Dear Colleagues,
Welcome to the May newsletter of the EGU Soil System Sciences Division! This month, we invite you to learn more about the presentation and discussion of Mission Soil in the European Parliament, have a look back at EGU26, read a new SOIL paper, and learn more about the SSS Division through our Linkedin and Bluesky pages. Moreover, we also have some reminders to contribute to the improvement of the AI4SoilHealth’s new Soil Health Viewer, attend the 14th International Conference on Sustainable Development, and apply to the EGU Public Engagement Grants 2026.
Heike Knicker, Division President

Beatrice Giannetta, Perrine Florent (ECS Reps)
Diana Vieira, Fatima Meite
The ECS Team

What recently happened on Soil System Sciences?

Aiming to create 100 Living Labs and Lighthouses by 2030 to promote sustainable land and soil management, Mission Soil is one of the five Missions funded under the EU Research and Innovation Programme Horizon Europe. On 9 April 2026, Mission Soil was presented in the European Parliament. During this session, the importance of soil health along with links with other issues like water resilience and one health approach was discussed. Recordings of the presentation and the discussions are available online.

Get Information Here

The EGU General Assembly 2026 took place in Vienna and Online from 3 to 8 May 2026, and welcomed 22497 attendees coming from more than 100 different countries. 20173 presentations were given in the 1014 scientific sessions organized, with a contribution from Early Career Scientists of 58%. During this General Assembly, 38 distinctions were awarded and 16 Union Symposia and Great Debates were held and recorded. Recordings, also including Press Conferences, are available online in free-access. 

Learn More Here

Discover: “Mineral-bound organic carbon exposed by hillslope thermokarst terrain: case study in Cape Bounty, Canadian High Arctic” by Maxime Thomas, Julien Fouché, Hugues Titeux, Charlotte Morelle, Nathan Bemelmans, Melissa J. Lafrenière, Joanne K. Heslop, and Sophie Opfergelt. The study unveils stabilization and destabilization processes of soil organic carbon under thawing in the Arctic. Showing deep thawing could expose organic carbon more readily accessible to degradation. 

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In addition, you can now read interesting updates of the Soil System Sciences Division and related topics on LinkedIn and Bluesky pages.

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Upcoming Events and Deadlines  

Developed in the AI 4 Soil Health project dedicated to accelerating the collection and use of soil health information using AI technology to support the Soil Deal for Europe and EU Soil Observatory, the Soil Health Viewer is an AI-enabled platform designed to support better land management, soil monitoring and evidence-based decision-making across Europe. Since this product has now entered its testing phase, soil advisers, land managers, policy makers, scientists and other future users are invited to use it and give their thoughts by 15 July 2026.

Read More Here

The 14th International Conference on Sustainable Development will take place in Rome (Italy) from 9-10 September, with as theme "Creating a unified foundation for the Sustainable Development: research, practice and education", emphasizing the strong foundation provided by using research to inform our everyday practices, policies, and analytical approaches. Submit an abstract in one the programme streams, comprising water and soil conservation, disaster risk reduction, food and environmental legislation, and more, before 30 July 2026.

Register Here

Interested in developing an outreach project raising awareness of geosciences to the general public? Apply to the 10th edition of EGU’s Public Engagement Grants scheme, recognizing excellent science communication in the Earth, planetary and space sciences! Projects aiming at engaging with hard-to-reach audiences like people not generally interested in science or who tend to ignore mainstream scientific expertise are strongly encouraged. Fill the online application form before 17 June 2026!

Apply Here