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Cross-Topic Workshop on hydrometeorological Extreme Events

22-23 February 2022 (noon to noon)

Workshop purpose:
  • Identify knowledge gaps and key novel developments along the (hydro-meteorological) extreme event chain, including compound events, cascading effects and serial clustering
  • Identify interfaces between topics (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7) and centers as basis for collaboration
  • Agree on follow-up activities (links to stakeholders, perspective papers, …)
Scientific concept: organized along Extreme Event chains:
  • Sources/drivers (e.g. atmospheric processes, heavy rainfall)
  • Pathways (e.g. runoff generation, soil moisture deficit)
  • Receptors (e.g. affected society, ecosystems, infrastructure)
  • Impacts (e.g. fatalities, socio-economic losses, ecological impacts)
Workshop foci:
  • Too much water: heavy precipitation, flooding
  • Too little water: droughts, low flows, heatwaves
Plenary, impulse talks and discussions (unlimited online participation):
  • Talks along Extreme Event process chain
  • Using recent events to illustrate event chains: July 2021 floods in Western Europe and 2018-2020 droughts in Central Europe
  • Exploring: What is the state of the art? Which knowledge gaps exist? What are key novel developments?

Short impulse talks, comprising a broad range of disciplines and centers, introduce the topics that will be discussed in the workshop. The speakers are asked to provide their view on the follow questions: What is state of the art? Which knowledge gaps exist? What are key research questions? What are key novel developments? What could be done to narrow these gaps (in terms of “known unknowns”)? What are potential “unknown unknowns” (e.g. future climate and socio-economic processes/states)?

Speaker and topics of impulse talks:

  1. Peter Knippertz (KIT): sources/drivers: atmospheric/meteorological processes; climate change, forecasting of extremes
  2. Monica Ionita (AWI): sources/drivers – pathways: teleconnections, statistical modeling of droughts, paleo proxies and extremes
  3. Luis Samaniego (UFZ): pathways: hydrological processes (floods, droughts), simulation
  4. Michael Dietze (GFZ): pathways: landscape processes, cascading effects
  5. Christian Kuhlicke (UFZ): receptors: society, human behavior
  6. Nicolas Brüggemann (FZJ): impacts: environmental systems
  7. Heidi Kreibich (GFZ): impacts: socioeconomic impacts and losses
Breakout groups for interdisciplinary discussion (limited participation)
  1. Processes - too much water: Which process understanding needs to be improved (“known unknowns”) or explored in a transient climate (“unknown unknowns”)?
    Chairs: Bruno Merz, Laurens Bouwer
  2. Processes - too little water: Which process understanding needs to be improved (“known unknowns”) or explored in a transient climate (“unknown unknowns”)?
    Chairs: Alexander Graf, Ralf Merz
  3. Environmental data: What kind of novel data or additional monitoring do we need?
    Chairs: Ute Weber, Jens Turowski
  4. Socio-economic impact/data: What kind of novel data or additional monitoring do we need?
    Chairs: Christian Kuhlicke, Heidi Kreibich
  5. Models - operational: What are the next-generation modeling approaches and models for better forecasting extremes?
    Chairs: Peter Knippertz, Monica Ionita
  6. Models - risk assessment: What are the next-generation modeling approaches and models for better quantifying risk?
    Chairs: Michael Kunz, Hui Tang
Organization of breakout groups:
  • Discussions are organized within the 6 interdisciplinary breakout groups that meet twice (on 22 and 23 Feb.). Breakout groups are limited to 15 participants.
  • Discussions within each breakout group address complete event chains, from drivers to impacts.
  • Assignment of participants to breakout groups is organized prior to workshop with the aim of allowing exchange between disciplines and centers within each group.
  • Introduction of participants: Each participant provides 1 slide (template will be provided) in advance and has 1 min for her/his introduction.