CR – Cryospheric Sciences
Wednesday, 6 May
This session is intended to attract a broad range of ice-sheet and glacier modelling contributions, welcoming applied and theoretical contributions. Theoretical topics that are encouraged are higher-order mechanical models, data inversion and assimilation, representation of other earth sub-systems in ice-sheet models, and the incorporation of basal processes, calving dynamics and novel constitutive relationships in these models.
Applications of newer modelling themes to ice-sheets and glaciers past and present are particularly encouraged, in particular those considering ice streams, rapid change, grounding line motion and ice-sheet model intercomparisons.
Earth’s cryosphere demonstrates itself in many shapes and forms, but we use similar geophysical and in-situ methods to study its wide spectrum: from ice-sheets and glaciers, to firn and snow, sea ice, permafrost, and en-glacial and subglacial environments.
In this session, we welcome contributions related to all methods in cryospheric measurements, including: advances in radioglaciology, active and passive seismology, geoelectrics, acoustic sounding, fibre-optic sensing, GNSS reflectometry, signal attenuation, and time delay techniques, cosmic ray neutron sensing, ROV and drone applications, and electromagnetic methods. Contributions can include field applications, new approaches in geophysical or in-situ survey techniques, or theoretical advances in data analysis processing or inversion. Case studies from all parts of the cryosphere, including snow and firn, alpine glaciers, ice sheets, glacial and periglacial environments, alpine and arctic permafrost as well as rock glaciers, or sea ice, are highly welcome.
This session will give you an opportunity to step out of your research focus of a single cryosphere type and to share experiences in the application, processing, analysis, and interpretation of different geophysical and in-situ techniques in these highly complex environments. This session has been running for over a decade and always produces lively and informative discussion. We have a successful history of PICO and other short-style presentations - submit here if you want a guaranteed short oral!
Fibre optic based techniques allow probing highly precise point and distributed sensing of the full ground motion wave-field including translation, rotation and strain, as well as environmental parameters such as temperature at a scale and to an extent previously unattainable with conventional geophysical sensors. Considerable improvements in optical and atom interferometry enable new concepts for inertial rotation, translational displacement and acceleration sensing. Laser reflectometry on commercial fibre optic cables allows for the first time spatially dense and temporally continuous sensing of the ocean’s floor, successfully detecting a variety of signals including microseism, local and teleseismic earthquakes, volcanic events, ocean dynamics, etc. Significant breakthrough in the use of fibre optic sensing techniques came from the new ability to interrogate telecommunication cables to high temporal and spatial precision across a wide range of environments. Applications based on this new type of data are numerous, including: seismic source and wave-field characterisation with single point observations in harsh environments such as active volcanoes and the seafloor, seismic ambient noise interferometry, earthquake and tsunami early warning, and infrastructure stability monitoring.
We welcome contributions on developments in instrumental and theoretical advances, applications and processing with fibre optic point and/or distributed multi-sensing techniques, light polarization and transmission analyses, using standard telecommunication and/or engineered fibre cables. We seek studies on theoretical, instrumental, observation and advanced processing across all solid earth fields, including seismology, volcanology, glaciology, geodesy, geophysics, natural hazards, oceanography, urban environment, geothermal applications, laboratory studies, large-scale field tests, planetary exploration, gravitational wave detection, fundamental physics. We encourage contributions on data analysis techniques, novel applications, machine learning, data management, instrumental performance and comparison as well as new experimental, field, laboratory, modelling studies in fibre optic sensing studies.
Mountains cover approximately one-quarter of the total land surface on the planet, and a significant fraction of the world’s population lives within them, in their vicinity, and downstream. Orography critically affects weather and climate processes at all scales and, in connection with factors such as land-cover heterogeneity, is responsible for high spatial variability in mountain weather and climate. This session showcases research that contributes to improving our understanding of weather and climate processes in mountain and high-elevation areas around the globe, as well as their modification induced by global environmental change. This includes the interaction of mountain weather and climate with the terrestrial cryosphere.
We welcome contributions describing the influence of mountains on the atmosphere on meteorological and climate time scales, including terrain-induced airflow, orographic gravity waves, orographic precipitation, land-atmosphere exchange over mountains, forecasting, and predictability of mountain weather. We also encourage theoretical, modeling and observational studies on orographic gravity waves and their effects on the weather and the climate. Furthermore, we invite studies that investigate climate processes and climate change in mountain areas based on monitoring and modeling activities.
Particularly welcome are contributions that align with and address the interdisciplinary objectives of the Elevation-Dependent Climate Change (EDCC) working group of the Mountain Research Initiative, as well as the application and development of high-resolution (kilometer-scale) climate models over complex mountainous terrain, including advances in model design, challenges, and observational gaps needed for robust model evaluation and improvement.
The evolution of glaciers, ice caps, and ice sheets can have a profound impact on the Earth system. Ice mass growth and decay results in the fluctuation of sea levels, alteration of global air and ocean circulation patterns, sculpting of the landscape, and reorganisation of continental drainage. Landforms and sediments provide important information about the dimensions, distribution, and dynamics of former ice masses. This record can be used to understand ice dynamics, reconstruct climate, and refine our understanding of the future response of ice masses to variations in climate. The glacial geological record is also often compared with observations of the modern-day processes at work on Earth. The aim of this session is to bring together researchers focused on reconstructing past glaciations and understanding glacial processes at all spatial scales and from all parts of the world. We welcome studies of all relevant aspects, for example (i) glacial landforms and sediments, (ii) glacial reconstructions and chronologies, (iii) glaciologic and climatic interpretations, and (iv) numerical modelling. While the focus of the session will be Quaternary glaciations, studies from any geological period are encouraged to fully address the diversity of the topic.
Thermal remote sensing is an increasingly popular technique employing passive sensors to detect Earth’s surface properties from the emitted radiation in the Thermal Infrared (TIR) domain. The main focus of TIR remote sensing is the evaluation of the thermal state of an object or surface, and its associated surface temperature and emissivity. These properties are widely relevant in several frameworks for geological, environmental, climate, agricultural, biological, and engineering purposes.
Recent technological advancements have supported the development of the TIR remote sensing, as satellite sensor and data infrastructure systems are now able to collect and manage a large amount of high-fidelity TIR data with different spatial and temporal resolutions. Further, beside the airborne- and ground-based measurement systems, the Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and drones are increasingly considered as versatile platforms concerning the temporal resolution ensuring high spatial resolution.
This session aims to deal with the main emerged and still emerging research directions of TIR remote sensing, as well as discussing the next challenges for this community. Examples of welcome contributions are the new frontiers, case studies, and data integration analysis related to:
• Geosciences: volcanoes, hydrothermal systems, geothermal potential, mineral exploration, rare earths, cryosphere.
• Climate, Urban Systems, and Ecosystems: urban heat islands, global warming impacts, ecosystem stress, forest health, fire risk assessment, water management.
• Agriculture and Precision Farming: crop stress monitoring, irrigation management, soil analysis and pest/disease monitoring.
• Technological and Methodological Innovations: new sensors for satellite, airborne, UAS and in-situ platforms, multi-platform and/or multi-sensor data integration, Cal/Val activities.
• Data Processing and Infrastructure: approaches for managing and processing large TIR datasets, data fusion techniques, advanced algorithms for atmospheric correction and temperature and emissivity separation.
Multi-disciplinary studies and contributions from the Early Career Scientists are welcome.
The job market in both industry and academia can be a very challenging environment, especially for those either just completing a course of study, or looking to change sectors. Trying to get your application to stand out is a task that comes with a lot of unknowns, even after years of experience in higher or further education. Preparing for a higher level job application or interview is a useful skill that develops as you advance in your career – with new aspects being added with each new position you aim for. Once you get invited to interview, this process in itself bring a whole new set of challenges that range from: online vs in-person interviews; interview protocol; accommodations and reasonable requests; expected time-frames; anticipating questions; gauging employer culture and more.
This short course aims to bridge this gap to employment by drawing on the experience of senior career workers in both industry and academia, as well as HR professionals, to provide specific advice for anyone who is in the process of submitting a job application or preparing for interview. This short course will address questions such as: what to include or not in a cover letter and job application; what are the different kinds of CV and when you should use them; how to prepare for an online or in-person interview; what are some of the signs you can look for to identify workplace culture; and what questions you should ask in an interview.
As a practical exercise, this short course will conclude with a mock interview; a list of questions that could be asked of applicants in a limited time environment, with feedback available from the presenters. Short course participants will leave feeling more prepared and confident in their skills for navigating the job market.
About 10% of the land surface are underlain by permafrost, with important implications for the local carbon-, water- and energy-cycles. The permafrost extent is highly sensitive to shifts in temperature, thus, it has and will continue to change in the future. With most ecosystem processes being affected by the presence of permafrost, these changes entail feedback effects not only on local- but also on the large-scale climate. Here, the focus has chiefly been on the biochemical feedbacks, such as the permafrost-carbon feedback, but there is also a potential for (bio-) physical feedback mechanisms. The degradation of permafrost may affect the land-atmosphere moisture exchange through its impact on the surface hydrology, which in turn shapes the local and regional cloud cover. Vegetation shifts affect surface -albedo, -roughness and resistance to evaporation, with a similar potential to modify land atmosphere interactions. They may also modify fire frequency and -intensity, affecting cloud formation rates through the release of aerosols, which act as cloud condensation nuclei.
The above examples do not constitute a complete list and we welcome all abstracts focusing on any physical, biophysical and biochemical permafrost-climate feedback, explicitly including submissions proposing novel mechanisms. We encourage contributions that aim at a quantification of the feedback strengths, at the regional to global scale, and those which improve our understanding of mechanisms, at the process-level. Likewise, we welcome abstracts targeting feedback mechanisms under scenario-based future projections as well during the historical period and in the deeper past. Contributions relying on modelling tools and observational data are equally welcome and so are submissions conceptually describing feedback-chains that have been overlooked by the scientific community.
Recent studies show widespread warming of permafrost and indicate that the Arctic has warmed up to four times faster than the global average. Increasing temperatures initiate a wide range of land-scape and environmental changes, including gradual and abrupt permafrost thaw, vegetation chang-es, and changes in hydrological and fire regimes. Interdisciplinary efforts are needed to further inves-tigate developments in Arctic, boreal, and high-latitude permafrost regions and to better understand the processes and impacts of ongoing changes.
This session is intended as a forum for scientists involved in state-of-the-art research on permafrost disturbance dynamics, associated processes, and impacts. We welcome contributions concerning studies on different scales, from local studies including field observations, near-surface geophysics, and drone measurements, to regional and circumpolar analyses supported by remote sensing tech-niques and modelling approaches. We encourage submissions targeted at dynamic permafrost dis-turbance processes, including thermokarst, coastal erosion, anthropogenic impacts, hydrology, mass movements, sediment fluxes, biogeochemical cycling and associated fluxes.
This session seeks abstracts on (1) novel observations of permafrost disturbance-related phenome-na; (2) the impact of permafrost changes on the natural and human environment; and (3) advances and new developments in measurement, modelling, parametrization, and understanding of perma-frost-related processes.
We particularly encourage contributions that (a) identify processes related to disturbances and envi-ronmental changes in permafrost regions; (b) present novel measurement and monitoring ap-proaches; (c) outline new strategies to improve process understanding; (d) come from or interface with neighbouring fields of science or apply innovative technologies and methods; and (e) investigate model validation, model uncertainty, and scaling issues of diverse processes.
Machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) are transforming the way we study the cryosphere. These data-driven tools are rapidly increasing in popularity and offer potential impact throughout the scientific workflow, from the way we design studies, observe processes, collect data, model phenomena, and analyse systems to the way we construct and test hypotheses. While ML and AI methods applied across the cryosphere may be originally intended to answer a particular cryospheric question, the solutions developed to solve these specific problems may offer generalisable approaches and transferable insights to issues in other domains of the cryosphere. As such, this session invites contributions using ML and AI from all branches of cryospheric science, including snow and avalanches; permafrost; glaciology; ice caps, ice sheets, ice shelves and icebergs; sea ice; and freshwater ice. We also welcome contributions focusing on dataset development, theoretical research, and community-building initiatives. This session intends to provide a forum for cross-cutting discussions and knowledge exchange, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and ultimately promoting the efficient and effective application of ML and AI in the cryosphere.
Social (bring your own lunch): Tuesday, 12:30. The coordinates in what3words are shams.gangway.edgy.
Radar is a prominent tool for studying ice on Earth and is becoming widespread on other planetary bodies. In this session, we hope to bring together all those interested in radar data and analysis to showcase their work, take inspiration from each other and develop new (interdisciplinary) collaborations. We aim for this session to encompass various targets, instruments and applications, such as:
- Targets: snow, firn, land ice, sea ice, lake ice, river ice and permafrost on Earth as well as the surfaces and interiors of Mars, Europa, Ganymede, The Moon, Titan, Venus, Small bodies, etc.
- Instruments: airborne and spaceborne sounders, altimeters, SAR and passive microwave radiometers as well as drones, GPR, ApRES, pRES and other radars.
- Acquisition and processing: hardware, passive measurements, datasets, algorithm development, etc.
- Analysis and interpretation techniques: reflectometry, interferometry, thermometry, specularity, EM simulations, inversion, etc.
- Applications: investigations in surface-, englacial, subglacial and proglacial areas, scattering interfaces, roughness, hydrology, geothermal heat flux, material properties, fabric, modelling/supporting lab work, Earth and extraterrestrial analogues/synergies, etc.
We especially encourage the participation of Early Career Researchers and those from underrepresented groups.
The satellites of the outer solar system show huge diversity in their chemical makeup, internal structures, surface geology, underpinning geophysics, and habitable potential. The habitability of these bodies is a property of their physical systems, and hence depends on a range of interacting geophysical, chemical, and celestial mechanical processes, including - but not limited to - climate, impacts and erosion, cryosphere,and ocean dynamics. Many of these different aspects are non-trivially coupled; understanding these worlds requires insight from multiple angles and subdisciplines, from Earth and Planetary scientists alike. This session aims to highlight the diversity of solar system moons, through a wide range of contributions covering atmospheres to the deep interior, instrumentation, laboratory work, and comparative planetology. We welcome contributions from all manner of studies focused on the scientific and technological advancements needed to further our understanding of icy and rocky outer solar system moons.
How do seismologists detect and locate earthquakes? Is seismology only about earthquakes? Seismology has become an essential tool across various geo-disciplines, complementing fields like tectonics, geology, geodynamics, volcanology, hydrology, glaciology, and planetology.
In Seismology 101, we will introduce the fundamental concepts and methods of seismology. This course remains tailored to those unfamiliar with the subject, particularly early career scientists. We will provide an overview of key methods and processing techniques applicable to surface processes, near-surface geological structures, and the Earth’s interior. The course will emphasise how advanced seismological techniques can enhance the interpretation of results from other disciplines.
Topics include:
- Basic principles of seismology, including earthquake detection and location
- Understanding and interpreting "beachballs" (focal mechanisms)
- The distinction between earthquake risks and hazards
- An introduction to free tutorials at seismo-live.org and other useful tools
- Applications of seismic methods for imaging the Earth’s interior (at various scales), deciphering tectonics, and monitoring volcanoes, landslides, glaciers, and more.
While we won’t turn you into the next Charles Richter in 60 minutes, we aim to increase your awareness of how seismology can support geoscience. Each topic will be discussed in a non-technical manner, highlighting both strengths and potential limitations. This course will help non-seismologists better understand seismic data and foster enriched interdisciplinary discussions.
The short course is organized by early career seismologists and geoscientists, who will present examples from their own research and high-impact reference studies for illustration. This 60-minute short course is part of a quintet of introductory 101 courses on Geodesy, Geodynamics, Geology, Seismology, and Tectonic Modelling. All courses are led by experts who aim to make complex Earth science concepts accessible to non-experts.
PLEASE NOTE: since this short course has been given a longer time slot (105 instead of 60 minutes), we are able to include more material, and also have more time for your questions in the end.
Writing is difficult. Like most geoscientists, you might struggle, especially if your native tongue is not English. Writing is a skill best learnt by practice, lots of it, ideally with immediate peer feedback. It can also be a lonely job. In this hands-on, participatory workshop you will work on a writing task with colleagues, sharing inspiration and getting immediate feedback. The task illustrates in vivid fashion some key elements of writing.
This Short Course will be a *workshop* including the following:
1. Quick intros [5 mins]
2. An enjoyable, small-group writing game, with immediate feedback [40 mins]
3. Small-group debrief [25 mins]
4. A Q&A session with journal editors [30 mins]
5. Wrap-up [10 mins]
As editors of the EGU journal, Geoscience Communication, we believe that this workshop will be of use to all authors, although we particularly encourage beginners and those of intermediate experience to attend.
It might be possible to use a short, and not-too-technical, paragraph of yours in the workshop and suggest improvements. If you would like to do that, please see the Additional Information below.
Please note that some workshop materials will allow up to a maximum of 20 participants, on a first-come basis. Additional people will be invited to conduct guided observation in silence during the exercises, and then to contribute actively during the debriefing and discussion.
Please bring some blank paper, a pen and an internet-enabled laptop or telephone (with QR code capability).
All science has uncertainty. Global challenges such as disaster risk, environmental degradation, and climate change illustrate that an effective dialogue between science and society requires clear communication of uncertainty. Responsible science communication conveys the challenges of managing uncertainty that is inherent in data, models and predictions, facilitating the society to understand the contexts where uncertainty emerges and enabling active participation in discussions. Uncertainty communication can play a major role across the risk management cycle, especially during decision-making, and should be tailored to the audience and the timing of delivery. Therefore, research on quantification and communication of uncertainties deepens our understanding of how to make scientific evidence more actionable in critical moments.
This session invites presentations by individuals and teams on communicating scientific uncertainty to non-expert audiences, addressing topics such as:
(1) Innovative and practical tools (e.g. from social or statistical research) for communicating uncertainty
(2) Pitfalls, challenges and solutions to communicating uncertainty with non-experts
(3) Communicating uncertainty in risk and crisis situations (e.g., natural hazards, climate change, public health crises)
Examples of research fitting into the categories above include a) new, creative ways to visualize different aspects of uncertainty, b) new frameworks to communicate the level of confidence associated with research, c) testing the effectiveness of existing tools and frameworks, such as the categories of “confidence” used in expert reports (e.g., IPCC), or d) research addressing the challenges of communicating high-uncertainty high-impact events.
This session encourages you to share your work and join a community of practice to inform and advance the effective communication of uncertainty in earth and space science.
Accurately capturing the glacial surface mass balance (SMB) and surface energy budget (SEB) is essential to reconstruct the past and reliably project the future mass change of glaciers, ice sheets and ice shelves, and their contribution to global sea level and freshwater supply. Changes in accumulation and surface melt affect glacier mass balance through fluctuations in equilibrium line altitude, snow/ice albedo and extent, surface elevation, rain and meltwater retention in firn. However, adequately accounting for all glacial surface processes and for their associated feedbacks over various spatiotemporal scales remains challenging. Combining observations and simulations across scales is thus crucial to better understand the SMB of glaciers, ice sheets and ice shelves.
We invite observational and model-based presentations on past reconstructions and future projections of the SMB and SEB over glaciers, ice sheets and ice shelves. We promote research that identifies drivers and further explores changes in rain/snow accumulation and redistribution, meltwater production, retention and refreezing in firn, and subsequent surface runoff, sublimation and blowing snow erosion. We welcome studies using global/regional climate models, SMB-SEB and positive degree day (PDD) models, or machine learning techniques that enhance our understanding of glacial surface processes from local to regional scales. Works combining SMB models with in-situ or remote sensing observations to quantify glacial mass change are also encouraged.
Ice sheets and the surrounding polar oceans and atmosphere form a tightly coupled system whose evolution is central to global sea level, ocean circulation, and the overall climate. This session focuses on the interactions of ice shelves and tidewater glaciers with the ocean, atmosphere, and sea ice on the continental shelves around Greenland, Antarctica, and the Arctic. We welcome contributions addressing any scale and aspect of this physical system or of any of its approximations, simplifications, or analogs. This session aims to bridge observational, laboratory, theoretical, modeling, and data-science perspectives to improve understanding of ice-ocean-atmosphere interactions and their relevance in the climate system. We welcome work from both polar regions or any other planets and across disciplines, including fluid and solid mechanics, glaciology, oceanography, or atmospheric and climate sciences.
We propose an interactive PICO session format to encourage in-person dialog and random human interactions with the hope of fostering in-depth discussions and future scientific collaborations.
Data assimilation (DA) is widely used in the study of the atmosphere, the ocean, the land surface, hydrological processes, etc. The powerful technique combines prior information from numerical model simulations with observations to provide a better estimate of the state of the system than either the data or the model alone. This short course will introduce participants to the basics of data assimilation, including the theory and its applications to various disciplines of geoscience. An interactive hands-on example of building a data assimilation system based on a simple numerical model will be given. This will prepare participants to build a data assimilation system for their own numerical models at a later stage after the course.
In summary, the short course introduces the following topics:
(1) DA theory, including basic concepts and selected methodologies.
(2) Examples of DA applications in various geoscience fields.
(3) Hands-on exercise in applying data assimilation to an example numerical model using open-source software.
This short course is aimed at people who are interested in data assimilation but do not necessarily have experience in data assimilation, in particular early career scientists (BSc, MSc, PhD students and postdocs) and people who are new to data assimilation.
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