Orals: Thu, 1 May | Room -2.93
Podcasting about science is thriving. In the Earth sciences alone, there are at least 15 podcasts. How do such podcasts fit within the ecosystem of informal science education alongside museums, field trips and other resources? Can podcasts convey the core results of present-day research without sacrificing their essence and subtlety? Are researchers willing to make time to contribute to podcasts? Who is listening to these podcasts and what are they seeking from them? Does AI-enabled translation and transcription help reach listeners from hitherto less well-served geographies? The presentation will address such questions and use examples from Geology Bites and other podcasts.
How to cite: Strimpel, O.: Using podcasts to disseminate the essence and excitement of scientific research, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-13862, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-13862, 2025.
Scientific research is often inaccessible to non-academic audiences, even when it is publicly funded or conducted in their local area. Bridging this gap is essential to promote public understanding and inspire future geoscientists.
This study presents a small-scale science communication project developed as part of a Master's thesis and implemented in a rural Austrian community within the Hohe Tauern National Park. The initiative involved two local school classes and the general public through interactive activities and workshops. An open lecture on regional geology, given by young scientists from the University of Innsbruck, introduced the project to the wider community. The following day, school classes took part in field workshops led by scientists and National Park rangers on topics such as regional geology, tectonics, ore mining, geoarchaeology, alpine farming and local fauna. Hands-on, outdoor activities proved to be an effective and easy-to-implement tool for geoscience engagement and received positive feedback during this project.
Feedback indicated an increased interest and understanding of geoscience topics among participants. This study highlights how small-scale, low-cost projects can effectively engage local communities and stimulate interest in geoscience. Such efforts are critical to making science communication accessible and replicable for future researchers.
How to cite: Gatt, T., Sieberer, A.-K., Westreicher, F., Mattersberger, M., and Zeiner, S.: Communicating geoscience to the public: insights from an early career scientist, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-20316, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-20316, 2025.
Developing innovative public engagement measures are central to addressing many of the key geoscience related challenges within the EU. One of the most pressing European challenges includes achieving a sustainable and secure supply of critical raw materials (CRMs). These materials include vital metals used in renewable energy technologies, for which the EU is often totally reliant on imports at both the extraction and processing level. Hence, EU climate neutrality by 2050, as per the European Green Deal, hinges on CRM supply. However, this is not often discussed in the public realm.
Informal education spaces such as festivals provide unique environments for science communication, where incidental adult audiences can stumble upon new scientific concepts and problems in engaging ways. However, to be successful, science exhibits at such events need to capture attention and stimulate the audience in a short period of time. The critical raw material challenge is underrepresented in the festival environment likely due to historically negative public attitudes towards mining. Hence, a necessary science communication endeavour is to develop a novel engagement activity that engages adult audiences at festivals with this issue and stimulates conversation. We present a hands-on, challenge-based public engagement activity/tool for use in the fast-paced science and arts festival environment, where contact time is limited and interaction is key. Designed to simulate the supermarket experience, ‘GreenDealz’ brings participants through tactile ‘shopping’ tasks, with evaluation points included throughout. The main aim of GreenDealz was to engage participants with the concept of critical raw materials and their demand for renewable energy technologies in a relatable and task-based way.
We outline the iterative process of developing GreenDealz for the festival environment, including ideation, design, and an evolution of evaluation from classic self-reported techniques to more novel and festival friendly ‘embedded assessment’ measures. Importantly, we highlight how this activity has been tested and validated via a mixed methods approach: our quantitative data, collected across several festivals in Ireland, yields significant findings about audience learnings and engagement, while our qualitative data, gleaned through less time-restricted participant interactions sheds a deeper light on the effectiveness of this tool in achieving learning outcomes and sparking interest in critical raw materials within non-specialist audiences.
How to cite: Blennerhassett, L., Schuitema, G., and McAuliffe, F.: GreenDealz: a hands-on shopping activity for public engagement with critical raw materials, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-2292, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-2292, 2025.
SCAPE° is a new science center under development in Offenbach, Germany, dedicated to making weather, climate, and their profound connections to human life both tangible and engaging. Situated in the heart of the city, SCAPE° aims to bridge the gap between science and society through interactive exhibits, immersive workshops, and dynamic community events.
This presentation will provide an overview of SCAPE°’s organizational structure, the planning and design process, and the challenges encountered in creating this innovative space. Key exhibits will be showcased, including hands-on installations such as turbulence simulators and immersive visualizations of global weather phenomena, demonstrating the center’s commitment to interactive and educational engagement. Examples of workshops and events will illustrate how SCAPE° fosters dialogue and involvement in a scientific, but also artistic way.
By sharing the experiences and lessons learned in developing SCAPE°, this presentation seeks to inspire innovative approaches to science communication and public engagement in weather and climate sciences, while raising awareness and excitement for SCAPE° itself as a vital new space for exploration and education.
How to cite: Frank, B.: SCAPE° Offenbach: A New Science Center Bringing Weather and Climate to Life in the Heart of the City, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-2820, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-2820, 2025.
The University Partnership for Atmospheric Sciences (UPAS) is a collaborative initiative among ten German universities offering Bachelor's and Master's programs in meteorology. Supported by an executive office at the University of Bonn, UPAS aims to enhance meteorological education and research in Germany by focusing on four key areas:
- Attracting qualified students
- Providing excellent education
- Fostering synergies for successful science
- Engaging in societal and community outreach
A significant component of UPAS is its dedication to advancing science communication and public engagement within meteorology. This commitment is exemplified through initiatives such as MeteoXchange, an international network fostering professional growth among early-career scientists via annual virtual conferences and specialized workshops designed to enhance presentation and communication skills. Additional efforts include interactive science slamming workshops, hands-on climate change experiment demonstrations for classrooms across Germany, the development of a dedicated podcast, and the creation of high-quality Open Educational Resources (OER). These activities not only elevate internal training but also bridge the gap between scientific research and societal understanding, amplifying the impact of meteorology on diverse audiences.
This presentation will highlight UPAS's achievements, providing an overview of our approaches to enhance education, research and outreach in meteorology. We will also discuss challenges encountered and share lessons learned, including strategies for overcoming hurdles and successfully leveraging synergies among our partner institutions. We are more than keen to invite collaboration and idea exchange with other geoscientific networks sharing similar objectives, in particular on the international level.
How to cite: Thiele-Eich, I., Arimond, E., and Uebachs, A.: University Partnership for Armospheric Sciences (UPAS): a joint effort in communicating meteorology , EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-20089, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-20089, 2025.
Similar to X-rays used in medicine to scan human bodies, to understand the characteristics of the oceanic crust that covers >70% of our planet, marine geophysicists conduct controlled source seismic experiments at sea on research vessels. We produce tiny earthquakes using compressed air, which travel through the subsurface built of different rock types; the differences in the rocks introduce changes in the propagated waves, which are registered by an array of receptors and then processed to produce seismic images. However, this field of research is not commonly known by school students or the general public. To bridge this gap, we designed a seismic atelier to expose the less-known but marvelous world of marine geophysics and show it as a possible career path. The atelier includes a presentation of our work at sea supported by pictures and videos, presentation of the Ocean Bottom Seismometer (OBS) developed and designed internally at IPGP, and model that simulates seismic data acquisition. For this model, we obtained the EGU Public Engagement Award in 2023. The elements that constitute the model:
- 400 l water tank, floating LEGO ship
- three 3-D printed OBSs connected to an electromagnetic mechanism that simulate deployment and recovery of the instruments
- ballons that are perforated under the water to mimic the seismic source
- hydrophone connected to a laptop for signal recording
The experiment is accompanied by a 5-question quiz tailored to correspond to the age of the participants; all the topics concerning the questions were covered in the presentations. The quiz is conducted before and after the atelier, which helps us to evaluate the impact of outreach activity. All the questions were designed as a multiple-choice. For example, for the age 11-15 years, one question is: What is the temperature of the deep ocean?, with the offered responses: a) 0-3º, b) 23-25ºC, and c) 0 -10 ºC.
We have already run the atelier on two occasions, and the results are promising. The first time was during the Fête de la Science (Open House event in France) at IPGP in early October 2024, during which we presented our atelier to four groups, 10-12 participants (9-12 years old) in each group. The second session was organized with 30 high-school students (~15 years old). The quizzes' analyses clearly show that the number of correct answers increases by up to 50% after the conducted atelier, demonstrating the positive impact of the activity on student knowledge. The results also show that some questions were tackling less-known topics. For instance, the question we gave as an example above was consistently answered incorrectly by ~80% of students before the atelier; in contrast, after the atelier, the situation was reversed, and >90% of the participants gave the correct answer. Overall, the impressions of the students after participating in the atelier, especially the youngest ones, are highly positive, and we hope they will develop a certain level of passion for marine sciences. The next stage for our project would be to film it and make it available online in different languages to reach students internationally.
How to cite: Marjanovic, M., Besançon, S., Hautemayou, D., Mahato, S., and Luc, T.: How do we make an X-ray scan of Earth’s oceanic crust?, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-6769, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-6769, 2025.
Skeptical Science is a volunteer-run website publishing refutations of climate misinformation. Some members of the Skeptical Science team actively research best-practices refutation techniques while other team members use these findings to share debunking techniques effectively either in writing or through presentations. During 2024, our team collaborated with other groups specializing in fact checking and countering misinformation about the climate crisis. With this submission we highlight two of these collaborations:
- Creating fact briefs in collaboration with Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact — a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. - Turning a PDF-based report refuting 33 climate solutions myths into stand-alone rebuttals
In early 2024 we spotted an impressive report addressing climate solutions misinformation, "Rebutting 33 False Claims About Solar, Wind, and Electric Vehicles," written by members of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School. We collaborated with the authors to create 33 stand-alone rebuttals based on the report's content to make it possible to link to each of the rebuttals directly.
Both of these collaborations help with sharing fact-based information in order to counter mis- and disinformation spread online.
How to cite: Winkler, B.: Collaborations between Skeptical Science and other groups to spread fact-based information, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-1439, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-1439, 2025.
This study investigates how the mining industry employs science communication tactics, specifically framing, warmth, honesty, and relatability when engaging with the public. Guided by three primary research questions, this project seeks to identify: (1) which frames and tactics Canadian mining organizations employ when communicating about mining, (2) how these tactics influence engagement among audiences with pro-, anti-, and neutral attitudes toward mining, and (3) whether the use of tactics varies based on the type of organization.
A mixed-methods approach integrates content analysis, survey responses, and thematic analysis. Advertisements, corporate websites, and corporate responsibility documents from various mining organizations are systematically coded to identify framing strategies and communication techniques. To evaluate changes in public perceptions, knowledge, and behaviours, participants complete pre-engagement surveys to establish baseline attitudes toward mining. They then engage with assigned materials in two stages: first independently and later through guided discussion and interviews conducted via Zoom. Post-engagement surveys capture immediate reactions and subsequent changes in perception, knowledge, and potential actions. Transcribed interviews from guided discussions are analyzed thematically to uncover deeper insights into how audiences engage with mining-related messaging.
This research is significant for its focus on the intersection of industry messaging and public engagement, addressing a critical gap in understanding how science communication influences public trust and opinion in resource-driven sectors. Insights from this study will inform best practices for transparent, relatable, and effective communication in the mining industry, with broader implications for improving public engagement strategies in other science-based fields.
How to cite: Onstad, C. and van der Flier-Keller, E.: Preliminary Insights into Science Communication Strategies in Canadian Mining Messaging: A Mixed-Methods Perspective, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-2911, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-2911, 2025.
This study investigates the co-production and science communication efforts surrounding the use of storm-resolving Earth system models (SR-ESMs) to support the renewable energy transition. The models were developed under the Horizon Europe EU-funded project Next Generation of Earth System Models (NextGEMS) in the course of 3,5 years.
By engaging in participatory workshops with stakeholders from the energy sector—including policymakers, energy providers, and civil society—we co-created scenario storylines that integrate the km-scale climate model outputs with socio-political narratives. These workshops served as a platform for dialogue, enabling the communication of complex scientific findings in a manner accessible to non-specialist audiences, and also exploring the way in which SR-ESMs can move forward to support key societal challenges such as the energy transition.
The co-production process and communication strategy were informed by exploring stakeholder perspectives and preferences, which helped design the scenarios that could be later on represented by the SR-ESMs. Specifically, the use of discourse-analytical methods helped identify key narratives that resonate with different audience segments, ensuring the models' outputs are framed in ways that address socio-environmental concerns, such as the public acceptance of renewable energy technologies.
Our communication efforts revealed several lessons: the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration, the value of iterative engagement with stakeholders, and the need for flexible strategies that adapt to evolving audience needs. These insights contribute to best practices in science communication, emphasizing the role of co-production in making scientific information actionable and impactful for policy and societal change.
How to cite: Baulenas, E., Bojovic, D., Veerman, M., Dolores-Tesillos, E., Lacima-Nadolnik, A., Haslehner, K., Kumar, A., Delgado-Torres, C., and Soret, A.: Storm-Resolving Earth System Models to Support Renewable Energy Transitions: mixing storyline methodologies to bridge science and society, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-19249, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-19249, 2025.
The popularity and use of Participatory or Citizen Science (CS) in scientific research has increased over the recent years, and the literature reports that CS can promote positive change; enhance public knowledge, understanding, and awareness of environmental issues; and amplify conservation efforts.
Accessibility to polar regions is limited and expensive. With resources from other traditional platforms (i.e. research vessels and funding) decreasing, research institutions are looking at alternatives that involve partnering with the private sector tourism as a ‘crowdsourcing’ data collection option, with the added benefit of passenger participation and education. CS monitoring is a cost-effective alternative for greater spatial and/or temporal coverage, including geographical areas that remain under-researched.
HX’s Science & Education Program focuses on broadening guests’ understanding of the polar regions and ecosystems, as well as the impacts of climate change. Our guests become active participants in data collection through an immersive educational onboard program and on-site interaction with researchers. During 2024 we allocated over 1900 cruise nights to welcome 80+ researchers from collaborating institutions on our vessels and our guests contributed more than 30,000 data submissions to over 20 different CS projects globally.
To better understand this potential and to evaluate the longer-term effect of participation in CS and science related activities on guests, HX carried out a research project in partnership with UTAS during 2022 and 2023. Results from semi-structured interviews with over 70 guests on three HX vessels suggest that guests saw CS, and the Science & Education program more generally, as a core part of their experience, and many returned with a heightened sense of the fragility of the region.
However, and as an example, HX represents approximately 8% of the Antarctic expedition cruising tourism. The full potential for future partnerships to tap into these vast resources as an industry is yet to be realized.
How to cite: Meraldi, V., Hess, C., Stainton, H., Evans, H., Leane, E., and Hardy, A.: The untapped potential of Citizen Science to support research in the polar regions while educating captive audiences on board expedition cruise vessels., EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-11418, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-11418, 2025.
Climate adaptation action is increasingly both local and urgent. Reasons for including citizen and community voices in decision-making range from securing climate justice to generating more apt solutions and increasing public acceptance of interventions. More broadly, attempts to rebuild public trust in democracy and public institutions has led to a surge in citizen engagement initiatives for decision making in a whole range of subjects.
This confluence of trends has generated an ever-growing knowledge and experience base and countless publications that call for citizen engagement in climate change adaptation efforts, provide best practices for citizen engagement, and occasionally both. However, the enormous breadth of the intended audiences means that in almost all cases, these best practice guides focus on citizen engagement in general.
As part of the Adaptation AGORA project – a 3-year Mission Adaptation project that brings together researchers and practitioners from 12 institutes from across Europe – we have spent two years mapping European adaptation-related citizen engagement initiatives ( CEIs), interviewing experts across the CEI value chain and carrying out interactive workshops in attempt to identify best practices. The variety of adaptation contexts and wide range of possible (positive and negative) outcomes and impacts from CEIs pushed us beyond only looking for universal good practices to also consider those that lead to specific outcomes, like generating more just decisions, being tailored to the local settings in which they apply, promoting mutual learning, or producing improved collaboration.
We find that choices taken when designing initiatives are key to the achievement of different goals. Some general good practices can almost universally be applied, like setting a clear objective, and ensuring effective communication before, during and after the initiative. However, beyond these straightforward observations, the variety of primary and secondary objectives (awareness raising, allocating public resources, generating ideas, creating guidelines, forming long-term plans etc.) and the myriad of contextual factors (scale, scope, location, resources, familiarity with citizen engagement etc.) frustrate identifying the best practices to pursue among a surfeit of potential actions. Essentially, what is often missing from existing best-practice guides is a framework to prioritise what can be achieved with limited resources to meet the identified goals. Indeed, the relative merit of different practices in achieving different goals is well understood only by a few seasoned experts, and frequently a challenge to communicate.
Hoping to facilitate discussion and the exchange of different perspectives, we propose a serious game, Citi-Adapt, that seeks to visibilise the trade offs and push collaborative teams to collectively seek better design choices in the pursuit of different goals in unique contexts. Citi-Adapt allows us to add in different constraints, to situate CEIs in different contexts, and for different actors to walk in each other's shoes. It can be played in two ways – 1) exploring the types of resources required to achieve certain goals; and 2) identifying possible outcomes based on available resources – and we would be delighted to present it and hear your thoughts as we move to building a prototype.
How to cite: Pickard, S. and Baulenas, E.: Citi-Adapt: Communicating design decisions for citizen engagement in climate adaptation action via a serious game, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-18809, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-18809, 2025.
Most people in Irish society, when asked, “Do we experience earthquakes in Ireland?” would likely answer, “No we don’t”. However, this is incorrect – earthquakes do occur in Ireland and are occasionally felt. This misconception is understandable as Ireland is not located near the edge of a plate boundary and the earthquakes we experience tend to be of very low magnitude (M2.5 is the largest onshore Irish earthquake recorded so far). As a result, earthquakes are not a regular thought for the population of Ireland. We aim to raise awareness on this topic.
The QuakeShake programme has these main aims:
- Encourage Irish society to consider seismic activity and monitor seismic events both locally and globally and thereby develop an integrated community of citizen seismologists throughout Ireland.
- Provide teaching resources for educators and school students.
- Inspire interest in Physical and Earth Sciences at tertiary levels.
- Support the government’s STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering Art and Mathematics) initiative.
- Foster a closer relationship between researchers and citizens.
- Gather and share seismic data to support scientific research in various seismological fields.
The programme is managed by the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS) and co-funded by DIAS, Geological Survey Ireland (GSI), and Research Ireland. QuakeShake functions as the outreach programme for the Irish National Seismic Network (INSN), the national earthquake monitoring body in Ireland. It supports and promotes the monitoring efforts of the INSN.
QuakeShake is facilitating the operation of affordable seismometers, known as Raspberry Shakes, in schools, homes, and public institutions. These compact, professional grade seismometers require only power and internet connectivity to operate. In 2024, QuakeShake distributed seismometers via public raffle and workshops for teachers and the public. In 2025, the aim is to distribute even more Raspberry Shake devices and encourage the public and schools to acquire their own units.
At EGU 2025 we will showcase the programmes development, aimed at educating people from all backgrounds in Ireland about both Irish and Global earthquakes. We will illustrate how QuakeShake is actively building a community of citizen seismologists across Ireland.
How to cite: Reilly, L., Möllhoff, M., Bean, C., Power, S., Collins, L., Smith, P., Grannell, J., Mohamed, H., Smithers, E., and Grange, P.: Current progress of the QuakeShake outreach programme. How are earthquakes being brought to the attention of Irish society?, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-12106, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-12106, 2025.
APRE is an Italian non-profit association with a network of more than 160 members from academia and private sector, that has developed extensive expertise in sharing research results to the wider public from several HORIZON EUROPE funded projects across different areas through innovative science communication, education and engagement methodologies.
Notable projects include the Engage4Bio project which launched actions at a regional level for the deployment of local bioeconomies, achieving new ways to govern societal transformation and engage citizens through awareness raising and education on sustainable production, consumption and lifestyles. The BIOVOICES project raised awareness on the bioeconomy through engagement and exchange of knowledge. The GenB project tested innovative formats and developed concrete products and toolkits to raise awareness and educate students, teachers and multipliers on the circular and sustainable bioeconomy. Finally the BlueRev project increased skilled job opportunities in the bio-based sector for local businesses with training and webinars.
During these projects, the Authors were able to develop and validate via engagement and participatory processes, innovative science communication formats and concrete methods. Our aim was to raise awareness and educate non-specialised audiences (especially young people, teachers, educators, citizens) on the circular and sustainable bioeconomy, building communities with knowledge and instruments to create, enact, and disseminate sustainable practices. These non-traditional science communication techniques are proving effective and based on artistic/ narrative means and personal interaction that strengthen credibility and trust with the audience.
In Engage4BIO, art, communication and science were merged by creating an attractive Design Award. The goal of the competition was to encourage artists in finding sustainable solutions through art and design. In this process, science communication played a central role, bridging the gap between creativity and technology.
The book for children "What's bioeconomy?" was developed by BIOVOICES and it is the first-ever publication written for kids on sustainable and circular bioeconomy. Through an interactive 80 flaps, the book translates complex scientific concepts into easily comprehensible contents for pre- and primary school young people, their parents and teachers to increase awareness on the environmental, social and economic benefits of the bioeconomy and bio-based sectors.
GenB has designed an educational podcast series for 4-8 year old audience. Using captivating storytelling, and stimulating imagination and curiosity, children can enjoy them on any occasion to explore crucial concepts such as sustainability, circularity, and respect for the environment, making the bioeconomy an accessible and fascinating topic. The podcast features 10 episodes written by selected authors and scientifically validated by experts.
A participatory photography format for youth was also tested and developed in GenB project, to increase awareness of the applications of science in their everyday contexts. Through photographs or video, young people learned to identify real-world examples of bioeconomy, collecting examples from their daily lives. Photography and visual approach in education creates meaningful connections with places, people, and moments in time, encouraging reflection, insight and awareness, and empowering young people to make more informed decisions about consumption and lifestyle.
How to cite: Pocaterra, C., Mingardi, V., Mentini, L., Silvi, S., and Careccia, A.: Science Communication through Engagement and Outreach for the bioeconomy, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-7084, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-7084, 2025.
Geoscience plays a vital role in shaping our sustainable future, yet the discipline is at a critical crossroads. Declining student enrolments, reduced course offerings, and the closure of university departments threaten its survival. Key challenges include public perceptions of geoscience and associated industries, its lack of visibility in school curricula, outdated branding and stereotypes, and issues related to diversity and inclusion. As students increasingly seek altruistic, sustainability-focused careers, geoscience must respond rapidly or risk further decline. A more strategic, impact-driven approach to geoscience communication is essential to address the discipline’s struggling brand image. This presentation takes you behind the scenes of the Earth Futures Festival, an international geoscience film and video festival. The festival bridges the arts and sciences to demonstrate how geoscience, combined with long-standing cultural knowledge of the Earth, offers solutions to pressing global challenges. We will explore the impact-focused approach underpinning the festival’s design, including forging value-aligned partnerships, providing communication skills training for geoscientists, and amplifying the visibility of typically underrepresented groups. This talk will provide a step-by-step practical guide to illustrate how impact-focused design can be effectively applied to geoscience communication and outreach.
How to cite: Handley, H.: An impact-driven approach to geoscience communication, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-13520, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-13520, 2025.
“In the end, we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand; and we will understand only what we are taught.” These words by forestry engineer Baba Dioum in 1968 reflect, how the relationship between people and forests has intensified over recent decades, a development that has significantly contributed to forest conservation. Unlike trees, esthetical and vital soils are rarely exposed for people to see, understand, or appreciate, making it harder to foster a connection to them.
The EU project SOILSCAPE (Spreading Open and Inclusive Literacy and Soil Culture through Artistic Practices and Education) aims to bring soils closer to the public. Alongside modern communication methods, the project places a strong emphasis on artistic approaches to promote awareness, understanding, and love for soils in their context.
In a first step towards this goal, current narratives were analyzed through a media study that examined coverage in newspapers, television, podcasts, and social networks. Thereby, the guiding questions were: What knowledge and opinions are there? Which imaginations and associations regarding soils do we find in society - and of whom? For exploring these questions, we conducted a survey using a verbal and visual questionnaire and follow-up expert interviews. Our analysis aimed at assessing dominant soil narratives and their potential impacts, and at preparing effective strategies to strengthen connections between people and soils, including cultural and artistic approaches. Thereby, we addressed societal narratives, imaginaries, and values related to soils, particularly focusing their perception and communication. The media research, questionnaire-based survey, and expert interviews were conducted in eight European countries: Bulgaria, Germany, Finland, France, Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Switzerland. The study yielded almost 100 datasets from the media analysis, 435 complete responses from the visual-based questionnaire, and 24 expert interviews, providing a robust foundation for understanding how soils are perceived and how soil awareness in the European public can be more effectively enhanced.
Our results from the media research show that soils are mostly not in the focus of media, but rather treated as functional elements in discussions related to agriculture, climate change, and urbanization. People tend to perceive soils indirectly, through their use and significance in these broader contexts. Perception of soils varies widely depending on region and prior knowledge. Around 40% of participants felt that soils in their region are in poor condition, while another 40% were unsure. Primary threats to soil that were named by people included agriculture, forestry, biodiversity loss, and climate change.
These outcomes of this study point to a gap between implicit and explicit awareness of soil-related challenges. While artistic and educational approaches seem most promising in bridging this gap, the results of our study highlight the urgent need for targeted communication strategies to raise the awareness of soils and make them a topic of societal concern. Only by fostering a deeper public understanding, a stronger connection to and protection of this critical resource can be achieved.
How to cite: Sauer, D., Schwindt, D., Patzel, N., Luis Lucas, F., Raous, S., Bampa, F., Mellanen, L., and Melkas, H. and the SOILSCAPE Team: Soils in Society: Digging into Narratives and Perceptions for a Deeper Understanding, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-18051, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-18051, 2025.
How do soil scientists perceive and experience soils? They use a wide variety of devices and tools, such as microscopes, laboratory equipment and field campaigns, and they summarize their knowledge through publications, graphs, and tables. Approaching soils with this academic perspective is likely to cause scientists to have different relationships with soils than people without soil science training. Humans have relationships with soils, and in addition to the science-based ones, these relationships can be personal, artistic, cultural, sensorial and more. Clearly, soils matter at many levels since people and communities can feel a deep connection with the soil of their homeland, as a source of identity, sustenance and a sense of place and belonging. What we proposed during the Wageningen Soil Conference 2023 was to let soil scientists discover the diversity in ways that soils can be experienced and perceived so to facilitate a positive transformation on how do we do soil science. During these event we took participants beyond the scientific perspective in an informal and relaxed space where we engaged with soils in unexpected and creative ways. Seventeen ‘stations’ were dedicated to experiencing colors, smells, tastes, textures, sounds, visuals, emotions and feelings peculiar to soils. Each station was organized by either a scientist or an artist that was present to encourage discussions, conversations and sharing of stories to inspire to experience new soil perspectives. One of the goals of this exercise was to expand (transform) the, often narrow, view of soil scientists on soils and let them discover other dimensions which can allow them to better connect with society and inspire them to share their work and knowledge about soil. This event was just the beginning of our collaboration towards experiencing soil perspectives and more events using the same or a similar format for different stakeholder groups (non-soil scientist, general public) were organized. During the conference we will share our concept, experiences and reflection with a broader group of soil scientists also reflecting about the experiences derived from the course ‘Transformative soil science’ hold in November 2024. The course was grounded in transdisciplinary perspectives from natural and social sciences and the humanities, and helped early-career scientists to understand their own perspectives on soil, and how to connect with other perspectives in an integral way of knowledge generation that contributes to meaningful transformations.
How to cite: Bongiorno, G., Stomph, D., Wiersma, W., and Student, J.: Experiencing soil perspectives – an interdisciplinary approach to transform soil science, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-15176, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-15176, 2025.
Ecotourism and rural tourism are pivotal activities for generating substantial income, supporting rural economies, and fostering a deeper understanding of land and soil resources in various regions, particularly in inland areas. Recognizing their significance, the United Nations has included these activities in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (specifically SDG 8.9 and SDG 12), aiming for their accomplishment by 2030. While digital tourism has experienced remarkable growth recently, its focus largely remains on well-known tourist destinations.
This study highlight the potential of a geospatial decision support system (S-DSS) built on a publicly accessible, web-based geospatial cyberinfrastructure (GCI). This system offers a practical and effective tool to enhance tourism opportunities in less-visited inland areas promoting a greater appreciation of soil and land environmental resources.
The S-DSS platform is designed to facilitate the collection, management, processing, and analysis of both static (e.g., information on soil and geology) and dynamic data (e.g., climatic data). It also features advanced data visualization and on-the-fly computational tools, catering to a diverse user base that includes farmers, tourism operators, associations, and public institutions.
The S-DSS tool known as EcoSmarTour operates across the entirety of Italy, providing extensive information, including detailed soil information, to expand territorial knowledge. It supports scenario analysis, map generation, and the assessment of potential trails or ecotourism hotspots. Also, through the use of artificial intelligence, EcoSmarTour can generate text-based narratives of selected routes, tailored to the user’s preferences. This functionality enables the creation of customized storytelling for various audiences, from children and teenagers to adults and experts.
How to cite: Mileti, F. A., Tatone, M., Terribile, F., and Blazica, B.: A Smart Platform for Enhancing Soil and Land Awareness in Italy, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-17396, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-17396, 2025.
AGROECOLOGY, the European Partnership "Accelerating Farming Systems Transition: Agroecology Living Labs and Research Infrastructures," is a significant European research and innovation initiative involving the European Commission and 26 Member States, Associated Countries, and Third Countries, with a total of 72 partner organizations. The goal of AGROECOLOGY is to assist the agricultural sector in addressing the challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, food security and sovereignty, and environmental sustainability, while ensuring agriculture remains profitable, sustainable, and attractive to farmers.
Transforming the agricultural sector to meet societal and policy demands requires bold and systemic changes. AGROECOLOGY fosters for solutions that leverage natural and biological processes, blending state-of-the-art science, technology, and innovation with farmers' knowledge. By pooling resources from the European Commission and the involved member states and regions, the Partnership funds high-level research in Living Labs and Research Infrastructures, co-creating relevant knowledge and technologies aligned with the priorities of the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda for the Farming System Transition.
To support these efforts, a range of activities is being implemented to inform, engage, and empower stakeholders. These activities aim to enhance capacities, raise awareness, and facilitate the exchange of knowledge and data. A key element of this effort is the Conversations on Agroecology which serve as foundational steps to strengthen agricultural knowledge and innovation systems (AKIS) for agroecology. These conversations foster collaboration and connections between Living Labs, Research Infrastructures and stakeholders across Europe.
The online Conversations on Agroecology are held monthly throughout the Partnership, enabling the mobilization and networking of agroecology actors in Europe and beyond. In 2024, six online conversations were organized on various themes, such as the role of AKIS for agroecology, agroecological transition, and the power of networks for agroecology. Through these monthly conversations, AGROECOLOGY engages diverse groups of actors, ensuring involvement of institutional AKIS actors, farmers, and farming networks to ensure inclusive participation and drive progress toward sustainable food systems by 2030.
How to cite: Sandén, T., Fohrafellner, J., Pires da Silva, A., and Brites, C.: Empowering Stakeholders to Drive Farming System Transition: Conversations on Agroecology, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-9684, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-9684, 2025.
Translation of geoscience research into tangible changes, such as modified decisions, processes or policy in the wider world is an important yet notably difficult process. Co-RISK is an accessible (i.e. open access, paper-based, zero cost) ‘toolkit’ for use by stakeholder groups within workshops, which is intended to aid this translation process. It is given a robust basis by incorporating paradox theory from organisation studies, which deals with navigating the genuine tensions between industry and research organizations that stem from their differing roles. Specifically designed to ameliorate the organizational paradox, a Co-RISK workshop draws up ‘Maps’ including key stakeholders (e.g. regulator, insurer, university) and their positionality (e.g. barriers, concerns, motivations), and identifies exactly the points where science might modify actions. Ultimately a Co-RISK workshop drafts simple and tailored project-specific frameworks that span from climate to hazard, to risk, to implications of that risk (e.g. solvency). The action research approach used to design Co-RISK (with Bank of England, Aon, Verrisk), its implementation in a trial session for the insurance sector and its intellectual contribution are described and evaluated. The initial Co-RISK workshop was well received, so application is envisaged to other sectors (i.e. transport infrastructure, utilities, government). Joint endeavours enabled by Co-RISK could fulfil the genuine need to quickly convert the latest insights from environmental research into real-world climate change adaptation strategies.
https://gc.copernicus.org/articles/7/35/2024/
How to cite: Hillier, J. K. and van Meeteren, M.: Co-RISK: A tool to co-create impactful university-industry projects for natural hazard risk mitigation, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-291, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-291, 2025.
Climate extremes have increased in frequency and scope recently, and this development is projected to continue under ever worsening anthropogenic climate change. Media coverage of extreme weather events plays an important role in promoting climate-friendly attitudes, the perception of climate science and the willingness to take collective action for mitigation of climate change and adaptation to climate extremes.
While Earth System model simulations of climate change and extremes are becoming more and more accurate, increasing doubts about the results of climate science and the existence of climate change have recently been observed among the German population (Reif et al., 2024). The upcoming elections in Germany make this turning point in political support for climate change policies even more relevant. It raises questions about how uncertainties in past and future climate change are perceived, and the success of different approaches to climate communication. Here, we address the dilemma of climate science communication, focusing on climate extremes.
We conducted a representative, Germany-wide survey at the beginning of December 2024 (n=1.019), gauging the perception of climate science, climate extremes and associated uncertainties. We present the results of this novel survey with a particular focus on the interaction of progress in climate extreme research and communication of uncertainties on the one hand, and the public perception of climate science on the other hand. Our analysis shows the development of perceived uncertainties of climate research in the German population. However, our work also highlights the perception of climate extremes as an opportunity for powerful and approachable climate communication.
References
Reif A., Guenther L., Tschötschel R. S. , Brüggemann M. (2024): Rückschlag für den Klimaschutz. Wandel der Einstellungen und Kommunikation zu Klimawandel und Klimapolitik von 2015 bis 2023, Media Perspektiven, Vol. 2024, 14, 1-12.
How to cite: von Szombathely, M., Reif, A., Poschlod, B., Blanz, B., Borchert, L., Brunner, L., and Sillmann, J.: The communicative power of climate extremes , EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-21677, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-21677, 2025.
Some environmental issues (nuclear/special wastes, CO2 storage) are extremely long-lasting, from thousand to one million years (Flüeler 2023). Three aspects are mandatory to recognise them adequately: their complexity (e.g., safety “proof”), uncertainty (aleatory/epistemic …), inequality (today’s risk deciders vs. future risk bearers). All require a deep sense of multiperspectivity: Changing perspectives enables a conscious view of an issue from different angles.
With exceptions, conventional practice reveals “technical” and “acceptance” approaches. The problem is said to be solely political, “the public’s” poor state of knowledge spurs the plea for “outreach”, following the “deficit model”: Specialists inform laypeople to close their “information gap”. The long term is covered by safety margins and, as a last resort, by waste retrievability.
Applied research is more sophisticated. Nuclear waste safety cases have become comprehensive, considering insecurities and stakeholder involvement (NEA 2020b). Still, the very long term (10,000y plus) is left to risk analysts. “Communication Across 300 Generations” (Tannenbaum 1984) or “to bridge ten millennia” (Sebeok 1984) are issues reserved to semiotics and not really developed further (NEA 2019). Conserving artefacts and symbols over time seems unsatisfactory, even unrealistic. Site-selection procedures have, partly, recognised the need for decades-long processes (NEA 2020a).
What is “long term”? (cf. Flüeler 2023, 55ff.) It would be futile for society to deal with the year 800,000 AP, but it is to reckon what Brand and Eno called “the Long Now”, https://longnow.org: 10,000 years back and forth, yet a generations-based approach seems more practical, maybe the Canadian First Nations’ yardstick of the Seven Generations (NCSL 2017): “Traditionally, no decision was made until it was understood how it would affect the next seven generations”. Or we draw on Boulding’s suggestion: 100 years backward and foreward (grandparents to grandchildren) (Boulding 1978).
At any rate, our responsibility to future generations “requires new operationalisations, new norms of practice, new sets of values, new virtues, and – last but not least – new institutions” (Birnbacher 1988). It needs new skills for sustainable governance, transparent (digital) dashboards, open online platforms to table/respond to controversial views/assertions, transdisciplinary labs, ways to address indeterminacy (>>“uncertainty”), VR learning machines to train changing perspectives, etc.
The ethical, political and institutional complexity insinuates that there is no silver bullet to tackle the issue of governance: “The solution is easily summarized, but much less easily achieved: to establish ecological reflexivity as a core priority of social, political and economic institutions” (Dryzek/Pickering 2019). We need continual discourse to transform our societies sustainably, rather than pre-fixed concepts in order to restore supposedly paradisiac past states.
____________________
Birnbacher, D. Verantwortung für zukünftige Generationen. Reclam, Stuttgart (transl.).
Boulding, E. The Family as a Way into the Future. Pendle Hill, Wallingford, PA.
Dryzek, J.S./Pickering, J. The Politics of the Anthropocene. Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford.
Flüeler, T. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-03902-7.
NCSL. https://healingofthesevengenerations.ca/about/history.
NEA/Nuclear Energy Agency/2019. Preservation of Records, Knowledge and Memory Across Generations. OECD, Paris.
NEA/2020a. Final Disposal of Radioactive Waste. Policy Brief.
NEA/2020b. Two Decades of Safety Case Development: An IGSC Brochure.
Sebeok, T.A. Communication Measures to Bridge Ten Millennia. BMI/ONWI-532. Battelle, Columbus, OH.
Tannenbaum, P.H. Communication Across 300 Generations: Deterring Human Interference with Waste Deposit Sites. BMI/ONWI-535.
How to cite: Flüeler, T.: How to communicate “long term”? 10, 100, 10,000 years …? Practice, research, reflections, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-4847, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-4847, 2025.
Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects have historically struggled to be inclusive and accessible to students from diverse backgrounds. Furthermore, STEM subjects have often been rigid in their teaching structure, creating barriers to education for students with more specific (or unrecognised) learning needs. Our STEM outreach course, Think Like A Scientist, has been running in a number of English prisons since 2019, and started in Canada and Australia over the past two years. Our students in prison often have diverse learning needs – a classroom often presents numerous barriers (sensory, communication, information processing, and regulation) which particularly impacts neurodivergent students (e.g., autism, ADHD, OCD, dyslexia, etc.). In our teaching in prison, we have been conscious of creating different educational access points that are not solely reliant on rigid teaching structures.
Although our outreach programme is tailored to the restrictive prison environment, the application of its core principles are fundamental Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) practices that can be applied to university-level teaching and supervision. Here, we outline the choices we have made in prison education to increase educational engagement for those within the neurodivergent umbrella – and how these choices can map onto university teaching to widen participation for STEM students. Specifically, we will describe our university campus work in a few key areas: creating relatable science content for our geoscience student body, giving students a voice in their education, adding reflection activities, and fostering a classroom environment that is inclusive and accessible to all. Finally, we welcome an open discussion on potential best inclusive practices in the geosciences.
How to cite: Heron, P., Osowski, K., Crameri, F., and Williams, J.: Adventures in (geo)science communication: mapping outreach practices into university classrooms, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-7405, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-7405, 2025.
Austrian citizens, like many others worldwide, show high levels of skepticism coupled with low interest in science. This disengagement is closely tied to limited science literacy, characterized by a poor understanding of the scientific process and scientific data generation. Initiatives operating at the intersection of science and education provide a valuable opportunity to develop innovative methods of science communication, enhance science literacy, and positively influence attitudes toward scientific findings. To address these challenges, scientists from diverse disciplines, educators, and administrators have joined forces to establish the “Interdisciplinary Network for Science Education Lower Austria (INSE)”. Led by WasserCluster Lunz and funded by GFF NÖ, this partnership aims to: (i) deepen public understanding of science by engaging students and citizens in scientific processes across disciplines, (ii) spark interest in science through innovative communication strategies, and (iii) build trust in the benefits of science by showcasing its contributions to addressing societal and ecological challenges.
In this presentation, we will introduce the INSE partnership and highlight our science education concepts tailored to different educational levels. At the primary level, the focus was on research in the humanities, emphasizing the significance of reading and writing. At the lower secondary level, the main principles of the "Nature of Science (NOS)" were introduced, while at the upper secondary level, students conducted their own research projects, either in the natural sciences (a respiration experiment in aquatic ecology) or the social sciences (a social science survey). Students explored the principles of specific research methods and examined the similarities and differences among various scientific disciplines. This approach aimed to provide participants with both a solid understanding of general scientific principles and insights into discipline-specific methodologies.
We will also present initial evaluation results on the effectiveness of our educational activities. Additionally, we aim to foster new collaborations at both national and international levels to strengthen our network and expand the resources available for science education.
How to cite: Feldbacher, E., Sippl, C., Lughammer, B., Capatu, I., Jöstl, G., Eibl, D., Panzenböck, M., Coulson, L., Akbari, E., and Weigelhofer, G.: Connecting Science and Education: Innovative Approaches from the INSE Network, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-2755, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-2755, 2025.
Engaging the community with geosciences has always been a big challenge for geoscientists. It has become increasingly important in the face of widespread misinformation on social media. To address this, the “Talk2Geo: Hablemos de Geociencias (Let’s talk about geoscience)” project was created to bridge the gap between geoscientists and the general public in an informal and approachable setting, where people don’t feel afraid or ashamed to asks questions.
We dropped the traditional structure of the academia and took researchers from the Universidad de Concepción away from the university, to a local restobar. There, through the course of the first semester of 2024, we organized six conservatories. Scientist were asked to present a brief introduction to their research topic in a non-scientific, everyday language. The audience was encouraged to ask questions and engage in discussions throughout the talks. These interactions often guided the development of the topics, fostering an open and dynamic dialogue. The addressed themes were stratigraphy, hydrothermal waters, volcanoes, field geology, earthquakes and landslides.
The talks had a great reception from the public, who participated actively and asked abundant questions. We compiled these questions and general topics of interest about each of the themes and presented the results to academics at the university, not only to bring sciences to the public but to also bring peoples interests to academics, hoping to have an impact in the development of future research topics.
How to cite: Cabello, C., Leal, D., and Riedel-Hornig, M.: Talk2Geo: Hablemos de Geociencias, a geoscience outreach project, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-14325, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-14325, 2025.
Rainfall is very commonly experienced by most people, often seen as a constraint. Anyway, usually people are not really paying attention to it, being too busy with their daily life. As rainfall and hydrology scientists, we aim to reach out to the general public to increase knowledge in an area of widespread misinformation. More importantly, we aim to enhance curiosity and awareness of people in their geophysical environment. In order to contribute to this much needed efforts, we designed and implemented a series of multisensory experiences centered on rainfall with three purpose in mind: i) Actively engage people on geoscience topics by pushing them to pay attention to their environment ; ii) Create a simple and pleasant moment for people enabling to focus on geophysical environment. iii) Create some new knowledge on rainfall for them. With regards to the latter point, the involvement of one’s senses is a great tool to facilitate memorization.
The experiences are simple and do not require any material, apart from an available mind and some rainfall. Three examples are feeling the drops and their sizes on the hand or face while walking; listening to the rain falling on something (tent, umbrella, sheet of metal…); looking at the rain falling near a lamppost at night. Each experience has a simple take home message. The first one is related to the various sizes of drops, the second one to the temporal variability of rainfall, while the third one enables to notice the temporal variability of both rainfall and wind.
The process is designed as follows. A short description of the suggested experience is given to people. Once they have implemented them, they are asked to fill a rather open/free form to report their sensations and findings. After they are given some explanations on the take home messages we originally had in mind, which does not necessarily match their own feeling. If they are interested in doing it again, they are invited to provide new sets of feedback.
In a first step, the whole process was tested with 10-15 people with various backgrounds and who have no expertise in rainfall. Results of this preliminary implementation will be presented in this poster. They are used to tune the process, i.e. the experiences, the short description and also the explanations of the take home message. In future investigations, it will be implemented with a larger number of people to obtain more quantitative and robust results.
How to cite: Gires, A. and Dallan, E.: Increasing awareness on geophysical environment: a multi-sensory experience of rainfall, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-13449, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-13449, 2025.
Scientific communication is a key pillar of the Instituto Volcanológico de Canarias (INVOLCAN). In this context, Guayota is a weekly multilingual graphic report that summarizes seismic-volcanic activity in the Canary Islands. This resource analyzes the earthquakes recorded over the past week, detailing their location, magnitude, and energy released. A color-coded map visually represents the magnitudes (red for >4, orange for 3-4, yellow for 2-3, and green for <2), providing an intuitive overview of the most relevant data. Additionally, the report includes the total number of seismic events, the energy in joules, and the maximum recorded magnitude.
The report also incorporates the volcanic alert system, based on four color levels from the Special Plan for Civil Protection and Emergency Response to Volcanic Risk in the Canary Islands (PEVOLCA), to assess the hazard level. An accompanying table highlights key parameters such as seismicity, deformation, and gas emissions on the most volcanically active islands: La Palma, El Hierro, Tenerife, Gran Canaria, and Lanzarote.
Guayota is published every Friday on INVOLCAN's social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter/X, and its website, ensuring that the information is accessible, educational, and timely. This initiative plays a crucial role in keeping the population of the Canary Islands informed with reliable, accurate, and easily understandable data. By raising public awareness, it helps communities better understand and prepare for the risks of living in a volcanically active environment. These efforts enhance community resilience and promote safer coexistence. In doing so, INVOLCAN reaffirms its commitment to scientific outreach, education, and effective volcanic risk management.
How to cite: Alonso, A., Prieto, D., García-Hernández, R., Afonso, D., de los Rios, H., D’Auria, L., and Pérez, N. M.: GUAYOTA: a weekly multi-language chart information on the seismo-volcanic activity in the Canary Islands , EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-12352, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-12352, 2025.
In the wake of disasters, storytelling can function as a means for collective sensemaking, trauma recovery, and community-centered knowledge co-production. Through the practice of listening and the medium of voice, audio stories can convey culturally specific knowledge that engages emotions while fostering dialogic thinking on complex topics. Here, we detail our experience in research and producing a public-facing audio story series about communities facing displacement and loss from water-related disasters. First, we traveled in 2023 to communities in the central Philippines devastated by 2013’s Super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda), one of the deadliest and strongest storms to make landfall in modern history. We conducted field interviews with Haiyan survivors and responders, local policymakers, practitioners, and researchers in the months leading up to the tenth-year commemoration of the storm. Their narratives allowed us to ground discourses about learning from disaster in mass media and academic research—discourses that we examined via a computational analysis of over 15,000 newspaper articles and 300 academic abstracts on Haiyan. The second story series explores perspectives on climate retreat in the wake of floods and increasing flood risks in New Jersey. This series centers the voices of homeowners considering property buyouts through a state program, local officials, as well as scientists who are documenting the social and physical impacts of more intense flooding and sea level rise in real time. Titled Carried by Water and produced by Princeton’s Blue Lab, these interrelated series anchor academic framings of disaster in lived experience and first-person narratives. The project does so to shed light on long-term recovery, learning processes applied to everyday decision-making, and diverse understandings of disasters, home, agency, risk, and climate resilience.
How to cite: Soriano, M., Maxwell, R., and Carruth, A.: Audio narratives of long-term disaster recovery and climate change adaptation, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-14045, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-14045, 2025.
Tales from Mednight – Junior Edition is an enchanting collection of stories created to inspire children under 12 with the wonders of Mediterranean science. This one-of-a-kind anthology showcases the winning entries from the IV Literary Contest “Tales from Mednight,” a transnational initiative celebrating the fusion of creativity and science.
The stories explore themes such as biodiversity, clean energy, Mediterranean history, and environmental stewardship, sparking curiosity and fostering a love for science among young readers. Written in seven languages—Arabic, English, French, Greek, Italian, Spanish, and Turkish—the winning tales embody the Mediterranean's rich cultural diversity and shared scientific legacy.
To celebrate the launch of the Junior Edition, the Mednight initiative is distributing printed copies to children in hospitals, primary schools, and refugee camps. Free digital copies are also available, ensuring that the inspiring world of Mediterranean science reaches young readers everywhere.
How to cite: Krouma, M. and the Mednight team: Tales from Mednight – Junior Edition: Inspiring Young Minds with Mediterranean Science, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-20455, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-20455, 2025.
Soil health plays a crucial role in ecosystem functioning and is closely linked to human life. However, land and soil degradation are widespread due to environmental and anthropogenic threats. Soil knowledge is essential to address modern global challenges. Despite the important role of soils, they are often underappreciated by the general population, highlighting the need to raise soil awareness. The EU project CURIOSOIL (2024-2028, co-funded by the European Union: URL: curiosoil.eu) therefore aims at raising soil literacy and promoting a positive narrative around soils. CURIOSOIL focuses on enhancing soil literacy by triggering soil curiosity and connections between society and soil. According to the EU Mission Soil Implementation plan, soil literacy refers to both awareness about the importance of soil and practice-oriented knowledge related to achieving soil health. Soil literacy and education are crucial to environmental sustainability and the future of societies.
With this poster contribution, we seek to explore to what extent university students and scientists at EGU are willing to reflect on their own attitudes and behaviors toward soils using a participatory approach. We hypothesize that participating in discussions and reflection exercises about soil helps to increase awareness, spark curiosity, and encourage action to solve soil-related issues. We therefore invite conference participants to actively engage with us through our participatory poster. The participants are invited to answer targeted questions, write down and display their reflections directly on the poster, via post-its and/or via a digital survey. These questions are aligned with learning objectives and competences of soil literacy related to knowledge, attitudes and behavior towards soil. All collected information will be anonymized to ensure privacy and confidentiality. To the best of our knowledge, this participatory approach is new to soil science as usually data are presented and not collected during a soil science conference. We therefore also aim to introduce the participatory poster as a research tool for data collection. Additionally, it serves as a communication instrument to encourage reflection on individual perspectives towards soil and promote an active role of raising soil awareness in society.
Specifically, our objectives are to: 1) collaboratively (the presenter and conference participants together) reflect on our knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors including emotions and habits related to soils, 2) discuss factors that influence our connection with soils (or lack thereof), 3) brainstorm on ways to create formal and informal environments that improve awareness, curiosity and learning about soils. Our findings will be used to design CURIOSOIL educational materials that will be made available for free on the project website (curiosoil.eu).
In summary, we believe that our participatory approach can enhance soil awareness, curiosity and learning. We intend to bridge the gap between society and soils to encourage careful and sustainable soil use and protect soil health. Moreover, our participatory approach is designed to engage scientists, foster multidisciplinary collaborations between social and natural scientists towards co-creation of educational materials, as well as to contribute meaningfully to natural science research.
How to cite: Huber, S., Gruselle, M.-C., Keiblinger, K., Lubbers, I., Rodrigues, S., Ugstad, H., Stolte, J., Taghizadeh Kerman, N., Bøe, F., and Fischer, F.: CURIOSOIL: Join us to raise awareness and curiosity about soils!, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-15618, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-15618, 2025.
Soil plays a fundamental role in terrestrial ecosystems, acting as a medium for plants and other organisms while supporting all terrestrial life by providing essential conditions for growth and development. Despite its critical importance, the role of soil is often undervalued. The CURIOSOIL project aims to ignite curiosity about soils, enhance soil literacy, and foster meaningful connections between people and soil. CURIOSOIL focuses on improving soil education, addressing the pressing need for a stronger connection with soil amidst increasing human pressures on this vital resource. The project seeks to bridge gaps in soil knowledge among pupils, students, teachers, citizens, policymakers, and practitioners, thereby addressing soil illiteracy, a significant barrier to sustainable soil use. A key part of CURIOSOIL is the development of the Soil Literacy Assessment Framework (SLAF) for five target groups: primary education, secondary education, tertiary education, teachers, and lifelong learners. To achieve this, we identified the core main domains and subdomains of soil literacy in consultation with soil experts and stakeholders in soil education and lifelong learning. Four main domains have been defined: soil diversity, soil services, soil threats, and soil solutions.
This study prioritized these main domains and subdomains for designing a valid soil literacy assessment framework (SLAF) in diverse target groups. Furthermore, understanding the relative importance of these main domains (and subdomains) enables educators and policymakers to focus on the most impactful areas, ensuring that soil education efforts address the unique needs of both children and adults. By establishing these priorities, resources can be allocated efficiently, and targeted educational activities can be developed to enhance soil awareness and literacy. In this study, we employed the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to prioritize soil literacy's main domains and subdomains for SLAF. AHP is a widely recognized method that provides a systematic framework for pairwise comparisons of variables, enabling a detailed evaluation of their relative importance. Using this approach, soil experts, researchers, and educators assessed the significance of various domains for children and subdomains for adults, yielding valuable insights into the main domains and subdomains priorities.
The AHP analysis was facilitated by specialized software, such as Expert Choice. This study demonstrated its utility in designing an assessment framework and prioritizing the main domains and subdomains of soil literacy for diverse target groups. By utilizing the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) in this study, soil experts contributed valuable insights into the prioritization of soil literacy the main domains and subdomains for designing valid questionnaires. This input ensures that the resulting assessment framework and educational activities are scientifically robust and practically applicable.
Keywords: Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), CURIOSOIL, environmental education, Soil Literacy Assessment Framework (SLAF), sustainability
How to cite: Lubbers, I., Taghizadeh Kerman, N., Morias Rodrigues, S., and Noroozi, O.: Prioritizing Soil Literacy: An AHP-Based Approach, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-19274, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-19274, 2025.
Climate change has led to an increase in permafrost warming and thaw at global scale. Land surface changes associated with permafrost thaw include the acceleration of Arctic coastal erosion, increased thaw slumping in ice-rich regions, the drainage and formation of lakes, as well as an intensification of other disturbances, such as forest and tundra fires and droughts. Thermo-erosion threatens infrastructure and leads to gullying, slumping, and even landslides. To detect and map such permafrost disturbances at high spatial resolution across large regions and to quantify land surface change, remote sensing analyses can be applied. In the ERC PETA-CARB, ESA CCI Permafrost, and NSF Permafrost Discovery Gateway projects, a pan-arctic 20-years time series of land surface disturbance trends was produced using Landsat TM, ETM+, and OLI imagery. The dataset presents a valuable source of information for Arctic communities, planners, stakeholders, and rights holders. Arctic communities living on frozen ground are increasingly forced to adapt their livelihoods to permafrost thaw. In some areas, the relocation of settlements has become the last resort and is already actively planned for several communities in Alaska.
To make the large landscape change dataset more easily accessible to non-specialist audiences, within the EU Arctic PASSION project, we designed a new web-based portal tailored towards such audiences and the sometimes limited internet bandwidths encountered in Arctic communities. The Arctic Landscape EXplorer (ALEX, https://alex.awi.de) was launched in early 2024 and provides interactive maps displaying recent information on land surface changes, hot spots of disturbances, and potential areas of active permafrost thaw and erosion. While focusing on the local to regional scale relevant for private users, regional, and state-level decision makers, exploring the data up to the pan-arctic scale may open new avenues for understanding permafrost change for the general public. A new release of ALEX in early 2025 will provide several new features. On the portal's home page, a new section will highlight selected locations in the Arctic with extraordinary land surface changes, accompanied by contextual information. On the map, users will be able to easily compare the change data with satellite imagery and other reference maps using a swipe and fade toolbox. Sharing specific map views will also be enabled. A second story map focusing on shore erosion explains geophysical processes and the role of permafrost.
Consultations with local representatives and stakeholders in Alaska, requests from members of governmental and tribal entities to reuse our data, and inquiries from research partners in the Arctic confirm that our transfer efforts have met real needs. This positive feedback encourages us to continue updating the tool beyond the end of the Arctic PASSION project.
How to cite: Lübker, T., Nitze, I., Laboor, S., Irrgang, A., Lantuit, H., and Grosse, G.: Communicating remotely sensed pan-arctic permafrost land surface changes to non-specialist audiences with the Arctic Landscape EXplorer (ALEX), EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-18409, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-18409, 2025.
Inter- and transdisciplinary projects often face the challenge of becoming scattered, due to the challenges of communication, collaboration and data integration. While co-design and close collaboration between all involved actors have been widely recommended to address congruence and representativity of all disciplines on the results and reports, inter- and transdisciplinary research often lacks platforms where these practices can be effectively carried out. The Einstein Research Unit “Climate and Water under Change” (CliWaC) investigated water-related issues in the Berlin-Brandenburg region, Germany, from diverse perspectives of more than 20 individual research groups across a wide range of disciplines - thus making it a perfect case for researching integration tools. By the end of the three-year project, we have developed a knowledge-based interactive data platform called the CliWaC Explorer, that can address the abovementioned issues and present research results and products in a coherent whole.
The CliWaC Explorer is designed as a multi-purpose tool: as a data-exploration platform for researchers studying water-related issues in the region, as a decision support tool for stakeholders and as an education and outreach tool for the wider public. One of the biggest challenges was to appeal to both a natural and a social science user base. We achieved this by allowing the users to both navigate topics spatially, as commonly done in map-based natural sciences or in a thematic plane, where project parts are organized according to their thematic relationships. The explorer has been developed with close collaboration of the project partners, and currently being further developed with a series of workshops, to be accessible by a wider user base including stakeholders and educators. We believe our platform could provide a template of how interdisciplinary research can be integrated, and how its results can be communicated to a wider audience.
How to cite: Somogyvári, M., Brill, F., Alencar, P. H. L., Fischer, J., and Sauter, T.: Integrating the results of an interdisciplinary project over social and natural sciences: the Cliwac Explorer, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-16949, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-16949, 2025.
The International Geological Congress (IGC) 2028 is returning to Canada, after an absence of over 50 years (1972, Montreal). Hosted in Calgary, Alberta, this will mark the first IGC to be held in western North America. We look forward to showcasing our “Gorgeous Geology” and “Legendary Landscapes” with the world’s geoscience community. Field trip opportunities include the Mohorovic discontinuity and glacial fjords in UNESCO World Heritage Site (UWHS) Gros Morne National Park (Newfoundland), the Carboniferous Forests at UWHS Joggins Fossil Cliffs (Nova Scotia), the Logan Line separating the Appalachians from the Grenville Province of the Canadian Shield in UWHS Quebec City (Quebec), the Cretaceous Dinosaur fossil beds at UWHS Dinosaur Provincial Park (Alberta), and evidence for the Cambrian Explosion of Life in the Burgess Shale surrounded by glaciers across the UWHS Rocky Mountain Parks (Alberta/British Columbia). Potential Indigenous cultural day trips from Calgary include Blackfoot Crossing, UWHS Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, and UWHS Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park, also known as the “Blackfoot Archives” because of the thousands of pictographs throughout the park.
Here we report on the overall communications plan, starting with phase one leading into IGC 2024 in which a powerful social media presence became the potential game-changer to connect with the target audiences such as the national and global geoscience community, as well as the general public. This connection built brand awareness while unearthing enthusiasm for the destination and program. Stage one for the social media campaign involved a recent three-month social media campaign with daily bilingual postings on Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn and YouTube. Social media was important for achieving the goals of: i) promoting Canadian geosciences, ii) highlighting the conference tagline “Geosciences for Humanity” and iii) building awareness about the Canadian bid. During IGC 2024 the social media team also promoted the events that happened at the Canadian Booth and Reception, reflecting Calgary’s renowned hospitality such as the White Hat Ceremony swearing in 30 IGC delegates as honorary Calgarians. This strategy united the international geoscience community, emphasizing the collaborative spirit that we aim to foster for IGC 2028.
The stage two of the social media (post-bid) campaign started at the end of 2024. Weekly themes promote Indigenous and geotourism offerings across Canada, with three weekly postings to showcase content. After winning the bid to host IGC 2028, interest from the local media was sparked after a press release led by the University of Calgary framing this as the “Olympics of the Geosciences”. Co-chairs Boggs and Eaton were interviewed on TV and Radio. Further press releases will follow in upcoming years to profile plenary speakers and advertise the Keynote Daily Themes (KDT) to local public schools and universities across Canada. KDTs such as “Space and Planetary Geosciences” will springboard off the Artemis II Mission which will be circumnavigating the moon in 2025 with Canadian Astronaut Jeremy Hansen onboard.
How to cite: Boggs, K., Dubois Gafar, A., Eaton, D., Navarro, L., Demorcy, J., Bley, H., Rojas Parra, J., and Carlisle, R.: Promoting Geosciences: Effective Communication Strategies for the International Geological Congress (IGC) 2028 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada., EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-14200, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-14200, 2025.
In an era characterised by the political economy of financialised capitalism, accounting plays an instrumental role in shaping decision-making through the principle of materiality. This principle influences how physical climate risks are perceived and addressed. The role of accounting and the principle of materiality are foundational to using corporate reporting to prepare markets for the effects of climate change.
The Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD, 2023) has highlighted persistent inadequacies in corporate disclosures, particularly their failure to provide decision-useful information for managing or mitigating the financial and societal impact of extreme weather events. Inspired by the Absurdist literary tradition, the paper offers a conceptual alternative: expressing materiality as an aesthetic performance that embraces the ambiguity and complexity of climate risk.
To visualise this interplay, disclosure is interpreted as a form of communicative storytelling, where accounting frameworks set the plot and characters, shaping stakeholder engagement. The tangible impacts of physical climate change function as the unpredictable forces driving the narrative, while aesthetic materiality transforms these elements into a cohesive strategic risk management framework. This dynamic symbiosis, imbued with Absurdist tensions, illustrates how narrative, financial structures, environmental realities, and performative aesthetics collectively influence decision-making in the face of climate risks.
The Absurdist lens reveals how contemporary disclosures embody a condition of "waiting for the correct data," a state of deferral legitimised by incremental approaches to risk management. Traditional calculative paradigms in accounting—such as materiality thresholds, metrics, and financial quantification—struggle to address the non-linear and interdependent risks posed by extreme weather events. By aestheticising materiality, this paper argues that corporate disclosures can better cope with these limitations, engaging stakeholders through participatory and relational communication rather than static, deterministic metrics.
Aesthetic materiality shifts the focus from rigid frameworks to systemic interconnectivity, inviting decision-makers to critically reflect on the unpredictability of climate risks and to co-create meaning alongside stakeholders. This perspective complements tools such as impact-based forecasting and early-warning systems by addressing the socio-cultural dimensions of risk communication.
Empirical insights from 44 interviews with stakeholders across 16 FTSE350 organisations illustrate the limitations of calculative realism in accounting for climate scenarios. Participants reported deferring action in pursuit of elusive “objective truths,” grappling with helplessness amidst multiple potential realities and feeling hopeless by the inexpressible ambiguity associated with accounting for extreme weather risks. These findings underscore the Absurdist tension between striving for control and coping with the immeasurable—a tension that current frameworks fail to resolve.
Aesthetic materiality is a conceptual response to the systemic inadequacies of existing corporate disclosure practices. It disrupts normative accounting principles such as reliability and objectivity, advocating instead for evocative narratives, symbolic imagery, and dialogical engagement that better reprehend the interconnected nature of extreme weather events. Such a transition also signals a shift beyond the prevailing interdisciplinary accounting discourse by foregrounding the limits of language and representation, emphasising the performative aesthetics of materiality and expressing disclosure as an unending process.
How to cite: O Rourke, J.: Accounting Beyond the Calculative: Expressing Corporate Disclosure Through Aesthetic Materiality, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-1592, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-1592, 2025.
