Venue: Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Karlstr. 4, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany.
Date: September 29 - October 1, 2025
Organizing committee: Léa Bussière (external link, Heidelberg University), Lucas Menzel (external link, Heidelberg University)
This conference proposes to explore permafrost hydrology from an interdisciplinary perspective to tackle three kinds of uncertainties: (1) those concerning the environmental risks caused by permafrost hydrological disturbances in response to climate warming; (2) those linked to the use of numerical modeling when investigating hydrological processes; and (3) those regarding future projections of permafrost hydrology in a warming climate.
Indeed, global warming is threatening the stability of the perennially frozen ground, called permafrost. Across the northern latitudes, the thawing of ice-rich permafrost is already reshaping the topography of the landscapes, modifying surface water distribution, and thereby triggering a broad ecological shift. The associated changes in nutrients fluxes, heat regulation, and greenhouse gas emission (following the release of large carbon pools previously trapped in frozen ground) are expected to have global consequences. As a vector of heat and nutrients, water plays a crucial role in these processes: it contributes to the thermal state of the permafrost and supports the trophic chain. Therefore, understanding cold-region hydrology is essential to anticipate the local and global consequences of permafrost thaw on biodiversity, human health, and further climate change.
The conference will bring together experienced and early career researchers from geoscience, computer science, and environment & society sciences to investigate three core topics:
- DAY1 - Highlighting the local and global risks caused by hydrological disturbances in cold regions;
- DAY2 - Improving the numerical representation of current hydrological processes in cold-regions;
- DAY3 - Improving the accuracy of medium- and long-term hydrological projections in warming cold-regions.
Each session will start with a 1-hour lecture by an experienced invited speaker to provide overviews of the current state of knowledge and present the variety of methods or products available to meet the remaining challenges. Each lecture will be followed by 2 to 3 shorter talks (25 minutes each) by early-career scientists, who will focus on case studies or methodological developments.
Programme overview:
60 participants
6 lectures
17 talks
10 posters