IAHS would like to draw your attention to the open access publication in Nature lead by Heidi Kreibich, Chair of the Panta Rhei Working Group.

The challenge of unprecedented floods and droughts in risk management

Just because you haven't experienced something, doesn't mean it can't happen. This insight also applies to natural hazards such as floods and droughts. A study published in the renowned scientific journal Nature has shown that gearing risk management measures to the worst-case event experienced to date is not enough to reduce impacts from unprecedented events. 

Floods and droughts can cause severe damage and are on the rise in many parts of the world. The impact of such natural hazards can be reduced through appropriate risk management if the causes of the increasing damage are known. However, this has so far been hampered by a lack of empirical data. 

A large-scale international collaborative effort by researchers from the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS), led by Heidi Kreibich of the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), has now led to important lessons from past events. A unique data set of two successive extreme flood or drought events in the same area was compiled and studied. Regions with large differences in population structure, socio-economic, climatic and hydrological conditions on all continents were studied. The analyses confirmed the assumption that appropriate risk management generally helps to reduce damage.

However, it is particularly difficult to reduce the impact of extreme events whose magnitude has not been seen in the past in the affected area. Heidi Kreibich explains this with two factors. First, infrastructures such as dams and reservoirs have an upper design limit up to which they are effective, but once a threshold is exceeded, they become ineffective. Second, risk management is usually introduced or adjusted reactively after major floods and droughts, while proactive, anticipatory strategies are rare. The reason for this behaviour is partly due to a cognitive bias related to the rarity and previous uniqueness of these extreme events, as well as to the nature of human risk perception: events that one has already experienced oneself are more likely to be expected again in the future.

Two success stories were also examined, in which the damage was less despite a higher hazard in the second event. Three success factors were identified: effective governance of risk and emergency management, high investment in structural and non-structural measures, and improved early warning and real-time control systems. Heidi Kreibich says: "We believe that applying these success factors can counteract the current trend of increasing damage from extreme events under climate change conditions."

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04917-5 

First author, Christophe Cudennec, elaborates on his experience as Secretary General of IAHS, part of IUGG, member of ISC. The publication of this article in Hydrological Sciences Journal, the Journal of IAHS, demonstrates how a century-old scientific community offers a reflexive space, and how open science developments can benefit from engaging with and springboarding from the existing self-organized structures of the scientific community. Along with COVID-19-related  developments, we place the discussion of open science in the context of long-term and accelerating challenges of the Anthropocene, within which the hydrological entry point provides a key aspect and illustration based on the connecting and interfacing dimensions of water in nature and societies; the increasing role of water in security issues; and the diversity of water-related contexts and epistemologies across the world.

The article is open access and available at https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02626667.2022.2086462 

The international conference "River sediment quality and quantity" by the Continental Erosion Commission (ICCE) of International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS) will be held at Bydgoszcz in Poland, at the Kazimierz Wielki Univeristy, on October 17-21, 2022 in Bydgoszcz (hybrid formula). The deadline for abstract submission is July 31st.

The conference program will include oral and poster thematic sessions within the following topics: Sediment quantity - cascades, budgets, yields; Sediment impacts on river channel hydromorphology and managment; Sediment quality - geochemistry, nutrients, contaminants, emerging issues; and Sediment-biota interactions.

The conference program will include: Oral and poster thematic sessions (hybrid version) and Social events for the offline participants (a post-conference tour is planned for the sediment management project in the Vistula River estuary and the construction of Vistula Spit canal (official name Nowy Swiat ship canal) which is a constructed canal across the Polish section of the Vistula Spit that will create a second connection between the Vistula Lagoon and Gdansk Bay) 

The updated flyer of conference is:

https://icce2022.ukw.edu.pl/jednostka/icce2000/downloads

The conference is eligible for SYSTA awards to pay the registration fee for remote registration (on-line). An abstract must be accepted before application for an award.

As a partner organisation IAHS would like to draw your attention to the WMO call for research proposals.

WMO through its Hydrology Coordination Panel is seeking to fund research proposals that will address aspects of one or more of the three research priorities identified by the WMO Hydrology Research Strategy, contributing to build the capacity of WMO Members in the hydrological value chain. These aspects are:

1.     Improve Hydrological Monitoring to generate hydrologic and cryospheric information that enhances our understanding and assessment of the quantity and quality of water resources, including both surface and groundwater. This includes both issues related to hydrologic data collection, and to the design and evaluation of hydrological monitoring networks.
2.     Improve hydrological forecasting, including hydrological and cryospheric modelling and forecasting; precipitation estimation and forecasting;  understanding and predicting hydrological extremes; and assessing/modelling human-water-ecosystem interactions.
3.     Develop and improve relevant methods, procedures, and techniques for the collection, analysis, and transmission/communication of hydrological data for the user community. This includes issues related to data processing and quality control; data storage, access, and dissemination; and communications to the end users.

Additional background information and modalities are provided in the  WMO Hydrology research call for proposals

Submit your proposal
Proposing entities willing to submit a proposal should comply with the WMO Hydrological Research Strategy Proposal template, and submit it by 30 September 2022 using the email address  [email protected] with following subject : WMO Hydrological Research Strategy – research proposal

Received proposals will be evaluated by an external Technical Evaluation Board with representatives from WMO, UNESCO-IHP and IAHS.

It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of Jill Gash. Jill worked for the IAHS office from 1991 to her retirement in 2013 and was actively involved with the team until recently.

For years Jill was responsible for all IAHS book sales and ensuring that books got to their destination. Many of the IAHS community will remember her friendly approach at the IAHS book stand at different conferences, and others will have communicated with her when ordering books from Wallingford, or arranging TFDC books for their libraries. She was a very capable colleague, and contributed much to the smooth running of the IAHS office. She was fun to work and travel with. I am sad to have lost a friend and colleague.

By Cate Gardner 

The XIth IAHS Scientific Assembly was held in Montpellier, France from 29th May to 3rd June 2022 with a very rich scientific programme.

The Scientific Assembly was the opportunity to celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the association, to look forward to the end of the Panta Rhei decade which will close in 2023, to envisage progress on the 23 UPHs - Unsolved Problems in Hydrology, and to screen developments of Open Science and support to Agenda 2030 in water-related fields.

There were 600 attendees from 65 countries at this in-person meeting locally organized by a team of scientists from diverse institutions federated by the UNESCO Cat2 Centre ICIREWARD. Covid travel restrictions continued to cause problems for some attendees with about 80 cancellations.

In 2021 the local organising committee decided not to hold the meeting in hybrid mode to encourage attendance and better collaboration. This was generally thought to be a good decision especially for the networking opportunity availed to younger members. Members were delighted to meet again and have the opportunity for discussion and interaction.

IAHS2022 was the first in-person assembly since the XXVIIth IUGG in Montréal in July 2019. The plenary therefore provided an opportunity to celebrate IHP IAHS-UNESCO-WMO medallists and Tison award winners for three years (2020-2022). Our congratulations go to them all.

Left to right: Christophe Cudennec (Secretary General IAHS), Abou Amani (Director, Division of Water Sciences UNESCO), Hubert Savenije (2020 Dooge medallist), Francis Chiew (2022 Volker medallist), Eleni Maria Michailidi (2020 Tison awardee), Taikan Oki (2021 Dooge medallist), María José  Polo Gómez (2022 Dooge medallist), Berit Arheimer (President IAHS), Günter Blöschl (Past President IAHS), Svenja Fischer (2021 Tison awardee), Johannes Cullmann (Director, Climate and Water Department, WMO – receiving award for Harry Lins 2021 Volker medallist), Alexander Ross (2022 Tison awardee), Attilio Castellarin (Editor in Chief HSJ), Salvatore Grimaldi (Vice President IAHS), Bruno Merz (2020 Volker medallist).

Of the 33 SYSTA awards granted to attend the assembly 25 were able to participate. Seven were unable to attend due to visa issues and one withdrew. IAHS organised their flights, accommodation and registrations as well as refunding local expenses up to a maximum total of €2,500. They all spoke highly of the opportunity afforded to them to meet and interact with their peers

The second the Early Career Committee representatives took up their roles during the assembly. IAHS international commissions and working groups, the Editorial Board of Hydrological Sciences Journal and the IAHS Bureau had strategic and operational meetings. WMO and UNESCO took the opportunity to reach out to the scientific community on their latest developments and on science-operational-policy interactions.

IAHS celebrated its 100-year anniversary during the IAHS2022 Scientific Assembly in Montpellier, France. 

The well-attended plenary was divided into three parts:

• Segment 1: Historical recap in building the future, chaired by B. Arheimer, with inputs by G. Blöschl, K. Beven and C. Cudennec
• Segment 2: Future water challenges and scientific opportunities, chaired by C. Cudennec, with inputs by A. van Loon, I. Pechlivanidis, M-J. Polo
• Segment 3: Emerging knowledge, technology, community building, chaired by G. Blöschl, with panelists B. Arheimer (IAHS), A. Amani (UNESCO), J. Cullmann (WMO), H. Makurira (Waternet), M. H. Ramos (EGU), S. Uhlenbrook (IWMI), H. Kreibich (IAHS), M. Sivapalan (IAHS)

During the historical recap we heard from Günter Blöschl about the history of the association including information on the PUB and Panta Rhei decades as well as lessons learned from the UPH process.

Christophe Cudennec produced 10 posters about IAHS history for the event (one for each decade) and detailed the growth and development of the Association.

During 'Future water challenges and scientific opportunities' we heard from Anne Van Loon about the Panta Rhei working group ‘Drought in the Anthropocene’ and Ilias Pechlivanidis about ‘Flooding beyond Prediction’ before María José Polo Gómez spoke about co-development with stakeholders and engaging citizens including the IAHS CandHy working group.

The audience were then invited down for a pop-up session to talk for 2 minutes on their thoughts for the new decade and many took the opportunity.

Finally a panel of IAHS Officers and invited sister organisations (WMO, UNESCO, WaterNet, WMO and IWMI) chaired an interactive session on ‘Emerging knowledge, technology, community building’ inviting provocative questions from the audience.

The XIth IAHS Scientific Assembly opened on Monday 29th May at Le Corum in Montpellier, France. Over 600 hydrologists are excited to be back at a fully in-person meeting with a week of collaboration and interaction around scientific oral presentations and posters.

The event was kicked off with a presentation by Professor Eric Servat (University of Montpellier and Director of Research at IRD) of the IAHS2022 local organising committee.

This was followed by a presentation by Heidi Kreibich, Chair of the 5th biennium of Panta Rhei about the progress made during the decade.

Berit Arheimer, President of IAHS, described her vision for the Association and launched the call to update three main documents during the assembly:

IAHS Declaration on water security

Revisiting the IAHS culture

Producing the IAHS Equality, Diversity and Inclusion statement of commitment.

We look forward to a week of excellent presentations.

IAHS would like to draw attention to a PhD-course, “The 13th Annual Catchment Science Summer School”. It runs Aug 28-Sept 2, in-person at the University of Birmingham UK.

Course details and registration information can be found at https://water.usask.ca/hillslope/teaching/catchment-summer-school/home.php.

The instructors include Profs: Jeff McDonnell, David Hannah, Chris Soulsby, Doerthe Tetzlaff, Ilja van Meerveld, Jan Seibert & Stefan Krause.