The International Soil Moisture Network (ISMN) actively participated in the recently concluded European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly meeting which was held between 23rd and 28th of April 2023 in Vienna, Austria. EGU is the largest geoscience event in Europe with over 16,000 participants both onsite and online.
Four members of the ISMN team participated onsite at this year’s EGU while others joined online. The team organised the first ISMN splinter meeting at the EGU 2023 which was well attended by different stakeholders: soil moisture sensor manufacturers, data providers, data users and soil moisture enthusiasts. The splinter meeting aimed to foster connection within the soil moisture community to improve data sharing, knowledge sharing and scientific collaborations.
Aside the splinter meeting, Fay Boehmer also presented ISMN at an EGU 2023 session focusing on the role of subsurface runoff, soil moisture and surface-subsurface feedback in hydrology. In her presentation, she emphasized the role of soil moisture as an essential agriculture, meteorology and hydrology variable. She concluded by highlighting the ISMN efforts towards ensuring access to open and fair in-situ soil moisture data and encouraged a community-wide participation in the ISMN project.