Lillehammer, 2. – 4. September 2025
We are excited to announce our upcoming conference, which will explore key topics related to climate change, hydrology, and land surface. This year, the conference is organized around three themes. Our sessions will focus on the local impacts of global climate change, the dynamics of seasonal snow in cold regions, and the effects of runoff on water quality and ecosystems.
Opening lecture: Professor Björn Klöve, University of Oulu: «Observing and modelling climate-land-energy-water interactions in cold climate»
CONFERENCE THEME
Session 1: Local impacts of global climate change: data, methods, and communication strategies
Keynote: Dr. Benjamin Sanderson, CICERO Center for International Climate Research: «CMIP7 and beyond: Towards emissions and activity-driven Earth System Modelling»
This session examines how the increase in atmospheric greenhouse gases globally will affect our environments locally and how to obtain actionable climate information used across communities. Methods and processes to provide updated, relevant, and accurate information for decision-makers about changes in extreme weather, precipitation patterns, snow seasons, and drought will be highlighted. Contributions can support this by i) investigating ongoing and future climate changes based on the latest developments for observations, reanalysis and projections, ii) developing and sharing methods to ensure effective two-way communication between researchers and user groups, and iii) extracting robust information from global climate models to scales relevant for hydrologists, ecologists, infrastructure, wildlife management, municipalities, and industries such as renewable energy, agriculture, reindeer husbandry, and tourism.
Session 2: Changing climate and seasonal snow dynamics in cold regions
Keynote: Professor Richard Essery, University of Edinburgh: «Snow modelling on climatological, meteorological and hydrological scales»
Snow is an essential part of the climate system in cold regions through its effects on processes influencing the water, energy, and carbon cycles. In particular, changes in the timing of the snow season, along with the increased frequency of rain on snow events, significantly impact ecosystem dynamics. Traditionally, different approaches, methodologies, and data sets have been used by the snow science community to observe and model the changing dynamics of the snowpack at the local, regional, and global scales. Additionally, increasing data volumes from Earth observations and emerging technologies help us better understand the rapid changes on the Earth surface and its interaction with the atmosphere – including snow dynamics. In this session, we invite studies about obtaining snow observations (in-situ or remote), modeling the terrestrial cryosphere, and novel approaches for process understanding.
Session 3: Impact of runoff dynamics on water quality and ecosystems
Keynote: Professor Gesa Weyhenmeyer, Uppsala University: «Challenges and opportunities of an unfrozen future on ecosystem services from lakes»
In this session we want to concentrate on the intersection between ecology and hydrology with a special attention to rivers, lakes and reservoirs. Global warming and changes in human land use affect local runoff and water temperature, creating new challenges for research and management. We will address issues on the relationship between runoff, water temperature, and water quality, and the potential consequences these factors may have on the vegetation and peatland in watersheds and the ecological conditions in rivers and lakes. Contributions on restoration and mitigation measures are welcome.
DEADLINES AND PRACTICALITIES
Important dates
Abstract submission deadline: 11 May 2025
Letter of acceptance: 15 May 2025
Final programme: 30 June 2025
Registration deadline: 4 July 2025
Registration
Make your registration here.
Conference fee
Conference September 2. – 4.: NOK 4 400,-
The conference fee covers registration, abstract management, and technical solutions, and includes: 3 x lunch, 2 x dinner (including Banquet), social events, conference materials and excursion. Accommodation and breakfasts are not included in the conference fee.
Daypass (September 2. or 3.): NOK 2 000,-
Day pass NOK 2000 covers registration, abstract management, and technical solutions, and includes: 1 x lunch, 1 x dinner and conference materials.
Daypass (September 4.): NOK 1 000,-
Day pass NOK 1000 covers registration, abstract management, and technical solutions, and includes: 1 x lunch and conference materials.
Students in Norway can apply support from the Norwegian Hydrological Council nhr@nve.no for their participation. Please find the application form here.
Abstract
The abstract deadline is May 11. Please use this template, and send an abstract of max 500 words to modelling2025@nve.no. Write ”Abstract Modelling Conference 2025” in the subject field. Please state the following in your email:
– which session you prefer to attend,
– whether you prefer an oral presentation or poster
– please state if you are a student
Price
The best oral and poster presentations by students will be awarded a prize.
Venue
The conference will take place at the Scandic Victoria Hotel [Scandic Victoria Lillehammer] in Lillehammer. The hotel was built in 1872 but has undergone recent renovation and an extension. It is centrally located on Storgata, Lillehammer’s popular pedestrian street, and only 400 meters from Lillehammer train station.
You will be given a link and booking code for Scandic Victoria Hotel in the confirmation email you receive immediately after registration for the conference.
Note that the hotel room is charged extra, and that you will have to pay for your accommodation individually directly to the hotel.
Lillehammer is easy to reach by train from Oslo Airport Gardermoen (approx. 1 h 40 min) or Oslo City Central Railway Station (approx. 2 h 10 min). The trains are operated by Vy and SJ and usually open for booking via app or online 3 months ahead of travel at https://www.vy.no/en or https://entur.no/. There are more than a dozen train connections every day and usually it is not necessary to book long time in advance.
Lillehammer is situated at the northern end of Norway’s largest lake, Mjøsa. It is known for hosting the Winter Olympics in 1994. It is a UNESCO City of Literature. It holds the open-air museum Maihaugen [https://maihaugen.no/] and the Norwegian Olympic museum [https://eng.ol.museum.no/]. Its main pedestrian street has been featured in recent TV-shows like Lilyhammer. Two national parks are a couple of hours away from Lillehammer, Rondane to the east and Jotunheimen to the west. Hafjell [https://www.hafjell.no/en] and Kvitfjell [https://www.kvitfjell.no/en] are mountain resorts closer to Lillehammer. Just after the conference there is a music festival in Lillehammer [https://www.lillehammerlive.no/]. Read more about the city on Visit Norway [https://www.visitnorway.com/places-to-go/eastern-norway/the-lillehammer-region/].
ORGANIZING AND SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE
Dr. Stein Beldring, Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (Chair)
Dr. Helene Birkelund Erlandsen, Norwegian Hydrological Council/ Norwegian Meteorological Institute (Vice chair)
Prof. Nils-Otto Kitterød, Norwegian University of Life Sciences
Prof. Knut Alfredsen, Norwegian Hydrological Council/ Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Dr. Yeliz Yilmaz, University of Oslo
Dr. Stephanie Nikola Gleixner, Statkraft
Dr. Emilie Claussen Iversen, Norconsult
Anne Haugum, Norwegian Hydrological Council
Photo: Small stream in Alnesdalen with the mountains of Trolltindan in the background (photo credit: Juditha Aga)
