Highlights at a glance

08:30 – Climate emergency, human agency: making sense of the current state of scientific knowledge on climate change to strengthen climate literacy (US2 Room E1); Making predictions for geoscience and climate policy (SC2.4 Room -2.61/62); How to establish and grow your scientific network (SC4.7 Room -2.85/86); Dynamics, structure and evolution of Earth and rocky planets from formation to the present day (GD3.2 PICO spot 1); Observing the Cryosphere: Advances in remote and close-range sensing (CR5.3 orals Room 1.61/62, onsite posters 16:15–18:00 (CEST) Hall X); The ocean surface layer: multi-scale dynamics, atmosphere-ocean interactions and impacts on biogeochemistry (OS1.7: orals Room L2, onsite posters 16:15–18:00 (CEST) Hall X4); Critical metals and minerals from mining and quarrying waste materials: formation, recovery and environmentally sustainable management for their valorization (GMPV6.1: Orals 08:30–10:10 (CEST) Room -2.33, vPosters 14:00–15:45 (CEST) vHall X1, onsite posters 16:15–18:00 (CEST) Hall X1)
10:45 – How to navigate the EGU: tips and tricks (SC1.1 Room -2.61/62); An introduction to science for policy (SC2.2 Room Room -2.85/86); The EU Critical Raw Materials Act – how geoscientists can directly inform European policy and regulation (US5 Room E1)
12:45 – EGU Plenary (UMI3: Room E1); Geodesy 101 (SC5.2 Room 1.15/16)
14:00 – HS Division Outstanding ECS Award Lecture by Andrea Cominola: ‘Learning from the past to shape the future. Harnessing multi-scale human data and earth observations to foster sustainable water usage and societal adaptation to climate change’ (MAL44-HS Room 3.16/17); How to get involved with EGU (SC1.2 Room – 2.61/62); Scared of giving presentations to a (geo-)scientific audience? (SC3.3 Room -2.85/86); Unleashing your potential as an Early-Career researcher: bridging the research-policy divide (GDB7 (CEST) Room E1)
16:15 – Milutin Milankovic Medal Lecture by Peter U. Clark: ‘A Revisionist View of the Mid-Pleistocene Transition’ (MAL14-CL Room F1); ST Division Outstanding ECS Award Lecture by Erika Palmerio: ‘Analysing CME observations and simulations with multi-spacecraft techniques’ (MAL51-ST Room L1); Ethics for geoscientists in a time of crisis (SC2.5 Room 1.85/86); Analyzing transient landscapes using TopoToolbox (SC6.5 Room -2.61/62); The MacGyver session for innovative and/or self made tools to observe the geosphere (HS1.2.1 Hall A); Advancing Measurements and Observations in the Geosciences (US1 Room E1)
19:00 – Ian McHarg Medal Lecture by François Robida: ‘The central role of geoscience data standards in generating new knowledge’ and ESSI Division Outstanding ECS Award Lecture by Anirudh Prabhu: ‘X-informatics at the center of scientific discovery: Detecting biosignatures, predicting mineral occurrences, and characterizing planetary kinds’ (MAL17-ESSI Room K2); Practicing Open Science for Early Career Researchers (SC2.1 Room M1); Meet the editors (1): how to write and revise your manuscript (SC4.8 Room M2); Scales and Scaling in the Climate System (SC5.15 Room N2); Introduction to Geospatial Raster and Vector Data with Python (SC6.4 Room N1)

Welcome message from the EGU Programme Committee Co-Chairs

Welcome to the EGU General Assembly! The Programme Committee is excited to be bringing you the largest ever General Assembly with 19,925 abstracts submitted to us back in January encompassing the full range of subjects in the Earth, planetary and space sciences. Every year we work hard on developing new ways to improve our hybrid offer, and 2024 is no exception with a new plan to bring the virtual and on-site presenters closer together, in particular for the poster and PICO sessions, enabling more interaction than ever before. We hope that these improvements will greatly enhance scientific exchange, stimulate your discussions, and foster new and exciting connections.

This year’s programme includes 734 scientific sessions, 59 short courses, 16 union-wide Union Symposia and Great Debates, 51 Medal and Award lectures, as well as the Job Centre, Artists in Residence, GeoCinema, Science-Policy events and much, much more. Also, don’t miss out on learning about EGU’s Divisions, Committees and open access Publications by coming along to one of our special Meet the EGU sessions at the EGU Booth in Hall X2. The best way to navigate through all this is certainly through building your personal programme using the tools on the website or the EGU24 App!

We hope this week will give you a valuable opportunity to gather together with colleagues and friends you know, and to meet new and exciting people who all have at least one thing in common – a fascination with Earth, planetary and space sciences. Although the week is certainly intense and packed with events from morning ‘til evening, we hope you are able to take the time to enjoy the company of your EGU community, to discuss your research in depth and detail, and to uncover new ideas and methods. Our EGU community continues to work to be a force for good; inspiring discovery and action, and the General Assembly remains a vital space for science and education. You are the reason that the EGU General Assembly has become the Assembly of choice for the global community, and we thank all of you for sharing your research, time and enthusiasm with us, whether on-site in Vienna or virtually, online.

Athanasios Nenes and Maria-Helena Ramos, EGU Programme Committee Co-Chairs, 2024

Climate emergency, human agency: making sense of the current state of scientific knowledge on climate change to strengthen climate literacy

Climate science now unequivocally states that human activities have caused the global warming that is observed to date. This state of knowledge builds on centuries of scientific advances in the understanding of the climate system, from multiple lines of evidence – observations, theory, process understanding, and numerical modelling. This Union Symposium will build on key findings from the Sixth Assessment Cycle of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). It will place the current scientific understanding in this context of climate science history and lay out what is the current state of climate, with the observed intensification of global and regional changes, and what are physically plausible futures, unpacking how science underpins the understanding of the climate emergency.

US2: 08:30–10:15 (CEST) Room E1

Medal and award lectures

HS Division Outstanding ECS Award Lecture by Andrea Cominola: ‘Learning from the past to shape the future. Harnessing multi-scale human data and earth observations to foster sustainable water usage and societal adaptation to climate change’ (MAL44-HS: 14:00–14:45 (CEST) Room 3.16/17)
Milutin Milankovic Medal Lecture by Peter U. Clark: ‘A Revisionist View of the Mid-Pleistocene Transition’ (MAL14-CL: 16:15–17:15 (CEST) Room F1)
ST Division Outstanding ECS Award Lecture by Erika Palmerio: ‘Analysing CME observations and simulations with multi-spacecraft techniques’ (MAL51-ST: 16:45–17:00 (CEST) Room L1)
Ian McHarg Medal Lecture by François Robida: ‘The central role of geoscience data standards in generating new knowledge’ and ESSI Division Outstanding ECS Award Lecture by Anirudh Prabhu: ‘X-informatics at the center of scientific discovery: Detecting biosignatures, predicting mineral occurrences, and characterizing planetary kinds’ (MAL17-ESSI: 19:00–20:00 (CEST) Room K2)

Short courses

Making predictions for geoscience and climate policy (SC2.4: 08:30–10:15 (CEST) Room -2.61/62)
How to establish and grow your scientific network (SC4.7: 08:30–10:15 (CEST) Room -2.85/86)
How to navigate the EGU: tips and tricks (SC1.1: 10:45–12:30 (CEST) Room -2.61/62)
An introduction to science for policy (SC2.2: 10:45–12:30 (CEST) Room Room -2.85/86)
Geodesy 101 (SC5.2: 12:45–13:45 (CEST) Room 1.15/16)
How to get involved with EGU (SC1.2: 14:00–15:45 (CEST) [purple9p] Room -2.61/62)
Scared of giving presentations to a (geo-)scientific audience? (SC3.3: 14:00–15:45 (CEST) Room -2.85/86)
Ethics for geoscientists in a time of crisis (SC2.5: 16:15–18:00 (CEST) Room 1.85/86)
Analyzing transient landscapes using TopoToolbox (SC6.5: 16:15–18:00 (CEST) Room -2.61/62)

The EU Critical Raw Materials Act – how geoscientists can directly inform European policy and regulation

In 2023, the European Commission published the Critical Raw Materials (CRM) Act. This regulation established several benchmarks for the supply of Critical Raw Materials within the European Union relating to issues including consumption for extraction, processing, recycling and sourcing materials from a third country outside the EU. Critically, the work needed by the Act will require collaboration with economists, environmental scientists, policymakers and social and behavioural scientists. This Union Symposium aims to identify the role of geoscientists in delivering the Critical Raw Materials Act for Europe. Discussion will focus on how we can build on previous research, infrastructure and data, and aims to identify new opportunities under collaborative programmes such as Horizon Europe.

US5: 10:45–12:30 (CEST) Room E1

EGU24 photo competition finalists cover.png

EGU24 Photo Competition – VOTING OPEN!

Voting has opened today for the fourteenth annual EGU Photo Competition! Ten creative and curious images were selected from 100’s of entrants for this year’s contest on the imaggeo website, in the hopes of being voted one of the top three photos of the year, awarding the winner with free registration to next year’s meeting. The winners are selected by you and voting is open until 18.00 (CEST) on Thursday 18 April. Winners are announced on Friday on the EGU blog, geolog.egu.eu, and at the EGU Booth in Hall X2.

Vote for your favourite.

Unleashing your potential as an Early-Career researcher: bridging the research-policy divide

Climate change, biodiversity loss, and artificial intelligence are contemporary challenges that demand evidence-based policy decisions; it is therefore critical that researchers actively engage in providing insights and expertise to support decision-making. However, there are several challenges researchers, especially early-career researchers (ECRs), face when interested in engaging with stakeholders and the policy-making process. These include institutional, social, cultural and personal barriers such as lack of mentoring and trust from senior researchers, lack of professional recognition/reward, lack of access to policy-makers, professional instability, or lack of confidence and training. In this debate we will explore how to enable the sustainable engagement of ECRs with the policy landscape.

GDB7: 14:00–15:45 (CEST) Room E1

The MacGyver session for innovative and/or self made tools to observe the geosphere

The MacGyver session focuses on novel sensors made, or data sources unlocked, by scientists. All geoscientists are invited to present topics connected to: new sensor systems, using technologies in novel or unintended ways; new data storage or transmission solutions sending data from the field; and recently started initiatives that facilitate the creation and sharing of novel sensors, data acquisition and transmission systems.

HS1.2.1: onsite posters 16:15–18:00 (CEST) Hall A

Dynamics, structure and evolution of Earth and rocky planets from formation to the present day

Dynamical processes shape the Earth and other rocky planets throughout their history; their present state is a result of this long-term evolution. This session aims to provide a holistic view of the dynamics, structure, composition and evolution of Earth and rocky planets (including exoplanets) on temporal scales ranging from the present day to billions of years, and on spatial scales ranging from microscopic to global, by bringing together constraints from geodynamics, mineral physics, geochemistry, petrology, planetary science and astronomy.

GD3.2: PICO 08:30–12:30 (CEST) PICO spot 1

Observing the Cryosphere: Advances in remote and close-range sensing

Over the last decade, advances in remote- and close-sensing technologies have facilitated observations of the cryosphere at increasingly high temporal and spatial scales. Remote sensing, now in the ‘Big Data’ era, is characterised by the availability of petabytes of satellite data, facilitating observations of the cryosphere in near real-time spanning several decades and entire ice-sheets. Meanwhile, close sensing technologies offer measurements at extremely high spatial (millimetre to metre scale) and temporal (minutes to days) resolutions. This session looks to bring together the remote- and close-sensing communities, to better understand the recent advances in technology and its applications, and discuss opportunities and challenges.

CR5.3: Orals 08:30–11:55 (CEST) Room 1.61/62, onsite posters 16:15–18:00 (CEST) Hall X4

The ocean surface layer: multi-scale dynamics, atmosphere-ocean interactions and impacts on biogeochemistry

The ocean surface layer mediates the transfer of matter, energy, momentum and trace gases between the atmosphere, ocean and sea ice, and thus plays a central role in the dynamics of the climate system. This session will focus on the ocean surface layer globally, from the coasts to the pelagic ocean and its interactions with the overlaying low atmosphere. The session covers recent progress in understanding key processes in the ocean surface layer, including wind-driven turbulence, surface-wave effects, convection, surface-layer fronts, surface-layer instabilities, submesoscale dynamics, diurnal warm and rain layers, and surface layer communication with the ocean’s interior.

OS1.7: Orals: 08:30–12:30 (CEST) Room L2, onsite posters 16:15–18:00 (CEST) Hall X4

Advancing Measurements and Observations in the Geosciences

Measurements and observations are essential to the development and advancement of understanding in the geosciences. Measurements are also critical to the detection and quantification of long term change and short term hazards, at a time when non-stationarity in Earth systems is increasing and extreme events are occurring daily. For many regions and domains however, observational networks are lacking, while the need for information is increasing due to growing human populations, intensifying geopolitical pressures and Earth’s rapidly changing climate. The hosts and invited speakers from a range of science and technology disciplines in this Union-wide session will showcase the most exciting advances in measurement, monitoring and observational tools and data systems, and look to the future to see what new possibilities exist. We will explore how innovations from outside of the geoscience domain can bring benefit to our work and how our community can drive the development of new tools and techniques.

US1: 16:15–18:00 (CEST) Room E1

Critical metals and minerals from mining and quarrying waste materials: formation, recovery and environmentally sustainable management for their valorization

The production of minerals and metals is projected to increase by almost 500% by 2050 in order to meet climate targets and the growing demands of society and industry. The extraction and processing of geological resources inevitably generate a significant amount of waste throughout the extraction and processing stages. In the past, the primary focus of mining and mining waste management was on addressing environmental risks and landscape degradation. However, advancements in innovative and technological processes now allow us to reduce, reuse, and recycle these industrial residues, promoting more sustainable exploitation practices. This session will address these themes and more, relating to develop realistic models for mining waste.

GMPV6.1: Orals 08:30–10:10 (CEST) Room -2.33, vPosters 14:00–15:45 (CEST) vHall X1, onsite posters 16:15–18:00 (CEST) Hall X1

EGU Exhibition

Don’t miss out the EGU Exhibition where you will get a chance to talk with industry representatives and members of other academic, scientific and publishing organisations. Several of the Exhibitors are running special events throughout the week, check the Exhibition events portal for a range of events.

Today at the Data Help Desk lunchtime sessions: Kirsten Elger on ‘How GFZ Data Services supports researchers to make their data FAIR’

12:45 – 13:45 (CEST) Booth X212

Opening times of the Exhibition:
Monday, 15 April to Thursday, 18 April 2024: daily from 10:00 to 18:00 (CEST)
Friday, 19 April 2024: 10:00–13:00 (CEST)

List of Exhibitors