corresponding software. We also include new developments in the Fractional Energy Balance Equation approach that combines energy and scale symmetries.

Co-organized by CL6/OS5
Convener: Shaun Lovejoy | Co-conveners: Christian Franzke, Thomas Laepple
Fri, 30 Apr, 14:30–15:30 (CEST)
SC4.12

The climate system as a whole can be viewed as a highly complex thermal/heat engine, in which numerous processes continuously interact to transform heat into work and vice-versa. As any physical system, the climate system obeys the basic laws of thermodynamics, and we may therefore expect the tools of non-equilibrium thermodynamics to be particularly useful in describing and synthesising its properties. The main aim of this short course will be twofold. Part 1 will provide an advanced introduction to the fundamentals of equilibrium and non-equilibrium thermodynamics, irreversible processes and energetics of multicomponent stratified fluids. Part 2 will illustrate the usefulness of this viewpoint to summarize the main features of the climate system in terms of thermodynamic cycles, as well as a diagnostic tool to constrain the behavior of climate models. Although the aim is for this to be a self-contained module, some basic knowledge of the subject would be beneficial to the participants. Registration is not needed, but indication of interest would be helpful for planning purposes.

Public information:
The course will be streamed online in a Zoom webinar format. It will consist of 45 mins talks + 15 mins Q&A session.
We agreed on having the SC live streamed on Zoom through the vEGU platform. As we can dispose of 45 mins plus 15 mins Q&A, we will split ourselves like this:
- The first part, chaired by Remi Tailleux (25 mins), will provide an advanced introduction on the fundamentals of equilibrium and non-equilibrium thermodynamics, irreversible processes and energetics...
- The second part, chaired by Valerio Lembo (10 mins) and Gabriele Messori (5 mins), will illustrate some applications of thermodynamics to the study of the climate system and its general circulation.

Lecture notes and commented slides will be uploaded on the webpage of the course, within the vEGU21 programme, containing an extended version of the topics that will be touched in the short course. They will be on display and available for comments same as the other presentations at vEGU21.
Co-organized by AS6/CL6/CR8/NP9/OS5
Convener: Valerio Lembo | Co-conveners: Gabriele Messori, Remi Tailleux
Fri, 30 Apr, 16:00–17:00 (CEST)
SC4.13 EDI

Age models are applied in paleoclimatological, paleogeographic and geomorphologic studies to understand the timing of climatic and environmental change. Multiple independent geochronological dating methods are available to generate robust age models. For example, different kinds of radio isotopic dating, magneto-, bio-, cyclostratigraphy and sedimentological relationships along stratigraphic successions or in different landscape contexts. The integration of these different kinds of geochronological information often poses challenges.
Age-depth or chronological landscape models are the ultimate result of the integration of different geochronological techniques and range from linear interpolation to more complex Bayesian techniques. Invited speakers, Sebastian Breitenbach from CL division and Rachel Smedley from the GM division, will share their experience in several modelling concepts and their application in a range of Quaternary paleoenvironmental and geomorphologic records. The Short Course will provide an overview of age models and the problems one encounters in climate science and geomorphology. Case studies and practical examples are given to present solutions for these challenges. It will prepare the participants from CL, GM and other divisions for independent application of suitable age-depth models to their climate or geomorphologic data. For registration please send a request via this email address (ecs-cl@egu.eu) prior to 15th April.

Public information:
Registration to this Short course is still open!! you can send a request (ecs-cl@egu.eu) and this will help us know the number of participants prior to the start of the SC. But there is no restriction for registration.
Co-organized by CL6/CR8/GM2/SSP5
Convener: Carole NehmeECSECS | Co-conveners: Andrea Madella, Janina J. Nett, Aayush Srivastava
Thu, 29 Apr, 09:00–10:00 (CEST)
SC4.14 EDI

Forecasting and Early Warning Systems (EWSs) help societies prepare for and respond to all types of disasters, including those due to hydro-meteorological hazards. In recent years, there has been a consensus on the need for an interdisciplinary approach to forecasting, and communicating warnings and their inherent uncertainties. The integration of methods and knowledge such as risk, probabilistic and risk-based forecast, impact-based assessments, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) fields, social science and local knowledge can (1) improve the quality of forecast, (2) improve decision making and (3) support better communication of warnings and response. However, one of the biggest challenges is the need to collaborate across relevant disciplines. Therefore new ways of thinking are required on the necessary skills to facilitate more collaborative work.

This short course aims to highlight the benefits and skills required for an interdisciplinary approach in EWS in the form of a role-playing game and discussion. Participants will have the opportunity to understand more about the role of diverse disciplines, their importance in EWS and most importantly, collaborate with people from different backgrounds to come up with a successful solution. The game will be based on a hypothetical emergency situation, in which participants will be required to make decisions based on their assigned role. After the game, an active discussion with all participants will be carried out to propose take away action points on how to improve interdisciplinarity in EWS and how Early Career Scientist (ECS) can contribute to promoting this approach.
At the end of the short course participants should have:
(1) increased awareness and understanding of the roles of EWS actors
(2) Understanding of the necessity to engage and collaborate with professionals from different backgrounds
(3) Newly acquired skills to improve interdisciplinary working and communication

We especially encourage, but not limit, the participation of Early Career Scientists (ECS) interested in the field of Natural Hazards Social, Hydrological and Atmospheric Sciences as well as those who are already working or have in interest working in interdisciplinary fields.
This short course is organised by the Early Warning Systems Young Professionals (EWSYP) Network and the Water Youth Network (WYN)

Public information:
This session will be hosted using an external zoom link. When you sign into EGU you will have access to the zoom link by pressing the link to the session material ( the icon next to SC4.14 EDI).
Co-organized by CR8/HS11/NH11
Convener: Adele YoungECSECS | Co-conveners: Erika Meléndez-LandaverdeECSECS, Nikolaos MastrantonasECSECS, Santiago Gómez-DueñasECSECS, Linda Speight
Thu, 29 Apr, 10:00–11:00 (CEST)
SC4.15 EDI

In 2018, hydrologists from all over the world outlined twenty-three questions that remain unresolved by the scientific community, named Unsolved Problems in Hydrology (UPH). The discussion around them highlighted the need for science driven by technological innovations that is outcome- and/or product-specific. The EGU GA represents a meaningful opportunity for researchers to meet up and share their ideas, although sometimes the scale of the event makes it difficult to actually talk about future projects and develop research proposals. In this Call for Calls session, participants will engage in a sprint-like, competitive event where they will come up with innovative ideas to contribute to the solution of at least one of the UPH.

The session will provide the right atmosphere where researchers can discuss and think about a specific problem, and brainstorm initial ideas to gather information to write an abstract. Attendees are expected to make as much progress as possible. After the session, the participants will be able to continue working if needed. The expected outcome is a project with introduction and plan of action, including outputs such as a paper or collaboration, which will be presented as a short abstract and delivered before 5 pm CEST on the final day of EGU.

Given that the UPH encompasses issues across the hydrological system and human interactions, this session is open to all researchers in water resources and water security. Early-career scientists are particularly encouraged to participate to apply and enhance their current expertise and expand their research network.

Public information:
Make sure to have a QR code scanner available. To make the most of this session, we recommend you to join on a tablet or computer.
Co-organized by HS11
Convener: Bethel Ugochukwu UkazuECSECS | Co-conveners: Iskra Mejia-EstradaECSECS, Pedro Torralbo MuñozECSECS
Wed, 28 Apr, 14:30–15:30 (CEST)

SC5 – Techniques & software for data analysis

Programme group scientific officers: Michael Dietze, Anouk Beniest

SC5.1

With increasing data complexity and growing data volumes, effective and efficient data visualization for data analysis is becoming more important. Different data sets and analysis tasks require different visualization strategies. Geoscience data, being typically multivariate, multidimensional, time-varying, large and sometimes also with uncertainty, demands special attention and care.

This short course aims at providing an overview of commonly available visualization tools that are especially well suited to analyze earth science data sets. We demonstrate the functionality of two selected tools, the general-purpose tool ParaView (www.paraview.org) and the meteorology-specific Met.3D visualization framework (met3d.wavestoweather.de). We show how to easily create meaningful visualizations (including interactive and 3D displays) of gridded atmospheric, oceanic and earth system model data with these tools with only a few steps.

In Hamburg's geoscience community (including the German Climate Computing Centre DKRZ and Universität Hamburg), we have many years of experience in the visualization of earth science data sets. The goal of this workshop is to pass some of our knowledge on to you. More information will be available before the workshop at https://www.dkrz.de/egu2021.

Co-organized by SSP5
Convener: Marc Rautenhaus | Co-conveners: Michael Böttinger, Niklas Röber
Thu, 29 Apr, 09:00–10:00 (CEST)
SC5.2 EDI

Remote sensing data from Earth orbiting satellites have become indispensable in modern geo-spatial sciences. The technologies underlying the capture of remote sensing data have evolved over the decades which have resulted in an improvement in the data quality, rate of availability and processing.
The workshop will cover tasks such as generating Land Surface Temperature (LST) product from satellite imagery from scratch, extraction of information from ready-made products and raster algebra. Participants will go through a workflow that will present itself as a solution to a real life problem. The main Python libraries or frameworks to be used are rasterio, earthpy, pandas, matplotlib and geopandas. The data to be used will be Landsat 8 satellite imagery.
The first part of the workflow focuses on the extraction of intermediate products that are useful for the calculation of LST from satellite imagery. These products are Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Land Surface Emissivity (LSE) and Fractional Vegetation Cover (FVC). These products are not only useful for calculation of LST but are applicable in other remote sensing applications such as vegetation health monitoring and land cover classification. This section will also equip participants with raster algebra skills using Python.
The second part will cover the pre-processing activity of correcting Landsat 8 thermal bands for the extraction of LST and ultimately generate the LST. The participants will learn how to perform other mathematical operations on raster data using Python.
Finally, LST values at certain desired locations will be extracted. This will equip participants with skills on how to extract information stored as raster files to point features using geospatial Python libraries. In all sections of the workshop, intermediate results will be visualized within the Jupyter Notebook to give participants a hands-on feel of visualization with Python.
It is expected that at the end of a successful completion of the workshop, participants will be able to generate LST from scratch using Landsat 8 imagery and by extension all Landsat imagery with thermal bands. Also, participants should be able to derive other useful products like NDVI from any remote sensing image using the appropriate data and finally acquire raster processing skills useful in other applications.

Public information:
https://github.com/LandscapeGeoinformatics/EGU_2021_lgeo_workshops
Co-organized by CR8
Convener: Alexander Kmoch | Co-conveners: Evelyn Uuemaa, Holger Virro, Isaac BuoECSECS