The WATSON COST Action: Water isotopes in the critical zone from groundwater recharge to plant transpiration
- 1University of Barcelona, BEECA, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
- 2Delft University of Technology, Department of Water Management, Delft, the Netherlands
- 3University of Aberdeen, School of Geosciences, Aberdeen, United Kingdom
- 4Croatian Forest Research Institute, Jastrebarsko, Croatia
- 5Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
- 6University of Oulu, Water Energy and Environmental Engineering Research Unit, Oulu, Finland
- 7Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, School of Geology, , Thessaloniki, Greece
- 8University of Freiburg, Chair of Hydrology, Freiburg, Germany
- 9Konya Technical University, Department of Geomatics Engineering, Konya, Turkey
- 10University of Florence, Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry, Florence, Italy
- 11University of Oslo, Department of Geosciences, Oslo, Norway
- 12Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI), Hydrology Research, Norrköping, Sweden
- 13Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Institute of Bio- and Geosciences (IBG-3), Jülich, Germany
- 14Isotracer s.r.l., Bologna, Italy
- 15University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Department of Water, Atmosphere and Environment, Vienna, Austria
- 16University of Zurich, Department of Geography, Zurich, Switzerland (ilja.vanmeerveld@geo.uzh.ch)
- 17EPF Lausanne, School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Lausanne, Switzerland
- 18Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), Mountain Hydrology and Mass Movements, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
- 19Jožef Stefan Institute, Department of Environmental Sciences, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- 20University of Ljubljana, Department of Geology, Ljubljana, Slovenia
The WATSON COST Action (CA19120; https://watson-cost.eu/) started in September 2020. It aims to integrate and synthesize current interdisciplinary scientific knowledge on the use of the stable isotopes of water to understand the mixing and partitioning of water in the Earth’s Critical Zone. The network is organized into working groups that focus on a major scientific challenge: 1) groundwater recharge and soil water mixing processes; 2) vegetation water uptake and transpiration; and 3) catchment-scale residence time and travel times. A fourth working group organizes the network and dissemination activities.
WATSON aims at better connecting academia and stakeholders from industry, non-profit organizations, and government agencies. WATSON fosters the exchange of information and expertise among scientists and stakeholders, builds capacity in the use of the latest isotope approaches and translates scientific cutting-edge knowledge into tangible outputs and recommendations on how to use stable water isotopes to effectively address water management needs.
Our poster describes the WATSON network, as well as its activities. These include the preparation of an open-access database of water isotope-based studies in the Critical Zone, the development of protocols for water sampling and stable isotope analysis, the organization of virtual and in-person meetings, seminars, training schools, and the exchange of students, researchers, and technicians via short term scientific missions.
How to cite: Barbeta, A., Coenders-Gerrits, M., Geris, J., Jakovljević, T., Llorens, P., Marttila, H., Nerantzis, K., Orlowski, N., Öztürk, E. Z., Penna, D., Popp, A. L., Rothfuss, Y., Scandellari, F., Stockinger, M., Stumpp, C., van Meerveld, I., von Freyberg, J., Vreča, P., and Žvab Rožič, P.: The WATSON COST Action: Water isotopes in the critical zone from groundwater recharge to plant transpiration, EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022, EGU22-6602, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-6602, 2022.
