Sustainable management of rivers and waterways requires reliable data on the transport of substances, their influencing factors, and the expected trends, which are accelerated by anthropogenic environmental change. The high dynamics of rivers, which is reflected in a large spatio-temporal variability of (suspended) matter flows, places high demands on surface water monitoring. Therefore, it becomes more and more important to clearly describe existing scientific uncertainties, to reduce them if possible, and to communicate them to decision makers. The aim of the online symposium “Uncertainty in river water monitoring – New insights on spatio-temporal variability of suspended river water components” was to address these challenges within the scope of an international platform. The symposium is part of the BfG research project URSACHEN, (Uncertainties in the determination of spatio-temporal variable material loads in rivers), implemented until 2023. It was held as an online event on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, 2022. With 230 registered participants from 45 countries, the symposium was well received internationally. Over the two days, a total of 27 presentations addressed spatial, temporal, and methodological uncertainties in the determination of substance loads. Joint discussions highlighted both the challenges and opportunities for surface water monitoring. In this context, the results of the URSACHEN project were presented as well. The virtual platform enabled the participation of scientists “around the globe”, reflected by the keynotes given by speakers such as Ton Hoitink (Wageningen, the Netherlands), Magdalena Bieroza (Uppsala, Sweden) and Marwan Hassan (Vancouver, Canada).

The symposium was opened by Harald Koethe, the director of ICWRGC (International Centre for Water Resources and Global Change), who presented the interdisciplinary URSACHEN project, while emphasising the international networking of BfG and ICWRGC. He also made reference to the UNESCO International Sediment Initiative (ISI). In addition, Mr. Koethe underlined the global importance of the topic by emphasizing that an understanding of suspended sediment transport plays a central role for the monitoring of water quality as well as for the stability of river systems and deltas and thus for millions of people living along rivers.

The overarching topic of “uncertainty” in river water component measurements was addressed in three “sessions”, each focusing on methodological, spatial and temporal aspects. In the first session on methodological uncertainties, moderated by Harald Koethe (ICWRGC), the possibilities, but also the challenges and limitations of new and already established, direct and indirect sampling and monitoring methods were presented. Based on examples of sediment concentration determination using acoustic and optical sensors and in discussions, it became clear that even established methods can only provide reliable results if the controlling factors for suspended sediment concentration such as hydraulic conditions and sediment properties are included and adequate calibration of the sensors takes place.

Thomas Hoffmann (M3) and Lars Duester (G4) led through the following programme. The second and third sessions dealt with the recording of the spatial and temporal variability of suspended matter. The “Spatial Session” focused on the problem of the representative determination of substance concentrations at certain water body (cross)sections,while i.a. remote sensing methods were also presented. The “Temporal Session” focused primarily on the importance of continuous monitoring series. On the one hand, the analysis of seasonal courses and hysteresis curves allows conclusions to be drawn about the possible sources and influencing factors of suspended sediment loads, while on the other hand, a minimum time interval can be determined, which is necessary for a reliable determination of suspended compounds in water and their loads.

The need for further research concerning uncertainties in river monitoring was actively discussed and its importance has been recognized. The significance of the topic was also mirrored by the number of participants and the presented diverse research approaches along with their results. The symposium succeeded in promoting the international and interdisciplinary exchange in the “river monitoring community” and offered valuable chances and opportunities to establish new professional contacts and deepen existing ones.

Symposium 2022 (english)URSACHEN Flyer (PDF - english)F&E Article (PDF - german)

For the first time, DUK (German Commission for UNESCO) and ICWRGC held a joint workshop. The topic of the kick-off event was “Water – where do we need and how can we develop expert knowledge?”

The successful workshop marks the beginning of better networking among the German UNESCO sites and stakeholders actively involved in the subject area „changing freshwater resources” and engaged in various UNESCO programmes. The objective is to understand and use the existing expert knowledge in line with an integrated approach to the earth system and its changes due to climate change and socio-economic uses. To this end, various experts met for a colourful and highly interesting programme on the premises of DUK in Bonn (see link to agenda).

It became evident that freshwater plays a major role in many UNESCO sites and that many of the lecturers present have a lot of scientific and/or empirical knowledge. This must also be developed for the UNESCO Water Family, or more precisely for phase 9 (2022-2029) of the UNESCO (IHP) water programme, thus making German knowledge more visible. Points of contact for a common work were identified and a further exchange was agreed. Harald Köthe, the Director of ICWRGC, sees this networking as an opportunity to identify and close practice-oriented gaps in expertise, thus unlocking synergies for the German contributions to achieve the objectives of the UNESCO programmes. The kick-off session for better networking and closer cooperation was interesting and promising.

Further information:

Workshop agenda

Download: PDF, 2 p. – 84 KB (german only)

After two years, major scientific conferences and workshops have resumed in-person attendance in 2022. ICWRGC researchers participated in various capacities in these scientific events across Europe. Recently, our researchers attended the European Geoscience Union (EGU) General Assembly in Vienna, Austria; the ESA Living Planet Symposium (LPS) in Bonn, Germany and the 6th Satellite Soil Moisture and Application Workshop in Perugia, Italy.

EGU General Assembly, Vienna, May 23-27, 2022

ICWRGC-affiliated researchers Renee van Dongen, Fay Lena Boehmer and Tunde Olarinoye were present at EGU from May 23-27, 2022. Fay and Tunde work within the International Soil Moisture Network (ISMN) being transferred from the Technical University Vienna (TU Wien) to ICWRGC/BfG in Koblenz. Tunde gave a talk on “The International Soil Moisture Network: supporting and advancing EO research through open source in-situ soil moisture observations“ which was co-authored by all the ISMN team members. He talked about the ongoing transfer of the ISMN and efforts to position soil moisture among critical earth observation variables. Both Tunde and Fay participated in various discussions where they engaged the research community on the critical importance of soil moisture, solicited new data providers and encouraged continuous community support for ISMN. Tunde also co-convened the session “Large-sample hydrology: characterizing and understanding hydrological diversity and catchment organization”. It featured presentations on methods, data and advances in the understanding and modelling of hydrological diversity.

Renee showcased her work that is part of the URSACHEN project, a collaborative project between BfG and ICWRGC. Renee presented preliminary insights on the global relationships between suspended sediment concentration data and river discharge data, obtained from GEMStat and the Global Runoff Data Centre, respectively. This study will help to understand how sediment dynamics behave differently in various catchments around the world. Furthermore, Renee convened the session “Crowd-solving Problems in Earth Sciences” which is a session that, unlike the other EGU sessions, focuses on discussing problems and issues that many (early-career) geoscientists face in their scientific careers.

Besides the ICWRGC researchers who were on-site in Vienna for EGU 2022, Luna Bharati also joined the conference online. Luna co-authored in a study presented by her PhD student, Dipesh Chapagain from Bonn University, Germany. The presentation discussed research findings on the impact of climate change on disaster mortality in Nepal.

ESA Living Planet Symposium, Bonn, May 23- 27, 2022

It was indeed a week filled with science as our researchers Stephan Dietrich and Matthias Zink attended the ESA Living Planet Symposium in the same week as the EGU General Assembly was held. Stephan gave a talk on “Consistent monitoring of global water cycle and resources variability across scales: Where do we stand?”. Stephan and Matthias were actively involved in engaging with the soil moisture community as well as with international in-situ observation communities like the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) and the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS). They have used the opportunity to promote the International Soil Moisture Network (ISMN) and reached out to potentially new data providers. The ISMN team of ICWRGC-BfG, together with colleagues from TU Wien, also co-authored a presentation “The International Soil Moisture Network: an open source in-situ soil moisture database serving the EO climate community for over a decade” which was presented in the poster session and followed by intriguing discussions.

6th Satellite Soil Moisture and Application Workshop, Perugia, Italy, June 7-9, 2022

Another ISMN team member, Wolfgang Korres from the M5 department of BfG which jointly host the ISMN with ICWRGC, participated in the 6th Satellite Soil Moisture and Application Workshop in Perugia. The workshop was kicked off by a “QA4SM User Workshop” (Quality assurance for soil moisture). There, Matthias Zink virtually joined Wolfgang and many others to learn more about an online soil moisture data validation tool hosted by TU Wien. Wolfgang gave a talk on the migration of ISMN to ICWRGC/BfG, as well as updates to ISMN (user/provider statistics, flagging) systems. Numerous contacts were made with the user community, potential new data providers and representatives of WMO. The permanent funding of ISMN by ICWRGC/BfG was highly praised at the final panel discussion as a positive example for sustainable cooperation and data management.

Freshwater is a globally vital resource. This is what the International Centre for Water Resources and Global Change (ICWRGC) deals with, hosted by the Federal Institute of Hydrology (BfG). As the federal scientific institute for research, assessment and consultation in the fields of hydrology, water use, water quality, ecology and water protection, BfG advises the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport, further federal ministries, the Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration (WSV) as well as third parties. BfG supports ICWRGC by providing its infrastructure, administration and expert knowledge. ICWRGC and BfG employ committed people from various disciplines, working in a modern working environment.

For the International Centre for Water Resources and Global Change (ICWRGC) located on its premises, the Federal Institute of Hydrology is looking for a

Research Scientist (ICWRGC E14) to head the research and education section

to start working at the earliest possible date based on an open-ended contract.

The job holder should have a water-related master and a PhD to lead the area of research and education at ICWRGC. We are searching for a researcher with experience in scientific contributions, project proposal preparation, international scientific networking, intercultural projects as well as reporting and leading skills. Specialisations should be hydrology, geography climatology, geosciences, meteorology, computer sciences, engineering with a focus on water resources management.

The place of employment is Koblenz.

Application deadline: 01 August 2022
Start of work: as soon as possible
Working hours:full-time
Open-ended contract

Reference-Code: 20221470_0002

See the following link for the complete task description (in German only).

www.bav.bund.de

Dr. Bastien Dieppois, Assistant Professor in Water and Climate Change at Coventry University – Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience, and Coordinator of UNESCO EURO FRIEND-Water Project-3 on Large Scale Variations in Hydrological Characteristics, has announced a EURO-FRIEND workshop/training series to be held between April and December 2022.

Once a month, either a seminar or training on the use of new datasets, methodologies, or new results in the field will be organized. These seminars/training workshops will be open to everyone and free of charge.

The first seminar, titled “What is needed to bridge the data knowledge gap in Hydrology”, will be hosted by Dr. Stephan Dietrich, scientific officer at the International Centre for Water Resources and Global Change (UNESCO) and regional coordinator of the UNESCO flagship programme FRIEND-Water for EURO-FRIEND. He will give an introduction to the FRIEND-Water Programme (Flow Regimes from International Experimental and Network Data) that aims at data sharing and analysis, thus linking this to the ambitions of global data centres federated in GTN-H, e.g. Global Runoff Data Centre (GRDC), GEMS/Water Data Centre for water quality or the International Soil Moisture Network (ISMN).

This initiative is intended to encourage more early-career scientists to join the EURO-FRIEND initiative and enhance collaboration between the FRIEND-water community across the world.

More information on the workshop series and registration is available here:

www.researchgate.net

All session recordings are now available at:

YouTube

Together with Bastien Dippois (Coventry University, UK), we are now pleased to announce the schedule of sessions of following sessions (to be continued):

Session 1 “What is needed to bridge the data knowledge gap in Hydrology” by S. Dietrich (ICWRGC, Germany, Regional Coordinator of EURO-FRIEND) on April 6th, 2022 (2pm UTC).
Abstract and registration at:

Session 1 - coventry-ac-uk.zoom.us

Session 2 “Improving Reproducibility and Efficiency – Use Cases of R in Hydrology” by T. Recknagel (GRDC/BfG, Germany) on May 11th, 2022 (2pm UTC).
Abstract and registration at:

Session 2 - coventry-ac-uk.zoom.us

Session 3 “Climate analysis in R” by Dr. R. Benestad (NMI, Norway) on June 8th, 2022 (1.30pm UTC).
Abstract and registration at:

Session 3 - coventry-ac-uk.zoom.us

Session 4 “Constructing and Communicating Regional Climate Change Scenarios”, by Prof Ted Shepherd (University of Reading, UK) on July 6th, 2022 (2pm UTC).
Abstract and registration at:

Session 4 - coventry-ac-uk.zoom.us

Session 5 “A hydrologist guide to open science” by N Dogolu (Independent Researcher) on September 7th, 2022 (2pm UTC).
More information and registration at:

Session 5 - coventry-ac-uk.zoom.us

Session 6 “Large-sample hydrology: learning from hundreds to thousands of catchments” by Dr N. Addor (University of Exeter and Fathom, UK) on October 12th, 2022 (2pm UTC).
More information and registration at:

Session 6 - coventry-ac-uk.zoom.us

Session 7 “Hydrological Modelling with R” by Dr G. Thirel and O. Delaigue (INRAE, France) on November 16th, 2022 (2pm UTC).
More information and registration at:

Session 7 - coventry-ac-uk.zoom.us

As from 15 March 2022, ICWRGC will host a student from the Erasmus Mundus EuroAquae programme “Hydroinformatics and Water Management”. Since the beginning of the COVID pandemic, this is the first master thesis project to be commenced on site, at the ICWRGC office in Koblenz. The master thesis project will be co-supervised by Prof. Molkenthin from Cottbus University, one of the universities participating in the EuroAquae programme. Dmytro Lisniak and Dr. Renee van Dongen will supervise the master student on behalf of the ICWRGC.

During the 5-month project duration, the student will combine river discharge data from the Global Runoff Database with water quality data from the GEMStat database to calculate yearly sediment, nutrient and contaminant fluxes in global rivers. As a next step, the student will develop an application that gives users the opportunity to explore different substance fluxes around the world. On the long term, this application is planned to be integrated within GEMStat.

Tunde Olarinoye

Scientific officer at the
International Centre for Water Resources and Global Change (UNESCO)

Contact:

Federal Institute of Hydrology
P.O. Box 200253
56068 Koblenz, Germany

Phone: +49 (0) 261 1306 5099
Email:

Research

Large data analysis and management
Hydrological modelling
Groundwater and global change impact assessment
Machine learning applications in hydrology

Scope of duties

Data acquisition and development of soil moisture data products
Public relations and front-end development for the International Soil Moisture Network (ISMN)

Community contributions

2022: Co-convening a session at the EGU in Vienna titled “Large-sample hydrology: characterising and understanding hydrological diversity and catchment organisation”.

2019: Organising member at 46^th International Association of Hydrogeologists Congress (IAH) in Malaga, Spain

Research Experience

2018 – 2021: Scientific Employee, Chair of Hydrological Modelling and Water Resources, University of Freiburg, Germany

2017 – 2018: Graduate Researcher, T-Group, UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, Delft, the Netherlands

2016: Research Intern, Deltares, Utrecht, the Netherlands

Education

From 2018: PhD Hydrology, University of Freiburg, Germany

Title: Unravelling the hydrodynamic behaviour of karst aquifer systems through comparative hydrology.

2015 – 2017: Master of Science in Water Science and Engineering, UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, Delft, the Netherlands – Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Programme.

Thesis: Assessing impacts of urbanisation and climate change on present and future water availability in Arusha, Tanzania.

2015 – 2017: Master of Science in Environmental Engineering, Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisbon Portugal – Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Programme.

2015 – 2017: Master of Science, Hydro-science Engineering, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany – Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Programme.

2006 – 2011: Bachelor of Science, Agricultural and Environmental Engineering, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Nigeria

Teaching and mentoring

2018 – 2021: Co-supervised and mentored Bachelor and Master students at the Chair of Hydrological Modelling and Water Resources, University of Freiburg, Germany

2021: Guest lecture: Groundwater adaptation to global change impacts, UN-IHE Institute for Water Education, the Netherlands

Publications

Olarinoye, T., Gleeson, T., and Hartmann, A. (in review). Karst spring recession curve analysis: efficient, accurate methods for both fast and slow flow components. Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss. [preprint], https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2021-249

Olarinoye T., Gleeson T., Marx V., et al. (2020). Global karst springs hydrograph dataset for research and management of the world’s fastest-flowing groundwater. Nature Scientific Data, 7:59, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41597-019-0346-5

Hartmann A., Liu Y., Olarinoye T., Berthelin R. and Marx V. (2020). Integrating fieldwork and large-scale modeling to improve assessment of karst water resources. Journal of Hydrogeology, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-020-02258-z

Olarinoye T., Foppen J.W., Veerbeek W., Morienyane T. and Komakech H. (2020). Exploring the future impacts of urbanization and climate change on groundwater in Arusha, Tanzania. Water International, https://ddoi.org/10.1080/02508060.2020.1768724

Conference contributions

Olarinoye T., Boehmer F., Dietrich S., Zink M., Himmelbauer I. The International Soil Moisture Network: supporting and advancing EO research through open source in-situ soil moisture observations. EGU 2022.

Olarinoye T., Gleeson T. and Hartmann A. An automatic recession extraction and parameter estimation method for large-sample karst spring analysis. Interactive presentation AGU Fall meeting 2020 [talk].

Olarinoye T. and Hartmann A. A new approach for automatic extraction of karst conduit and matrix recession coefficients. A workshop on sustainability and community in support of UNESCO science programs; Proceedings for conservation of fragile karst resource. Kentucky, USA, 2020 [talk].

Olarinoye T., Gleeson T., Hartmann A. Applicability of automatic recession extraction methods to a large number of karst spring hydrographs. Conference presentation at the International Karstological School “Classical Karst”. Postojna Slovenia, 2019 [talk].

Olarinoye T., Gleeson T., Hartmann A. Comparative analysis of karst spring hydrograph using automatic recession methods. 46th IAH Congress, Malaga, Spain, 2019 [talk].

Olarinoye T., Gleeson T., Marx V., Hartmann A. The first global database of karst spring discharge observations. EG, Austria, 2019 [talk].

Olarinoye T., Marx V., Hartmann A. Unravelling the hydrodynamic behavior of karst systems through comparative hydrology. Eurokarst conference, Besancon, France, 2018 [talk].

Nogueira G., Olarinoye T., Stigter T., Marc W. Mapping and evolution of hydrochemical water types in Maputo Coastal aquifer. 44th Annual Congress for the International Association of Hydrogeologist, Dubrovnik, Croatia, 2017 [poster].

zu den Ansprechpartnern

Spaceborne Observations to Nourish GEMS/Water

The two-year project is part of the ESA Data User Element Innovators III Project launched in 2015, aiming at comparing Sentinel satellite data and in-situ measurement data. Pilot regions or so-called “National Focal Points” are located in Guatemala, Tanzania, Japan, Finland and Ghana. The idea is to improve the global representativity of the “GEMStat” water quality database.

Satellite data will allow expanding the GEMStat database and enhance its representativity.

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Successful international virtual symposium “Uncertainty in river water monitoring” from 30.11. and 01.12.2022

Networking between water-relevant German UNESCO sites – joint DUK and ICWRGC Workshop in Bonn on 13 July 2022

Return of on-site conferences

ICWRGC researchers attended geoscientific conferences on water and environment across Europe