GEWEX workshop on the climate system of the Pannonian basin

9 - 11 November 2015

Faculty of Agriculture, University of Osijek
Osijek, Croatia

Meteorological and Hydrological Service of Croatia (DHMZ), Faculty of Agriculture, University of Osijek and Department of Geophysics, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb (AMGI).

This workshop aims to evaluate the potential for initiating an Global Energy and Water Exchanges Project (GEWEX) Regional Hydroclimate Project (RHP) over the Pannonian basin – PannEx.

The World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) aims to determine the predictability of climate and the effect of the human activities through the improvement of the understanding of the climate system. A core project is the GEWEX, that aims to observe, understand and model the hydrological cycle and energy fluxes in the Earth's atmosphere and at the surface. It proceeds by means of an integrated program of research, observations and science activities that focuses on the atmospheric, terrestrial, radiative, hydrological, coupled processes and interactions that determine the global and regional hydrological cycle, radiation and energy transitions, and their involvement in climate change.

The GEWEX Hydroclimatology Panel (GHP), oversees all GEWEX hydroclimatology projects. It coordinates the plans and the focus of scientific issues related to the development and implementation of the Regional Hydroclimate Projects (RHPs) and has oversight over all GEWEX regional hydroclimate and land-surface projects. A principal task of GHP is to guide these projects in the goal of achieving demonstrable skill in predicting changes in water resources and soil moisture as an integral part of the climate system at seasonal and longer time scales.

The Danube basin occupies an area located between the proposed RHP Baltic Earth and active RHP HyMeX, and many European countries are part of it. It may be divided roughly in three parts: the upper Danube (until Vienna), the Pannonian basin (until the narrow gorges between Serbia and Romania), and the lower Danube (until the Black Sea). The almost closed structure of the Pannonian basin makes it a very good natural laboratory for the study of the water and energy cycles, focusing on the physical processes of relevance.

GEWEX invites the interested parties to a workshop to explore the possibility of establishing an RHP centered on the Pannonian basin. The RHP could be extended to the whole Danube basin in a second phase.

The sessions will discuss relevant issues -such as atmospheric processes, water resources or vegetation-soil-atmosphere interactions-, together with existing structures, consortiums and databases. Talks will be given mostly by keynote speakers. There will be a poster session in which participants may show their research to promote interaction. The last day will be focused on the discussion on how to proceed further.

The workshop will take place in Osijek (Croatia) from 9 to 11 November 2015. Attendants must register, and eventually submit their abstracts, from 15 May to 30 September. The scientific committee is composed by members of GEWEX and senior scientists from the area. The local organizing committee is led by the DHMZ, AMGI and the Faculty of Agriculture at Osijek.

WCRP GEWEX granted PannEx workshop funds to support per diem for several candidates. Please send us your justified demand by 15th of August and the Scientific Committee will make decision about your requests by the end of August.

For all workshop related questions please contact pannex2015(at)cirus.dhz.hr