9th Global Energy and Water EXchanges
Open Science Conference

Jul 7 - 12, 2024 | Sapporo, Japan

Groundwater Workshop

Introduction

Groundwater (GW) is an important, and at the same time, distinct component of the global water cycle. While sustaining life and economies on Earth, GW is generally invisible and often ignored by the public, acting in the underground of the Earth, and only outcropping in relatively few places as surface water. As a result, on the one hand, GW is an unknown component of the terrestrial water cycle to many. On the other hand, because of its tremendous hydro-ecologic and socio-economic importance, GW has been valued and exploited by humans in many regions of the world throughout history. While GW is everywhere on the continents, it is the pronounced local to regional relevance and simultaneous invisibility that distinguishes GW from other components of the global water cycle. (GEWEX Quarterly, Vol. 33, No.1, Quarter 1 2023, pg. 5,6)

GW has been mentioned in many existing and completed GEWEX activities [e.g., in the GEWEX Global Land Atmosphere System Study (GLASS) Soil and Water initiative], yet not included in a formalized way. Thus, a call for a dedicated GEWEX GW activity is urgently needed in times of increasing pressures on water resources.

Goal

The goal of the workshop is to promote a GEWEX Network of experts for defining a multi-year science and research agenda on establishing groundwater modeling within the global Earth system modeling communities. Central to the workshop and ensuing activities is the hydrogeologic perspective, which is required to tackle the challenges of constructing and applying hydrogeologic and groundwater flow models over large space and time scales. The agenda will include keynotes and discussions leading to the definition of the core science and research mission of the network and next steps. For further information please contact Stefan Kollet (s.kollet@fz-juelich.de) and Laura Condon (lecondon@arizona.edu).

Image courtesy of Jessica Keune: Simulated water table depth over Europe

Registration, Agenda and other Practical Information

The Groundwater Workshop is a side event of the 9th GEWEX Open Science Conference.

Agenda

The agenda consists of invited keynotes, breakout groups and panel discussions.

Venue

Hokkaido University
5 Chome Kita 8 Jonishi, Kita Ward, 
Sapporo, Hokkaido
Japan

Registration

The In-person Workshop will take place on 6 & 7 July 2024 (1.5 day).

Participation is free of charge.

Sapporo Art Park, courtesy of Sapporo Tourism

Accommodation, transportation and things to do

Please visit Practical Information on our 9th GEWEX Open Science Conference website for information about accommodation, transportation and things to do in Sapporo, Japan.

Organizers

Laura CondonUniversity of Arizona (USA)
George HoubenFederal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources(Germany)
Seifu Kebede GurmessaUniversity of Kwazulu-Natal (South Africa)
Stefan KolletResearch Center Juelich (Germany)
Christian LangevinUS Geological Survey (USA)
Alan MacDonaldBritish Geological Survey (United Kingdom)
Chunmiao ZhengSouthern University of Science and Technology (China)