CR – Cryospheric Sciences
Programme Group Chair: Daniel Farinotti
- CR1 – The State of the Cryosphere: Past, Present, Future
- CR2 – lce sheets, ice shelves and glaciers
- CR3 – Sea, Lake and River Ice
- CR4 – Frozen ground, debris-covered glaciers and geomorphology
- CR5 – Snow and ice: properties, processes, hazards
- CR6 – Instrumental and paleo-archive observations, analyses, and data-driven methods in the cryospheric sciences
- CR7 – The Cryosphere in the Earth system: interdisciplinary topics
- CR8 – Short Courses (SC)
To address societal concerns over rising sea levels, associated extreme events, and their impacts on coastal communities, ecosystems, and the global economy, it is essential to understand the drivers and contributions to these changes. This session responds to this need by inviting research from the international sea level community that advances knowledge of past, present, and future changes in global and regional sea levels, extreme events, and coastal impacts.
The session focuses on studies that explore the physical mechanisms of sea level rise and variability, as well as the underlying drivers, across timescales ranging from paleo records to high-frequency phenomena to long-term projections, using observations and/or model simulations. Research on linkages between sea level variability, heat and freshwater content, ocean dynamics, ice-sheet and glacier mass loss, land subsidence, and terrestrial water storage is welcome. We encourage studies addressing future sea level changes, including high-end projections from rapid ice-sheet mass loss, and those assessing short-, medium-, and long-term coastal impacts and their broader implications.
Sitting under a tree, you feel the spark of an idea, and suddenly everything falls into place. The following days and tests confirm: you have made a magnificent discovery — so the classical story of scientific genius goes…
But science as a human activity is error-prone, and might be more adequately described as "trial and error". Handling mistakes and setbacks is therefore a key skill of scientists. Yet, we publish only those parts of our research that did work. That is also because a study may have better chances to be accepted for scientific publication if it confirms an accepted theory or reaches a positive result (publication bias). Conversely, the cases that fail in their test of a new method or idea often end up in a drawer (which is why publication bias is also sometimes called the "file drawer effect"). This is potentially a waste of time and resources within our community, as other scientists may set about testing the same idea or model setup without being aware of previous failed attempts.
Thus, we want to turn the story around, and ask you to share 1) those ideas that seemed magnificent but turned out not to be, and 2) the errors, bugs, and mistakes in your work that made the scientific road bumpy. In the spirit of open science and in an interdisciplinary setting, we want to bring the BUGS out of the drawers and into the spotlight. What ideas were torn down or did not work, and what concepts survived in the ashes or were robust despite errors?
We explicitly solicit Blunders, Unexpected Glitches, and Surprises (BUGS) from modeling and field or lab experiments and from all disciplines of the Geosciences.
In a friendly atmosphere, we will learn from each other’s mistakes, understand the impact of errors and abandoned paths on our work, give each other ideas for shared problems, and generate new insights for our science or scientific practice.
Here are some ideas for contributions that we would love to see:
- Ideas that sounded good at first, but turned out to not work.
- Results that presented themselves as great in the first place but turned out to be caused by a bug or measurement error.
- Errors and slip-ups that resulted in insights.
- Failed experiments and negative results.
- Obstacles and dead ends you found and would like to warn others about.
For inspiration, see the collection of BUGS - ranging from clay bricks to atmospheric temperature extremes - at https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU25/session/52496
CR1 – The State of the Cryosphere: Past, Present, Future
Sub-Programme Group Scientific Officers: Christina Draeger, Violaine Coulon
Proposals are marked in red.
Glaciers and ice caps in a changing climate: from observations and modelling to impacts and risks
Deciphering the record of glaciations through space and time: lessons for the future
GM9 | Glacial, Periglacial, and Cold Regions Geomorphology
GM3 | Geomorphology, extreme events, and hazards
HS9 | Erosion, sedimentation & river processes
NH6 | Remote Sensing, AI, data science & Hazards
Geological and tectonic controls on ice sheets and ice shelves: boundary conditions from mantle to surface
Multiscale Atmosphere–Sea Ice–Ocean–Ice Shelf Interactions in a Changing Antarctic Climate
AS | Atmospheric Sciences
CL | Climate: Past, Present & Future
OS | Ocean Sciences
The Arctic plays a vital role in the Earth's climate system through complex interactions among the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere, and biosphere. Its sea ice cover reflects most of the incoming solar radiation and regulates the surface energy balance. Freshwater and heat fluxes associated with river runoff, the melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet as well as the formation and melting of sea ice can influence deep-water formation in the North Atlantic and hence the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. Additionally, the meridional temperature gradient between low and high latitudes drives large-scale atmospheric circulation. In the meantime, Arctic permafrost and peatlands store vast amounts of carbon, and the region is home to unique and vulnerable ecosystems.
However, anthropogenic climate change is warming the Arctic nearly four times faster than the global average in recent decades. Numerous feedbacks amplify this Arctic warming, known as Arctic amplification, and modulate the response of climate. The resulting changes are affecting Arctic ecosystems and potentially also influence remote regions through atmospheric and oceanic teleconnections.
Past warm climates act as natural laboratories and provide valuable information for the understanding of key processes and feedbacks involved in Arctic changes, establishing a basis for constraining future Arctic projections. Climate models on the other hand, project that the Arctic Ocean could become nearly ice-free during summers within the next few decades. Nevertheless, substantial uncertainties remain regarding the future Arctic evolution, potential variation of its influence on the global climate system and its ecosystem responses under continued warming. The ERC synergy grant i2B (Into the Blue) aims to address these research gaps by an integrative approach, combining paleoclimate evidence, modern observations, and numerical modelling.
Building on this interdisciplinary perspective, this session brings together studies that explore Arctic processes and their wider implications across different climate states. Therefore, we welcome contributions from all career stages investigating the Arctic mechanisms, impacts and interconnections across past, present, and future warm climate states from observational, proxy, or modelling perspectives.
The over half-century since the first deep ice core drilling at Camp Century, Greenland, has seen increased spatial coverage of polar ice cores, as well as extensive development in methods of ice sample extraction, analysis and interpretation. Growth and innovation continue as we address pressing scientific questions surrounding past climate dynamics, environmental variability and glaciological phenomena. New challenges include the retrieval of old, highly thinned ice, interpretation of altered chemical signals, and the integration of chemical proxies into earth system models. We invite contributions reporting the state-of-the-art in ice coring science, including drilling and processing, dating, analytical techniques, results and interpretations of ice core records from polar ice sheets and mid- and low-latitude glaciers, remote and autonomous methods of surveying ice stratigraphy, proxy system modelling and related earth system modelling. We encourage submissions from early career researchers from across the broad international ice core science community. Contributions from on-going projects focusing on old and/or deep ice including, Green2Ice, COLDEX and Beyond EPICA Oldest Ice are very welcome.
CR2 – lce sheets, ice shelves and glaciers
Sub-Programme Group Scientific Officers: Violaine Coulon, Christina Draeger
Proposals are marked in red.
Ice shelves and tidewater glaciers - dynamics, interactions, processes, and climate implications
Observation-informed glacier and ice sheet modelling: calibration, data assimilation and inverse modelling
OS1 | Ocean Circulation and Climate
Advances in numerical methods and mathematical theory for glacier and ice sheet models
From past to future ice–sheet evolution: Sea-level projections and tipping dynamics
Northeast Greenland occupies an important position within the Arctic, linking the Greenland Ice Sheet and ice-free terrestrial landscapes with the Arctic Ocean and Greenland Sea. Geologically and environmentally, the region has undergone major change associated with the opening and deepening of Fram Strait, the onset and intensification of Arctic–Atlantic water exchange, the early formation of ephemeral glaciers, the later build-up of the Greenland Ice Sheet, and its repeated expansion and retreat throughout the Quaternary. Ice-core records from EGRIP provide insights into past climate and ice-sheet dynamics, while observations of the Northeast Greenland Ice Stream and its outlet glaciers reveal ongoing changes in one of the ice sheet's major drainage systems. Under ongoing anthropogenically forced warming, Northeast Greenland is particularly sensitive to Arctic amplification, resulting in rapid changes across its terrestrial, cryospheric, marine and atmospheric systems. Understanding these changes, their interactions and their future trajectories requires integration across disciplines and timescales.
We invite contributions from marine, cryospheric, terrestrial and atmospheric research focused on Northeast Greenland, extending from eastern North Greenland to northern East Greenland. Studies that improve our understanding of the region across geological timescales through the present and into the future, using geological and palaeoenvironmental archives, ice-core records, contemporary observations, process studies, remote sensing and numerical modelling, are all invited. We particularly encourage studies that explore connections among systems, including the dynamics and evolution of the Northeast Greenland Ice Stream, ice-sheet–ocean interactions, atmospheric and oceanic forcing, freshwater and sediment fluxes, ocean circulation and sea ice, long-term landscape evolution and its interactions with glaciation, permafrost dynamics, and terrestrial and marine ecosystem change.
CR3 – Sea, Lake and River Ice
Sub-Programme Group Scientific Officers: Lettie Roach, Falk M. Oraschewski
Proposals are marked in red.
River and Lake Ice in a Changing Climate: Advances in Modelling, Observation and Prediction
CR4 – Frozen ground, debris-covered glaciers and geomorphology
Sub-Programme Group Scientific Officers: Samuel Weber, Cristina Pérez-Guillén
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 landscape and environmental changes, including gradual and abrupt permafrost thaw, vegetation changes, and changes in hydrological and fire regimes. Interdisciplinary efforts are needed to further investigate 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 techniques and modelling approaches. We encourage submissions targeted at dynamic permafrost disturbance 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 phenomena; (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 permafrost-related processes.
We particularly encourage contributions that (a) identify processes related to disturbances and environmental changes in permafrost regions; (b) present novel measurement and monitoring approaches; (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.
Mountain permafrost is degrading worldwide, and the consequences are becoming increasingly visible: destabilizing rock slopes that fail as large landslides or rock-ice avalanches, thawing ice-rich terrain that feeds sudden and destructive debris flows, and ground subsidence that threatens high-mountain infrastructure. Recent catastrophic events in mountain regions around the globe have shown how these processes can cascade across the landscape, affecting water resources, ecosystems, settlements, and tourism. Yet much of this change remains hidden below the surface – making the monitoring and understanding of mountain permafrost systems more important than ever.
This session brings together the full breadth of mountain permafrost and periglacial research, from the high Arctic through continental mountain ranges (e.g., Alps, Andes, Tibetan Plateau, Scandes) to the arid unglaciated areas of Antarctica. We welcome studies of ice-rich and ice-poor landforms alike, including rock glaciers, talus slopes, plateaus, ice-cored moraines, steep rock walls, and thermokarst terrain.
We particularly encourage contributions that advance the understanding of processes at slope to regional scales, and studies that combine multiple methods or introduce newly developed approaches. Contributions may include, among others:
- geophysical measurements and analysis (e.g., ERT, SRT, DAS, EM, IP, GPR, TLS);
- in-situ monitoring (e.g., ground temperatures, discharge, kinematics, GNSS);
- remote sensing (e.g., optical, thermal, InSAR, UAV surveys);
- numerical modeling of past, present and future processes and scenarios;
- early warning systems and hazard assessment;
- machine learning and AI applications for permafrost data analysis;
- long-term monitoring series and the characterization of new permafrost sites with state-of-the-art methods.
Our goal is to improve the understanding of how mountain permafrost responds to climate change, and to provide a meeting point for the international mountain permafrost community – fostering exchange, joint research developments, and new collaborations across disciplines.
Early-career scientists are warmly encouraged to submit their work to this session.
Debris-covered glaciers are found everywhere on Earth (and on other planets) and are becoming more widespread with climate warming. Understanding the effects of supraglacial debris on glacier mass balance and dynamics, and the geomorphic processes that govern debris supply, transport, and landscape evolution, is therefore required to explore the evolution of debris-covered glaciers and improve projections of global changes in glacier volumes and their downstream impacts. We invite the vibrant community of researchers working on debris-covered glaciers to share their most recent advances in this session. We welcome submissions on all aspects of debris-covered glacier research including but not limited to: the dynamics of debris-covered glaciers, glacier surface energy and mass balance, surface processes such as ice cliffs and supraglacial ponds, supraglacial debris properties, debris-covered glacier hydrology, interactions with slope processes and surrounding geomorphology, landscape evolution linked to debris-covered glaciers, and the influence of supraglacial debris on near-surface meteorology. Methodological developments for studying debris-covered glaciers are also welcome, including; novel field observation techniques, remote sensing analyses at local or global scales, and glacier models or machine-learning approaches applied to debris-covered glaciers.
CR5 – Snow and ice: properties, processes, hazards
Sub-Programme Group Scientific Officers: Cristina Pérez-Guillén, Samuel Weber
Proposals are marked in red.
AS1 | Meteorology
CL3.1 | Future Climate – Climate Change: From Regional to Global
HS2.1 | Catchment hydrology in diverse climates and environments
Monitoring snow and surface ice properties using photonic and optical technologies
GI6 | Multidisciplinary Sensor Networks for Environmental Applications
CR6 – Instrumental and paleo-archive observations, analyses, and data-driven methods in the cryospheric sciences
Sub-Programme Group Scientific Officers: Falk M. Oraschewski, Lettie Roach
Proposals are marked in red.
BG5 | Palaeobiogeosciences
CL1.2 | Past Climate - Last ~2.6 Ma
ESSI1 | Next-Generation Analytics for Scientific Discovery: Data Science, Machine Learning, AI
In recent years, technologies based on Artificial Intelligence (AI), such as image processing, smart sensors, and intelligent inversion, have garnered significant attention from researchers in the geosciences community. These technologies offer the promise of transitioning geosciences from qualitative to quantitative analysis, unlocking new insights and capabilities previously thought unattainable.
One of the key reasons for the growing popularity of AI in geosciences is its unparalleled ability to efficiently analyze vast datasets within remarkably short timeframes. This capability empowers scientists and researchers to tackle some of the most intricate and challenging issues in fields like Geophysics, Seismology, Hydrology, Planetary Science, Remote Sensing, and Disaster Risk Reduction.
As we stand on the cusp of a new era in geosciences, the integration of artificial intelligence promises to deliver more accurate estimations, efficient predictions, and innovative solutions. By leveraging algorithms and machine learning, AI empowers geoscientists to uncover intricate patterns and relationships within complex data sources, ultimately advancing our understanding of the Earth's dynamic systems. In essence, artificial intelligence has become an indispensable tool in the pursuit of quantitative precision and deeper insights in the fascinating world of geosciences.
For this reason, aim of this session is to explore new advances and approaches of AI in Geosciences.
The MacGyver session focuses on novel sensors made, or data sources unlocked, by scientists. All geoscientists are invited to present:
- new sensor systems, using technologies in novel or unintended ways,
- new data storage or transmission solutions sending data from the field with LoRa, WIFI, GSM, or any other nifty approach,
- started initiatives (e.g., Open-Sensing.org) that facilitate the creation and sharing of novel sensors, data acquisition and transmission systems.
Connected a sensor to an Arduino or Raspberri Pi? Used the new Lidar in the new iPhone to measure something relevant for hydrology? 3D printed an automated water quality sampler? Or build a Cloud Storage system from Open Source Components? Show it!
New methods in hydrology, plant physiology, seismology, remote sensing, ecology, etc. are all welcome. Bring prototypes and demonstrations to make this the most exciting Poster Only (!) session of the General Assembly.
This session is co-sponsered by MOXXI, the working group on novel observational methods of the IAHS.
Monitoring high-latitude regions, active volcanic areas, high-altitude alpine zones, and extreme terrestrial analogues poses severe logistical and technological challenges. Severe thermal ranges, high electromagnetic interference, strict weight and power constraints, and remote accessibility demand highly resilient instrumentation and innovative operational workflows.
This session brings together researchers, engineers, and platform developers to explore cutting-edge technological advancements designed for environmental observation in extreme contexts. Primary focus is given to autonomous and unmanned platforms, such as tailored UAVs, USVs, and rovers, equipped with specialized geophysical and remote sensing payloads including thermal cameras, magnetometers, LiDAR, and ground-penetrating radar optimized for terrain-following and harsh operating conditions.
The session also addresses developments in ruggedized sensing hardware, low-power miniaturized electronics, and multi-platform data fusion methodologies that integrate satellite imagery, airborne surveys, and in-situ sensor networks. Furthermore, emphasis is placed on field-testing campaigns in terrestrial analogue environments that serve to benchmark instruments for future planetary exploration missions, as well as edge-computing and machine learning workflows for real-time data inversion and rapid anomaly detection in remote deployments. Submissions spanning sensor design, field calibration, campaign results, and integrated geophysical modeling are welcome.
Thermal remote sensing is an increasingly established technique employing passive sensors to deriveEarth’s surface properties from the radiation emitted in the Thermal Infrared (TIR) domain. Its main focus is the thermal state of an object or surface, together with the associated surface temperature and emissivity. These properties are relevant across geological, environmental, climatic, agricultural, biological, and engineering applications.
Recent technological advances have driven the development of TIR remote sensing: satellite sensors and data infrastructure systems can now acquire and manage large volumes of high-fidelity TIR data at a wide range of spatial and temporal resolutions. Besides airborne and ground-based systems, Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) are increasingly used as versatile platforms that combine high spatial resolution with flexible temporal revisit. Together with a growing catalogue of current and upcoming missions, this makes it a timely moment to take stock of where the field stands.
This session addresses established and emerging research directions in TIR remote sensing and discusses the community's upcoming challenges. We welcome contributions on 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 Early Career Scientists are especially welcome.
Invited Speaker: Sabine Chabrillat, Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences (GFZ).
Stable, radiogenic, and radioactive isotopes are fundamental tools for understanding Earth’s climate system. Isotopic measurements trace the chemical reactions, mass transfers, and biogeochemical cycles that link climate to other components of the Earth system, and they underpin many past climate reconstructions. Analytical advances, such as triple oxygen isotopes and compound-specific isotope analysis, are opening new avenues for scientific study, while established isotopic methods are steadily being applied to new archives and environmental settings. This session welcomes researchers developing and applying isotopic tools for past and present climate studies. We encourage contributions presenting new analytical methods, calibration and proxy advances, applications to new or underused archives, and modern studies that improve the interpretation of isotopic records. We also welcome studies that integrate isotopic data with geochemical, geomorphic, or climatological evidence, including multi-proxy archive studies, or with modelling approaches such as source mixing and isotope-enabled climate models.
CR7 – The Cryosphere in the Earth system: interdisciplinary topics
Sub-Programme Group Scientific Officers: Thomas Mölg, Daniel Farinotti
Proposals are marked in red.
The Cryosphere in Transition: Linking observations and models of snow, inland ice, and permafrost impacts on the Earth system
The year 2027 marks two important milestones for EGU’s cryospheric sciences community: the 25th anniversary of the EGU Division on Cryospheric Sciences and the 20th anniversary of the journal “The Cryosphere”. This special session celebrates these anniversaries by bringing together the cryospheric community to reflect on the scientific progress achieved over the past quarter century and to anticipate the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.
Distinguished scientists representing the Division's core scientific themes—including mountain glaciers, ice sheets, sea ice, snow, permafrost, emerging observational and modelling techniques, as well as interdisciplinary linkages—will provide forward-looking perspectives on the evolution of their respective fields. The presentations will highlight transformative discoveries, identify paradigm shifts, and pinpoint unresolved questions as well as scientific priorities that are expected to shape cryospheric research over the coming decades.
The session will also celebrate two decades of “The Cryosphere”, reflecting on the role that the journal has played in advancing the discipline and fostering an open, international scientific community.
By combining scientific retrospection with a strong emphasis on future directions, this session aims to stimulate discussion across traditional disciplinary boundaries, and provide the opportunity for the cryospheric community to come together and assess where the field stands today and where it might be heading over the next 25 years.
Please note that the session will have invited speakers only, i.e. is not open for regular abstract submissions.
Northeast Greenland occupies an important position within the Arctic, linking the Greenland Ice Sheet and ice-free terrestrial landscapes with the Arctic Ocean and Greenland Sea. Geologically and environmentally, the region has undergone major change associated with the opening and deepening of Fram Strait, the onset and intensification of Arctic–Atlantic water exchange, the early formation of ephemeral glaciers, the later build-up of the Greenland Ice Sheet, and its repeated expansion and retreat throughout the Quaternary. Ice-core records from EGRIP provide insights into past climate and ice-sheet dynamics, while observations of the Northeast Greenland Ice Stream and its outlet glaciers reveal ongoing changes in one of the ice sheet's major drainage systems. Under ongoing anthropogenically forced warming, Northeast Greenland is particularly sensitive to Arctic amplification, resulting in rapid changes across its terrestrial, cryospheric, marine and atmospheric systems. Understanding these changes, their interactions and their future trajectories requires integration across disciplines and timescales.
We invite contributions from marine, cryospheric, terrestrial and atmospheric research focused on Northeast Greenland, extending from eastern North Greenland to northern East Greenland. Studies that improve our understanding of the region across geological timescales through the present and into the future, using geological and palaeoenvironmental archives, ice-core records, contemporary observations, process studies, remote sensing and numerical modelling, are all invited. We particularly encourage studies that explore connections among systems, including the dynamics and evolution of the Northeast Greenland Ice Stream, ice-sheet–ocean interactions, atmospheric and oceanic forcing, freshwater and sediment fluxes, ocean circulation and sea ice, long-term landscape evolution and its interactions with glaciation, permafrost dynamics, and terrestrial and marine ecosystem change.
Monitoring high-latitude regions, active volcanic areas, high-altitude alpine zones, and extreme terrestrial analogues poses severe logistical and technological challenges. Severe thermal ranges, high electromagnetic interference, strict weight and power constraints, and remote accessibility demand highly resilient instrumentation and innovative operational workflows.
This session brings together researchers, engineers, and platform developers to explore cutting-edge technological advancements designed for environmental observation in extreme contexts. Primary focus is given to autonomous and unmanned platforms, such as tailored UAVs, USVs, and rovers, equipped with specialized geophysical and remote sensing payloads including thermal cameras, magnetometers, LiDAR, and ground-penetrating radar optimized for terrain-following and harsh operating conditions.
The session also addresses developments in ruggedized sensing hardware, low-power miniaturized electronics, and multi-platform data fusion methodologies that integrate satellite imagery, airborne surveys, and in-situ sensor networks. Furthermore, emphasis is placed on field-testing campaigns in terrestrial analogue environments that serve to benchmark instruments for future planetary exploration missions, as well as edge-computing and machine learning workflows for real-time data inversion and rapid anomaly detection in remote deployments. Submissions spanning sensor design, field calibration, campaign results, and integrated geophysical modeling are welcome.
The concept of Earth as the sole body in the Solar System with liquid water that can harbor microbial life has been overturned by the discovery of multiple 'ocean worlds'. The Solar System is home to several planetary bodies with subsurface oceans of liquid water, including icy satellites such as Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, Enceladus, Titan and Triton, as well as dwarf planets like Pluto, and chief among these ocean worlds, the Earth. Furthermore, new icy and ocean worlds are being continuously discovered in other planetary systems as well. Like Earth, the exploration of these oceans includes both aspects of planetary evolution and habitability. The geodynamic role of oceans in planetary evolution is thus a crucial aspect of understanding not only planet formation, but the onset of biological activity as well. In what ways can the oceans of Earth serve as analogs for other oceans of the Solar System? What instrumentation can be implemented on the Earth now to further our understanding of these ocean worlds, and what technological advances might we expect in future exploration of subsurface liquid water environments beyond Earth?
This session focuses on analog sites, laboratory simulation, modeling, instrumentation and mission proposals. Coordination between Earth, marine and planetary science communities is encouraged, as well as emphasis on upcoming (e.g. JUICE and Dragonfly) and proposed missions (e.g. Enceladus Orbilander). Analog sites might encompass either geological or biological themes in the broader frame of habitability. Interfaces of ice-water (e.g. underside of floating ice shelfs and subglacial lakes), clathrate-water (e.g. ocean floor sediments, veins/fractures/faults, layered horizons and atmosphere particulates), seafloor-ocean, and rock-ice (i.e. glaciers) are of particular curiosity. Instrumentation includes sensors, buoys, submersibles, drilling and coring, as well as satellite instrumentation (e.g. spectrometers, magnetometers and gravimeters).
Climate modeling is pushing the frontier towards increasingly complex, high-resolution earth system models (ESMs). At the same time, nonlinearities and emergent phenomena in the climate system are often studied by means of conceptual models, which offer qualitative understanding and permit theoretical approaches. Recent advancements in statistical and physical emulators – ranging from reduced-complexity climate models to machine learning-based techniques – are enabling rapid and computationally efficient assessments of climate trajectories, impacts, and risks.
Between these approaches, a persistent “gap between simulation and understanding” (Held 2005) challenges our ability to transfer insights from conceptual models to reality, and to distill the physical mechanisms underlying the behavior of complex (climate) models. This calls for a concerted effort to learn from the entire model hierarchy, understanding the differences and similarities across its various levels of complexity, to increase confidence in climate projections.
In this session, we invite contributions from all subfields of climate science that showcase how different modeling approaches advance our understanding of the Earth system and its components, and/or highlight inconsistencies in the model hierarchy. We also welcome studies exploring a single modeling approach, as we aim to encourage exchange between researchers working on different rungs of the model complexity ladder. Contributions may employ dynamical systems models, physics-based low-order models, explainable machine learning, Earth System Models of Intermediate Complexity (EMICs), simplified or idealized setups of ESMs (radiative-convective equilibrium, single-column models, aquaplanets, slab-ocean models, idealized geography, etc.), full ESMs or standalone models of components of the Earth system, and km-scale models.
Processes and phenomena of interest include, but are not limited to:
* Earth system response to climate forcing
* Tipping behavior and critical transitions
* (Coupled) modes of climate variability
* Extremes and predictability
In recent years, technologies based on Artificial Intelligence (AI), such as image processing, smart sensors, and intelligent inversion, have garnered significant attention from researchers in the geosciences community. These technologies offer the promise of transitioning geosciences from qualitative to quantitative analysis, unlocking new insights and capabilities previously thought unattainable.
One of the key reasons for the growing popularity of AI in geosciences is its unparalleled ability to efficiently analyze vast datasets within remarkably short timeframes. This capability empowers scientists and researchers to tackle some of the most intricate and challenging issues in fields like Geophysics, Seismology, Hydrology, Planetary Science, Remote Sensing, and Disaster Risk Reduction.
As we stand on the cusp of a new era in geosciences, the integration of artificial intelligence promises to deliver more accurate estimations, efficient predictions, and innovative solutions. By leveraging algorithms and machine learning, AI empowers geoscientists to uncover intricate patterns and relationships within complex data sources, ultimately advancing our understanding of the Earth's dynamic systems. In essence, artificial intelligence has become an indispensable tool in the pursuit of quantitative precision and deeper insights in the fascinating world of geosciences.
For this reason, aim of this session is to explore new advances and approaches of AI in Geosciences.
Thermal remote sensing is an increasingly established technique employing passive sensors to deriveEarth’s surface properties from the radiation emitted in the Thermal Infrared (TIR) domain. Its main focus is the thermal state of an object or surface, together with the associated surface temperature and emissivity. These properties are relevant across geological, environmental, climatic, agricultural, biological, and engineering applications.
Recent technological advances have driven the development of TIR remote sensing: satellite sensors and data infrastructure systems can now acquire and manage large volumes of high-fidelity TIR data at a wide range of spatial and temporal resolutions. Besides airborne and ground-based systems, Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) are increasingly used as versatile platforms that combine high spatial resolution with flexible temporal revisit. Together with a growing catalogue of current and upcoming missions, this makes it a timely moment to take stock of where the field stands.
This session addresses established and emerging research directions in TIR remote sensing and discusses the community's upcoming challenges. We welcome contributions on 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 Early Career Scientists are especially welcome.
Invited Speaker: Sabine Chabrillat, Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences (GFZ).
Global coupled models that resolve ocean mesoscale eddies, and increasingly atmospheric storms, can now be run over multidecadal to centennial timescales. This allows us to ask whether small-scale processes change the large-scale climate: its mean state, its modes of variability and its response to forcing. This session focuses on the rectified effect of resolved small scales in the ocean, the atmosphere and at the air-sea interface on the climate system.
We welcome contributions from global km-scale models as well as from eddy-rich coupled configurations with coarser atmospheres, regional high-resolution setups and model hierarchies. Topics include the role of ocean mesoscale and submesoscale dynamics, boundary currents and fronts in climate; mesoscale air-sea coupling and its influence on storm tracks, jets, and precipitation; interannual to decadal to centennial variability including the AMOC, the Southern Ocean and tropical modes; whether resolution alters forced responses, climate sensitivity and SST trend patterns; sea ice, and ice-sheet-ocean interactions at high resolution; biogeochemistry, impacts on marine ecosystems, and km-scale mechanisms underlying the exchange of carbon at the air-sea interface and its subsequent transport in the ocean.
We also welcome studies exploring how resolved oceanic and atmospheric small-scale processes influence extremes, including heatwaves, marine heatwaves, ocean carbon uptake and acidification, heavy precipitation and compound events, particularly where these provide insight into climate variability and climate change.
We also invite studies using pacemaker or filtered-forcing experiments and resolved-versus-parameterised comparisons to isolate mechanisms or transfer insight to coarser models, as well as storyline approaches, pseudo-global-warming experiments, uniform warming experiments (e.g. +4 K frameworks), and related targeted methodologies used to understand the role of resolved small-scale processes in climate variability, extremes, and climate change, as well as work on challenges specific to long coupled simulations such as spin-up, drift, tuning, and initialisation.
Contributions from EERIE, DestinE, nextGEMS, WarmWorld, DYAMOND, DYAMOND3, MESACLIP, HighResMIP and related efforts are encouraged.
CR8 – Short Courses (SC)
Sub-Programme Group Scientific Officers: Daniel Farinotti, Thomas Mölg