The HUN-REN Institute of Earth Physics and Space Science (HUN-REN EPSS) in Sopron hosted the TOPO-EUROPE workshop between the 28th and 30th of September 2023. TOPO-EUROPE is a Regional Coordinating Committee of the International Lithosphere Program with the active involvement of Hungarian researchers in its working groups, chaired by Sierd Cloetingh, a member of the HUN-REN President’s Circle. Scientists from 10 European countries including early-, mid-career and senior researchers from academia, as well as representatives of industry and applied science organisations participated in the workshop, opened by Balázs Gulyás, President of HUN-REN. The newly established cooperations built upon the workshop discussions significantly contribute to the research network’s objectives in terms of renewable energy, climate change and geological hazards.
The workshop followed on the recently published science plan, "Coupled surface to deep Earth processes: Perspectives from TOPO-EUROPE with an emphasis on climate- and energy-related societal challenges". Several researchers from HUN-REN EPSS participated in the preparation of this article published in Global and Planetary Change as an invited review paper. This paper provides a roadmap on how earth science can contribute to addressing large-scale global challenges such as the implementation of the energy transition and climate change.
The TOPO-EUROPE initiative addresses the 4-D topographic evolution of Europe's mountain-forming zones (orogens) and intraplate regions with a multidisciplinary approach linking geology, geophysics, geodesy and geological resources. TOPO-EUROPE integrates the observation, reconstruction and modelling of the interaction between the processes determining the topography of the continent and the related geological hazard sources. The main objectives of TOPO-EUROPE are to provide an interdisciplinary forum for sharing knowledge and information about the youngest tectonic and topographical developments in Europe, promote and stimulate multidisciplinary research on a European scale, increase researcher mobility and contribute to the training of young scientists. This initiative creates an opportunity for participants to actively engage in European geodynamic and geophysical research in the "natural laboratories" targeted by the TOPO-EUROPE initiative. The newly established cooperations built upon the workshop discussions significantly contribute to the research network’s objectives in terms of renewable energy, climate change and geological hazards.
Following up on this highly successful meeting, the decision was made that EPSS will permanently host the annual TOPO-EUROPE workshops in Sopron. The next event is planned for 26-28 September 2024. The two TOPO-EUROPE working groups (WG1: Tectonics, magmatism, climate and geo-environment.; WG2: Geo-resources and geofluids) are currently preparing research proposals for funding with active participation of Hungarian researchers.
The program of the workshop is available at this link.
Related publication:
Cloetingh, S., Sternai, P., Koptev, A., Ehlers, T.A., Gerya, T., Kovács, I., Oerlemans, J., Beekman, F., Lavallée, Y., Dingwell, D. and Békési, E., 2023. Coupled surface to deep Earth processes: Perspectives from TOPO-EUROPE with an emphasis on climate-and energy-related societal challenges. Global and Planetary Change, p.104140. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921818123001133?via%3Dihub