Highlights at a glance

08:30 – Creating safe spaces in academia: recognizing and responding to harassment (SC1.10 Room -2.41/42); Transferable skills: what are they and do I have them? (SC1.14 Room -2.82); Supporting the understanding and reuse of reproducible analysis workflows (SC2.11 Room 0.55); Forecasting the Unprecedented: Machine Learning vs. Physics in Climate Science and the EU’s Strategic Position (GDB5 Room E1); Secure subsurface storage for future energy systems (ERE3.1 Room D3); Modelling and measuring snow processes across scales (CR5.1 PICO spot 1a)
10:45 – Best Practices to Building an Effective Code of Conduct (SC1.7 Room -2.32); Best practices in deep learning for oceanography (SC2.26 Room -2.82); How to feed Machine Learning algorithms with proper metrics? (SC2.28 Room -2.41/42); Facing the last policy challenges in the EU: How soil scientists can contribute to the demands for scientific evidence to support EU policies (SSS0.1 Room D1); What's next for EDI in these turbulent times? (GDB1 Room E1); Modern Concepts for Ground and Space Observations of the Earth Gravity Field (G4.1 Room K2)
12:00 – Jean Baptiste Lamarck Medal Lecture by Benjamin Bomfleur (MAL21-SSP Room G1); Alexander von Humboldt Medal Lecture by Walter W. Immerzeel (MAL1 Room E1)
14:00 – Data compression and reduction for Earth System Sciences datasets in practice (SC2.5 Room -2.82); Sustainable Research Software (SC2.10 Room -2.41/42); Stratified Turbulence and Gravity-Driven Density Currents: From Geophysical to Planetary to Astrophysical Flows (NP6.4 Room -2.33)
16:15 – Use and Applications of Ensemble Forecasting Methods for Flood Forecasting and Reservoir Operations. (SC2.6 Room -2.82); Good Programming Practices for Research: Essential Rules for Efficient Programming (SC2.12 Room -2.41/42); Introducing GEOtop and GEOframe: Open Source Tools for Modeling Snow Dominated Catchments (SC2.20 Room -2.62)

Closing message from the EGU President

This year marks 20 years of EGU holding the annual General Assembly in Vienna, and the city remains a beautiful, welcoming and very sunny host. It is always such an invigorating experience to be back with friends and colleagues, focusing on science, and having stimulating conversations about this incredible work we get to do. Another year of record-breaking participation from our scientific community also encouraged us to try new solutions to the number of people wanting to meet at the EGU General Assembly, both for the on-site and virtual formats, which you in our EGU community have met with an optimistic and open-minded attitude.

As a society, we continue to face incredible challenges around the world, which makes the value of spaces that encourage genuine scientific debate and discussion clearer than ever. Our community has always tried to look directly at the facts and address risks with rigour and compassion. By continuing to prioritize open science, genuine debate, nuance in information and complexity in social dynamics, the EGU community is a beacon in these often dark times; and many of the sessions I attended this week exemplify this: for instance, the Unions sessions and great debates on the role of scientists in informing policy in different contexts and countries, the ethics of AI, what’s next for EDI in these turbulent times, the future of scientific publishing, or energy resources and natural hazards (which also served as a great kick-off to our yearly GIFT workshop for high-school teachers), or the EOS sessions on science communication practice, research, and reflection and reimagining geoscience education.

Once again, our extraordinary community of Early Career Scientist (ECS) members co-ordinated a varied collection of activities and events; from running scientific sessions and creating spaces for community networking, helping to increase the skills of their colleagues with Short Courses, to opening the door for an even more diverse and exciting Union. I am very impressed by these achievements and so proud that Early Career Scientists make up over 50% of our participants; they continue to challenge the Union to improve, whilst providing immeasurable energy and enthusiasm for the work of being a scientist.

EGU continues to champion our status as a bottom-up organisation, directed and shaped by the opinions of our members. If you have been inspired by this week’s events and want to get more involved in EGU, please contact your division president, or another Union officer, or if your interests are more aligned with some of our specific activities, reach out to one of our Committees and find out more.

As every year, we cannot improve the experience of the General Assembly without your help, so please share your views by completing our feedback survey, and we look forward to seeing you all in April next year, at EGU27!

Peter van der Beek, EGU President 2026

Forecasting the Unprecedented: Machine Learning vs. Physics in Climate Science and the EU’s Strategic Position

As we approach the IPCC’s AR7 era, the landscape of climate prediction is more diverse—and contentious—than ever. Should we trust high-resolution, process-based models rooted in physical laws, or embrace the promise of machine learning, which some claim will soon surpass traditional approaches? With Earth observations and hybrid frameworks adding further complexity, a critical question emerges: can data-driven models anticipate a future climate that will be fundamentally different from anything in the observational record? This debate is urgent, as society demands actionable guidance on climate risks and tipping points. At the same time, global leadership in climate science is shifting. With recent political developments in the US, the European Union faces both a challenge and an opportunity to shape the scientific and policy agenda. What should Europe’s role be in steering the next generation of climate modeling and ensuring robust, transparent advice for decision-makers? This session brings together leading voices from science, policy, and technology to debate the future of climate prediction, the limits of machine learning, and the responsibilities of the EU in a rapidly changing world.

GDB5 08:30–10:15 (CEST) Room E1

EGU27 General Assembly

The EGU conference is planning to return to Vienna in a year. Mark the dates (4 - 9 April 2027) in your calendar and, over the next few months, check www.egu27.eu for updates.

And don’t forget to provide feedback on the 2026 conference to help us make the EGU27 General Assembly even better. See you next year!

Facing the last policy challenges in the EU: How soil scientists can contribute to the demands for scientific evidence to support EU policies

Soil System Sciences face urgent challenges: accelerated depletion of soil resources, land degradation, climate extremes, and rising food security demands requiring coordinated scientific and policy responses. The European Soil Observatory (EUSO) was established to provide a robust evidence base for soil policy and management at European scale. Its Stakeholder Forum fosters partnerships with academia, research communities, and organisations such as the Soil System Sciences (SSS) Division. This Special Session will examine scientific priorities in the SSS community and explore how collaboration with the EUSO can address research gaps and inform policy.

SSS0.1 10:45–12:30 (CEST) Room D1

What's next for EDI in these turbulent times?

Over the past decade, work and initiatives implementing equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) have grown drastically. Many institutions across the western world and beyond have embraced EDI programmes with pride and enthusiasm. In the last couple of years, however, criticisms escalated and EDI values are being discredited by a growing scepticism, even from the general public and often also from highly organized orchestrated anti-EDI campaigns. In many cases, as a result of political pressure or recent government funding decisions, EDI programs are being significantly scaled back or even entirely dismantled. Some voices argue that instead of building on what people have in common, EDI culture focuses on their differences, often perceived as exclusionary. EDI movements need to regain ground in their defense for fairness and coalition building, concerned with all sorts of inequalities, backgrounds and views. The concept of inclusivity in EDI is crucial in preventing societal division. This Great Debate will to discuss the criticisms to EDI and identify strategies to move forward with a constructive attitude, with the awareness of the benefits EDI has achieved, and a recognition of the values an inclusive science culture brings to science.

GDB1 10:45–12:30 (CEST) Room E1

Secure subsurface storage for future energy systems

Storing energy (e.g., hydrogen, ammonia, heat) and carbon dioxide within underground stores such as porous media reservoirs and engineered caverns is crucial for enabling the shift toward a carbon-neutral economy built on renewable-based power and heat systems. The suitability of subsurface storage sites depends on hydromechanical properties of the reservoir and its confining units, and integrity of seals due to induced thermal, mechanical, hydraulic and chemical changes. Secure subsurface storage, together with public acceptance in essential technologies, demand geological expertise, continuous monitoring, and careful assessment of potential risks. This session provides a platform for interdisciplinary scientific exchanges between different branches of storage expertise, and aims to address challenges concerning the storage of fluids in geological reservoirs from core- to field-scale.

ERE3.1 Orals: 08:30–12:25 (CEST) Room D3, onsite posters: 16:15–18:00 (CEST) Hall X4

Modelling and measuring snow processes across scales

Snow cover characteristics (e.g., spatial distribution, surface and internal physical properties) are continuously evolving over a wide range of scales due to meteorological conditions, such as precipitation, wind, and radiation. Most processes occurring in the snow cover depend on the vertical and horizontal distribution of its physical properties, which are primarily controlled by the microstructure of snow (e.g., density and specific surface area). In turn, snow metamorphism changes the microstructure, leading to feedback loops that affect the snow cover on coarser scales. The characterization of snow thus demands synergistic investigations of the hierarchy of processes across the scales. This session will provide that discussion, focusing on the modelling and measurement of snow processes across scales, ranging from explicit microstructure-based studies to sub-grid parameterizations for unresolved processes in large-scale phenomena (e.g., albedo and drifting snow).

CR5.1 PICO 08:30–12:30 (CEST) PICO spot 1a

Your highlights of this year’s General Assembly…

“For me, it's a great opportunity for networking and to exchange scientific knowledge between researchers coming from all over the world.” Fatma Wassar (she/her) Professor, Higher Institute of Water Sciences and Techniques of Gabes, Tunisia

“I really enjoyed to meet the people I only know from their papers with their name. And now I can see them in person. I have just met someone yesterday I really wanted to meet, and we discussed and we will be discussing even after my PhD, hopefully.” Aitu Raufauore (he/him) PhD candidate, Université de Bordeaux, France

“I really enjoyed seeing how every person of the 20,000 that are here today are working, spending every day working on a very specific topic, which contributes to this gigantic goal of understanding the Earth system and other planetary systems.” Nina Robbins-Blanch (she/her) PhD candidate, University of Hamburg, Germany

“It's nice to see people admitting that things don't always go right.“ Aaron Hendry (he/him) Postdoctoral researcher, British Antarctic Survey, UK

“You can engage with different people from different backgrounds with different viewpoints, which is really, really good.” Amar Ali Adam Hamad (he/him) Postdoctoral researcher, Shanxi Agricultural University, China

Watch the videos with all our highlights comments on our Instagram!

Stratified Turbulence and Gravity-Driven Density Currents: From Geophysical to Planetary to Astrophysical Flows

Geophysical and planetary flows in stratified media exhibit stratified turbulence that give rise to a variety of flow phenomena spanning a range of spatial scales from the Kolmogorov to planetary scales. Stratified turbulence significantly influences the flow dynamics on various temporal scales via complex nonlinear interactions, which continue to be challenging to understand, diagnose, and quantify from both theory and numerics. This understanding is fundamental to advance our knowledge of turbulent flow dynamics, and a prerequisite for improved turbulent closures and parameterizations for robust predictions of weather and climate. This session will attempt to draw closer to the elusive universal description of gravity-driven flows by bringing together recent advancements in stratified turbulence and gravity-driven flows in geophysical, planetary, and astrophysical flows.

NP6.4 Orals: 14:00–15:45 (CEST) Room -2.33, onsite posters: 08:30–10:15 (CEST) Hall X4

Modern Concepts for Ground and Space Observations of the Earth Gravity Field

Recent developments in different fields have enabled new applications and concepts in the space- and ground-based observation of the Earth’s gravity field. This session will discuss the benefit of new sensors and techniques and their ability to provide precise and accurate measurements of Earth’s gravity, especially featuring the dissemination of results from geoscience applications of absolute quantum gravimeters, which are gradually replacing devices based on the free-fall of corner cubes, since they allow nearly continuous absolute gravity measurements and offer the possibility to measure the gravity gradient.

G4.1 Orals: 10:45–12:30 (CEST), 14:00–15:40 (CEST) Room K2

Meet EGU - at the EGU Booth in Hall X2 and the 25 years of interactive publishing booth in the Entrance Hall

Talk to the volunteers who make EGU happen; from giving out awards and funding, to making decisions about our publications and the General Assembly, come and Meet EGU!

Meet the co-chief editor of Ocean Science, Mario Hoppema (25 years of interactive open-access publishing booth ): 10:30–11:15 CEST
Meet the Earth Magnetism & Rock Physics division team (EGU booth ): 12:30–13:00 CEST

Highlights at a glance

Closing message from the EGU President

Short Courses

Forecasting the Unprecedented: Machine Learning vs. Physics in Climate Science and the EU’s Strategic Position

Medal and Award lectures

Photo Competition winners