Appel à communications - Joint CGU and IAH-CNC Annual Meeting 2026
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- il y a 2 minutes
- 4 min de lecture
Découvrez les différentes sessions organisées par certains de nos membres chercheurs et soumettez votre résumé avant le 10 janvier 2026 !
IAH3: Re-centering empiricism, data, and humans in groundwater science
Description
Hydro(geo)logy has long advanced through empirical discovery, with Fundamental principles such as Darcy’s Law of flow through porous media and Theis’s well equation emerged from systematic observation before theory. These empirical advances remain cornerstones of modern hydrogeology. Yet, in recent decades, groundwater research risks stagnation by increasingly prioritizing “models of models”, opaque calibration routines, and parameterizations divorced from direct measurement. While models remain essential tools, one risk is that calibrated outputs may be interpreted too readily as truth, which can obscure the complexity of real processes. This has fostered a disconnect between modeled representations and the realities of groundwater fluxes in a world where pumping, contamination, human-driven climate change impacts and land-use change have rendered “pristine” aquifer systems rare exceptions. Against this backdrop, the paradigm of Whole Earth Hydrology (Gleason and Brown, 2025) calls for a reorientation: a return to discovery-driven, data-grounded, at scale, and human-inclusive hydro(geo)logy. This approach champions empiricism as a path toward truth-seeking, leveraging both field-based observation and satellite-derived datasets, while explicitly recognizing humans as inseparable actors in groundwater systems. We invite contributions that embrace empiricism in groundwater science—whether through novel field campaigns, innovative community-driven monitoring, or the use of emerging Earth observation platforms such as SWOT, GRACE, and high-resolution geospatial datasets. Equally welcome are studies that integrate human water use, infrastructure, and governance into groundwater assessments, treating humans as intrinsic elements of the aquifer systems. Submissions are encouraged across scales, from local groundwater–surface water interactions to regional aquifer studies and continental syntheses. By emphasizing “measurement before modeling,” this session seeks to highlight new empirical laws, large-scale observational syntheses, and cross-community collaborations that reveal truths about groundwater systems otherwise obscured by abstraction. Discussions will highlight how advancing groundwater science in the 21st century requires both technological innovation (e.g., artificial intelligence, remote sensing) and social integration (e.g., equity, Indigenous knowledge, participatory monitoring). The goal is to define a pathway toward a more holistic groundwater science—empirical, discovery-based, and rooted in data — while remaining responsive to the needs of communities, ecosystems, and policy.
Convenors
Rahim Barzegar (UQAT), Julien Walter (UQAC), Eric Rosa (UQAT)
IAH5: Socio-Hydrogeology: Integrating Local Knowledge and Enhancing Knowledge Transfer
Description
Today, the field of hydrogeology faces the urgent challenge of managing groundwater in ways that are both scientifically robust and socially relevant, while also meshing with other environmental water compartments to achieve integrated regional water management. Hence, groundwater specialists must strive to engage with the broader scientific community and various stakeholders, not only to transfer hydrogeological knowledge, but also to fully consider how knowledge and engagement of local communities may contribute to groundwater research. This session will explore the concept of socio-hydrogeology, seeking to bridge the gap between conventional hydrogeological studies and the social, cultural, and political realities that shape water use and governance. Central to this approach is the intentional inclusion of scientific, popular, and First Nations knowledge within hydrogeological research. The less conventional knowledge systems, often grounded in deep, geographically based understanding, can reveal patterns of groundwater behavior, highlight vulnerabilities, and support more resilient management practices. An additional focus will be the transfer of hydrogeological knowledge to a broad spectrum of stakeholders — ranging from local users, youth, policymakers and industry. Finally, we are keen to understand how scientific data and knowledge can support day-to-day decision-making by regional authorities responsible for land use planning, or for regulating and establishing policies for the protection and development of the region. Presentations that address communication strategies, participatory mapping, visual storytelling, and methods that foster two-way dialogue are encouraged. Through this session, we aim to showcase innovative research and initiatives that advance groundwater science while responding to local needs and values. As such, this session promotes socio-hydrogeology as an interdisciplinary space where science and society can co-create and engage in sustainable solutions for groundwater management, with the emerging concept of participatory action research as a guiding principle.
Convenors
Geneviève Bordeleau (INRS), Julien Walter (UQAC)
IAH6: Surface water-groundwater interactions through recharge, discharge, and contribution to ecosystems
Description
From infiltration at the soil surface to groundwater discharge zones, groundwater resources sustain various anthropic uses and groundwater-dependent ecosystems. Understanding the complexities of surface water–groundwater interactions, especially through recharge and discharge, is crucial to link groundwater dynamics with these uses, especially in Canadian cold climates where strong seasonality shapes hydrological processes. However, global change – including shifts in climate, altered precipitation patterns, warming temperatures, and intensifying land-use pressures – threatens the current balance and impacts human uses and groundwater-dependent ecosystems. Alternatively, Nature-based solutions are increasingly implemented to mitigate these pressures on water resources by harnessing ecosystem services. Consequently, a deeper understanding of the processes involved in surface water-ecosystem-groundwater feedbacks is urgently needed. This session explores methodological developments and process characterization related to groundwater recharge, flow, discharge, and their interactions with ecosystems. We invite contributions on monitoring and data acquisition, field investigations and hydrogeophysical methods, data-driven approaches, remote sensing, GIS analyses, and modeling — from conceptual to fully integrated numerical tools — that improve our ability to assess groundwater availability, surface–groundwater interactions, and ecosystem responses under changing conditions. Contributions on the design, implementation, and performance assessment of Nature-based solutions are also welcome, as they offer pathways to strengthen connections between groundwater and surface water and enhance the resilience of groundwater-dependent ecosystems.
Convenors
Emmanuel Dubois (UQAM), Marie Larocque (UQAM), Steven Berg, Stephanie Wrigh
IAH14 Innovative Development and Applications of Numerical Modelling for Process Understanding in Hydrogeology
Description
Increasing challenges in solving hydrogeological problems require advanced modelling tools to provide insight into process understanding and system behavior. Applications include water supply and groundwater protection, contaminant transport and remediation, cryo-hydrogeology, waste storage and resource extraction, including mining and geothermal energy. These systems are often complex, involving multiple coupled processes in heterogeneous porous or fractured porous media. Modelling challenges include process representation, domain characterisation and parameterisation, balancing simplicity and complexity in conceptual models, and computational effort. This session targets innovative development and applications of numerical models to such challenging hydrogeological systems. We welcome contributions at the laboratory, field or basin scales, and from daily to seasonal to geological time scales. Contributions which address current societal and environmental challenges in hydrogeology including climate change are particularly welcome.
Convenors
John Molson (Université Laval), Andrea Brookfield, Jean-Michel Lemieux (Université Laval), René Therrien (Université Laval)