6th Conference on Modelling Hydrology, Climate and Land Surface Processes – from Earth System Modelling to Catchment Scale 

September 14 – 16, 2021, Lillehammer, Norway

Models allow gazing into a hypothetical future, let us experiment with future scenarios, and understand physical processes better. Many decisions rely on models being right – and for the right reason. Therefore, a better observational basis, improved understanding of processes and a better description of those processes are key to providing a relevant knowledge base for decision-makers who develop strategies for a reality that is not yet present.

This conference aims to address topics related to modelling the climate system and the interface with the land surface processes and hydrological impacts of climate change. It will also focus on recent developments of observation systems and data analysis including experiences with non-conventional observations, new methods to investigate the soil water dynamics, and climate services for decision making. A special focus is given to terrestrial ecosystem-climate interactions and their representation in Earth System Models (ESMs). The conference is organized in four sessions (see below).

Due to ongoing challenges with the pandemic, we decided to organize the conference in a hybrid format. Therefore, those who want to participate from home can follow the conference on Zoom. If travel becomes difficult, you may follow the whole conference digitally and give your presentation online, also on short notice. Please note, however, that no refunds will be given if you need to change from physical to digital participation after the registration deadline (12. August). Further, if the organizers are forced to cancel the physical part of the conference after 20. August, the conference fee will not be refunded.

 

PRESENTATIONS
See the presentations here.


PROGRAMME AND ABSTRACTS
The programme and abstracts is available here.


TRAVEL INFORMATION
Please follow your local travel guidance regarding the coronavirus. The conference can be followed from home if necessary.

You can easily reach Lillehammer by train from Oslo Airport Gardermoen (approx. 1 h 40 min, 145 km). Travel time from Oslo city center (central train station) is approx. 2 h 10 min.  From Lillehammer train station there is a short, but quite steep, walk (800 m) to the hotel, Scandic Lillehammer Hotel, Turisthotellvegen 6. A taxi from Lillehammer train station to the hotel is approx. NOK 150.

Train departures, Tuesday, September 14:

Oslo Airport Gardermoen (Oslo Lufthavn) – Lillehammer

07:59 – 09:37
08:28 – 10:07
08:59 – 10:40
09:59 – 11:40

The train schedule can be found here: www.vy.no/en/

If you are travelling from abroad, travel restrictions may apply. Please keep updated on the latest official information. Orange and red colours on this travel restriction map implies a need for travel quarantine. You may read more about Norwegian quarantine rules here.

If travel becomes difficult, you may follow the whole conference digitally and give your presentation online, also on short notice.


PRESENTATIONS
For those of you having oral presentations: Please meet with the chairperson in the conference room at least 15 minutes prior to your session to upload your presentation (.ppt or .pdf).

Poster presentations will be organised as a hybrid poster session similar to EGU2021. We plan the following model (may be subject to change):

At the beginning of the poster sessions, all posters will be presented live as a single slide for a 2– 4-minute presentation (preferably .pdf). These presentations will be streamed and can be followed from home. If you participate in person, you will prepare a physical poster (preferably in a portrait format) as well as a digital version of the poster plus one slide. If you participate from home, you will display your poster digitally (preferably in a landscape format, as .pdf) plus one slide. Posters will also be uploaded to this website after the conference, unless you opt-out. There will be one Zoom room per poster session, and digital participants can follow all 2–4-minute presentations by changing the Zoom room according to the poster programme (see the programme). We ask all poster presenters to submit a digital version of your poster as well as a single slide for a 2–4-minute presentation by 13. september.

We’d appreciate if you allow us to publish your presentation (both oral and poster presentation) on our web page after the conference.  If you do not want us to publish your presentation, please tell us and we will of course not do so.

POSTER SESSION
The poster session will be quite different from previous years because this conference is organized as a hybrid event.
We will arrange the poster session in the Zoom room “Postersession 2” (you have received a link by email, sent 10. September at 14:30 by Lee). There will be four breakout rooms. Session 1 is in breakout room 1, and so on: session N is in breakout room N.

You can also find a digital version of the posters that we have been allowed to share publicly on this google folder:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1wS-bd0l496XP-xcDuSsSWitoPbsxlsxM

Those of you attending the conference in person (and not presenting/chairing the poster session) will stay in the conference hall to view the physical posters.

Those of you at Lillehammer presenting/chairing the poster session will meet in smaller meeting rooms for the digital part of the poster session. Session 1: Weidemannsal 4. Session 2: Bjerkebæk. Session 3: Troll 1. Session 4: Troll 4. Ask the moderator of your session well before 17:00 if you are in doubt where to meet.

You will find more information on the poster session in this video:


GENERAL TERMS
We are planning for a physical conference with hybrid solutions (streaming) for those who want to participate from home.

The conference fee covers lunches, dinners and excursion for those who participate at the physical conference.

The digital participation fee (250,-) covers the conference for those who participate from home.

Due to uncertainties regarding the corona situation, invoices for the registration will be sent closer to the conference (mid-August).

 

CHANGE AND CANCELLATION
Changes to the registration can be made by the participants themselves within the registration deadline which is 12 August.

After 12 August 2021 all cancellations must be made in writing to hhpi@nve.no. Cancellation after the registration deadline does not provide a refund.

If the organizers are forced to cancel the physical part of the conference after 20. August, the conference fee will not be refunded.


CONFERENCE FEE
The conference fee is based on four attendee categories:

Physical participation: 3500 NOK
Covers 3 x lunches, 2 x dinners (including banquet), social events, conference materials and excursion.
Students in Norway can apply support from the Norwegian hydrological council for their participation. Please find the application form here.

Digital participation: 250 NOK
Covers streaming and allows following the presentations and poster session from home.

Day pass: 1500 NOK
Covers participation for one day of the conference.

Invited: 0 NOK
Applies to keynote speakers and committee members only.


ACCOMMODATION
For those who want to stay at the hotel, please make your own room booking at Scandic Lillehammer Hotel before 15. August by sending an email to: meeting@scandichotels.com and stating «block 47504304».

Note that the hotel room is charged extra, and will be paid directly to the hotel.

NHR will pay for the room for keynote speakers and committee members, but they will have to book their own room.


SESSIONS
Session 1: Terrestrial ecology with links to climate and the hydrological cycle

Keynotes: Rosie Fischer, NCAR; Gunnar Myhre, CICERO/MET

Terrestrial ecosystems play an important role in regulating the climate through their effects on biogeophysical (water, energy, and momentum) and biogeochemical (carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorous) fluxes. At the same time, changes in the climate system can have profound and diverse impacts on terrestrial ecosystems. Thereby, our ability to accurately predict the evolution of the Earth system is tightly connected to understanding terrestrial ecosystem-climate interactions. In this session, we aim to bring together multidisciplinary studies on the links between terrestrial ecology, hydrology, and climatology that could help to cross the apparent boundaries separating the perspectives of these fields. We welcome submissions focusing on feedbacks between land-based ecosystems and the climate system, terrestrial ecosystem processes across scales, impacts of climate change on terrestrial vegetation, interaction of the water cycle with biota (i.e. terrestrial ecohydrology), land cover and land use change (e.g. vegetation shifts, forestry, grazing, wetland management, irrigation), and improving the representation of terrestrial ecosystem processes in ESMs. We encourage a diverse range of methods which could include the use of in-situ observations, field and laboratory experiments, mechanistic and statistical modeling, reanalysis, or remote sensing.


Session 2: Modelling soil water dynamics: from observations to prediction

Keynotes: Attila Nemes, NIBIO og Terje Berntsen, UiO

Soil moisture is an important but often undervalued element of the water cycle. Compared to other components, the volume of soil moisture is small; nonetheless, it is of fundamental importance to many hydrological, biological and biogeochemical processes. The capacity of soil to retain water effects, among others, surface and subsurface runoff, soil erosion, the buffer capacity of the soil, greenhouse gas emission and soil biota. Measurements and prediction of soil water regime face several constraints due to the high spatio-temporal variability of soil properties. This session invites contributions related to traditional and non-traditional observation methods, analyses and prediction of soil water regime and soil water balance elements. We put special focus on: recently developed air-borne methods of identifying topsoil water content, using modelling approaches at various – from plot to catchment – scales, evaluation of the spatio-temporal variability of soil hydraulic properties, ensemble modelling approaches, and coupling profile- and catchment level hydrological models. 


Session 3: Improved knowledge-base for decision-making

Keynote: Christel Prudhomme, ECMWF

Climate services aim to provide a knowledge base for climate adaptation decisions. Whereas climate services and research institutions provide a plethora of information based on past, present, and future climate, user communities also need tailoring and guidance for their purposes in order to develop efficient and relevant strategies. To fulfill user communities’ need for higher detail, improved methods to downscale, bias-correct and tailor climate projections are required. The session welcomes contributions on different aspects of the modelling-to-decision chain, including downscaling, bias correction approaches, model sensitivity to the choice of input data, quantification of uncertainties, impact modelling, user-specific indices, and communicating model results for decision-making.


Session 4: Integrating observations into earth system modelling, including non-conventional observations

Keynotes: Istem Fer, FMI og Gabriëlle De Lannoy, KU Leuven

ESMs integrate the interactions of atmosphere, ocean, land, ice, and biosphere to estimate the state of regional and global climate under a wide variety of conditions. This makes them invaluable tools to study the climate system and its response to different greenhouse gas emission scenarios. Their projections are marred by uncertainties, which partly originate in processes that need to be parameterized in models, such as clouds and turbulent fluxes. Over the last decades, earth observations have improved substantially through satellite remote sensing as well as non-conventional (e.g., citizen-generated  data) observations. Promising tools (e.g., data assimilation and machine learning) make it possible to integrate global observations into an ESM systematically. In this session, we aim to showcase diverse efforts to integrate observations (e.g., satellite remote sensing, ground stations, isotope, airborne sensors, drones and citizen-based observatories) into ESMs for advancing our understanding of the processes driving the variability and trajectory of the climate system at global, regional and local scale. We especially welcome investigations focusing on model evaluation, model uncertainty reduction, new algorithms for data assimilation or data analyses.


ORGANIZING AND SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE:

Irene Brox Nilsen, Researcher, Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate, NVE (chair)
Ole Einar Tveito, Senior scientist, Norwegian Hydrological Council/Norwegian Meteorological Institute
Lu Li, Researcher, NORCE Norwegian Research Centre
Yeliz A. Yılmaz, Postdoctoral research fellow, University of Oslo
Csilla Farkas, Senior research scientist, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research
Ståle Haaland, Associate professor, Norwegian University of Life Sciences
Oddbjørn Bruland, Professor, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Hans Christian Udnæs, Chief hydrologist, Hafslund ECO
Hanne Heiberg, Senior scientist, Norwegian Meteorological Institute
Anne Haugum, Senior advisor,  NVE and executive secretary, Norwegian Hydrological Council


Photo: Open-top chambers warm up some of the alpine vegetation plots in Låvisdalen, Vestland, 2019 (photo credit: Eva Lieungh)