The MRI and the Institute for Interdisciplinary Mountain Research at the Austrian Academy of Sciences welcome inter- and transdisciplinary contributions that examine past, present, and future environmental change, their associated impacts for ecosystems and people in mountain environments, and measures taken to address these impacts. Submission deadline for this EGU26 session is 15 January 2026.
The European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly 2026 will bring together scientists from all over the world to explore all disciplines of the Earth, planetary, and space sciences. It will take place in Vienna, Austria and online from 3-8 May 2026. The EGU aims to provide a forum where scientists, especially early career researchers, can present their work and discuss their ideas with experts in all fields of geoscience.
Session ITS3.15/NH13.2 | Global Environmental Change in Mountain Social-Ecological Systems: Advances and New Perspectives
Mountains are complex social-ecological systems and natural laboratories in which to tangibly explore and understand how drivers and processes of global change manifest, and the impacts (or effects these have for specific places and beyond. In this session, we invite inter- and transdisciplinary contributions that examine past, present, and future environmental change, their associated impacts for ecosystems and people in mountain environments, and measures taken to address these impacts. This session is open to conceptual as well as empirical research on observations, modelling or scenarios studies of mountain climate, cryosphere, ecology, hazards, and hydrology, and their interactions, which could also incorporate intersecting socio-economic dimensions and risks. Mountains as complex terrain can be difficult to adequately parameterize in (climate) models and many areas of the world lack high-elevation monitoring infrastructure that can record data at the relevant locations, densities, scales, frequencies, and resolutions needed. Likewise, there is a need to capture and account for socio-economic changes such as demographic and land-use change and their projections, thereby enhancing our understanding of how hazards, vulnerability, and exposure interact in terms of impacts and risks.
We particularly welcome contributions that describe how steps are being taken to address such knowledge gaps, including high-elevation integrated monitoring efforts, observations along elevational gradients, climate downscaling strategies and remote sensing innovations, and integration methods that include societal data and information to characterise and represent a more comprehensive systems approach to global change.
This session is endorsed and supported by the Mountain Research Initiative (MRI) and the Institute for Interdisciplinary Mountain Research of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW).
The deadline for abstract submission is Thursday, 15 January 2026, 13:00 CET.
Cover image by Wenhao Ji.