What are the 23 unsolved problems in Hydrology that would revolutionise research in the 21st century?

At the IAHS Scientific Assembly in Port Elizabeth in July 2017 the new President of IAHS, Günter Blöschl, outlined his vision for a new initiative to generate a list of unsolved problems in hydrology.

 

Progress in hydrology is currently hampered by the rather fragmented research and we need stronger harmonisation of research efforts.  At the beginning of the 20th Century, mathematician David Hilbert set out 23 unsolved mathematical problems which have greatly stimulated focused research in mathematics and we can use this as a model for the IAHS initiative.

IAHS will facilitate the compilation of a list of unsolved scientific problems in hydrology to revolutionise research in the 21st Century and raise the level of excitement for the science. To make tangible progress, the problems should

(1)          ideally relate to observed phenomena and why they happen;

(2)          they should be universal (i.e. not only apply to one catchment or region); and

(3)          they should be specific (so there is hope they can be solved).

The video outlining the new IAHS initiative is available on the IAHS YouTube channel.

Discussion is encouraged via the LinkedIn Group IAHS – International Association of Hydrological Sciences. All IAHS members are invited to join, and so are all sister associations and partners, and all hydrologists.  The IAHS Commissions and Working Groups are tasked with streamlining the discussion and coming up with 3 unsolved problems each. 

During Winter 2017/2018 we will discuss the procedures for selecting the most important problems and come up with a short list of problems. In April 2018, we will meet to make a final selection based on the discussion outcomes. That meeting is open to all hydrologists.

Once established, the list will be used within IAHS to align symposia planning and other events. It can of course also be used by everybody in hydrology for supporting project proposals and more generally conducting focused research. The vision is for the list of unsolved problems in hydrology to better link hydrological research around the world, and to make more tangible, coherent progress in hydrology.

Dear All,

The deadline to submit an abstract to the MOXXI - WMO HydroHub Joint Meeting 2017  "Innovation in Hydrometry - From Ideas to Operation" is only one week away!

If you have not done it yet, please send your abstracts to me or register to the meeting by emailing me with your affiliation details.

Further details on the meeting can be found at this page.

Kind Regards,

Flavia

Dr. Flavia Tauro
Email: [email protected]
Chair, MOXXI, International Association of Hydrological Sciences

     

Dear All,

There are less than two weeks left to submit your abstract to "Innovation in Hydrometry - From Ideas to Operation - MOXXI and WMO HydroHub Joint Meeting"!

The meeting will be held in Geneva on December 4th and 5th. 

Please see the dedicated page for details.

If you would like to participate as an observer, please send an email to me with your affiliation details.

Feel free to forward this to friends and colleagues.

See you soon!

Flavia

Dr. Flavia Tauro
Email: [email protected]
Chair, MOXXI, International Association of Hydrological Sciences

       

The e-journal from IUGG is now available -  1 November 2017

This informal newsletter is intended to keep IUGG Member National Committees informed about the activities of the IUGG Associations, and actions of the IUGG Secretariat. E-journals from the two most recent years are available in the news section of the IAHS website (http://iahs.info/News/IUGG-Newsletters.do). Past issues are posted on the IUGG website (http://www.iugg.org/publications/ejournals/).

If you would like to subscribe for the monthly E-Journal, please contact the IUGG Secretariat

The International Hydrology Prize is awarded annually by IAHS, with UNESCO and WMO, to two people who have made an outstanding contribution to hydrological science. More information, including previous awards, is available at  http://iahs.info/About-IAHS/Competition--Events/International-Hydrology-Prize.do.

Nominations for the Prize are made by National Committees to IAHS, National Committees to the UNESCO-IHP or National Hydrological Advisors to the WMO, and forwarded to the Secretary General of IAHS for consideration by the Nomination Committee. The Committee consists of the President and a Vice-President of IAHS and representatives of UNESCO and WMO. 

Two medals are awarded under the International Hydrology Prize: the Dooge medal and the Volker medal. Both medals are intended to distinguish outstanding achievements by hydrological scientists but with a different focus. The Dooge medal is aimed at fundamental contributions to the science of hydrology, whereas the Volker medal is aimed at outstanding applications of hydrological science for the benefit of society at large. 

The following applies to both the Dooge and Volker medals

• The International Hydrology Prize shall be awarded to persons who have made outstanding contributions to hydrology such as confers on the candidate universal recognition of his or her international stature.
• The contribution should have an identifiable international dimension extending beyond both the country of normal work and the specific field of interest of the candidate.
• The medals may be awarded to hydrologists of long international standing or to younger but active hydrologists who exhibit qualities of international leadership in the science or practice of hydrology.
• An active involvement in the work of IAHS and other international organizations in the field of hydrology should be counted as an advantage.

 

Specific considerations for the Dooge medal

• The Dooge medal is particularly intended for hydrologists who have demonstrated scientific excellence, and have made fundamental contributions to the science of hydrology as evidenced by publications in the international scientific literature and other evidence of high standard.
• Preference should be given to candidates who have recently exhibited outstanding international leadership in the science of hydrology.

 

Specific considerations for the Volker medal

• The Volker medal is dedicated for hydrologists who have applied their research and hydrological expertise to the benefit of society, addressing issues of public interest and development.
• Applications of hydrology to the benefit of developing countries would count as an advantage.
• Preference should be given to candidates who have contributed through both scientific and practical work, and who have made outstanding contributions to the Hydrology community as demonstrated by active involvement in the work of IAHS or other international hydrological associations.

 

Nomination format and procedure

Nominations should be received by the Secretary General of IAHS no later than 31 December 2017 – Christophe Cudennec at [email protected]  – and consist of:

• a (max. 2, pages A4 format) nomination letter signed by a National Representative to IAHS, the President of a national committee of UNESCO-IHP, or a National Hydrological Advisor to the WMO, with one sentence citation (max. 200 characters), and stating why the nominee is the most qualified person to receive the Volker or Dooge medal, paying attention to the medal's dedication specified above;
• the nominee’s CV (max. 3 pages, A4 format) with an emphasis on the contribution to hydrological science and international scientific cooperation, providing clear information on the main criteria used for the evaluation and the specific considerations mentioned above.
• a list of the major scientific publications (max. 2 pages, A4 format).

Nominations are expected from the world diversity, and equally for female and male candidates.

Evaluation criteria

a)      Outstanding contributions to hydrology evidenced by universal recognition of his or her international stature.

b)      Identifiable contributions with international dimensions extending beyond both the country of normal work and the specific field of interest of the candidate.

c)      For senior candidates prove of Hydrologists activities of long international standing, or for younger candidates, prove of being active hydrologists with qualities of international leadership in the science or practice of hydrology.

d)      Active involvement in the work of IAHS and other international organizations in the field of hydrology is counted as an advantage.

e)      Application of the hydrological research performed and the use of his/her expertise to the benefit of society and addressing issues of public interest and development.

f)       Applications of hydrology to the benefit of developing countries counts as an advantage.

Two new opinion papers have been added to the Panta Rhei Virtual Series in Hydrological Sciences Journal bringing the number of papers to eight.  All papers in the series are currently free to view online.

Westerberg, I.K., Di Baldassarre, G., Beven, K.J., Coxon, G. and Krueger, T. 2017. Perceptual models of uncertainty for socio-hydrological systems: a flood risk change example. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 62 (11), 1705-1713. doi:10.1080/02626667.2017.1356926

Liu, J., Yang, H., Cudennec, C., Gain, A.K., Hoff, H., Lawford, R., Qi, J., de Strasser, L., Yillia, P.T., and Zheng, C. 2017. Challenges in operationalizing the water–energy–food nexus. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 62 (11), 1714-1720. doi:10.1080/02626667.2017.1353695

Kreibich, H., et al., 2017. Scientific debate of Panta Rhei research – how to advance our knowledge of changes in hydrology and society? Hydrological Sciences Journal, 62 (3), 331-333. doi: 10.1080/02626667.2016.1209929

Blume, T., van Meerveld, I., and Weiler, M., 2016. The role of experimental work in hydrological science – insights from a community survey. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 62 (3), 334-337. doi:10.1080/02626667.2016.1230675

Srinivasan, V., et al., 2016. Prediction in a socio-hydrological world. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 62 (3), 338-345. doi:10.1080/ 02626667.2016.1253844

Ceola, S., et al., 2016. Adaptation of water resources systems to changing society and environment: a statement by the International Association of Hydrological Sciences. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 61 (16), 2803-2817. doi:10.1080/02626667.2016.1230674

McMillan, H., et al., 2016. Panta Rhei 2013-2015: global perspectives on hydrology, society and change. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 61 (7), 1174–1191. doi:10.1080/02626667.2016.1159308

Mount, N.J., et al., 2016. Data-driven modelling approaches for socio-hydrology: opportunities and challenges within the Panta Rhei science plan. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 61 (7), 1192–1208. doi:10.1080/02626667.2016.1159683

The deadline for discussion of Blume et al. and Srinivasan et al. has expired; discussions on Westerberg et al. and Liu et al. should be submitted to HSJ no later than end March 2018.

More information on the work if the Panta Rhei Working Group can be found on here

Dear All,

This is a friendly reminder that the deadline to submit abstracts to the Joint MOXXI-WMO meeting "Innovation in Hydrometry - From Ideas to Operation" is November 15th.
 
The meeting will be held in Geneva at WMO headquarters on December 4th and 5th. There is NO registration fee to participate in the conference.

Further details on how to get there and accommodation are available on the dedicated page.

Please feel free to forward this to colleagues and friends.

See you soon,

Flavia Tauro
Chair, MOXXI, International Association of Hydrological Sciences

                              

The e-journal from IUGG is now available -1 October 2017

This informal newsletter is intended to keep IUGG Member National Committees informed about the activities of the IUGG Associations, and actions of the IUGG Secretariat. E-journals from the two most recent years are available in the news section of the IAHS website (http://iahs.info/News/IUGG-Newsletters.do ). Past issues are posted on the IUGG website (http://www.iugg.org/publications/ejournals/ ).

If you would like to subscribe for the monthly E-Journal, please contact the IUGG Secretariat

Beijing IAHS - 13-15 June 2018

Innovative Water Resources Management under Changing Environment - Understanding Interactions and Making Balance between Humankind and Nature

Dear friends and colleagues,

For the second time the International Water Resources Management conference of IAHS will take place in the P.R. of China. We are very pleased that Professor Zongxue Xu, a vice-president of our commission, from the College of Water Sciences of the Beijing Normal University will be our host between the 13th and 15th June 2018.

The main topics of the conference are water management issues with regard to the sustainability of the environment:

• Ecological baseflow /Environmental flow to maintain the health of rivers and lakes
• Water needs for a healthy society
• Interactions between water resources and ecosystem

The program contains also the classical problems of water management:

• Assessment of available water resources at regional and basin scales
• Socio-hydrology as the basis of water resources management
• Water resources allocation and management models
• Impact of climate change and human activities on water resources
• Risk analysis for water resources systems, and
• Spatiotemporal distribution of water resources availability

In this way, the program is wide spreaded and offers many opportunities to present and discuss new scientific results and their practical applications. You are cordially invited to take part in this meeting and to submit an abstract: http://iwrm2018.bnu.edu.cn/ 

Please note that the deadline for abstract submissions has been extended until September 30th 2017!

I hope to meet you in Beijing!

Sincerely
Andreas Schumann
President of ICWRS