Plenary geomorphology division session and ECS award lecture. This session will consist of the Geomorphology Early Career Scientist Award winner’s lecture and additional invited talks on related topics. More information when the ECS award winner is announced.

This is a poster-only session that welcomes contributions about any topic related to geomorphology. If you do not find a GM session that’s a good fit for your abstract, this is the place for you. We also particularly welcome contributions about the discipline of geomorphology in general, history of science analyses, interdisciplinary research, career pathways and opportunities, equality-diversity-inclusion (EDI) stories, educational and outreach topics.

Nature based solution(NbS) and eco-engineering have become key concepts in ecosystem restoration and natural hazard protection. Both concepts often build on fundamental biogeomorphic knowledge of two-way abiotic-biotic environmental interactions and feedbacks, which shape landscapes at various spatiotemporal scales. Thus, nature based solutions and eco-engineering can only work through integrating concepts from ecology, (evolutionary) biology, hydraulics, engineering, geomorphology, geology and quaternary science (amongst other disciplines).

This session combines fundamental biogeomorphic studies with applied studies on nature based solutions and eco-engineering. In the biogeomorphic studies, there is a focus on studies coming from a soil, hydrological and geomorphic perspective, which includes biogeomorphic processes, rates and feedbacks, organism-habitat interaction, biota as ecosystem engineers, biogeomorphology as a driver of nutrient and pollutant transport, and biogeomorphology as a tool to sustainably manage natural systems and hazards.

The NbS studies provide examples covering a large range of cases and possibilities, ranging from, but not limited to, sponge cities and green construction material to carbon accounting and biochar. One focus lies ‘ecosystem services’, another on ‘ecological engineering’, the latter being an established discipline that focuses on the design that exploits ecological elements and ecosystems for the benefit of both humans and nature. In a new, holistic approach to problem-solving, it focuses on the adoption of systems thinking and of circularity in problem-solving methodology towards re-establishing material cycles to deal with resource scarcity and expanding the nature-based toolbox using ecosystem services and renewable resources. This session discusses and analyzes these key concepts, benefits, and applications of modern ecological engineering.

Overall, this session includes innovative methods such as artificial intelligence, field and laboratory tests, remote sensing, numerical modelling etc. The NbS approach has proven its usefulness for addressing complex challenges while promoting the conservation and restoration of natural systems and cycles. As the global community strives to find holistic solutions to pressing ecological and societal issues, NbS has the potential to provide valuable pathways to re-balance the relationship between human activities and the environment.

Our planet is shaped by a multitude of physical, chemical and biological processes. Most of these processes and their effect on the ground’s properties can be sensed by seismic instruments – as discrete events or continuous signatures. Seismic methods have been developed, adopted, and advanced to study those dynamics at or near the surface of the earth, with unprecedented detail, completeness, and resolution. The community of geophysicists interested in Earth surface dynamics and geomorphologists, glaciologists, hydrologists, volcanologists, geochemists, biologists or engineering geologists interested in using arising geophysical tools and techniques is progressively growing and collaboratively advancing the emerging scientific discipline Environmental Seismology.

If you are interested in contributing to or getting to know the latest methodological and theoretical developments, field and lab scale experimental outcomes, and the broad range of applications in geomorphology, glaciology, hydrology, meteorology, engineering geology, volcanology and natural hazards, then this session would be your choice. We anticipate a lively discussion about standing questions in Earth surface dynamics research and how seismic methods could help solving them. We will debate about community based research opportunities and are looking forward to bringing together transdisciplinary knowledge and mutual curiosity.

Topical keywords: erosion, transient, landslide, rockfall, debris flow, fracturing, stress, granular flow, rock mechanics, snow avalanche, calving, icequake, basal motion, subglacial, karst, bedload, flood, GLOF, early warning, coast, tsunami, eruption, tremor, turbidity current, groundwater, soil moisture, noise, dv/v, HVSR, fundamental frequency, polarization, array, DAS, infrasound, machine learning, classification, experiment, signal processing.

We are happy to announce our solicited speakers Emma Pearce and Florent Gimbert!

Sediment transport is a fundamental component of all geomorphic systems (including fluvial, aeolian, coastal, hillslopes and glacial), yet it is something that we still find surprisingly difficult both to monitor and to model. Robust data on where and how sediment transport occurs are needed to address outstanding research questions, including the spatial and temporal controls on critical shear stress, the influence of varying grain size distributions, and the impact of large magnitude events. Recent developments have provided a) new opportunities for measuring sediment transport in the field; and b) new ways to represent sediment transport in both physical laboratory models and in numerical models. These developments include (but are not limited to) the application of techniques such as seismic and acoustic monitoring, 3D imaging (e.g. CT and MRI scanning), deployment of sensors such as accelerometers, replication of field topography using 3D printing, use of luminescence as a sediment tracer, remote sensing of turbidity, discrete numerical modelling, and new statistical approaches.

In this session we welcome contributions from all areas of geomorphology that develop new methods for monitoring and modelling all types of sediment transport, or that showcase an application of such methods. Contributions from ECRs and underrepresented groups are particularly encouraged.

Over recent decades, geochronological techniques such as cosmogenic nuclides, thermochronology, radiocarbon and luminescence dating have improved in accuracy, precision and temporal range. Developments in geochronological methods, data treatment and landscape evolution models have provided new insights into the timing, rates and magnitude of earth surface processes. The combination of geochronological data from different techniques with numerical modelling has enormous potential for improving our understanding of landscape evolution.

This session includes studies ranging from erosion rates, sediment provenance, burial and transport times, bedrock exposure, cooling histories, landscape dynamics to technical developments and novel applications of key Quaternary geochronometers such as cosmogenic nuclides and luminescence. We welcome contributions that apply novel geochronological methods, that combine geochronological techniques with numerical modelling or landscape evolution analyses, and that highlight the latest developments and open questions in the application of geochronometers to landscape evolution problems.

Transport of sediments in geophysical flows occurs in mountainous, fluvial, estuarine, coastal, aeolian and other natural or man-made environments on Earth, while also shapes the surface of planets such as Mars, Titan, and Venus. Understanding the motion of sediments is still one of the most fundamental problems in hydrological and geophysical sciences. Such processes can vary across a wide range of scales - from the particle to the landscape - which can directly impact both the form (geomorphology) and, on Earth, the function (ecology and biology) of natural systems and the built infrastructure surrounding them. In particular, feedback between fluid and sediment transport as well as interparticle interactions including size sorting are a key processes in surface dynamics, finding a range of important applications, from hydraulic engineering and natural hazard mitigation to landscape evolution and river ecology.

Specific topics of interest include (but are not restricted to):

A) particle-scale interactions and transport processes:
- mechanics of entrainment and disentrainment (for fluvial and aeolian flows)
- dry granular flows
- momentum (turbulent impulses) and energy transfer between turbulent flows and particles
- upscaling and averaging techniques for stochastic transport processes
- interaction among grain sizes in poorly sorted mixtures, including particle segregation

B) reach-scale sediment transport and geomorphic processes
- links between flow, particle transport, bedforms and stratigraphy
- discrete element modelling of transport processes and upscaling into continuum frameworks
- derivation and solution of equations for multiphase flows (including fluvial and aeolian flows)
- shallow water hydro-sediment-morphodynamic processes
- scouring around structures

C) large-scale, highly unsteady and complex water-sediment flows:
- flash floods, debris flows and landslides due to extreme rainfall
- natural and build dam failures and compound disasters (due to landslides, debris flow intrusion and downstream flooding)
- reservoir operation schemes and corresponding fluvial processes
- design of hydraulic structures such as fish passages, dam spillways, also considering the impact of sediment
- dredging, maintenance and regulation for large rivers and navigational waterways

This session is promoted by the IAHR committee on Experimental Methods and Instrumentation.

The Quaternary Period (last 2.6 million years) is characterized by frequent and abrupt climate swings that were accompanied by rapid environmental change. Studying these changes requires accurate and precise dating methods that can be effectively applied to environmental archives. A range of different methods or a combination of various dating techniques can be used, depending on the archive, time range, and research question. Varve counting and dendrochronology allow for the construction of high-resolution chronologies, whereas radiometric methods (radiocarbon, cosmogenic in-situ, U-Th) and luminescence dating provide independent anchors for chronologies that span over longer timescales. We particularly welcome contributions that aim to (1) reduce, quantify and express dating uncertainties in any dating method, including high-resolution radiocarbon approaches; (2) use established geochronological methods to answer new questions; (3) use new methods to address longstanding issues, or; (4) combine different chronometric techniques for improved results, including the analysis of chronological datasets with novel methods, e.g. Bayesian age-depth modeling. Applications may aim to understand long-term landscape evolution, quantify rates of geomorphological processes, or provide chronologies for records of climate change and anthropogenic effects on Earth's system.

Recent advances in image collection, e.g. using unoccupied aerial vehicles (UAVs), and topographic measurements, e.g. using terrestrial or airborne LiDAR, are providing an unprecedented insight into landscape and process characterization in geosciences. In parallel, historical data including terrestrial, aerial, and satellite photos as well as historical digital elevation models (DEMs), can extend high-resolution time series and offer exciting potential to distinguish anthropogenic from natural causes of environmental change and to reconstruct the long-term evolution of the surface from local to regional scale.
For both historic and contemporary scenarios, the rise of techniques with ‘structure from motion’ (SfM) processing has democratized data processing and offers a new measurement paradigm to geoscientists. Photogrammetric and remote sensing data are now available on spatial scales from millimetres to kilometres and over durations of single events to lasting time series (e.g. from sub-second to decadal-duration time-lapse), allowing the evaluation of event magnitude and frequency interrelationships.
The session welcomes contributions from a broad range of geoscience disciplines such as geomorphology, cryosphere, volcanology, hydrology, bio-geosciences, and geology, addressing methodological and applied studies. Our goal is to create a diversified and interdisciplinary session to explore the potential, limitations, and challenges of topographic and orthoimage datasets for the reconstruction and interpretation of past and present 2D and 3D changes in different environments and processes. We further encourage contributions describing workflows that optimize data acquisition and processing to guarantee acceptable accuracies and to automate data application (e.g. geomorphic feature detection and tracking), and field-based experimental studies using novel multi-instrument and multi-scale methodologies. This session invites contributions on the state of the art and the latest developments in i) modern photogrammetric and topographic measurements, ii) remote sensing techniques as well as applications, iii) time-series processing and analysis, and iv) modelling and data processing tools, for instance, using machine learning approaches.

Geomorphometry, a science of quantitative land surface analysis, gathers various mathematical, statistical and image processing techniques to quantify morphological, hydrological, ecological and other aspects of a land surface. Geomorphometry and geomorphological mapping are essential tools for understanding landscape processes and dynamics on Earth and other planetary bodies. The rapid growth of available geospatial data available for morphometric analysis and opens up considerable possibilities for morphometric analysis from mapping new landforms to understand the underlying processes. It also presents unique challenges in data processing and analysis.
The typical input to geomorphometric analysis is a square-grid representation of the land surface - a digital elevation model (DEM). Global DEMs and the increasing availability of much finer resolution LiDAR and SFM high-resolution DEMs call for new analytical methods and advanced geo-computation techniques necessary to cope with diverse application contexts. Point clouds have increasing accuracy over complex scenes, characterized by high topographic variation in three (and four) dimensions, generating a shift in geomorphologists’ work.
This session welcomes studies of advanced geo-computation methods, including high-performance and parallel computing implementations. We welcome general, technical and applied studies of geomorphometry applications and landform mapping from any discipline (geomorphology, planetary science, natural hazards, computer science, and Earth observation). Examples are:
- Use of Digital Elevation, Terrain and Surface Models and point clouds
- High-resolution LiDAR, photogrammetry and satellite data
- Automated surface analysis, machine learning, new algorithms
- Earth's and planetary morphometry, surface changes
- Collecting or derivation of geospatial data products
- Tools for extraction and analysis of geomorphometric variables
- Mapping and morphometric analysis of landforms and landscapes
- Modeling natural hazards on the Earth's surface
- Marine Geomorphometry and bathymetry
- Geomorphometry for urban areas and cultural heritage
- Professional and industrial applications of Geomorphometry
Contributions on inter-disciplinary approaches are particularly encouraged. We also welcome professional, commercial and industrial applications of terrain/surface data and geomorphometric techniques, including software packages, to bridge the gap between academic researchers and industry.

The importance of peatlands and their crucial role in the global carbon cycle has come to the fore in the last decade. They provide many of Natures Contributions to People. However, the extent and status of peatlands at national, regional and global scales is not clear. This is due to numerous issues including land use change and conversion, remote locations, lack of data, and differing definitions. This has led to estimates of the global extent of peatlands between 423 to 500 million hectares, and therefore a critical uncertainty in the C stocks stored in peatlands. While there have been advancements in the mapping of peatlands, there needs to be much more focus on identifying these high organic carbon soils. Progress in mapping peatland land use, peat thickness and drainage conditions will also help to fill this knowledge gap. Our knowledge of tropical peatlands remains particularly uncertain due to inadequate data. In a natural condition, tropical peatlands are long-term C stores and support livelihoods, but anthropogenic disturbances (logging, drainage, degradation, agricultural conversion, fire, resource exploration) are increasing in extent. These transformations result in high C loss, reduced C storage, increased greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, loss of hydrological integrity, peat subsidence and loss, increased risk of fire. For agricultural peatlands, changes in nutrient storage and cycling necessitate fertilizer use, with enhanced emissions of N2O. Under a warming climate, these impacts are likely to intensify and reduce not only the extent of peatlands, but also the benefits to rural communities.

This session addresses all aspects of peatland mapping and tropical peatland science, including top-down and bottom-up peatland mapping and monitoring, the application of new remote sensing techniques and integration of old maps into peatland inventories. For tropical peatlands, we consider not only mapping and monitoring needs, but also the impact of climate on past, present and future peatland formation, accumulation and C dynamics; GHG and nutrient flux dynamics; and management strategies for GHG emissions mitigation and the maintenance or restoration of C sequestration.

Hydrogeomorphic processes may naturally act together or interact in a given space or time, creating cascades. Many regions worldwide are already experiencing an increase in cascading processes, often driven by extreme events, with severe impacts that may worsen under future climatic and environmental changes. The physical response to these cascades is hardly predictable due to their complex nature, the interplay between different predisposing, triggering and controlling factors, and the rarity of these events.
Addressing the hazards and impacts resulting from the combination of multiple processes faces enormous challenges, primarily from a still incomplete process interaction understanding. In addition, expertise is scattered across disciplines (e.g., geomorphology, geology, hydrology, climate sciences) and beyond (e.g., civil engineering, social science). A better understanding of cascading processes under environmental changes and extreme events is of critical importance to deciphering impacts of past environmental changes and to develop and influence policy to face future challenges under a changing climate.

This interdisciplinary session aims to shed light on the current knowledge regarding cascading hydrogeomorphic processes and related hazards and to propose novel frameworks for understanding, monitoring, and modeling their complex feedback and interactions. A particular focus is paid on regions affected by diverse environmental changes and extreme events. We welcome scientific contributions in the domain of cascading processes, including (but not restricted to) the study of the link between extreme climatic forcing and hydrogeomorphic processes, and surface processes complexity, such as connectivity or dis-connectivity between hillslopes and fluvial processes. We welcome studies from all climates and at all temporal scales; from the event scale to the long-term integrated impact of cascading processes on the landscape. We invite contributions showing novel monitoring, experimental, theoretical, conceptual and computational modeling approaches. Proposed management strategies to assess cascading processes-related hazards will also be well received.

Interglacials are warm intervals in Earth's climatic history characterized by high global average temperatures, low land ice extension, and rising sea levels. Geological records from many sites around the globe allow the identification of several interglacials since the late Pliocene, each different in duration, sea level variability and wave intensity. The study of these periods became particularly pertinent to unravel sea-level oscillations, wave regime variations, and refine models of polar ice melting in the near future. Relative sea level (RSL) and wave conditions are reconstructed using sea-level proxies, which are formed in relationship to the past position of sea level (i.e., marine terraces, tidal notches, beach ridge systems, coral reef structures, upper limit of L. lithophaga burrows, storm deposits or elements combined). Although we have a comprehensive understanding of the global sea level dynamics during the current interglacial (Holocene), our knowledge of these dynamics during past interglacials remains limited. Hence, building a synthesis of sea level and wave conditions on a multi-millennial scale could help assess sea level impacts in a future warmer world.
This session invites the international sea level community to present studies broadly related to Plio-Pleistocene interglacials, and in particular on new field data, synthesis and databases, wave conditions proxies, extreme events (i.e., extreme waves, storms, coastal flooding), sea-level reconstructions, and coastal modelling. State-of-the-art of sea-level research during Early to Late Quaternary interglacials and beyond will better constrain projections of potential future warming scenarios. We also welcome contributions on: i) geochronology methods (i.e., U-series dating; Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL), Thermoluminescence (TL), infrared-stimulated luminescence (IRSL), Electron spin resonance dating (ESR) and amino acid racemization (AAR) and ii) remote sensing techniques applied to constrain sea-level proxies both in active and steady tectonic settings.

Extreme hydro-meteorological events drive many hydrologic and geomorphic hazards, such as floods, landslides and debris flows, which pose a significant threat to modern societies on a global scale. The continuous increase of population and urban settlements in hazard-prone areas in combination with evidence of changes in extreme weather events lead to a continuous increase in the risk associated with weather-induced hazards. To improve resilience and to design more effective mitigation strategies, we need to better understand the triggers of these hazards and the related aspects of vulnerability, risk, mitigation and societal response.
This session aims at gathering contributions dealing with various hydro-meteorological hazards that address the aspects of vulnerability analysis, risk estimation, impact assessment, mitigation policies and communication strategies. Specifically, we aim to collect contributions from academia, industry (e.g. insurance) and government agencies (e.g. civil protection) that will help identify the latest developments and ways forward for increasing the resilience of communities at local, regional and national scales, and proposals for improving the interaction between different entities and sciences.
Contributions focusing on, but not limited to, novel developments and findings on the following topics are particularly encouraged:
- Physical and social vulnerability analysis and impact assessment of hydro-meteorological hazards
- Advances in the estimation of socioeconomic risk from hydro-meteorological hazards
- Characteristics of weather and precipitation patterns leading to high-impact events
- Relationship between weather and precipitation patterns and socio-economic impacts
- Socio-hydrological studies of the interplay between hydro-meteorological hazards and societies
- Hazard mitigation procedures
- Strategies for increasing public awareness, preparedness, and self-protective response
- Impact-based forecast, warning systems, and rapid damage assessment.
- Insurance and reinsurance applications

Large mass movements in rock, debris and ice in glacial masses, represent enormous risks. These complex systems are difficult to describe, investigate, monitor and model. Hence a reliable model of these phenomena requires acquisition and analysis of all available data to support successive steps up to the management of Early Warning systems.
Large instabilities affect all materials (rock, weak rocks, debris, ice), from low to high altitudes, evolving as slow or fast complex mass movements. This and the complex dependency on forcing factors result in different types and degrees of hazard and risk. Some aspects of these instabilities are still understudied and debated, because of difficult characterization and few cases thoroughly studied. Regional and temporal distribution, relationships with controlling and triggering factors are poorly understood resulting in poor predictions of behavior and evolution under present and future climates. How will it change their state of activity under future climatic changes? How this will impact on existing structures and infrastructures? How can we improve our predictions? Relationships among geological and hydrological boundary conditions and displacements are associated to evolution in space and time of hydro-mechanical controls . Even for well studied and active phenomena warning thresholds are mostly qualitative, based on semi-empirical approaches. Hence a multidisciplinary approach and robust monitoring data are needed. Many modeling approaches can be applied to evaluate instability and failure, considering triggerings, failure propagation, leading to rapid mass movements . Nevertheless, these approaches are still phenomenological and have difficulty to explain the observed behavior. Impacts of such instabilities on structures represents a relevant risk but also an opportunity in terms of investigations and quantitative measurements of effects on tunnels, dams, roads. Design of these structures and knowledge of their expected performance is fundamental.
We invite to present case studies, sharing views and data, to discuss monitoring and modeling approaches and tools, to introduce new approaches for thresholds definition, including advanced numerical modeling, Machine Learning for streamline and offline data analyses, development of monitoring tools and dating or investigation techniques.

Mountain regions are a complex system of different glacial, paraglacial and periglacial environments rapidly changing due to global warming. In this context, short-term landscape evolution is affected by glacier motion, by a variety of mass movements including slow rock slope deformations, rock and debris slides, rockfalls, as well as by periglacial features such as rock glaciers. These mass movements are driven be different processes, evolve at different rates and can pose different risks to lives, human activities and infrastructure. The physics of rock slope degradation and the dynamics of failure and transport define the hazards.

In this session we bring together researchers from different communities interested in a better understanding of the physical processes controlling mass movements mass around the world in glacial, paraglacial and periglacial environments, and investigating their evolution in a changing climate. Topics range from state-of-the-art methods for assessing, quantifying, predicting, and protecting against alpine slope hazards across spatial and temporal scales to innovative contributions dealing with mass movement predisposition, detachment, transport, and deposition. The selected contributions are expected to: (i) provide insights from field observations and/or laboratory experiments; (ii) apply statistical methods and/or artificial intelligence to identify and map mass movements; (iii) present new monitoring approaches (in-situ and remote sensing) applied at different spatial and temporal scales; (iv) use models (from conceptual frameworks to theoretical and/or advanced numerical approaches) for the analysis and interpretation of the governing physical processes; (v) develop strategies applicable for hazard assessment and mitigation. We also aim at triggering discussions on effective countermeasures that can be implemented to increase preparedness and risk reduction, and studies that integrate social, structural, or natural protection measures.

The session strives to build a community and to grow networks at EGU and beyond.

Landslides can trigger catastrophic consequences, leading to loss of life and assets. In specific regions, landslides claim more lives than any other natural catastrophe. Anticipating these events proves to be a monumental challenge, encompassing scientific curiosity and vital societal implications, as it provides a means to safeguard lives and property.
This session revolves around methodologies and state-of-the-art approaches in landslide prediction, encompassing aspects like location, timing, magnitude, and the impact of single and multiple slope failures. It spans a range of landslide variations, from abrupt rockfalls to rapid debris flows, and slow-moving slides to sudden rock avalanches. The focus extends from local to global scales.

Contributions are encouraged in the following areas:

Exploring the theoretical facets of predicting natural hazards, with a specific emphasis on landslide prognosis. These submissions may delve into conceptual, mathematical, physical, statistical, numerical, and computational intricacies.
Presenting applied research, supported by real-world instances, that assesses the feasibility of predicting individual or multiple landslides and their defining characteristics, with specific reference to early warning systems and methods based on monitoring data and time series of physical quantities related to slope stability at different scales.
Evaluating the precision of landslide forecasts, comparing the effectiveness of diverse predictive models, demonstrating the integration of landslide predictions into operational systems, and probing the potential of emerging technologies.

Should the session yield fruitful results, noteworthy submissions may be consolidated into a special issue of an international journal.

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

Water is the defining feature of the habitable Earth; it is essential for all life as we know it. Evolution and maintenance of life in extremely water limited environments, which cover significant portions of the Earth, is not well understood. Akin to life, water-driven processes leave unique marks on the Earth’s surface. Mars is the only other planet currently known to bear the marks of water-driven surface processes, albeit fossil and of great age. The slow biotic and abiotic surface processes that may operate even in the virtual absence of liquid water are still essentially unknown. What is evident is that transient episodes of increased water availability can leave long lasting traces in extremely water limited environments. Intriguingly, those traces of bursts in Earth surface evolution have rarely been related to bursts in biological colonization/evolution, and vice versa, although both relate to the same trigger: water.
The objective of this session is to showcase research on the mutual evolutionary relationships between Earth surface processes and biota in arid to hyper-arid systems, where both biota and Earth surface process are severely and predominantly limited by the availability of water (rather than by extreme temperatures). As the robust quantification of rates and fluxes in desert landscapes is one of the key challenges related to research at the Earth´s dry limit we highly welcome cutting-edge contributions from geochemistry, biogeosciences, geology, geomorphology and geochronology. We especially encourage contributions from early career scientists who work at the intersection of Earth surface processes and biological evolution.

It is clear that human impact on earth surface processes is almost ubiquitous. At present the scale of human impacts upon geomorphic systems is considerably larger than at any point in the past with a plenitude of either direct or indirect impacts on the systems’ structure and function. This session aims to provide a platform for studies on the role of humans as agents of geomorphic change and associated environmental feedbacks. We also welcome studies which conceptionally discuss the importance of geomorphology as a discipline within the overall Anthropocene debate. We look for both, conceptional contributions, and quantitative approaches, e.g. based on modelling and/or field surveys, addressing the effects of human agency on all geomorphological process domains (aeolian, fluvial, cryospheric, coastal, hillslope). This could include, but is not limited to the effects of construction works, river engineering, land use/management, or climate change. Moreover, this session especially welcomes studies contrasting natural and human dominated systems.

Human activity became a major player of global climatic and environmental change in the course of the late Quaternary, during the Anthropocene. Consequently, it is crucial to understand these changes through the study of former human-environmental interactions at different spatial and temporal scales. Documenting the diversity of human responses and adaptations to climate, landscapes, ecosystems, natural disasters and the changing natural resources availability in different regions of our planet, provides valuable opportunities to learn from the past. To do so, cross-disciplinary studies in Geoarchaeology offer a chance to better understand the archaeological records and landscapes in context of human culture and the hydroclimate-environment nexus over time. This session seeks related interdisciplinary papers and specific geoarchaeological case-studies that deploy various approaches and tools to address the reconstruction of former human-environmental interactions from the Palaeolithic period through the modern. Topics related to records of the Anthropocene from Earth and archaeological science perspectives are welcome. Furthermore, contributions may include (but are not limited to) insights about how people have coped with environmental disasters or abrupt changes in the past; defining sustainability thresholds for farming or resource exploitation; distinguishing the baseline natural and human contributions to environmental changes. Ultimately, we would like to understand how strategies of human resilience and innovation can inform our modern policies for addressing the challenges of the emerging Anthropocene, a time frame dominated by human modulation of surface geomorphological processes and hydroclimate.

In recent decades, thanks to the information revolution and the widening world that has opened to most people, the general interest in the scientific values of our natural environment has increased. As a result, more attention was directed to natural formations, with nature conservation and geo-focused tourism activities increasingly popularised and being established in multiple sites worldwide. Whereas before, the interest in the scientific value of nature was narrowly understood and limited to a professional audience.
In 2021, UNESCO adopted the International Geodiversity Day initiative, and since 2022 it is celebrated worldwide on the 6th of October. The term ‘geodiversity’ incorporates every natural abiotic element of our planet, whereas geoheritage is a part of geodiversity worthy of protection. In fact, the very foundation of the ecosystem and life itself are rooted in geodiversity and geoheritage because Earth's processes affect the habitats of every living creature. Therefore, the recognition of geodiversity’s importance is one of the main pillars of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and influences nearly all the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
The aim of this session is to provide a broad platform for studies dealing with geodiversity and geoheritage and to draw the scientific community's attention to the importance and diversity hiding in this relatively new science field. The focus areas are the following:
● geodiversity and geoheritage assessment methodologies and case studies,
● geoconservation and geotourism management,
● social and cultural connections to geodiversity and geoheritage,
● interrelations between geodiversity, biodiversity, and climatic diversity,
● the contribution of geodiversity and geoheritage to sustainable development.
The session is co-organised by the Geomorphosites Working Group of the International Association of Geomorphologists (IAG) and ProGEO, the International Association for the Conservation of Geological Heritage.

Public information:
We would like to continue the so-called "indoor picnic" tradition organised during some of the geodiversity and geoheritage sessions. Thus, we encourage the participants of the session to bring some local products (food, drinks...) related to geodiversity, geoheritage or simply to their area of study. Looking forward to meeting you on this special occasion!

During the Anthropocene, human-environment interactions have exacerbated the transfer of sediments (e.g., from land-use change) and associated contaminants (e.g., heavy metals, pesticides, nutrients, radionuclides, and various organic and organometallic compounds). These fluxes play an important role in catchment ecosystems, directly affecting water quality, habitat conditions and biogeochemical cycles.
Understanding sediment dynamics, including transport pathways, storage and remobilization processes at various spatial and temporal scales is essential for assessing impacts on biodiversity and promoting more responsible and sustainable land and water management policies.
Therefore, this session aims to demonstrate anthropogenic forcing on sediment dynamics and encourages contributions related to rivers, lakes, reservoirs and floodplains utilizing measurements, modelling approaches, or retro-observation analyses to better understand sediment and contaminant transfer at time scales ranging from flood events to several decades.

This session will specifically cover the following topics:
- Assessment of human impacts on landforms and geomorphic processes in sediment and contaminant transport;
- Sediment and contaminant delivery rates from different sources (i.e., agriculture, urban areas, mining, industry, or natural areas);
- Transport, retention and remobilization of sediments and contaminants in catchments and river reaches;
- Modeling of sediment and contaminant transport at different temporal and spatial scales;
- Biogeochemical controls on contaminant transport and transformation;
- Studies of sedimentary processes and morphodynamics, especially sediment budgets;
- Linkages between catchment systems and lakes, including reservoirs;
- Analysis of sediment archives to assess landscape-scale variations in sediment and contaminant yields over medium to long time scales;
- Effects of sediments and contaminants on floodplain, riparian, hyporheic, and other in-stream ecosystems;
- Response of sediment and contaminant dynamics in catchments, lakes and rivers to changing boundary conditions and human actions.

The Critical Zone (CZ) – the permeable near-surface layer of the Earth where the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere interact – is the place where cycles of carbon, nutrients, water and other biogeochemical processes intersect with ecosystems and society. Investigating the form and functioning of the CZ requires that insights from geology, hydrology, ecology, geochemistry, atmospheric science and other disciplines are integrated in a transdisciplinary manner. One successful approach to CZ research has been the development of intensively instrumented study areas, known as CZ observatories. Networks of observatories and interlinked thematically-focused projects have evolved to capitalize on advances possible through multifaceted collaborations across larger spatial scales. Processes that shape the critical zone also span wide ranges of temporal scales, from vegetation on seasonal timescales, to soil development and landscape evolution over thousands to millions of years. Because all of these processes together shape the critical zone and affect how it functions, bridging gaps between short term processes and longer-term environmental change is essential for understanding landscapes and maintaining their ability to sustain life.

This session will highlight the cutting edge of CZ science across spatial and administrative scales, from project, to observatory, to network levels. Submissions may also explore coupling across temporal scales, integrating relatively rapid processes with the longer-term evolution of the critical zone. Submissions are solicited that focus on integration of observations and modeling; hydrologic dynamics; geoecological interactions; biogeomorphology, mineral weathering and nutrient cycling; the rhizosphere; the societal relevance of CZ science; and other examples of how CZ research is evolving with new knowledge to face the challenges of our changing world. Contributions from early-career scientists are particularly encouraged.

The present context of accelerated changes in both climate and land use imposes an unprecedent pressure on global ecosystems. The influences of landform and land use on soil-plant relationships and related subsoil processes are crucial for ecosystem service maintenance and restoration. This understanding is necessary to develop management practices to improve climate change adaptation, food security as well as providing habitats for soil biodiversity. In particular we focus on the role of different ecosystem components such as subsoil and roots that are often neglected.
The purpose of this session is to understand soil-plant interaction across landforms, including distribution of vegetation and coevolving soils and landforms, as well as related subsoil processes and root growths. In particular, theoretical, modelling, and empirical studies are welcome on subsoil functions, investigating root traits and rhizosphere processes on ecosystem services, degradation and biogeochemical cycling in different ecosystems and land uses. We also include studies on the implications of spatial patterns of soil-plant systems for the resilience and stability of ecosystems The session will have a particular interest on global changes effects on those processes and dynamics.

Mountain belts are characterized by the fastest rates of physical erosion and chemical weathering around the world, making them one of the best places to observe sediment production (e.g. erosion, weathering) and transport processes. In these settings, varied processes such as rockfall, debris flow, hillslope failure, glacial and periglacial erosion, fluvial erosion, transport and deposition, and chemical weathering operate, often simultaneously, over a wide range of temporal and spatial scales.

As a result, tracking the interactions between denudation, climatic forcing, tectonic activity, vegetation and land use is complex. However, these feedbacks affect both long- and short-term natural surface processes, landscape development, and human interactions with the environment. Many of these processes also pose serious threats to the biosphere, mountain settlements and infrastructure. Therefore, understanding and quantifying rates of erosion, weathering, and deposition within mountain landscapes is a challenging, but crucial research topic in Earth surface processes.

We welcome contributions that (1) investigate the processes of production, mobilisation, transport, and deposition of sediment in mountain landscapes, (2) explore feedbacks between erosion and weathering due to natural and anthropogenic forcings, and (3) consider how these processes contribute to natural hazards specific to mountain landscapes. We invite presentations that employ observational, analytical or modeling approaches in mountain environments across a variety of temporal and spatial scales. We particularly encourage early career scientists to apply for this session.

In recent decades, substantial progress has been made in comprehending how landscapes react to climate, tectonics and connectivity. Much research has focused on timescales of landscape reaction, response and equilibrium within source-to-sink sedimentary systems. But equally important is understanding the effect of signal magnitude. How sensitive is the landscape to changes in forcing mechanisms? Sensitivity accounts not only for equilibrium timescales but also the magnitude and direction of change in both the driving forces and the landscape's response. This motivates further examination of fluxes that are integral to understanding the role of connectivity in landscape evolution
We encourage submissions on sedimentary landscape responses to climate, tectonics, and connectivity changes. This includes erosion processes, river systems, coastal and deep-marine environments, and weathering studies, linking with the concept of landscape sensitivity. New methodologies for understanding landscape response are also welcomed. Through this collective effort, we aim to advance our understanding of landscape dynamics in response to environmental shifts.

Surface and subsurface sediments and landscapes provide a unique opportunity for unraveling Earth’s complex geomorphic processes. We seek to explore the relationship between climate, tectonic, and anthropogenic signals in source-to-sink systems across timescales. Our interdisciplinary session aims to use techniques from geomorphology, stratigraphy, sedimentology, modeling, geochemistry, geospatial analysis, and tectonics.

Geomorphology and sedimentology have historically been used to great effect to reveal the climate conditions of Earth’s past. However, it is becoming increasingly recognised in the Earth Science community that in order to understand how our planet may change in the future, we need to scrutinize Earth surface processes from source to sink, drawing on knowledge from a range of sub-fields. This will enable us to disentangle anthropogenic signals in the geomorphic archive, and provide insight on climate change, geohazards and natural resource management.

We invite submissions addressing the impact of autogenic and allogenic forcings as well as anthropogenic influences on source-to-sink systems across varying timescales and geomorphic landscapes, including fluvial, coastal, and marine systems, as well as aeolian and glacial domains. We particularly encourage researchers drawing on integrated approaches involving numerical modeling of landscapes and basins, stratigraphy and sedimentary analogs, provenance analysis, seismic data, remote sensing, GIS and (paleo-)hydrology. This session aims to illuminate the growing understanding of landscape dynamics in the past, present and future.

The process of denudation is the most common process that modifies the Earth's surface. It has many different manifestations, intensities and frequencies. The session is dedicated to these issues. We look forward to PICO presentations that will show the diversity and variability of denudation processes around the world from local to global scales, from short-term to long-term processes. A still open problem for discussion is the magnitude and frequency of processes eroding the Earth's surface. Let's pinpoint the morphogenetic factors contributing to the activation and course of denudational dominant and secondary processes responsible for shaping the Earth's surface in the past, present and future. Increasingly accurate methods of estimating the rate of dynamics of denudational processes provide opportunities to better predict the near and distant future in Earth's history.
The session is co-organised by the International Association of Geomorphologists (IAG) Working Group on Denudation and Environmental Changes in Different Morphoclimatic Zones (DENUCHANGE).

Torrent control works and soil conservation techniques play pivotal roles in managing catchment hydrology and morphology, regulating water resources, and supporting agricultural activities. Despite their global significance, certain scientific aspects remain unexplored, such as suitable planning and design of restoration actions, prediction of degradation over time, quantification of effectiveness, and assessment after extreme hydrological events. The scarcity of long-term monitoring studies further complicates these pursuits. Remote sensing (RS) emerges as a valuable tool for analyzing past and current situations and monitoring catchment morphology evolution through multi-temporal surveys.

This session aims to foster collaboration and discussion among soil scientists, hydrologists, geomorphologists, and stakeholders. We encourage research contributions on innovative planning and design protocols, emerging techniques for multi-temporal or real-time monitoring using RS, standards for comprehensive analysis of structural and functional conditions, and identification of new challenges like soil-bioengineering techniques and integration of vegetation in check dam systems.

Additionally, the session addresses the quantification of sediment sources and dynamics in river catchments within the context of land use and climate change. Obtaining quantitative information on soil redistribution patterns during storms and identifying sediment sources are essential for designing effective control measures. Sediment tracing and fingerprinting techniques, coupled with soil erosion modeling and sediment budgeting, have contributed significantly, but challenges persist. Contributions are invited on innovative field measurement and sediment sampling techniques, tracing studies using various approaches, investigations of current limitations, applications of radioisotope tracers, and integrated approaches linking different measurement techniques and models for understanding sediment delivery processes.

This integrated approach seeks to address the complex interplay between torrent control, soil conservation, and sediment dynamics, offering a comprehensive perspective on sustainable catchment management. Early career scientists are encouraged to contribute with original and advanced studies.

Rock mass deformation and failure at different stress levels (from the brittle regime to the brittle-ductile transition) are controlled by damage processes occurring on different spatial scales, from grain (µm) to geological formation (km) scale. These lead to a progressive increase of micro- and meso-crack intensity in the rock matrix and to the growth of inherited macro-fractures at rock mass scale. Coalescence of these fractures forms large-scale structures such as brittle fault zones, rockslide shear zones, and excavation damage zones (EDZ) in open pit mining and underground construction. Diffuse or localized rock damage have a primary influence on rock properties (strength, elastic moduli, hydraulic and electric properties) and on their evolution across multiple temporal scales spanning from geological time to highly dynamic phenomena as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, slopes and man-made rock structures. In subcritical stress conditions, damage accumulation results in brittle creep processes key to the long-term evolution of geophysical, geomorphological and geo-engineering systems.
Damage and progressive failure processes must be considered to understand the time-dependent hydro-mechanical behaviour of fault damage zones and principal slip zones, and their interplay (e.g. earthquakes vs aseismic creep), volcanic systems and slopes (e.g. slow rock slope deformation vs catastrophic rock slides), as well as the response of rock masses to stress perturbations induced by artificial excavations (tunnels, mines) and loading. At the same time, damage processes control the brittle behaviour of the upper crust and are strongly influenced by intrinsic rock properties (strength, fabric, porosity, anisotropy), geological structures and their inherited damage, as well as by the evolving pressure-temperature with increasing depth and by fluid pressure, transport properties and chemistry.
In this session we will bring together researchers from different communities interested in a better understanding of rock deformation and failure processes and consequence, as well as other related rock mechanics topics. We welcome innovative and novel contributions on experimental studies (both in the laboratory and in situ), continuum / micromechanical analytical and numerical modelling, and applications to fault zones, reservoirs, slope instability and landscape evolution, and engineering applications.

Water erosion is one of the most widespread forms of soil degradation and agricultural productivity loss as well as a substantial driver in morphogenesis and landscape evolution.
In the context of global change, the erosion process is expected to intensify due to an alarming potential for climate change, mainly due to an increase in the frequency of extreme precipitation and localised events. Furthermore, the anthropic action involving changes in land use and increasing erosive crops can contribute to the aggravation of the phenomenon.
In this session is expected to collect contributions for discussing over subjects dealing on:
1. Soil erosion modelling, especially as part of scenario analysis in various contexts. Such an approach has grown exponentially in the last decades becoming a current tool for exploring new horizons in erosion prediction. It may include new data processing methodologies with local and global approaches to improve understanding of long-term behaviors and determine possible trajectories due to the impact of erosion factors such as climate and land-use change.
2. Erosion modelling and assessment based on alternative data such as remote and proximal sensing, fingerprinting of sediment sources, benchmarking, etc. over a wide range of scales and methods. This is in response to the increased availability of observational data, especially from satellite, allowing detailed monitoring of the processes.
Publication of the contributions in a Special Issue publication is foreseen.

The Planetary Geomorphology session aims to bring together geomorphologists who study the Earth with those who work on other bodies such as Mars, Venus, Mercury, the Moon, icy satellites of the outer solar system, comets, and/or asteroids. Studies applicable to landscapes on any scale on any solid body are welcome. We particularly encourage those who use Earth analogues, laboratory/numerical simulation and/or big satellite datasets to submit their work. Considered processes could include aeolian, volcanic, tectonic, fluvial, glacial, periglacial, or "undetermined" ones. We especially welcome contributions from early-career scientists and geomorphologists who are new to planetary science.

Aeolian processes act on planetary surfaces throughout the Solar System, yielding similar landforms and patterns across a wide range of spatial scales despite differences in atmospheric and surface properties. They are typically associated with the movement of sediments driven by an atmospheric flow but can also be controlled by other modes of matter transport such as ice sublimation. The combination of terrestrial and extra-terrestrial experiments and observations, as well as analogue studies, provides the opportunities as well as challenges for improving our fundamental theories and numerical models for better understanding of these aeolian environments. Innovations in instrumentation and experimental techniques continue to yield novel insights on Earth, while space missions and remote probes constantly deliver new and surprising evidence from aeolian environments on other planetary bodies. This session welcomes research on all aspects of aeolian processes and landforms, contemporary and ancient, on planetary surfaces across the Solar System, and includes a solicited presentation by Hezi Yizhaq and Orencio Duran-Vinent on their latest findings.

Currently arid to sub-humid regions are home to >40% of the world’s population, and many prehistoric and historic cultures developed in these regions. Due to the high sensitivity of drylands to also small-scale environmental changes and anthropogenic activities, ongoing geomorphological processes under the intensified climatic and human pressure of the Anthropocene, but also the Late Quaternary geomorphological and paleoenvironmental evolution as recorded in sediment archives, are becoming increasingly relevant for geological, geomorphological, paleoenvironmental, paleoclimatic and geoarchaeological research. Dryland research is constantly boosted by methodological advances, and especially by emerging linkages with other climatic and geomorphic systems that allow using dryland areas as indicator-regions of global environmental changes.
This session aims to pool contributions dealing with past to recent geomorphological processes and environmental changes spanning the entire Quaternary until today, as well as with all types of sedimentary and morphological archives in dryland areas (dunes, loess, slope deposits, fluvial sediments, alluvial fans, lake and playa sediments, desert pavements, soils, palaeosols etc.) studied on different spatial and temporal scales. Besides case studies on archives and landscapes from individual regions and review studies, cross-disciplinary, methodical and conceptual contributions are especially welcome in this session, e.g., dealing with the special role of aeolian, fluvial, gravitational and biological processes in dryland environments and their preservation in deposits and landforms, the role of such processes for past and present societies, methods to obtain chronological frameworks and process rates, and emerging geo-technologies.

The icy moons of our Solar System are prime targets for the search for extraterrestrial life. Moons such as Saturn's Enceladus and Jupiter's Europa are considered potential habitats because of their subglacial water oceans, which are in direct contact with the rocks below. Titan, with its potential subsurface ocean, icy surface and methane-based weather, could provide an analogue for a primordial earth and the circumstances in which life developed. To assess the habitability and sample the oceans of these moons, several approaches are being discussed, including water plume surveys on Europa and Enceladus, as well as developing key technologies to penetrate the ice and even study the ocean itself with autonomous underwater vehicles, if the ice is thin enough. Moreover, a key aspect of habitability is linked with the geological processes acting on these moons. The main questions that this session aims to address are the following:
- What can we learn from analogue studies on Earth?
- What are the properties of the ice shell and how do they evolve?
- How will planned missions to these bodies contribute to furthering our understanding?
- What measurements should be conducted by future missions?

The goal of this multidisciplinary session is to bring together scientists from different fields, including planetary sciences and the cryosphere community, to discuss the current status and next steps in the remote and in-situ exploration of the icy moons of our solar system. We welcome contributions from analogue studies, on the results of current and past missions, planned missions, mission concepts, lessons learned from other missions, and more. Contributions bridging the cryosphere-icy moons communities are of particular interest to this session.

Water is a strategic issue in drylands, where ecosystems and their inhabitants strongly rely on the scarce and often intermittent water availability or its low quality. The characteristics of drylands increase their vulnerability to climate change and susceptibility to the impact of short- to long-term extreme events and processes, such as floods, droughts, and desertification. These events can reshape the landscape through the mobilisation of surface sediments, deposits of which preserve archives of past Earth system states, including changes in the extent of deserts. Over the last century, anthropogenic modifications of all kinds and intensities have affected surface conditions. In drylands and Mediterranean hydrosystems, agricultural water use is constantly increasing threatening the sustainability of the surface and groundwater reservoirs, and their hydrology is then continuously evolving. Nevertheless, the study of hydroclimatic processes in drylands remains at the periphery of many geoscientific fields. A proper understanding of the hydrological, hydrometeorological and (paleo)climatic processes in these regions is a cornerstone to achieving the proposed sustainable development goals we set for the end of this century.

This session welcomes contributions from scientific disciplines addressing any of the drylands' full range of environmental and water-related processes. The purpose is to foster interdisciplinary research and expand knowledge and methods established in individual subdisciplines. We will address hydrological issues across global drylands, and devote a section of our session to a geographical focus on the Mediterranean region to analyse the changes in hydrologic processes and fluxes unique to that region.

The interactions between aerosols, climate, weather, and society are among the large uncertainties of current atmospheric research. Mineral dust is an important natural source of aerosol with significant implications on radiation, cloud microphysics, atmospheric chemistry, and the carbon cycle via the fertilization of marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Together with other light-absorbing particles, dust
impacts snow and ice albedo and can accelerate glacier melt. In addition, properties of dust deposited in sediments and ice cores are important (paleo-)climate indicators.

This interdivisional session -- building bridges between the EGU divisions AS, CL, CR, SSP, BG and GM -- had its first edition in 2004 and it is open to contributions dealing with:

(1) measurements of all aspects of the dust cycle (emission, transport, deposition, size distribution, particle characteristics) with in situ and remote sensing techniques,
(2) numerical simulations of dust on global, regional, and local scales,
(3) meteorological conditions for dust storms, dust transport and deposition,
(4) interactions of dust with clouds and radiation,
(5) influence of dust on atmospheric chemistry,
(6) fertilization of ecosystems through dust deposition,
(7) interactions with the cryosphere, including also aerosols other than dust,
(8) any study using dust as a (paleo-)climate indicator, including sediment archives in loess, ice cores, lake sediments, ocean sediments and dunes,
(9) impacts of dust on climate and climate change, and associated feedbacks and uncertainties,
(10) implications of dust for health, transport, energy systems, agriculture, infrastructure, etc.

We especially encourage the submission of papers that integrate different disciplines and/or address the modelling of past, present, and future climates.

Solicited speaker: Keri Nicoll, University of Reading, "Recent developments in dust electrification research"

It is now well known that the coupling between tectonics, climate and surface processes governs the dynamics of mountain belts and basins. However, the amplitude of these couplings and their exact impact on mountain building are less understood. First order quantitative constraints on this coupling are therefore needed. They can be provided by geomorphic and sedimentary records including longitudinal river profiles, fluvial and marine terraces, landslides, downstream fining trends, growth strata, sediment provenance, sequence stratigraphy, and changing depositional environments. In addition, such interaction may be explored also by geodetic analyses (e.g., GPS, UAV and satellite images analyses) as well as with innovative geo-informatic approaches. Moreover, the increasing integration of geochronological methods for quantifying erosion rates and source-to-sink sediment transfer with landscape evolution, stratigraphic, climatic, and tectonic models allows us to advance our understanding of the interactions between surface processes, climate and tectonic deformation.

We invite contributions that use geomorphic, geochronologic and/or sedimentary records to understand tectonic deformation, climate histories, and surface processes, and welcome studies that address their interactions and couplings at a range of spatial and temporal scales. In particular, we encourage coupled catchment-basin studies that take advantage of numerical/physical modelling, geochemical tools for quantifying rates of surface processes (cosmogenic nuclides, low-temperature thermochronology, luminescence dating) and high resolution digital topographic and subsurface data. We invite contributions that address the role of surface processes in modulating rates of deformation and tectonic style, or of tectonics modulating the response of landscapes to climate change.

The drivers of crustal deformation and landscape evolution, as well as the characterisation of fault systems, can be explored across various spatiotemporal scales through interdisciplinary methods. These include, but are not limited to, quantitative geomorphology, geochronology, structural and geophysical observations, petrology, sedimentology, and numerical modelling. These archives and approaches are crucial to understanding large-scale tectonics and regional to local fault dynamics, including their geometry, kinematics, and deformation style.

We welcome studies that use both traditional and innovative methods in multi-scale analyses of the dynamics, deformation, and evolution of active plate boundaries and interiors, in the characterisation of fault systems, and in landscape response to tectonics. The contributions will focus on: quantifying deformation rates and dating tectonic events; investigating the relationship between fault activity and sediment dynamics; exploring the link between faulting and landscape changes; employing cyclostratigraphy in various settings.

Earth's landscape evolution is shaped by the dynamic interplay of tectonics, climate, and surface processes, with added complexity due to differences between cratonic and orogenic lithospheres. Additionally, the properties of the crystalline basement are greatly affected by fault activity, hydrothermal alteration, and long-term exposure to superficial conditions.
Thermochronology is essential for understanding thermal evolution and paleogeography by quantifying cooling, exhumation, and weathering trends in various crustal environments. Recent developments in thermochronology, including 40Ar/39Ar, fission tracks, Raman dating, (U-Th)/He, 4He/3He, trapped charge systems, as well as complementary isotopic methods like K-Ar dating of clay weathering products and U-Pb carbonate dating, have provided additional constraints. Computational tools and remote sensing methods further contribute to this interdisciplinary approach. While this integrated approach enables the development of robust tectonic and landscape-evolution models, these advancements also underscore the existing limitations in our understanding of these systems and their quantification, emphasizing the need for thorough comprehension.
We invite contributions that: (1) present theoretical and experimental work establishing new thermochronometers, developing novel quantification and modeling approaches, or enhancing our understanding of current systems' abilities and limitations for reliable geological interpretation; and (2) address bedrock deep-time evolution, elucidate the timing and rates of processes shaping Earth's surface (e.g., burial/exhumation, faulting, hydrothermalism, weathering), and the interplay of cooling, exhumation, and alteration events using interdisciplinary approaches such as thermochronology, geochronology, geomorphology, tectonics, geochemistry, and mineralogy.

The Earth's lithospheric movements and geomorphology serve as a crucial lens for understanding the dynamic behavior of the planet's interior. Surface observations offer key insights into mantle convection patterns across space and time, while seismic data provides a contemporary snapshot, and they constitute important constraints for theoretical models. Geological records contribute invaluable spatial-temporal information on the historical vertical motion of the lithosphere. Geomorphology of volcanoes and volcanic features contains inherent information on the wide range of geologic and geomorphic processes that construct and degrade them. These collective observations facilitate addressing still-standing debates, for instance on mechanisms (i.e. active margin-related versus mantle plume-related),, amalgamation/collision timings, and the evolution of biosphere pathways leading to the formation of Gondwana.

This session offers a comprehensive examination of Earth's dynamic processes since Gondwana formation, encompassing geophysical, geochemical, geomorphological, seismological, stratigraphic, and volcanic aspects, along with investigations in submarine and subglacial environments, and numerical modeling. It presents a platform for diverse presenters and attendees, spanning various disciplines, demographics, and career stages, to actively participate in addressing exciting and emerging challenges in Earth science.

Examining the morphodynamics of coasts from the nearshore through to inland dune systems is a fundamental requirement in understanding their short- to long-term behavior. Operating across large spatial and temporal scales, examination of their resulting landforms is both difficult and complex. Recent methodological advances, however, now enable traditionally isolated coastal disciplines to be examined across various zones, promoting integration along multiple time and space scales, helping to couple processes with landform responses.

At the coast, dunes provide a physical barrier to flooding during high-energy storms, while beaches and nearshore areas help dissipate storm impact through a series of dynamic interactions involving sediment transfers and sometimes rapid morphological changes. Examination of complex interactions between these three interconnected systems has become essential for understanding, analyzing, and ultimately managing our coasts.
This session welcomes contributions from coastal scientists interested in measuring and modelling physical processes and responses within the three sub-units over various spatial and temporal scales. It will highlight the latest scientific developments in our understanding of this part of the planet's geomorphic system and will facilitate knowledge exchange between the submerged (e.g., nearshore waves, currents, and sediment transport) and sub-aerial (e.g., beach and aeolian dune dynamics) zones.

This session is sponsored by the Commission on Coastal Systems (CCS) of the International Geographical Union (www.igu-ccs.org) and by the IGCP Project 725 ‘Forecasting coastal change’ (https://www.sfu.ca/igcp-725.html).

This year's solicited speaker is Dr Mitchell Harley, UNSW, Australia.

Coastal landscapes worldwide are at the forefront of dynamic interactions between natural processes and human activities, presenting a variety of challenges and opportunities. In the past decade, coastal erosion has surged as a prevalent issue, leading to shoreline retreat and irreversible land losses. Efforts by managers and stakeholders to combat erosion and climate-change through various (hard, soft, hybrid) engineering projects have become increasingly popular. Exploring the evolving relationship between coastal geomorphology and human-induced pressures, the session prioritizes understanding the intricate dynamics shaping coastal landforms, coastline changes, and the associated processes that contribute to both natural and anthropogenic changes. Discussions will delve into the mechanisms behind coastal erosion, shoreline behaviour, and the impacts of human activities, providing insights into coastal evolution for predictive modelling.
Recognizing the vulnerability of coastal landscapes, including dunes, to the combined effects of climate change and human interventions, this session invites studies on geomorphological changes and (ecosystem) engineering projects. Coastal scientists and researchers will share cutting-edge insights, field measurements, experiments, and modelling efforts, fostering a comprehensive understanding of the integrated effects of natural processes, and human interventions on coastal landscapes.
In addition to being sponsored by the Commission on Coastal Systems (CCS) of the International Geographical Union (IGU) (https://igu-coast.org/), we are delighted to announce Dr. Robert Young from Western Carolina University, USA, as this year's solicited speaker.

River deltas, estuaries, and coastal wetlands are critical transitional environments at the interface between land and sea. Ranking among the most valuable ecosystems on Earth, they provide important ecological functions and numerous ecosystem services such as coastal protection against storm impacts, biodiversity support, and climate change mitigation through carbon sequestration and storage.
However, these highly valuable coastal ecosystems face imminent threats from global climate change, land loss, and human activities, placing their long-term sustainability at risk. Unfortunately, predicting the fate of these environments remains challenging due to complex feedback between physical, biological, biogeochemical, and human-driven processes that drive morphodynamic adjustments to both natural and anthropogenically induced changes in relative mean sea level, sediment supply rate, and hydrodynamic forcings such as waves and tides.
This session aims to foster the required collaborative cross-disciplinary effort by bringing together a broad representation of the scientific communities focused on the study of fluvial and tidal estuarine landscapes. This includes, but is not limited to, research on hydrodynamics, hydrology, sediment properties and dynamics, geomorphology, bio-morphodynamics, ecology, biogeochemistry, impacts of climate change and global sea level rise, as well as implications for management and restoration.
We invite presenters to share recent scientific advancements in our understanding of the fluvial to marine transition zone through new theories, field studies, data-driven approaches, remote sensing analyses, geological reconstructions, laboratory experiments, and numerical modeling applied to coastal environments found on Earth as well as potentially on other planets. Furthermore, we welcome studies that focus on coastal environment adaptation, restoration, and management under projected climate changes.
By leveraging these tools and approaches, we aim to gain deeper insights into the ecomorphodynamics of critical coastal ecosystems, ultimately enhancing our ability to predict and improve their resilience at local, regional, and global scales.

Land subsidence (LS), the loss of land elevation due to various natural and human-induced processes, is a growing concern in coastal plains and deltas worldwide. LS is the cumulative effect of a myriad of subsurface processes, both natural, e.g., tectonics, natural compaction of unconsolidated sediments, glacial and sediment isostatic adjustment, growth fault and anthropogenic-driven, e.g., aquifer over-exploitation, hydrocarbon production, soil drainage, peat oxidation, and urbanization-related loading of the Earth’s surface. In addition, natural mechanisms to gain elevation, i.e., fluvial sedimentation and in-situ organic growth, are decreasing by human-altered river catchments and coastal landscapes.
While global sea level is rising (SLR), contemporary LS rates in many pristine and urbanized coastal environments are often (much) larger, dominating the relative SLR (rSLR). Compared to gradual SLR, LS can be much more spatially and temporally variable, with both accelerations and decelerations occurring over annual to decadal timescales. As such, to improve regional to local quantifications and projections of SLR, it is imperative to thoroughly address the land perspective, for example by considering the various biochemical and physical subsurface processes and their interactions at appropriate spatial and temporal scale. This shifts the focus to the land component of the rSLR, which could be instead referred to as ‘relative land subsidence, rLS’.
This session welcomes contributions from all fields related to land subsidence and coastal land elevation evolution. From studies on quantifying and monitoring contemporary vertical land motion, methodologies to disentangling observations into individual drivers and processes at different spatial and temporal scales, to numerical modelling. From projections of future subsidence to rLS impacts assessments and coastal elevation evolution, and studies on mitigation strategies and the implementation of adaptation measurements. We especially encourage contributions thriving to bridge the gaps between different LS and SLR disciplines towards improving future projections of coastal rLS and rSLR.
This session is part of the International Panel on Land Subsidence (IPLSubsidence.org) initiative to unite subsidence research communities to improve quantifications and projections of coastal LS and relative SLR.

The ocean floor hosts a tremendous variety of forms that reflect the action of a range of tectonic, sedimentary, oceanographic, biological and (bio)geochemical processes at multiple spatio-temporal scales. Many such processes are hazards to coastal populations and offshore installations, and their understanding constitutes a key objective of national and international research programmes and IODP expeditions. High quality bathymetry, especially when combined with sub-seafloor and/or seabed measurements, provides an exciting opportunity to integrate the approaches of geomorphology and geophysics, and to extend quantitative geomorphology offshore. 3D seismic reflection data has also given birth to the discipline of seismic geomorphology, which has provided a 4D perspective to continental margin evolution.
This interdisciplinary session aims to examine the causes and consequences of geomorphic processes shaping underwater landscapes, including submarine erosion and depositional processes, submarine landslides and canyons, sediment transfer and deformation, volcanic activity, fluid migration and escape, faulting and folding, and other drivers of seafloor geomorphic changes. The general goal of the session is to bring together researchers who characterise the shape of past and present seafloor features, seek to understand the sub-surface and surface processes at work and their impacts, or use bathymetry and/or 3D seismic data, combined with borehole petrophysics and geological cores, as a model input. Contributions to this session can include work from any depth or physiographic region, e.g. oceanic plateaus, abyssal hills, mid-ocean ridges, accretionary wedges, and continental margins (from continental shelves to abyss plains). Datasets of any scale, from satellite-predicted depth to ultra-high-resolution swath bathymetry, sub-surface imaging and sampling, are anticipated. We also aim at providing a window into the cross-disciplinary research of seismic geomorphology, exposing participants to differing perspectives, the latest workflows, examples of data integration, and, importantly, the potential pitfalls of equifinality in seismic interpretation and treating geophysical cross-sections as if they are outcrops. Emphasis will be given to contributions illustrating how the reflection seismic data have been investigated and how the results have been applied (e.g. paleogeography/paleoenvironmental reconstruction, seafloor engineering, or carbon/nuclear storage).

The process of “fluid venting” is a global phenomenon recognized in different geodynamic contexts, giving rise to diverse surface morphologies (e.g. pockmarks and mud volcanoes) and a range of geological, geochemical and biological phenomena. Venting implies the upward migration of fluids (including gas) due to subsurface overpressures and/or buoyancy, via plumbing systems that remain poorly understood. Sedimentary layers and geological structures (faults, fractures) may act either as pathways for, or barriers to, fluid migration. It is useful to distinguish two main types of fluid vent: (i) “cold seeps” characterized by low temperature fluid emissions, and (ii) hydrothermal vents where fluids emerge at temperatures between 200-400°C. In submarine settings, marine geophysical data of varying frequency may be used to identify fluid-related features at the seafloor, as well as the presence of gas both in the water column, as acoustic flares, and below the seafloor, as acoustic anomalies including focused or diffused acoustic turbidity and blanking, bright spots, high-amplitude reflections, chimney or pipe structures, and bottom simulating reflectors (BSRs) associated with gas hydrate. Sampling and direct observation can also be useful to assess the chemosynthetic ecosystems living in such extreme environmental conditions. This session aims to explore the role of submarine fluid flow and venting: (i) as a geomorphic process that shapes the seafloor; (ii) as a potential marine geohazard, and (ii) as a driver of biological processes. Contributions are invited from any offshore region, from continental shelves to abyssal plains, based on multi-scale datasets including hydro-acoustic imagery, 2D/3D seismic reflection data, samples and ROV observations.

Present-day glacial and periglacial processes in cold regions, i.e. arctic and alpine environments, provide modern analogues to processes and climatic changes that took place during the Pleistocene, including gradual retreat or collapse of ice sheets and mountain glaciers, and thawing and shrinking of low-land permafrost. Current geomorphological and glaciological changes in mid-latitude mountain ranges could also serve as a proxy for future changes in high-latitude regions within a context of climate change. Examples are speed-up or disintegration of creeping permafrost features or the relictification of rock glaciers.

For our session we invite contributions that either:
1. investigate present-day glacial and/or periglacial landforms, sediments and processes to describe the current state, to reconstruct past environmental conditions and to predict future scenarios in cold regions; or
2. have a Quaternary focus and aim at enhancing our understanding of past glacial, periglacial and paraglacial processes, also through the application of dating techniques.

Case studies that use a multi-disciplinary approach (e.g. field, laboratory and modelling techniques) and/or that highlight the interaction between the glacial, periglacial and paraglacial cryospheric components in cold regions are particularly welcome.

Mountain and ice sheet glaciations provide an invaluable record for past and present climate change. However, varying geomorphological process-systems, specific glaciological conditions and topography can make regional, intra-hemispheric and global correlations challenging. This problem is further enhanced by ongoing specialisation within the scientific community. Despite such challenges glacier and ice sheet reconstructions remains a crucial paleo-environmental proxy.

The primary aim of this session is to evaluate the potential of mountain and ice sheet glaciation records and stimulate further research in this important field. Contributions on all relevant aspects are welcomed, for example: (a) glacial landforms and reconstruction of past glaciers and ice sheets, (b) dating techniques and geochronology compilations, (c) ice dynamics and paleoclimatic interpretations, or (d) impacts of ecosystems and human evolution/society. We would particularly like to invite contributions addressing regional and hemispheric connections, issues, and advances. The temporal scale of the session will encompass Early Pleistocene glaciations through to the Last Glacial Maximum, and Holocene/modern glaciers. In the past, this session has attracted contributions from a wide range of locations and a diversity in methodological approaches. It has become a platform for on-going collaborative research on mountain glaciations where people are given the opportunity to exchange ideas and expertise.

ECR keynote talks:

Block 1, Mountain glacier reconstruction
Lukas Rettig - A glacier-based reconstruction of the Last Glacial Maximum climate in the southern European Alps.

Block 2, Ice sheet reconstruction
Gwyneth Rivers - Using sediment facies & ground penetrating radar profiles to investigate the internal architecture and genesis of De Geer moraines.

In glaciated regions, a wide range of surface processes occur over different temporal and spatial scales, including glacial erosion, glacial outburst floods, fluvial erosion, sediment transport and deposition, rockfall, and slope failure. Over short timescales, many glaciated regions are evolving rapidly under the ongoing climate change, posing threats to mountain biodiversity, ecosystem stability, and human settlements. Over timescales of millennia or longer, these processes dramatically alter the landscape. Therefore, quantifying the rates of surface processes and understanding their interactions with climate and glaciation is a crucial challenge in Earth science.
Rock glaciers, in particular, are characteristic landforms associated with periglacial landscapes and play a fundamental role in the feedback between climate and erosion processes in glaciated mountain ranges. Their location, characteristics, and evolution are controlled by a combination of environmental (e.g. internal structure, topography, debris loading) and climatic (e.g. thermal and hydrological regimes) factors. Despite the growing interest and an increasing number of studies, our understanding of the physical processes controlling the dynamics of rock glaciers, and particularly the role of water, remains incomplete. Furthermore, the impact of climate-induced permafrost degradation on the present and future evolution of these landforms is largely unknown.
This session invites contributions that employ observational, analytical, or modelling approaches to address the interactions between climate, glaciations, rock glaciers, and proglacial processes across a wide range of temporal and spatial scales. We welcome contributions that focus on 1) understanding the production, transport, and deposition of sediments by ice and water in glacial and periglacial environments, 2) quantifying the amplitudes and rates of glacial modification to Earth’s surface, 3) understanding the dynamics and distribution of rock glaciers and their relevance to geohazards, geoheritage, water resources, and climate impact studies, and 4) exploring the feedbacks between proglacial processes, glaciations, and natural/anthropogenic climate forcings.

Climate change significantly affects high mountain regions by strongly altering the cryosphere. It influences landscapes, water resources, slope stability, ecosystem balances, and human/touristic activities, all closely interconnected and interdependent.

Permafrost degradation remains often hidden but has the potential (1) to destabilize mountain slopes, leading to large-scale landslides or rock-ice avalanches, (2) to mobilize large amounts of loose materials, generating sudden and destructive debris flows, and (3) to cause ground subsidence, with adverse effects on infrastructure. These consequences and other mixed cascading effects show mountain permafrost systems' sensitivity and the importance of closely monitoring and understanding them.

This session welcomes all contributions from mountain permafrost research in all periglacial environments: from high Arctic climates through any continental regions (e.g. Alpine, Andean, Tibetan) to arid unglaciated areas of Antarctica. We welcome a broad spectrum of ice-rich and ice-poor landforms, including rock glaciers, talus slopes, plateaus, ice-cored moraines, steep rock slopes,and thermokarst.

We particularly encourage contributions that enhance understanding of thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical processes at slope and regional scale. The combination of multiple methods and newly-developed approaches is of particular interest, as well as long-term studies or characterisation of new permafrost sites with state-of-the-art methods. Field and laboratory geophysical measurements (e.g., ERT, SRT, DAS, EM, IP, GPR, TLS), in-situ measurements (e.g., temperatures, discharge, kinematics, GPS), remote sensing surveys (e.g., optical, thermal, InSAR, UAV), modeling of past-present-future processes, early warning systems, and data analysis improvements thanks to machine learning and artificial intelligence tools can be submitted.

We aim to increase the understanding of mountain permafrost bodies’ response to climate evolutions. This session aims to create a new meeting and exchange opportunity within the mountain permafrost community and its fellows to foster common research developments and improve processes understanding.

ECS are encouraged to submit their work to this session. The presentation will be preferentially in presence (PICO).

This session has come about through the merger of two Cryospheric Sciences sessions – one focusing on Little Ice Age (LIA) glacier advances and the other on glacier monitoring from in situ and remotely sensed observations. The aim of this joint session is to present the current state of science in both areas of research and to improve our understanding of the processes of glacier change, using detailed observations of the distribution of glaciers and the changes they have undergone since the LIA. This interval of worldwide, but asynchronous, glacier advances (ca. 1300–1900 CE) is of major significance because it offers a unique snapshot of the “natural”, pre-industrial state of the cryosphere, before the global glacier decline resulting from human-caused climate change. The studies presented in this session employ diverse methods and data sources, such as geochronology and remote sensing, and utilise field observations, satellite, instrumental, historical, pictorial, and other records. A specific focus of the presented research is on (i) strengths and limitations of different types of data for regional to global-scale assessments, (ii) uncertainty assessments, (iii) achieving better temporal resolution and spatial coverage, and (iv) improved process understanding by combining datasets across scales.

Fluvial systems cover much of the Earth’s surface; they convey water, sediments, and essential nutrients from the uplands to the sea, intermittently transferring these materials from the river channel to the adjacent floodplain. The routing of sediment and water through the channel network initiates complex process-form interactions as the river bed and banks adjust to changes in flow conditions. Despite their ubiquity, little is known about the landform-driven morphodynamic interactions within the channel that ultimately determine sedimentation patterns and channel form changes. Furthermore, an understanding of how these process-form interactions scale with the size of the fluvial system is also currently lacking. Recent technological and methodological advances now allow us to study and quantify these process-form interactions in detail across a range of spatial and temporal scales.
This session aims to bring together interdisciplinary researchers working across the field, experimental, and numerical modeling approaches who are advancing methods and providing new insights into (i) sediment transport and morphodynamic functioning of fluvial systems, (ii) evaluating morphological change at variable spatial and temporal scales, such as at event vs. seasonal scales, and (iii) investigating the sedimentology of these river systems. We particularly welcome applications that investigate the morphodynamic response of fluvial systems in all types and sizes and we would specifically like to encourage submissions from early-career researchers and students.

River morphology is inherently dynamic, shaped by a complex interplay of unsteady driving variables controlled by the water, sediment, and wood regimes. Natural events like floods and droughts, as well as human activities, can disrupt these fundamental factors. In response to these changes, rivers exhibit complex morphological variations that are very challenging to predict. Therefore, gaining a deeper understanding of how rivers respond to disturbances is fundamental for sustainable river management, evaluating flood risk, and achieving restoration goals.
This session welcomes contributions that explore the morphological response of rivers to human interventions and extreme events (i.e., floods and drought). We seek research that advances our understanding, modelling, and predicting capabilities about the recent past, present, and future trajectories of rivers. In light of these, we warmly encourage contributions focusing on river morphological changes driven by climate extremes or anthropogenic impacts, on river management and restoration projects, along with modelling and prediction of future channel evolution.

Water is our planet’s most vital resource, and the primary agent in some of the biggest hazards facing society and nature. Recent extreme heat and flood events underline the significance of water both as a threat and as an increasingly volatile resource.
The accurate and timely measurement of streamflow is therefore more critical than ever to enable the management of water for ecology, for people and industry, for flood risk management and for understanding changes to the hydrological regime. Despite this, effective monitoring networks remain scarce, under-resourced, and often under threat on a global scale. Even where they exist, observational networks are increasingly inadequate when faced with extreme conditions, and lack the precision and spatial coverage to fully represent crucial aspects of the hydrological cycle.

This session aims to tackle this problem by inviting presentations that demonstrate new and improved methods and approaches to streamflow monitoring, including:
1) Innovative methods for measuring/modelling/estimating river stream flows;
2) Real-time acquisition of hydrological variables;
3) Remote sensing and earth observation techniques for hydrological & morphological monitoring;
4) Measurement in extreme conditions associated with the changing climate;
5) Measurement of sudden-onset extreme flows associated with catastrophic events;
6) Strategies to quantify and describe hydro-morphological evolution of rivers;
7) New methods to cope with data-scarce environments;
8) Inter-comparison of innovative & classical models and approaches;
9) Evolution and refinement of existing methods;
10) Guidelines and standards for hydro-morphological streamflow monitoring;
11) Quantification of uncertainties;
12) Development of expert networks to advance methods.

Contributions are welcome with an emphasis on innovation, efficiency, operator safety, and meeting the growing challenges associated with the changing climate, and with natural and anthropogenically driven disasters such as dam failures and flash floods.

Additionally, presentations will be welcomed which explore options for greater collaboration in advancing river flow methods and which link innovative research to operational monitoring.

Water and sediments interact at different spatial and temporal scales, sustaining highly dynamic freshwater systems. Especially in light of climate change, anthropogenic activities, such as dam construction, flow regulations, and flood protection measures, are of key socio-economic importance. But those activities can also lead to river fragmentation and ecosystem degradation, interfering with natural hydro-morphodynamics. Understanding hydro-morphological and sedimentary processes is paramount for future management decisions in freshwater systems to balance the conflicting aspects of river regulation.

Evaluating and quantifying hydro-morphological changes and interactions in highly modified and natural rivers still demands innovative measurement and monitoring methods. These include approaches focusing on measurement techniques, post-processing methods, and advanced monitoring concepts for field and laboratory applications.

Those generated data sets can improve numerical models that have become powerful tools in hydraulic engineering and geosciences to solve various hydro-morphological problems. With advanced algorithms and ever-growing computational resources, it is now possible to simulate and visualize fine details of the hydro-morphological processes in high spatiotemporal resolutions.

Next to those (abiotic) hydro-morphological processes, ecological (biotic) processes in river management are also crucial in assessing restoration efforts for freshwater ecosystem conservation. Advances in the above research areas are essential for future management decision-making in freshwater systems.

This session integrates numerical and experimental approaches to assess sedimentary and hydro-morphodynamic processes in freshwater systems. It also explores the links with ecological processes and sediment management approaches at multiple spatiotemporal scales. The main objective of this conference is to bring together the community of scientists, scholars, engineers, and practitioners to integrate developments in monitoring, experimental, and numerical methods in sustainable river sediment management strategies for ecological benefits.

The session will be organized in two blocks of 10-12 orals each (and short pitches of the posters), starting with hydrodynamic processes and continuing with management approaches and ecological links, combining numerical and experimental methods.

Science communication includes the efforts of natural, physical and social scientists, communications professionals, and teams that communicate the process and values of science and scientific findings to non-specialist audiences outside of formal educational settings. The goals of science communication can include enhanced dialogue, understanding, awareness, enthusiasm, improving decision making, or influencing behaviors. Channels can include in-person interaction, online, social media, mass media, or other methods. This session invites presentations by individuals and teams on science communication practice, research, and reflection, addressing questions like:

What kind of communication efforts are you engaging in and how you are doing it?
How is social science informing understandings of audiences, strategies, or effects?
What are lessons learned from long-term communication efforts?

This session invites you to share your work and join a community of practice to inform and advance the effective communication of earth and space science.

Geoscience knowledge and practices are essential for effectively navigating the complexities of the modern world. They play a critical role in addressing urgent global challenges on a planetary scale (including, climate change and its social, humanitarian, and health impacts), informing decision-making processes and guiding education at all levels. However, the response to these challenges remains largely inadequate across the board.
By equipping both citizens and the wider societal stakeholders with the necessary knowledge background, geosciences empower them to engage in meaningful discussions, shape policies, contribute to reduce inequities and injustice, and implement solutions for local, regional, and global social-environmental problems. Within this broad scope, geoethics strives to establish a shared ethical framework that guides geoscientists’ engagement with sensitive and significant issues concerning the interaction between geoscience and society.
This session will cover a variety of topics, including theoretical and practical aspects of geoethics, ethical issues in professional practice, climate and ocean education, geoscience communication, and strategies for bridging the gap between geosciences and society.
This session is co-sponsored by the International Association for Promoting Geoethics, the Commission on Geoethics of the International Union of Geological Sciences and the Chair on Geoethics of the International Council for Philosophy and Human Sciences (www.geoethics.org).

This is a merged session with 1.4 "Scientists, artists and the Earth: co-operating for the planet"

Everyday challenges such as climate change, pollution, desertification, natural hazards, and animal extinction prompt the need for urgent solutions. While science often takes the lead in providing these solutions, art is typically associated with entertainment. However, a growing community of scientists and artists is emerging to draw attention to pressing issues. Art, with its emotional engagement, becomes a powerful tool for cognitive learning and conveying messages that reawaken a sense of beauty and responsibility for the planet. The collaboration between scientists and artists facilitates the identification of more effective methods to involve people deeply in understanding Earth and encourages sustainable lifestyles. This interdisciplinary collaboration is crucial in communicating complex scientific subjects to non-experts, especially regarding topics like climate change that can be confusing to the public. Both scientific and artistic communities share an interest and responsibility in raising awareness about planetary boundaries and the Earth's fragile stability. Traditional educational methods have addressed these issues, but science-art collaborations play a vital role in co-creating new research avenues and fostering discussions with emotional and human context through the arts. The session aims to explore these dialogues by combining lectures, academic posters showcasing interdisciplinary research, and visual displays of art in action. By symbiotically blending STEM and the arts, the session encourages a discussion on how these disciplines can collaboratively explore and communicate the societal, economic, political, and environmental factors we face, driving improved communication.

Games have the power to ignite imaginations and place you in someone else’s shoes or situation, often forcing you into making decisions from perspectives other than your own. This makes them powerful tools for communication, through use in outreach, disseminating research, in education and teaching at all levels, and as a method to train the public, practitioners, and decision-makers in order to build environmental resilience.

Games can also inspire innovative and fun approaches to learning. Gamification and game-based approaches add an extra spark of engagement and interaction with a topic. Gaming technology (e.g. virtual reality) can transport and immerse people into new worlds providing fascinating and otherwise impossible experiences for learners.

In this session we welcome contributions from anyone who has used games, gaming technology, and/or game-based approaches in their research, their teaching, or public engagement activities.

The effectiveness of disaster risk mitigation actions depends not only on the implementation of specific measures such as safety protocols, but also on how well at-risk communities accept, react and contribute to, or care about them. Involving the at-risk community in the studies of hazards and risks can result in an increased awareness and enhanced knowledge on appropriate mitigation and preparedness options. In this sense, risk communication and citizen science are becoming increasingly significant. Scientists and experts play a key role in establishing confidence in the public opinion and in improving the communication efforts of institutions in charge of the public communication. While the risk communication field offers many best practices that can be adapted by and reproduced in different communities, it also faces many challenges, including reaching the right audiences and conveying the right messages .

This session is dedicated to scientists, science communicators and practitioners with a particular focus on Early Career Scientists. The aim of the session is to create a space for discussion of best practices and theoretical approaches when practicing risk communication or citizen science. We welcome submissions exploring different approaches for producing and sharing risk information related to natural and/or anthropogenic hazards considering key factors affecting risk communication (e.g., stakeholder engagement, cultural awareness and sensitivity, the temporality of risk communication, and uncertainties). Of special interest are contributions addressing the dynamics of risk communication from hazard preparation and response to crisis recovery. Moreover, we encourage contributions on how to evaluate the impacts of such efforts and how to include science communication in a scientist’s daily activities.

Scientists, communicators, citizens, and the media: public awareness of climate change calls for interdisciplinary collaboration to create clear and cohesive narratives to reach a wide and diverse audience and create a real impact. Climate change narratives can take different paths and focus on different perspectives, professions, sectors, and the audience addressed. The role of trust is also pivotal, as different publics are likely to reject information, regardless of its accuracy, if the message doesn’t resonate with an individuals' personal experiences.
Contextualization and concurring historical breakthroughs in climate politics can heighten media attention and coverage, but how can climate science communication reach a wide variety of audiences? To engage a diverse public’s attention and involvement in climate sciences, language must be simple, clear, and appealing. The imaginary boundary between the narrator and the audience can be removed thanks to the contribution and cooperation of cross-sectoral professionalism and experiences. Science and data are the starting point, but stories travel far to reach deeper levels of understanding and perception: those linked to our emotions. Words, voices, and images are stepping stones in the construction of innovative climate stories built to increase climate awareness and knowledge, grounded in frontier science research and forged with cutting-edge technological tools. Mixing the power of storytelling and new media possibilities, an innovative form of science communication can be defined and becomes an effective and powerful tool to convey specific information to a diverse public. This accurate information as a basis for awareness is a key tool to avoid that disinformation misleads the public's understanding of complex topics, such as climate change and science. Recent years confirm that disinformation influences the everyday life of citizens, limiting their active participation in the democratic process. This session is also designed to host a space of dialogue among researchers, fact-checkers, and communications experts to assess how disinformation affects science credibility and society and present tools to tackle it, enhancing the quality of information with a positive effect on public trust in science and resilience.

In this session we encourage contributions of general interest within the Higher Education community which are not covered by other sessions. The session is open to all areas involving the teaching of geoscience and related fields in higher education. Examples might include describing a new resource available to the community, presenting a solution to a teaching challenge, pros and cons of a new technique/technology, linking science content to societally relevant challenges/issues, developing critical thinking skills through the curriculum and effective strategies for online/remote instruction and/or hybrid/blended learning. Our intent with this session is to foster international discourse on common challenges and strategies for educators within the broader field of Earth Sciences - let's share, discuss and develop effective practice.

Fieldwork is essential in geoscience, it provides direct and practical experiences, produces valuable data, validates hypotheses, contextualizes findings, encourages discovery, and helps to understand and eventually solve real-world challenges. It is the foundation upon which a significant part of geoscience research and understanding is built. This session is dedicated to exploring the broad range of fieldwork-related topics for education and research. It also provides a safe space to exchange ideas for inclusive fieldwork.
Topics evolve around the organizational and financial aspects of fieldwork, including working with local communities and utilizing and sharing existing infrastructure and expertise both inside and outside of institutions. The session is also open to presenting novel methods for conducting and teaching fieldwork in a safe and welcoming manner. Best practices for managing the field crew, addressing stigmatized subjects (personal hygiene, safety gear, and work attire), and taking into account different needs are a few examples of this.
An additional focus is the utilisation of virtual field models such as digital Outcrop models and their evaluation showcasing features like seamless zooming, rotation, and measurement tools for geological exploration. These models enhance virtual fieldwork for education and professionals, promoting inclusivity and providing access to geological standards and conservation areas. The future focus involves integrating artificial intelligence and machine learning for advanced geological analysis.
This session invites everyone to share their insight about how to conduct scientifically relevant fieldwork in an inclusive, safe, and fun way for every scientist in geoscience.

The opportunities for citizen science approaches to environmental research, and climate monitoring in particular, have recently expanded. One of the reasons for this is the availability of a wide range of low-cost measurement equipment, making it possible to carry out citizen science-based measurement missions with a large number of participants.
In scientific research, low-cost sensors provide individual and community-based scientists with tools to collect data on air and water quality and various environmental parameters. These sensors are often characterised by their simplicity and low cost. In addition to stationary weather sensors, the widespread use of sensor-equipped mobile weather stations is an optimal approach for collecting crowd-sourced information on meteorological variables such as temperature, humidity, wind speed and other climatic factors in regions lacking conventional weather station coverage.
However, there are many factors to consider in such citizen science activities, e.g. selection criteria for suitable sensors in relation to the particular research question, selection criteria for suitable citizens to reach e.g. a large coverage of a certain area, implementation of optimal quality control metrics and mechanisms for the collected data, and how to enable the best possible use of these citizen science data. Recently, there are commendable examples of strategies for effectively engaging citizen scientists in scientific research. However, it is also important to select and use effective communication tools to keep motivation high throughout the whole research process.
The aim of this session is therefore to provide a platform for the exchange of effective strategies or tools already in use in relation to the above points.

Following the success of previous years, this session will explore reasons for the under-representation of different groups (gender identities, sexual orientations, racial and cultural backgrounds, abilities, religions, nationality or geography, socioeconomic status, ages, career stages, etc.) by welcoming debate among scientists, decision-makers and policy analysts in the geosciences.

The session will focus on both obstacles that contribute to under-representation and on best practices and innovative ideas to remove those obstacles. Contributions are solicited on the following topics:

- Role models to inspire and further motivate others (life experience and/or their contributions to promote equality)
- Imbalanced representation, preferably supported by data, for awards, medals, grants, high-level positions, invited talks and papers
- Perceived and real barriers to inclusion (personally, institutionally, culturally)
- Recommendations for new and innovative strategies to identify and overcome barriers
- Best practices and strategies to move beyond barriers, including:
• successful mentoring programmes
• networks that work
• specific funding schemes
• examples of host institutions initiatives
- COVID-related data, discussions and initiatives

This session is co-organised with the EGU early career scientists (ECS) and the European Research Council (ERC).

Scientific knowledge is crucial for shaping policies related to climate, environment, sustainability, and resources. To have an impact on politics, research needs to communicate in a way that addresses needs and offers solutions. However, it is important to identify the most effective science policy formats that can contribute to enriching political debates. While there are now many resources available to scientists who would like to engage in the policymaking process, finding specific information or practical examples that relate to a specific discipline or field of research can be challenging.

This session aims to bridge that gap by highlighting success stories from scientists who have engaged in policy and made critical societal impacts – either on a European, national, or local level – across different scientific disciplines and science officers who have facilitated successful science-policy-dialogues. It will also aim to examine the various challenges that researchers face when engaging on the science-policy interface and various strategies that others have taken to manage and overcome them.

This session is relevant for scientists and science officers from all career levels and science disciplines and will provide space for follow-up questions and a discussion with the participants at the session and at a splinter meeting on EGU Monday.

Geoscientists are actively engaged in advancing knowledge pertaining to current climate change and environmental crisis, and disseminating it to a broad audience, from the general public to policymakers and stakeholders.

To date, efforts to trigger radical transformations, whether by political, economic, or civil society actors, have overwhelmingly fallen short of the urgent actions recommended by scientific institutions such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) or the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). Some scholars argue that the underlying issue lies not primarily in the absence of information (Oreskes, The trouble with the supply-side model of science, 2022), but rather in the power dynamics among various stakeholders and that recognizing this is fundamental (Stoddard et al., Three Decades of Climate Mitigation: Why Haven’t We Bent the Global Emissions Curve?, 2013).
This session targets the diverse roles that geoscientists can play in accelerating the radical transformation of our society to address the current ecological crisis.

Key questions include: How to engage with civil society, stakeholders and policymakers to ensure the implementation of research findings into appropriate policies? How to assess and reduce the ecological footprint of scientific institution, as to show exemplary pathways to the rest of society? How to expand outreach and training efforts, and towards who, the general public or specific stakeholders such as elected representatives, civil servants, economic actors, or even fellow academics? How to contribute and assist legal actions against private or public entities? Should scientists engage in disruptive actions and civil disobedience to transform their own institutions and press on problematic actors, such as the fossil fuel industry?
 
We invite contributions that address these questions, whether from a theoretical perspective or through firsthand experiences. We are particularly interested in examples of research projects or collaborations that have attempted to assess their impact on any of the strategies given above (e.g., ecological footprints, policies, litigation, communication, or pressing on relevant stakeholders). Interdisciplinary work, spanning fields like philosophy, history, sociology, and their application to science or broader societal aspects, is highly encouraged.

Science’s “open era” is here (to stay?). Data and software repositories make it possible to share and collectively develop tools and resources. Diamond open-access publishing and pre-print servers are breaking barriers to knowledge exchange. Free virtual meetings make science more accessible to those interested in listening, or speaking.

The benefits for the community are clear – better communication and more collaboration foster scientific advancement. It is therefore surprising that the vast majority of data-, tool-, and knowledge-sharing initiatives rely on the community and the community alone, without financial support from funding bodies and more often than not lacking the recognition they deserve.

We aim to bring together individuals and teams who have, in any way, served the wider geoscience community through knowledge, data, or tool creation and/or distribution. Such efforts include – but are not limited to – online learning platforms, transdisciplinary databases, open-access software and publishing.

Ultimately, this session seeks to:
1. Be a space for sharing, advertising, discussing, and recognising the value of existing resources and initiatives
2. Discuss the challenges faced by those behind them (i.e., lack of funding and institutional support) and possible strategies to eliminate these
3. Inspire new efforts, initiatives, and projects

After the session, we intend to (i) bring together all resources and initiatives in one, ever-growing collection that anyone can access and contribute to (such as a Zenodo Community https://zenodo.org/communities/academic-community-resources/), and (ii) write a follow-up paper describing the initiatives presented and the insights gained in the session.

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 course, 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.

This is a useful short course for first-time attendees, those who have previously only joined us online, and those who haven’t been to Vienna for a while!

The European Geosciences Union (EGU) is the largest Geosciences Union in Europe, largely run by volunteers. Conferences, journals, policy making and scientific communication are all important parts of EGU.

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

Perhaps you are interested in running events, being a representative or being part of a committee. In this short course, we 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 events, become an editor or nominate yourself for Division President. From blog writing to organising networking events, there’s something for everyone.

LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, Intersexual, Asexual, plus; or LGBT for short) geoscientists are likely to have to face several obstacles throughout their career compared to their cisgender/heterosexual colleagues. These obstacles can take many forms, e.g., inflexible bureaucratic limits on name/gender marker, changes on documentation, a lack of training for cruise/field leaders on LGBT topics, a lack of support for transgender and gender non-conforming (GNC) people on field trips and research cruises, and safety and medical considerations LGBT people must account for when travelling for either field work/cruises or when moving countries for a new position. These obstacles can be abated and overcome; with adequate understanding by colleagues and initiatives, LGBT academics can thrive, allowing them to contribute to research without obstacles.

In this short course, our invited speakers will discuss some of these topics, present their experience with the obstacles they have faced in their careers, and share how they have dealt with or overcome these obstacles. We will also highlight the changes that have occurred in recent years on an institutional level and on a General Assembly level and discuss future challenges and improvements to come.

Speakers
- Sean Vrielink, University of Twente, the Netherlands
- Karsten Haustein, Leipzig University, Germany
- Louis Rivoire, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA

In this short course, we will introduce students and early-career researchers to the principles of Open Science, data, and software, as well as the benefits open practices can have for their own research careers, for science, and for society. Participants will have the opportunity to explore the practical impact of Open Science for their work. Participants will develop their digital presence, including using an ORCID to build a permanent profile of their work, and will make a plan to share their data, software, and publications as openly as possible. We will go over the open science outcomes and tools that advance research and collaboration and practice hands-on skills to advance participants’ careers through open science practices.
Participants in this short course will be able to define open science, discuss the benefits and challenges of open science, and identify practices that enable open science. Participants will develop their digital presence, including using an ORCID to build a permanent profile of their work, and will learn strategies for sharing research outputs, data, and software as openly as possible. This course is designed for students or other researchers new to open science; no previous experience with publishing research is required.

Societal challenges in the 21st century are interconnected and complex. The amount of information needed to make an informed decision that adequately considers policy options is increasing and a broad range of scientific evidence is required to deal with them. However, despite the demand for more information, it can be difficult for scientists to know where their expertise is needed and how to create policy impact.

This session will provide an introduction into some key ‘science for policy’ themes and provide specific details about when and how scientists can engage with policy to increase the impact of their efforts. It will also provide resources and tips for scientists so that they can start their science for policy journeys. The last part of the Short Course will include a Q&A with those working on the science-policy interface. This session will be relevant to all career levels and scientific disciplines.

Contributing to the policymaking process is a great way to engage with those outside of academia and to ensure your research has an impact! During this session, a panel of experts will build on the concepts outlined in the ‘Science for Policy 101’ Short Course by providing participants with an overview of the competences and skills that can help ensure that your policy engagement is meaningful and has an impact!

In the first half of the session, participants will be introduced to the Science for Policy Competence Framework Smart4Policy self-assessment tool created by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre. The panelists will then provide an outline of the European policy landscape and some of the specific mechanisms that scientists can use to engage with it.

While it is recommended that participants attend the ‘Science for Policy 101’ Short Course before this session, it isn’t necessary.

What does 'ethics' mean and what is the role of ethics in your daily practices as a scientist? Where and how do ethics enter into your geoscientific research and teaching? Although ethics as a subject of study is traditionally the domain of social sciences and humanities, as scientists we are confronted with ethical questions and decisions every day. In the context of climate emergency, mass extinction and global social injustices, it is increasingly important to understand the role played by our research and the systems and structures within which our work is embedded. Ultimately, we could ask ourselves a question: does our research contribute to building a world that corresponds to our values?

This interactive workshop will ask geoscientists to delve beyond our individual research interests to consider how our work as academics intervenes in these big ethical questions. Participants will reflect on ethical questions and case studies related to geoscientific practice and be introduced to ideas and materials drawn from other disciplines such as philosophy, sociology, and political sciences.

The workshop is designed and led by an interdisciplinary team including geoscientists, social scientists and humanities scholars. Participants will be provided with materials which can be freely repurposed and reused, whether to teach aspects of (geo)scientific ethics or to inspire discussion amongst colleagues in the context of environmental and social crisis.

To facilitate discussion, we will have a maximum of 40 participants.

For decades, scientists have been sounding the alarm regarding the climate and ecological crisis. Each successive report has delivered alarming findings, yet regrettably, these warnings have been met with insufficient responses and political inertia. Consequently, the disastrous effects of human activity on land, water, and atmosphere persist, surpassing the Earth's system boundaries and posing significant threats to both nature and humanity [1,2]. Concurrently, an impassioned climate movement has emerged, led primarily by young activists demanding immediate climate action [3]. As the consequences of the climate crisis become increasingly evident, also scientists and academics are contemplating the most effective roles they can assume within our next to this movement [4,5,6].
This course explores the role of social movements in driving change. We'll discuss how scientists and academic institutions can contribute to urgent climate action. We highly encourage participants to share examples of how scientists can collaborate with their institutions to incorporate advocacy and activism into the academic narrative. Our goal is to inspire participants to think about their roles and provide stepping stones to take meaningful action. The course unfolds in three distinct parts.
1. Interdisciplinary insights: Invited experts will shed light on social movements and universities' roles in historical changes.
2. Scientists in action: Discussion on the pivotal roles scientists and institutions can play in climate justice today, using case studies by facilitators and participants.
3. Brainstorming ways forward: Through interactive discussions and group activities, we'll explore action avenues, from transformative changes in the university to joining non-violent civil disobedience actions.
This short course transcends traditional academic boundaries and seeks to nurture enthusiasm for collective academic action, empowering scientists to step out of their comfort zones and into a world in environmental emergency mode. The course is organized by scientists who are also members of Scientist Rebellion, which advocates for a paradigm shift in the role of scientists—from passive observers to proactive activists pressing for the urgent and necessary actions.
[1] IPCC AR6 SYR 2023 [2] Rockström et al. 2023 Nature [3] Shuman et al. 2021 JPSP [4] Artico et al. 2023 Front Sustain [5] Capstick et al. 2022 Nat. Clim. Chang. [6] Gardner et al. 2021 Front Sustain

Geoscience has a long history, wound up with the history of science itself, and thus with colonialism and colonial thinking. We see the manifestation of this colonial history in practices such as “parachute science”, where international scientists, usually from higher-income countries, conduct field work or collect data and samples in another country, usually of lower income countries, and then elaborate the data and publish scientific papers without involving local scientists and/or local communities from that nation. This is an example of scientific neo-colonialism. We see this in the exploitation of local people whose lands are visited for field work and in the exclusion or partial extractive collaboration with in-country geoscientists. Part of this disparity between researchers is also reflected in the difference in experience of access to funding, ease of mobility, issues of visa and fear of speaking out against the status quo.
Building on an EGU2023 short course and Great Debate, here we propose a more informal session to provide participants with an introduction to the colonial background of geosciences, defining the terminology and outlining efforts to decolonize geosciences. Our goal is to raise awareness among the EGU members who may unintentionally be part of neo-colonial research practices and open up a space to discuss solutions. We also aim to open up the discussion for geoscientists on the receiving end of such practices to share stories, ideas and experiences to build a more inclusive, responsive community of practice.

Approximately 71% and 15% of the total area on earth is covered by oceans and Asia-Africa, respectively. Surprisingly, the proportion is the same for development-policy-research published in high-impact journals (73% & 16%) by researchers based in the Global North and the Global South, respectively (Liverpool, 2021). This disparity may extend to the Geoscience field as well.
When it comes to publishing in high-impact journals, advantages such as funding, access to state-of-the-art equipment, and better collaborations often favor researchers based in developed countries which also enhances their research visibility. In addition to the lack of these advantages, researchers from developing countries are often unable to effectively communicate complex & technical ideas – an essential prerequisite for publishing in high-impact journals.
We have tailored a short course for early career researchers ECRs primarily from the global south, addressing these challenges. The program aims to enhance their ability to effectively communicate their research findings, expand their outreach, select the most suitable academic journals, and actively participate in the broader academic conversations within their respective disciplines. The knowledge and skills gained from this session can be categorized into three key areas: tools, necessities, and challenges.
• Tools – What are the things to remember while writing high-impact journals from the perspective of an Early Career Scientist?
• Necessities – What is required by an impactful journal from an editor’s perspective?
• Challenges – What are the challenges faced by an Early Career Scientist belonging to the Global South while publishing in high-impact journals? How to deal with them?
This course shall be open to everyone with an interest in increasing the communicability of their scientific writing. ECRs from the Global South are especially encouraged to participate as they will be provided with an opportunity to interact with editors of reputable journals and gain insights on what they expect from a manuscript. For any additional information or inquiries, please do not hesitate to contact the course convener.

Liverpool L. Researchers from global south under-represented in development research. Nature. 2021 Sep 17. doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-02549-9.

The research we conduct doesn’t fall into a vacuum. Once published, it enters a large information ecosystem, where we hope that our findings will resonate. As researchers, we devote our whole careers to the study of a narrow field of knowledge. This devotion is not shared by other players in this ecosystem who engage with our research, which might lead to misunderstandings and thus unintentional misinformation. Even others in the ecosystem intentionally seek to spread false information or foster ideologically driven disinformation campaigns. Thus, the players in the ecosystem range from fellow scientists from the same or other disciplines, journalists, politicians, social media influencers, the general public, to troll farms. Clearly, not all of them have or seek an in-depth understanding of the scientific context in which a particular piece of information slots into, and some merely seek to generate attention or outrage with their writing.
Many scientists feel somewhat uneasy in this ecosystem - lacking the tools to engage meaningfully. For example, when talking to journalists, information on the uncertainty of data may not be conveyed for the sake of clear and easy-to-follow storylines. Facts may be simplified or even misrepresented, which might lead to a certain reluctance of scientists to talk to journalists. However, especially this type of direct science-media-interaction is crucial for the debunking of mis- and disinformation.
On the other end of the spectrum is disinformation, which is not a misunderstanding, but happens intentionally: Deliberate false information is a common occurrence that we have all encountered around topics of societal relevance, such as climate change. Real data may be used out of context - or data might be an outright lie, made up for the sake of an argument, presented by questionable ‘experts’. The spread of such disinformation follows a political agenda or a certain ideology. It fosters polarization, disrupts informed decision-making, obstructs constructive dialogue, and subsequently poses a threat to social cohesion and democracy. The extreme end of the mis-/disinformation spectrum are conspiracy theories, which can cause considerable harm to social solidarity and peace.
This short course is a space for researchers to meet with journalists, fact checkers, and media-experienced scientists to provide a platform for questions, mutual understanding and creating a joint force against mis- and disinformation.

Research, especially for early career scientists (ECS), starts with the spark of an idea but then often challenged by empirical or methodological road bumps and seemingly dead ends. In Earth Science research, we face a diverse range of challenges, including (1) access difficulties, whether for field sites, equipment or data, (2) problems of temporal and spatial scaling and extrapolation and (3) a lack of methods, theory, or knowledge or (4) every day live challenges as a scientist. In this short course we address some of those 'problems'. In discussing these challenges, we seek to find possible solutions, suggest new research approaches and methods, and encourage further networking amongst all scientists.

The short course follows the concept of a participatory, structured and timed discussion. We will start the session with 2 minute ‘pop-up’ presentations outlining three to four challenges, which are discussed for 45 minutes in breakout groups. The discussions are facilitated, and guided by the idea that you don’t have to be an expert to understand a problem – you might likely contribute a fresh perspective or relate from your background. We present the solutions and suggestions from each breakout group in a final penal discussion.
This short course lives by your input in two ways. First, in the preparation by letting us know, if you have a ‘problem”, and second by active participation during the short course.
To ensure a safe and open discussion we expect a non-hierarchic, respectful, and constructive communication which will empower and encourage the participants to identify and approach problems faced in the Earth Sciences.
If you have a 'problem' you would like to discuss in the networking session with us, please send a short statement (3-4 sentences) of your idea or challenge and your motivation for solving it to us, by March 1st, 2024.

The scientific communication landscape in the digital era is rapidly becoming all about effectively delivering ideas in brief. As scientific conferences move from longer physical meetings to more condensed hybrid formats, not only are short presentations necessary for pitching yourself to senior scientists or your next entrepreneurial venture to Venture Capitalists, but also for promoting your research. The opportunities of networking rarely reveal themselves, unless you are able to tell a brief, informative, and compelling story about you and your research.
It is truly an art to engage people through these short presentations and ignite a fire in their hearts, which will burn long enough for them to remember you and reach out to you later about relevant opportunities. While practice makes perfect is the mantra for delivering power-packed short presentations, there are several tricks to make your content stand out and set yourself apart from the crowd.
In this hybrid format course, we will bring together ideas and tips from years of sci-comm experience to provide you a one stop shop with the tricks of the trade. Finally, a hands-on exercise where participants will receive structured feedback on all aspects of their talk will help solidify the learning outcomes. The learning objectives of this short course are as follows:
Structuring a killer elevator pitch – learning from 1/2/3-min examples
Knowing your audience – harnessing the power of tailored openings/closings
Captivating delivery – leveraging body language to your advantage
Harnessing creativity - choosing the right medium
Enunciating to engage – communicating across borders
Effectively practising your pitch – making the best of your time
Early career and underrepresented scientists are particularly encouraged to participate as they can gain the most from the learning outcomes of this short course.