IAHS News
Abstract submission open for 7th International Water Resources Management Conference
The spatial dimensions of water management - Redistribution of benefits and risks.
The conference brings together experts from different countries and expertise to present their research ideas and discuss challenging questions of modern water management. This meeting, part of the series of IWRM conferences organized by ICWRS series is focused on spatial aspects of water management.
Submit your abstract now!
Abstract submission is available now using pdf form via the following website:
http://iahs-rub.hydrology.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/node/9
The submission will be possible until October 15th 2015.
Registration for the conference will open in September 2015.
Andreas Schumann
Chair of the scientific steering committee
7th International Water Resources Management Conference of ICWRS, Bochum, Germany, 18-20 May 2016
Dr Cate Gardner Retires
The retirement of Dr Cate Gardner as Manager of IAHS Press was announced to Members at the Plenary held at the recent IAHS General Assembly in Prague on Friday June 26th, 2015. This provided an appropriate occasion for the Association to convey their thanks and appreciation to Cate for her long, loyal and valuable service to IAHS and to recognise her outstanding contribution to the Association over many years.
2015 International Hydrology Prize and Tison award medalists
Congratulations to the recipients of the International Hydrology Prize (Dooge medal and Volker medal) and the Tison award for 2015!
THE 2015 INTERNATIONAL HYDROLOGY PRIZE MEDALISTS
Left to Right: Christophe Cudennec (Secretary General, IAHS), Anil Mishra (UNESCO), Hubert Savenije (President, IAHS), Mary Hill (Dooge Medal Recipient), Paul Pilon (WMO).
Volker medal: Pierre Hubert (France)
Left to Right: Anil Mishra (UNESCO), Hubert Savenije (President, IAHS), Pierre Hubert (Volker Medal Recipient), Paul Pilon (WMO).
Awarded during the IAHS Plenary at IUGG 2015 in Prague, Czech Republic (26th June 2015).
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.
Nominations for the Prize are made by National Committees and forwarded to the Secretary General 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.
http://iahs.info/About-IAHS/Competition--Events/International-Hydrology-Prize.do
THE 2015 TISON AWARD PAPER
The 2015 Tison Award was presented to A. Maltese and F. Capodici.
Maltese, A., Bates, P.D., Capodici, F., Cannarozzo, M., Ciraolo, G. and La Loggia, G., 2013. Critical analysis of thermal inertia approaches for surface soil water content retrieval. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 58 (5), 1144–1161. doi:10.1080/02626667.2013.802322
Left to Right: Christophe Cudennec (Secretary General, IAHS), Hubert Savenije (President, IAHS), Antonino Maltese (Tison Award Recipient), Zbigniew W. Kundzewicz (Retired Co-editor, HSJ). Photo courtesy of C. Neale.
The paper is available open access: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02626667.2013.802322
The IAHS Tison Award, established in 1982, aims to promote excellence in research by young hydrologists. The Award is granted for an outstanding paper published by IAHS in a period of two years previous to the deadline for nominations.
http://iahs.info/About-IAHS/Competition--Events/Tison-Award.do
IAHS Ultimate Frisbee Tournament
In these times of scientific controversy on the issue of scales in hydrology, the IAHS Ultimate Frisbee tournament held during the 2015 IUGG General Assembly in Prague was expected to shed new light on this debate, by pitching downscalers against upscalers. Twenty players took part in the match on the field of the Vyšehrad close to the Congress Centre.
There was no observation round in this match and the upscalers quickly took the advantage after a few minutes. Their very detailed representation of the field thanks to a 10 cm resolution LiDAR data and to drone airborne measurements was very helpful to identify the best trajectories by applying least-energy principles. In contrast, the downscalers started with a large 10x10 km2 scale and it took some time for them to adapt to the actual limits of the field and to find the best pathways to score. After trying a few statistical approaches, they opted for a deterministic one and managed to come back to 4 goals to 5. This was the time the upscalers chose to define efficient adaptation strategies, which resulted in five new successive goals. The golden Frisbee did not change the outcome of the match and the upscalers won.
After the match, the downscalers complained that they did not have recent enough data to cope with extreme situations. A more detailed analysis of the statistical parameters of the match showed that the team of upscalers was in fact a mix of upscalers and downscalers, and that the variety of experiences and points of view within the team strongly contributed to finding efficient solutions. This is a matter for thought before the next Ultimate Frisbee game planned in two years’ time in South Africa at the next IUGG Assembly.
The participants of the Ultimate Frisbee game. The downscalers team: G. di Baldassare, A. Castellarin, J. Fabre, C. Furusho, S. Grimaldi, P. Hublart, F. Raynaud, A. Viglione, and M. Zappa. The upscalers team: H. Aksoy, M. Courbariaux, R. A. Montero, F. Neugirg, I. Pechlivanidis, C. Perrin, P. Pilon, D. Ruelland, A. Rücker, and G. Thirel.
The Prague Statement
A Need for Action to Develop Water Resources Management Systems
by the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS)
We, the delegates to the conference of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences in Prague, June 20-26, 2015 are deeply concerned by the water problems humanity is experiencing with increasing frequency and severity and express the following concerns and recommendations. The hydrosphere is experiencing a global water crisis caused by uneven freshwater availability in space and time, overexploitation, environmental degradation and the more frequent occurrence of floods and droughts.
We call upon all local, regional and national governments and urge them to develop effective solutions to the water crisis by developing effective water resources management systems. In order to address problems of freshwater availability and supply, the full spectrum of technical, organisational, economic, political, legal and social approaches should be considered, and implemented as needed. In order to address flood risks, a holistic approach of integrated flood risk management should be adopted that considers all phases of the disaster cycle – mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery.
We also call upon members of the international scientific community and urge them to develop practical and implementable methods and techniques to support adaptation of water resources management systems to the current and future challenges. Adaptation of water resources management systems should build on observed evidence and rigorous system understanding. An improved understanding of hydrological processes is therefore needed, in particular at the local scale, and put into the context of broader river basin and groundwater issues.
Finally, we call upon the research funding agencies at both national and international levels and urge them to provide funding that is commensurate with the challenges of the global water crisis. Enhanced funding is needed to improve the understanding of hydrological processes at all scales. Fundamental research is equally important as applied research, and is equally likely to become societally relevant, albeit over longer time scales.
Adopted by acclamation, in the city of Prague, Czech Republic, on this 26th day of June 2015.
IUGG IAHS Frisbee Match
The IAHS frisbee match took place this morning pitching upscaler hydrological modellers against downscalers. A well fought match was eventually won by the upscalers 11-4.
More photos are available on the IAHS facebook page:
IAHS at IUGG 2015 Prague Assembly
IUGG 2015 is fast approaching (June 22nd - July 2nd). IAHS will have a presence on the IUGG booth so please come along to meet us and buy a ticket for the IAHS dinner on Friday 26th June (limited availability).
During the IUGG General Assembly elections will take place for officers of IAHS and the Commissions. See www.iugg2015prague.com/ for the programme and additional information. A ballot paper has been drawn up for the 55 positions who will be elected by National Representatives and is available on the IAHS 2015 Elections page where you will find all the election information.
There are two candidates for the post of President-elect of the Association. An IAHS administrative plenary will take place at the Prague Assembly, in Forum Hall, on Tuesday 23rd June, from 12:15 where the two candidates will take the floor and present their vision.
Elections results will be announced during the IAHS Plenary on Friday 26 June and on iahs.info. During the plenary session prizes will be presented for the International Hydrology prizes (Dooge medal and Volker medal) and the Tison award (see announcement). We celebrate the end of the first biennium in the Panta Rhei decade and welcome the transition to the new Working Group. During the week, meetings will take place for some of the 10 IAHS commissions.
On a fun note we look forward to the traditional frisbee contest where the delegates demonstrate their physical skills in an international competition.
The full scientific programme is available and the papers selected for three IAHS symposia at IUGG2015 are now available open access on the PIAHS website: JS1 (Vol. 369), HS01 (Vol. 370) and HS02 (Vol. 371).
New eBook: The Value of Water Monitoring
There is a solution – you understand the value of water monitoring but need additional, sustainable funding. Know that you are not alone. The gap between water monitoring capability and the rapidly evolving need for evidence-based policies, planning, and engineering design is growing worldwide. Learn how to form persuasive arguments that are sensitive to local politics and priorities to address this deficit in funding. The benefits of hydrological information DO vastly outweigh investments in water monitoring.
This free resource can help water resource professionals, government agencies, private enterprises, and citizens around the world frame locally meaningful discussions on how to best prepare for a secure water future. Here are some highlights:
- The universal value of water – social, economic & environmental benefits
- The cost of ignorance – adverse, unwanted outcomes
- The value of establishing relevance & trust – actionable information from data
- The economics of monitoring – benefit/cost analyses
- Tips for success in your quest for more funding
Stu Hamilton was a senior hydrometric technologist with Water Survey Canada for nearly 30 years and managed the operations of 500+ monitoring stations. Today, Stu is Senior Hydrologist at Aquatic Informatics and serves as an expert volunteer with the WMO, ISO, NASH, and OGC.
Read Stu’s new eBook The Value of Water Monitoring today and discover winning strategies to help you close the funding gap for your water monitoring program.
Aquatic Informatics
1 (877) 870-2782 or 1 (604) 873-2782
[email protected]
Video: AQUARIUS in 3 minutes
Sent to you by the IAHS, on behalf of Aquatic Informatics.
This is not an endorsement of the eBook or the AQUARIUS water data management system.
© Copyright 2015 Aquatic Informatics Inc. 1111 – 2400 W Georgia St, Vancouver, BC, V6E 4M3
HIC 2016 12th International Conference on Hydroinformatics
“Smart Water for the Future”
HIC is a well-established series of Hydroinformatics conferences started in the early nineties. It is supported by three world-leading international organizations, IAHR (International Association of Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research), IAHS (International Association of Hydrological Sciences) and IWA International Water Association).
August 21-26, 2016
Songdo Convensia, Incheon, Korea
Abstract submission Sept 30 2015