Mountain Hydrology goes EGU26 - Mountain Hydrology

From 3–8 May 2026, part of the Mountain Hydrology Group team attended the European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly in Vienna, Austria. With thousands of scientists from around the world gathering to discuss the latest developments in geosciences, EGU remains one of the highlights of the academic calendar.

This year, Mountain Hydrology team members contributed presentations spanning glacier hazards, evapotranspiration, snow hydrology, alpine ecohydrology, and cryosphere change.

The week started on Monday with a poster presentation by Florian Vacek, who presented new research on the timing and volume of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) in Greenland. Using satellite observations, the study investigates how these floods develop, how frequently they occur, and how they influence the delivery of freshwater from the Greenland Ice Sheet to surrounding fjords and oceans. Later that day, Philip Kraaijenbrink gave an oral presentation showcasing work by MSc student Alexander Andriessen, who used eddy covariance data to investigate the environmental controls of evapotranspiration in the Nepal Himalaya and highlight the importance of evapotranspiration in high mountain environments.

Florian presenting his work on GLOFs in Greenland.

On Tuesday, Oriol Pomarol Moya presented a new machine-learning approach for reconstructing daily snow water equivalent (SWE) across the Northern Hemisphere. By combining meteorological data, topographic information, land cover characteristics, and observations from approximately 10,000 snow monitoring stations, the project aims to create a 40-year daily SWE dataset at a spatial resolution of 1 km.

On Wednesday, Leon Duurkoop and Philip Kraaijenbrink presented work by MSc student Liesbeth van Elswijk on alpine greening in the Meretschitälli catchment in the Swiss Alps. Combining four decades of Landsat observations with field surveys, historical imagery, and detailed geomorphological mapping, the study investigated how climatic change, geomorphic activity, and land use interact to shape vegetation dynamics.

Leon and Philip presenting Liesbeth’s work.

Thursday morning Leon Duurkoop presented research on how vegetation transitions influence alpine hydrology in the Swiss Alps. Using field observations across multiple vegetation types, the study examined how vegetation transitions affect soil moisture, soil temperature, and snow dynamics. The results highlight the importance of considering mountain greening when predicting future hydrological change in alpine environments.

Leon presenting his work on vegetation changes in the Swiss Alps.

The week concluded on Friday with Walter Immerzeel’s Alexander von Humboldt Medal Lecture. In his presentation, Walter reflected on decades of research into hydroclimatic and cryospheric change in High Mountain Asia and discussed the challenges and opportunities facing mountain water research in a rapidly changing world.

Beyond the scientific programme, EGU provided many opportunities to reconnect with colleagues, meet new collaborators, and exchange ideas across disciplines. From discussions on mountain ecohydrology and snow processes to glacier hazards and remote sensing, the conference once again demonstrated the value of bringing together researchers working across different components of mountain systems.