On three occasions in March, the DIRT-X project arranged webinars aimed at those who in one way or another work with water resources. The focus was on how different services can be affected by sediment deposits in water reservoirs.

The DIRT-X research project is about how the changing climate and socio-economic conditions affect water reservoirs and the services they provide for various economic sectors.

– The participants in the webinars came from several different countries and economic sectors. During the webinars they got an insight into current research regarding how water reservoirs are affected by sediment, now and in a future climate – and how this can affect different types of services reservoirs provide including energy production, says Alena Bartosova, project manager and head of the Environment and Climate Section of the Hydrology Research Unit at the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) who is an expert on water quality modeling with 30 years of experience in watershed and impact assessments.

The webinars were also an opportunity for the participants to influence future climate services by providing input on what they as users need to be helped in their operations. 

The Webinars:

#1                        Climate impact indicators and insights for hydropower from interconnected energy systems: A pan-European perspective (March 2^nd)

#2                        Hydrological climate services and ecological impacts: insights from a coastal use case (March 16^th)

#3                        Hydro-climatic change and sediment dynamics: Insight from two hydropower use cases (March 23rd)

Webinar #1:

Climate impact indicators and insights for hydropower from interconnected energy systems: A pan-European perspective

Speakers:

Jing Hu from Utrecht University is a researcher in energy system analysis and modelling and energy meteorology. He reported on the contribution of hydropower to adequacy and balance of European power system under future climate conditions.

René Capell is a hydrologist with expertise in catchment modeling and leads the Monitoring and Observation group within the Hydrological Research Unit at the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI). He presented European-scale model results of climate change impacts on hydrology and sediment transports.

Conrad Brendel is a researcher in water quality modeling at the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) who specializes in modeling sediment fluxes and their impacts on hydropower reservoirs. He served on the panel of subject matter experts and participate in the discussions.

Webinar #2:

Hydrological climate services and ecological impacts: Insights from a coastal use case

Speakers:

Moa Edman from the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) is an expert in coastal zone modelling. She talked about how a changed climate can affect the marine environment. Special focus was on the Orust-Tjörn fjord system on the Swedish west coast, but also differences and similarities to other sites along the Swedish coast was discussed.

Johan Strömqvist is a hydrologist with expertise in water quality modelling at the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI). He presented current and future riverine inputs of water flow, nutrients and suspended sediments to the Swedish west coast affecting the Orust-Tjörn area.

Bengt Karlson is a biological oceanographer/marine biologist specializing in phytoplankton and Harmful Algal Blooms. Bengt is a senior scientist at SMHI:s Oceanographic Research Department. He works mainly in the Kattegat-Skagerrak and in the Baltic Sea but is also active in the global context, e.g. in the UNESCO-IOC Governmental Panel on Harmful Algal Blooms.

Webinar #3:

Hydro-climatic change and sediment dynamics: Insights from two hydropower use cases

Speakers:

Thomas Bosshard is a researcher at the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) and has his expertise in the interface between climate models and hydrological models. He talked about how data from climate projections have been tailored to the requirements of our case studies.

Kilian Mouris (photo above) from the University of Stuttgart is an expert in hydraulic engineering and numerical modeling. He presented how global change is altering the catchments erosion and reservoir sedimentation processes.

Maria Pesci from Leibniz University Hannover is a hydrological modeler with focus on glacio-hydrological processes. She reported on flow (Banja & Gepatsch) and glaciers (Gepatsch) future changes.

Behnam Balouchi from Norwegian University of Science and Technology is an expert in hydraulic and river engineering with a focus on flow and sediment patterns using innovative and modern techniques. He talked about the quantification of sediment transport for sustainable hydropower operations.

Stefan Achleitner is an Associate Professor at the University of Innsbruck and an expert in hydraulic engineering with focus on sediment bedload transport. He will talk about sediment flows in Gepatsch catchment.