European Geosciences Union
Division on Natural Hazards
President: Ira Didenkulova (nh@egu.eu)
Deputy President: Paolo Tarolli
(paolo.tarolli@unipd.it)
The Natural Hazards (NH) Division of the EGU covers all the geological and geophysical processes that can be hazardous and can produce damage to the environment and to the society. Therefore it is a place where scientists and researchers of various geo-disciplines meet with sociologists, economists and people responsible for territorial and urban defense and planning policies. The aim is to improve the understanding of the evolution of the processes and to discuss new technologies, methods and strategies to mitigate their disastrous effects. The Division is structured in nine Subdivisions covering specific hazards. Of these seven are listed here: hydro-meteorological, volcanic, landslide, earthquake-, sea and ocean, remote sensing and hazards, wildfire hazards. The eighth Subdivision covers biological and environmental hazards and in addition hazards not included in the previous ones. The ninth (natural hazards and society) focuses on the social aspects of the hazards, including development sustainability, emergency, warning, after-disaster resilience, etc. Most of the topics that are treated in the NH Division are also treated in other EGU Divisions, which is expected due to the intrinsic transversal nature of the NH Division. For example, earthquakes are the main interest of the Seismology Division, but they are also of interest here where the chief topics are, among others, how to evaluate vulnerability and risk, how to reduce the impact on human lives and society, how geo-scientists can contribute to a prompt recovery of a community affected by disasters.
The NH Division is one the historical Divisions of the EGU that was established since when EGU was founded and has been and is one of the largest divisions to which many geo-scientists provide steadily contributions of papers and ideas over the years.
As for all EGU Divisions, an Early Career Scientist Award is established also for the NH Division and is given to young researchers who obtain outstanding results in the assessment and mitigation of natural hazard adopting a multidisciplinary approach. In addition, the NH Division awards the Plinius Medal devoted since 2012 to mid-career researchers and the Soloviev Medal for scientists who give outstanding contributions in fundamental aspects of research on natural hazards.
The 2019 Sergey Soloviev Medal is awarded to Kyoji Sassa for outstanding scientific contributions in fundamental research in landslide hazards and in landslide risk-reduction initiatives for the benefit of societies.
The 2019 Plinius Medal is awarded to Philip J. Ward for outstanding research on flood and drought risk assessments from global to local scales.
The 2019 Division Outstanding Early Career Scientists Awards is awarded to Jadranka Šepić for fundamental contributions to the research on meteorological tsunamis and high-frequency sea level oscillations.
The 2019 Outstanding Student Poster and PICO (OSPP) Awards is awarded to Alexandra Urgilez Vinueza The occurrence of Landslides in Guarumales, Ecuador
The 2019 Outstanding Student Poster and PICO (OSPP) Awards is awarded to Ina Teutsch Rogue Waves in the Southern North Sea
The 2019 Outstanding Student Poster and PICO (OSPP) Awards is awarded to Rahul Kumar Urban interactions with heatwaves in India
The 2019 Outstanding Student Poster and PICO (OSPP) Awards is awarded to Ricarda Gatter The significance of weak layers for submarine slope failure
The 2018 Sergey Soloviev Medal is awarded to Giuseppe De Natale for his fundamental contributions to the assessment and management of seismic and volcanic hazards and risk.
The 2018 Plinius Medal is awarded to Hannah L. Cloke for her outstanding research on uncertainties in modelling flood hazards and understanding risks in operational ensemble flood forecasting as well as climate impact assessments of future flood risks.
The 2018 Division Outstanding Early Career Scientists Awards is awarded to Thomas Wahl for his fundamental contributions to the research on assessment of coastal-flood risk.
The 2018 Outstanding Student Poster and PICO (OSPP) Awards is awarded to Benno Wachler Feedbacks of sea-level rise induced topographic changes of the Wadden Sea on tidal dynamics
The 2018 Outstanding Student Poster and PICO (OSPP) Awards is awarded to David Bonneau The Use of Terrestrial Laser Scanning for the Characterization of Debris Accumulation Patterns in the White Canyon, British Columbia
The 2018 Outstanding Student Poster and PICO (OSPP) Awards is awarded to Emanuele Bevacqua Changing risk of compound flooding over Europe under anthropogenic climate change
The 2018 Outstanding Student Poster and PICO (OSPP) Awards is awarded to Marina Peña Gallardo The impacts of drought in agricultural productivity. An analysis at different scales for the two major rain-fed crops in Spain.
The 2018 Outstanding Student Poster and PICO (OSPP) Awards is awarded to Veronika Röthlisberger Quantifying exposure: the influence of value estimation schemes
Before continuing, if you haven’t read it yet, catch up with the first part of this blog article by clicking on this link. The good Living with volcanoes is not all bad. Volcanoes provide a wealth of natural resources in the form of building materials, hot springs, freshwater and fertile soil. However, there are more hidden aspects, which was the focus of a recent collaboration with an archaeologist. We believe that volcanoes and their landforms provide “cultural services”, which is …
Introduction Humans have existed and lived alongside volcanoes for as long as we have been on the planet. For some, this has been beneficial and often, in fact, we can see how indigenous knowledge finds a sustainable approach living with them. However, in some cases, societies cannot cope and are overwhelmed with volcanic eruptions. There are many examples from archaeological studies dealing with how ancient civilisations, successfully or unsuccessfully, lived with volcanoes. On one hand, for example, Pre-Colombian villages in …
Underground energy storage and gas storage in aquifers In the context of energy transition, massive energy storage is a key issue for the integration of renewable sources into the energy mix. Storing energy in the underground can lead to larger-scale, longer-term and safer solutions than above-ground energy storage technologies. In particular, natural gas storages are designed to address different needs, like a strategic natural gas reserve, the regulation of gas supply and the answer to a seasonal peak heating or …
In the last months two paroxysmal explosive eruptions took place at Stromboli volcano: the first one, totally unexpected, on 3rd July (Video 1) that sadly cost the life of a person and the second and, currently, last one about three weeks ago, on the 28th August (Video 2). Today we try to answer a couple of questions about Stromboli and its eruptions. Are these paroxysmal eruptions common or rare at Stromboli volcano? What are the hazards associated with these eruptions …
The EGU made several exciting announcements in October. Earlier this week we reported that beginning in 2020, the carbon dioxide emissions for the travel of all General Assembly participants will be offset. This represents a first for any major geoscience event and, along with a host of other greening initiatives, marks another important step towards minimising the meeting’s environmental impact.
Earlier this month EGU announced the winners of the 2020 awards and medals: 49 individuals who have made significant contributions to the Earth, planetary and space sciences and who will be honoured at the 2020 EGU General Assembly in May. We also announced the winners of the Outstanding Student Poster and PICO (OSPP) Awards from the 2019 General Assembly.
In October the EGU also hosted its second-annual science policy event in Brussels. The gathering brought together geoscientists and policymakers to provide feedback regarding the themes recently chosen for Horizon Europe, the EU’s next research and innovation framework programme.
The call for abstracts for our annual conference is now open. If you are interested in presenting your work in Vienna in May, please be sure to submit your abstract by 15 January 2020, 13:00 CET. If you would like to apply for Roland Schlich travel support to attend the meeting, please submit your abstract no later than 1 December 2019.
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In November, 2019 EGU members will have the opportunity to vote in the Union's autumn elections. Please check the elections page on our website for more information.