Convenors: members of the PannEx International Planning Committee (IPC)

PannEx (Pannonian basin Experiment) is a multidisciplinary prospective Regional Hydroclimate Project (RHP) of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) Global Energy and Water Exchanges Project (GEWEX). The almost closed structure of the Pannonian basin makes it a unique natural laboratory for improving our understanding of environmental water and energy exchanges at the regional scale and from an integrated perspective. The basin has only one outflow, the iron gates, and a large low central plain (100 m asl) surrounded by mountains with elevations nearing 2000 m asl. The Pannonian basin is a transition area between Mediterranean, Atlantic and continental climates. Addressing the water cycle at the regional scale allows us to better understand the many components and interactions of the Earth system, from physical processes to socio-economic drivers (e.g., land-use) and effects back on human activities.

PannEx is a community-driven initiative so that outcomes of this session are expected to widen and strengthen the collaboration of different institutions and universities in the Carpathian/ Pannonian region.

This session invites oral and poster presentations dealing with the main flagship and cross-cutting scientific questions identified in the PannEx Science Plan. Several of these questions are common to other parts of Europe and the world, but this session will focus on scientific, observational, forecasting, impact, application, collaboration and socio-economic issues specific only to the Pannonian Basin.

• Water balance at the basin scale;
• Enhancing, upgrading and coordinating observational networks and specific data analyses for study the water and energy cycle;
• Improving the drought early warning system in the region;
• Forecasting of basin floods and flash floods: water for society security under changing climate conditions;
• Agro-climatological and biological systems: Agriculture response to climate change and weather extremes;
• Micrometeorology, energy fluxes and agronomical process modelling, interactions with local climate;
• Urban issues: urban metabolism and interactions with surrounding areas, energy flows and air quality;
• Sustainability of energy production;
• Ecological Services;
• Regional climate modelling: Extreme weather and climate events as a risk to sustainable development;
• Impact and vulnerability assessments of climate changes and extreme weather events on different sectors;
• Outreach, exploitation and education.

The conveners will also organise a short panel discussion within the session to assess further steps and needs to be addressed.

More info about PannEx is available here: https://sites.google.com/site/projectpannex/