EGU 2024Visitors flock to Hamburg’s climate research booth

25 April 2024, by Stephanie Janssen

Photo: UniHH/CEN/S. Janssen

The team from Universität Hamburg’s Cluster of Excellence CLICCS returned from Vienna with empty boxes and a wealth of new insights. In their view, the annual assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU) was a complete success. “Our booth attracted not just members of the scientific community with an interest in integrated climate research, but also early-career scientists who were considering applying for a position at Universität Hamburg,” says Dr. Susan Smollich, who is responsible for research coordination at the Cluster.

Throughout the week, there were eight “expert hours,” during which CLICCS experts from various fields engaged in question-and-answer sessions at our booth – which visitors left with not just booklets and jute bags, but plenty of scientific input. And booth traffic was even heavier on Tuesday afternoon, when friends and members of Universität Hamburg gathered for conversations and reunions over snacks and drinks. In 27 talks, CLICCS experts shared insights into a host of research areas. The topics covered ranged from the global carbon budget, natural coastal defense solutions, and urban flooding scenarios, to simulating the ocean and clouds in climate models, and the economic impacts of a weakened overturning circulation (AMOC).

According to the EGU, this year 18,388 participants from 116 countries attended in person, while more than 2,500 joined online. 18,896 presentations were held during the 1,044 sessions, more than half of them by early-career scientists.