Next week (8–13 April), some 14,000 scientists will gather in Vienna for the 2018 General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU). The meeting provides an opportunity for journalists to hear about the latest research in the Earth, planetary and space sciences and to talk to scientists from all over the world. The press conference programme includes presentations on new results from ESA and NASA missions, what's at risk from coastal hazards, and the 2017 wildfire season, among other topics. Interested journalists can register on-site, free of charge, during the meeting. Those who cannot make it to Vienna can watch press conferences remotely through live-streaming links.

Contents

• Press conference schedule
• Live streaming
• Media registration and badge collection
• Meeting programme
• Programme highlights
• EGU Public Lecture

Press conference schedule 

Press conferences at the EGU General Assembly will be held at the Press Centre located near Foyer F on the Yellow Level 0 (Ground Floor) of the Austria Center Vienna. All times are CEST (local time in Vienna).

Documents relating to the press conferences listed below, such as press releases and presentation slides, will be made available from the Documents page during the meeting.

LIST OF PRESS CONFERENCES

• PC1: Eavesdropping on the ocean and cities (Tuesday, 10 April, 10:00–11:00)
• PC2: Earth from space: ESA’s latest satellite data (Tuesday, 10 April, 11:30–12:30)
• PC3: Contaminated waters: pollutants in rivers and groundwater (Tuesday, 10 April, 13:00–14:00)
• PC4: From droughts to war: forests under pressure (Wednesday, 11 April, 10:30–11:30)
• PC5: Shape of things to come? The 2017 wildfire season (Wednesday, 11 April, 12:15–13:15)
• PC6: Hazards in the wake of climate change (Wednesday, 11 April, 14:00–15:00)
• PC7: Latest results from NASA's Juno mission at Jupiter (Wednesday, 11 April, 15:00–16:00)
• PC8: What's at risk from coastal hazards? (Thursday, 12 April, 11:30–12:30)

EAVESDROPPING ON THE OCEAN AND CITIES
Tuesday, 10 April, 10:00–11:00 (Stream)

In this press conference, we look at results from unconventional research. We will learn how we can use seismology to eavesdrop on a city – or, more specifically, to monitor road traffic and cultural activities. In another presentation, we will find out how super-silent ocean gliders are helping researchers build an underwater soundscape, that can be used to measure sea-surface wind speed, monitor storms, and to eavesdrop on marine life.

Participants:
Jordi Diaz
Researcher, Institute of Earth Sciences Jaume Almera of the Spanish Scientific Research Council, Barcelona, Spain
Pierre Cauchy
PhD Student, Centre for Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, University of East Anglia, United Kingdom

Related scientific sessions: SM4.03, OS4.4/BG3.8

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EARTH FROM SPACE: ESA’S LATEST SATELLITE DATA
Tuesday, 10 April, 11:30–12:30 (Stream)

ESA’s series of Earth Explorers satellites missions use a wide range of space technologies to further our scientific understanding of many different aspects of how Earth works and how it is changing. The Swarm Earth Explorer mission, for example, is delivering new information about Earth’s protective magnetic field. Its data are being used to measure and untangle the different magnetic signals from Earth’s core, mantle, crust, oceans, ionosphere and magnetosphere, and to learn more about the field protects us from harmful charged particles in solar wind. The newest findings from Swarm give the most detailed view of Earth’s magnetic field ever produced. Swarm data are allowing scientists to gain greater insight into dynamics occurring deep inside the planet and why our magnetic field is weakening as well as new insight into upper-atmosphere processes where the magnetic field interacts with charged particles in solar wind. The mission has even sensed the weak magnetic field of our oceans.

Participants:
Josef Aschbacher
Director of Earth Observation Programmes at ESA
Rune Floberghagen
ESA Swarm Mission Manager
Nils Olsen
Professor, DTU Space – National Space Institute, Denmark
Eelco Doornbos
Assistant Professor, Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands

Related scientific sessions: EMRP2.2/ST3.10

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CONTAMINATED WATERS: POLLUTANTS IN RIVERS AND GROUNDWATER
Tuesday, 10 April, 13:00–14:00 (Stream)

Over 2 billion people lack access to safe drinking water around the world. Aside from impacting human health, water pollution can also kill plants and animals, disrupt the food chain, and affect human activities such as agriculture and industry. In this press conference we will hear the preliminary results of a study of 10,000 river (sub)basins to find out how much sewage systems have contributed to water pollution around the world. We will also find out where the hotspots for river pollution are and how many rivers around the world might be polluted by sewage by 2050. Another presentation will focus on the fate of pharmaceuticals in freshwaters, looking to answer questions such as: how are the world’s rivers affected by these human and veterinary contaminants? And how much will this environmental threat increase in the future? A final presentation will focus on the Amazon basin and on how natural contamination of groundwater with arsenic and other trace elements is becoming an emerging health concern in this region.

Participants:
Francesco Bregoli
Postdoc Researcher, Department of Water Science and Engineering, IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, Delft, the Netherlands
Maryna Strokal
Postdoc Researcher, Water Systems and Global Change group, Wageningen University & Research, the Netherlands
Caroline de Meyer
Researcher, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Dübendorf, Switzerland

Related scientific sessions: HS2.3.6, HS5.5, NH8.1/HS5.13/SSS13.60

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FROM DROUGHTS TO WAR: FORESTS UNDER PRESSURE
Wednesday, 11 April, 10:30–11:30 (Stream)

Global climate change and local droughts in the Amazon over the past few years are taking a toll on the world's largest tropical rainforest. A presentation at this press conference will focus on the increase in tree mortality in the Amazon and what that might mean for the forest's potential to act as a carbon sink in the future. A second presentation will provide a more global overview of tree mortality. It will focus on using lidar surveys to produce 3D maps of changing canopy in tropical, temperate and boreal forests. A final presentation will look into the past, and a different type of pressure on forests: war. The talk will show how one military encounter in the Second World War continues to leave a visible legacy in the northern forests of Norway more than seventy years later.

Participants:
David Galbraith
Associate Professor, School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
Douglas Morton
Earth System Scientist, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, United States
Claudia Hartl
Research Associate, Department of Geography, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany

Related scientific sessions: BG2.32/SSS13.8, BG4.12/GI2.26, BG2.23, CL1.07

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SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME? THE 2017 WILDFIRE SEASON
Wednesday, 11 April, 12:15–13:15 (Stream)

In 2017, record wildfires burnt across the Earth's continents. In British Columbia Canada, wildfires burnt a record area and, on 12 August, erupted as a cluster of fire-generated thunderstorms that had a volcano-like impact on the stratospheric aerosol layer. In Greenland, highly unusual open fires burnt on peat lands left vulnerable by permafrost thawing. Wildfires in Portugal were the deadliest and most extensive ever recorded, resulting in more than 100 fatalities and a burnt area over four times larger than the average of the previous 10 years. California had the most destructive and costly wildfire season on record. In this press conference, we will hear about research on these destructive wildfires, including how powerful the British Columbia smoke and dust plumes were and what the fires on and near Greenland mean for ice melting in the region. The press conference will also focus on how the season can be a harbinger of future changes, and how countries can better adapt to changing wildfire patterns.

Participants:
David Peterson
Researcher, U. S. Naval Research Laboratory, Monterey, CA, United States
Andreas Stohl
Senior Scientist, NILU – Norwegian Institute for Air Research, Department of Atmospheric and Climate Research (ATMOS), Kjeller, Norway
António Ferreira
Researcher, Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra, Coimbra College of Agriculture, Coimbra, Portugal
Etienne Tourigny
Researcher, Barcelona Supercomputing Center, Earth Sciences, Spain

Related scientific sessions: AS3.4/BG4.10/NH7.4, SSS8.3, CL3.04/NP5.6, BG4.2

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HAZARDS IN THE WAKE OF CLIMATE CHANGE
Wednesday, 11 April, 14:00–15:00 (Stream)

Could more volcanic eruptions happen in a warmer world? At this press conference we will hear about how a chain of events, made more likely due to climate change, has the potential to trigger volcanic eruptions. In another presentation, we will find out about another chain of events that starts with a changing climate and ends with the increased fragility of Europe's road and rail infrastructure, a crucial part of Europe’s economy. Another critical contributor to Europe’s prosperity is its agriculture. At this press conference we will also hear results from a new study that determines the duration and area of future droughts all across the continent at various levels of warming. Another new study, also presented at this press conference, focuses on winter storms in the Euro-Atlantic area and how they will affect Europe, especially the British Isles and Northern Scandinavia, in a warmer world.

Participants:
Gioachino Roberti
PhD Student, Université Clermont Auvergne, Laboratoire Magmas et Volcans, Clermont Ferrand, France and Simon Fraser University, Earth Sciences, Burnaby, Canada
Matthias Schlögl
Researcher, Transportation Infrastructure Technologies, Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT), Vienna, Austria
Luis Samaniego
Deputy Head of the Computational Hydrosystems Department, UFZ-Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany
Monika J. Barcikowska
Researcher, Environmental Defense Fund, New York City, United States

Related scientific sessions: GMPV4.8/CL1.34, NH9.4, HS2.1.1, HS7.5

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LATEST RESULTS FROM NASA'S JUNO MISSION AT JUPITER
Wednesday, 11 April, 15:00–16:00 (Stream)

NASA’s Juno mission began orbiting Jupiter on July 4 of 2016. By the date of the EGU briefing, Juno will have performed 11 science passes of the solar system’s biggest planetary body. This media briefing will include Juno’s latest findings on Jupiter’s poles, magnetic field, interior and deep atmosphere. Also shared during the briefing will be some of the latest images of Jupiter, collected during the solar-powered spacecraft’s April 1, flyby of the gas giant.

Participants:
Alberto Adriani
Juno Co-Investigator, Institute for Space Astrophysics and Planetology, Rome, Italy
Jack Connerney
Juno Deputy Principal Investigator and lead for the mission's magnetic field investigation, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, United States 
Tristan Guillot
Juno Co-Investigator from the Université Côte d'Azur, Nice, France
Steve Levin
Juno Project Scientist, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, United States
Scott Bolton
Juno Principal Investigator, Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas, United States 

Related scientific session: PS3.2

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WHAT'S AT RISK FROM COASTAL HAZARDS?
Thursday, 12 April, 11:30–12:30 (Stream)

From tsunamis to floods and storm surges, coastal areas are particularly prone to natural disasters. This press conference looks at the effects from hazards we can expect to impact the world’s coastlines. One presentation will focus on the tsunami risk for the world’s most prominent beaches and the impact tsunamis can have on beach-related tourism. Another presentation will look into how climate change and socioeconomic factors will affect the number of people exposed to coastal flooding in the future. A final presentation will focus on the Mediterranean region and on how coastal hazards associated with sea-level rise are putting UNESCO World Heritage sites at risk.

Participants:
Andreas Schaefer
PhD Student, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Geophysical Institute, Karlsruhe, Germany
Michalis Vousdoukas
Researcher, Joint European Research Centre, Ispra, Italy
Marco Anzidei
Researcher, INGV – National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, Rome, Italy

Related scientific sessions: NH9.10/GMPV6.10/HS11.42/SM3.16/SSS13.62, NH5.4/AS4.29/CL3.10/HS11.32/OS2.11, GI3.3/EMRP4.10/NH9.23/PS4.10

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Note that the list above is subject to change. Please check the press conference page, or the information panels at the Vienna Press Centre, for the most up-to-date information.

Live streaming

All press conferences are being live streamed online. You can live stream press conferences of interest by clicking the respective links on the press conference page. Some scientific sessions will be live streamed, too: check the webstreaming page of the EGU General Assembly website for more information.

If you are a journalist or freelance writer and you wish to ask questions remotely during the live view, you can do so using the chat window you'll find below the web stream for each press conference. Please provide your name and affiliation and indicate who your question is for when asking. Be courteous and respectful and make sure to protect your private information as the chat is public. During each press conference, a member of the EGU press team will monitor the chat and address your questions to the requested speaker.

More details on how to access press conferences remotely are available from the Live-streaming page.

Media registration and badge collection

Journalists, science writers and public information officers are invited to register on-site, free of charge, during the meeting. During the week of the conference, you can register at the EGU Info desk in the main entrance hall on Sunday 12:00–20:00, or in Hall X5 (main registration area) during the rest of the week. This is also where you can collect your badge if you have registered online.

The list of journalist and public information officers who have registered online is available here.

Media registration gives access to the Press Centre, interview rooms equipped with noise reduction material, and other meeting rooms, and also includes a public transportation ticket for Vienna. At the Press Centre, media participants have access to high-speed Internet (LAN and wireless LAN), as well as breakfast, lunch, coffee and refreshments, all available free of charge.

Further information about media services at the General Assembly is available at media.egu.eu. For information on accommodation and travel, please refer to the appropriate sections of the EGU 2018 General Assembly website.

Meeting programme

All sessions (over 950) and abstracts (over 17,500) are now available online and fully searchable. You can access the programme on the EGU 2018 website.

The programme is searchable by name of a scientist, keywords (e.g.: Greenland, turtle), session topic (e.g.: climate, atmospheric sciences), and other parameters. Further, you can select single contributions or complete sessions from the meeting programme to generate your personal programme. 

Programme highlights

The EGU press officer has selected a number of sessions that include presentations media participants may wish to check while searching for newsworthy research to report on. This list features sessions on challenges for the geosciences, the fifty years of international ocean drilling and on the future of Earth and planetary observations from space, among others. The conference will also feature great debates, including 'Low-risk geo-engineering: are techniques available now?' and 'Natural versus anthropogenic threats for life on Earth'.

Reporters may also find the list of papers of media interest, selected by session conveners, useful.

EGU Public Lecture

For the first time this year, the EGU is organising a side event aimed at the wider public in Vienna during the EGU General Assembly. Stefan Rahmstorf, Climate Scientist and Head of Department at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Professor of Physics of the Oceans at the University of Potsdam, will be the inaugural lecturer and his talk will focus on climate change and the Paris climate agreement. The event will be held in German at the Vienna Natural History Museum on Thursday 12 April. For more information, please check the museum's website.

The European Geosciences Union (EGU) is Europe’s premier geosciences union, dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in the Earth, planetary, and space sciences for the benefit of humanity, worldwide. It is a non-profit interdisciplinary learned association of scientists founded in 2002 with headquarters in Munich, Germany. The EGU has a current portfolio of 17 diverse scientific journals, which use an innovative open access format, and organises a number of topical meetings, and education and outreach activities. Its annual General Assembly is the largest and most prominent European geosciences event, attracting over 13,000 scientists from all over the world. The meeting’s sessions cover a wide range of topics, including volcanology, planetary exploration, the Earth’s internal structure and atmosphere, climate, energy, and resources. The EGU 2017 General Assembly is taking place in Vienna, Austria, from 23 to 28 April 2017. For information about meeting and press registration, please check https://media.egu.eu, or follow the EGU on Twitter and Facebook.

If you wish to receive our press releases via email, please use the Press Release Subscription Form at https://www.egu.eu/news/subscribe/. Subscribed journalists and other members of the media receive EGU press releases under embargo (if applicable) at least 24 hours in advance of public dissemination.

• General Assembly media page