Congratulations for being awarded this years Early Career Scientist Award of the ERE division! Can you tell us a bit about yourself (not only about your work life)?
Thank you so much! I am delighted to receive this award and grateful to the European Geosciences Union for this recognition.

I am an engineer and a geoscientist with a passion for understanding the Earth’s subsurface processes and their implications for developing clean energy resources and sustainability. I generate knowledge, workflows and tools ‎to safely and efficiently unlock the huge ‎potential of the subsurface to cut carbon emissions and produce ‎low-carbon and sustainable ‎energy in the fight against the climate change crisis. To this end, I conduct interdisciplinary research combining concepts from ‎geomechanics, geochemistry, seismology, data science and artificial intelligence through a combination of experimental, numerical and data-driven approaches.‎

I earned my PhD in Petroleum Engineering in late 2018 from Tehran Polytechnic, Tehran, Iran. After a short ‎period in the industry and as a lecturer at the Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran, I started my postdoc ‎research career in Jan. 2020 at the Spanish National Research Council (IDAEA-CSIC), Barcelona, Spain. I initially ‎enrolled as a contracted postdoc in the ERC-StG project GEoREST and then as ‎“Juan ‎de la Cierva ‎Incorporación”‎ and “PCI-MSCA IF-ST 2020” (project EASY GEOCARBON) fellows. Awarded a Horizon Europe Marie Curie ‎fellowship for the project THMC4CCS, in 2023, I joined the Subsurface CO2 Research Group at Imperial ‎College London, London, UK, where I am currently conducting my research. I have had this opportunity to be part of two amazing research groups during my postdoc and collaborate with leading scientists in my field, significantly assisting me in shaping my academic career. I am grateful for their support.

Beyond my scientific work, I spend my time with my family; my wife Atefeh and my little daugther Rose. I enjoy being outdoors, hiking and cycling. I love exploring many parks and green spaces in London. Besides, I love cooking and gardening. They keep me energized and help me release daily tensions.

Iman Rahimzadeh Kivi, the ERE division Outstanding ECS Awardee 2025.

How did you get into your research topic? Did you know from the very start of your career that this is what you want to research?
My interest in investigating multiphysics processes relevant to subsurface energy and resources management began early during my undergraduate studies, as I was fascinated by the complexity and interdisciplinary nature of processes in the Earth’s crust. However, my path to my current research was shaped by my ‎academic experiences and collaborations.

During my master’s and PhD research, I developed a strong interest in the geomechanics of subsurface applications with a focus on hydrocarbon reservoirs. Later, during my postdoctoral career, I focused my research on addressing challenges in low-carbon geoenergy applications, in particular, carbon capture and storage and geothermal energy developments in light of the underlying multiphysics processes. I wouldn’t say I knew after my PhD that this would be my exact research topic but I was interested in shifting my research toward low-carbon geoenergies. My mentors—Prof. Victor Vilarrasa at CSIC, Spain, and Prof. Sam Krevor at Imperial College London, UK—along with insights from my collaborators, helped me identify key research priorities in these fields. As I delved deeper into the challenges and recognized their critical role in tackling climate and energy issues, my commitment to this path grew stronger. The more I explored, the more certain I became that this was the right direction for my work. I am honored to have been awarded three postdoctoral fellowships, which have allowed me to further expand my research on geologic carbon storage.

What do you see as the big open research questions in your field?
There are several exciting and pressing research questions in my field. One of the major challenges is improving the performance of coupled multiphysics modeling approaches to enable their effective, (near) real-time integration with subsurface monitoring techniques. Such an integration is crucial for efficient characterization of the subsurface to significantly reduce uncertainties, support operational decision-making and mitigate risks associated with developing low-carbon geoenergies. Addressing this challenge requires a combination of emerging technologies, such as machine learning and advanced computational techniques and can only be achieved through interdisciplinary collaboration.

Iman’s research in one image: Subsurface utilisation in the energy transition and related seismicity risks.

What is one of the defining memories from your time as an early career scientist?
One of the defining moments as an early career scientist was receiving the Marie Curie Fellowship. The award was especially important to me because it came after an unsuccessful trial in the previous call. I carefully analyzed the feedback from the evaluators, refined my proposal and the proposed methodology and improved my competence in the short time remaining to the next call. The next year, my hard work paid off, and I got the fellowship.

In addition to the recognition, the fellowship opened up new opportunities for collaboration and significantly expanded my knowledge and expertise in flow and transport phenomena relevant to geologic carbon storage. During this fellowship, I got the chance to develop cutting-edge laboratory techniques for improved understanding of reactive transport phenomena in the subsurface. It has set the ground for my future research on addressing challenges of the scaleup of carbon capture and storage technologies. This experience taught me a lot about resilience, continuous learning, and improvement based on feedback—skills that have helped me shape my scientific career‎.

If you could give three tips to young scientists, what would they be?

• Science evolves fast. Stay tuned, adapt to new technologies and welcome new ideas.
• Expand your professional network. Establishing international collaborations, participation in conferences and engagement in scientific discussions will reinforce your ability to conduct interdisciplinary research and open new opportunities.
• Be patient in confronting challenges. Research is to address questions that have remained unresolved. This is obviously a challenging process and setbacks are part of that. Learn from failures and keep trying and improving to finally achieve your academic goals.

The schedule of the annual EGU general assembly has just been published and if you submitted and abstract you do now know whether or not you will be able to give a poster presentation. Maybe this is the first time you will need to present a scientific poster or are wondering how to make your poster for this year’s conference. Look no further, we have compiled some thoughts for you in this blog post. There is also a small gallery of anonymized posters to look for inspiration!

The Purpose of a Scientific Poster

To make a good poster starts with identifying its purpose. A scientific poster is a tool for sharing research with peers in a concise, visually engaging manner. The goal is to communicate key findings effectively and encourage interaction. Think of your poster as an invitation for discussion rather than a dense collection of information or a published paper. This is particularly helpful if you are still in the middle of a project! One thing to note is that at EGU there are literally thousands of poster on display every day a good poster catches the attention of the audience nonetheless.

Key Principles:

• Engagement: Attract viewers with a clear layout and engaging visuals.
• Simplicity: Focus on a few key points—less is more.
• Interactivity: Encourage dialogue by making it easy for others to understand your work quickly.

What a Poster Is Not

A poster is not a paper, thesis, or slideshow. It should not be overloaded with text or complex equations and tables. Instead, extract the essential points and present them in an easily digestible format.

Designing an Effective Layout

The layout is critical to a poster’s readability. Before adding content, sketch a rough draft of your design on paper to organize sections logically.

Key Layout Tips:

1. Know Your Dimensions: EGU allows for larger than A0 posters. Make use of it if you can! Check the details here: https://www.egu25.eu/guidelines/presenters/poster_presenter_guidelines.html
2. Orientation: Landscape is generally preferred, as it is easier for the human eye to process.
3. Visual Hierarchy: Use headings, subheadings, and clear section divisions to guide the reader.
4. White Space Matters: Aim for a balance of 40% visuals, 40% text, and 20% empty space. Yes, 20 % empty space! And 40% text is already the very much upper limit!

Typography and Readability

Your text should be easily readable from at least 1.5 meters away. There may be several people trying to look at your poster at the same time, enable them all!

• Title: 96pt or larger
• Subheadings: 40pt
• Body text: 24pt minimum
• Font choice: Stick to 1-2 professional fonts. Maybe use Open Sans, its the official EGU font.
• Spacing: Use 1.5 or double spacing to enhance readability

Do the A4 test: If you print out your poster on a A4 sheet of paper and hold it at arms length you should be able to read everything well.

The Role of Color and Graphics

Figures are maybe THE most important part of a poster. As geoscientists we can make amazing figures (think maps, cross-sections, 3D models, satellite imagery, …). Make use of that to draw people to your poster! Colors are great and can enhance clarity and engagement—but should be used wisely.

• Choose a cohesive color scheme: Avoid too many colors; stick to 2-3 complementary colors.
• Use high-contrast colors: Ensure readability, especially for color-blind viewers. There are many cool tools out there: https://www.fabiocrameri.ch/colourmaps/, https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/viridis/vignettes/intro-to-viridis.html, https://www.color-blindness.com/coblis-color-blindness-simulator/
• Graphics over text: Replace lengthy text with well-labeled diagrams, maps, or photos!
• Captions: Every image should have a concise caption explaining its relevance.

Content That Works

Your poster should tell a clear story from introduction to conclusion. Here’s a simple structure:

1. Title: Make it engaging and, if possible, phrase it as a question.
2. Introduction: A short, jargon-free summary (120 words max) answering What, Why, Where, When, Who, and How.
3. Methods & Results: Use visuals to explain key processes and findings.
4. Conclusion: Summarize the key takeaway in a few sentences.
5. Contact Info: Include an email address, social media handle, or QR code linking to your poster, or any published material.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Overcrowded posters: Avoid excessive text and unnecessary details.
• Small fonts: Ensure readability from a distance.
• Poor image quality: Use high-resolution graphics (at least 300 dpi).
• Lack of structure: Organize content logically so it flows naturally.

Printing Your Poster

• File format: Save your poster as a high-quality PDF for printing.
• Resolution: Print at 300-600 dpi for best results.
• Size setting: Ensure your design software is set to the correct dimensions before you begin.
• Printing options: University services are often cost-effective, but local print shops can be a great alternative. I always print my poster in Vienna for less than 20 Euros, this means I do not have to carry it both ways!

Final Thoughts

A well-designed poster is a powerful communication tool. It doesn’t just present research; it starts conversations. Be not afraid to highlight issues you currently have in your project, it may well be that someone walking by has an idea that could really help you. Last year one of the best posters I have seen had post-its next to it and asked people to fill in some blanks!

Hello and welcome to the reopened blog of the Energy, Resources and the Environment Division of the EGU! We want to use this blog in the future actively to keep you updated with what is happening in our division and to highlight various ERE related topics of interest, activities and research. But today we want to first introduce ourselves.

In the ERE division, people who work to better understand our planet’s energy, resources, and environment and its inter-and transdisciplinary aspects come together. Our mission is to make sense of the complex interactions between our natural resources and the environment, which naturally means that we have to collaborate in interdisciplinary ways. The core of the division consists of experts in various fields that will help meet the mutually coupled challenges of energy, resources and the environment.

As with every EGU division, our team consists of around 10 persons who voluntarily help organizing the division and are here to help you with any questions you have about the topics covered in our division. This includes our current president Viktor, our current deputy president and future president Giorgia, Rotman and Thanushika as early career scientist representatives, Sarah as OSPP Coordinator, Johannes, Michael and Sonja as Science officers, and Ana Teresa, who is our Policy Officer. Do you want to get involved in organizing our division? Let us know at [email protected]!

The current ERE team. Feel free to reach out to us!

However, the most important people in our division are all the authors, co-authors and session conveners who contribute to the successful ERE program at the annual General Assembly! Traditionally, there are six sub-programme groups, in which sessions cover the whole breadth of ERE: Integrated studies, renewable energy, geo-storage, raw materials and resources, process coupling and monitoring, and inter-and transdisciplinary sessions. Why not check out sessions in our programme at this years EGU in Vienna? We look forward to seeing you then!

Producing deep geothermal energy involves using a well, which can be several kilometres deep, to extract hot water in the aim of using its heat to generate electricity or for industrial applications.

The well is drilled into what’s called a geothermal reservoir; rock containing empty space, or porosity, which allows the passage or storage of fluids. Sometimes hot water is already sufficiently present within the geothermal reservoir, but often cooler water is pumped into the ground via an injection well in the aim of collecting it once it has been heated. The combined use of an injection and a production well is called a doublet and is a common method of exploiting geothermal energy. During the production or it is important to understand what is happening to this water as it is being injected, how much we can expect to get out at the other end and how hot it will be! This involves modelling the movement of the water, the transfer of heat and the mechanical stress and deformation of the rock, all of which are interconnected by coupled, highly non-linear equations.

Antoine Jacquey, of German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam is a PhD student working on methods of reservoir engineering. In his 2016 paper, “Thermo-poroelastic numerical modelling for enhanced geothermal system performance: Case study of the Groß Schönebeck reservoir” demonstrating an improved version of this method, which takes into account the change in porosity as the rock deforms, Antoine Jacquey and his colleagues applied these new techniques to the Groß Schönebeck geothermal facility.

The Groß Schönebeck geothermal reservoir is located just north of Berlin, Germany, and is home to an injection/production well doublet. These wells are used as an in situ laboratory for investigating deep sedimentary structures and fluids under natural conditions. The reservoir, at 4-4.1 km depth, is made of up Elbe base sandstone which has a porosity of up to 10 %.  Antoine and his co-authors apply the thermo-mechanical modelling techniques to simulate 100 years of geothermal production at Groß Schönebeck, providing insights on the longevity and productivity for similar geothermal sites. The latter are dependent on temperature drops in both the reservoir and the extracted geothermal fluids which occur as a cold water front moves outwards from the injection well (see Figure above). They find that the injection of cold water enhances the porosity and permeability (the ability of the rock to transmit fluids) which in turn increases the amount of cold water propagating through the reservoir, decreasing the estimated life time of the system from 59 to 50 years. Their study highlights the importance of correctly taking into account the coupling between the different thermo-hydro-mechanical processes.

Antoine Jacquey is currently a PhD student at the German Research Centre for Geociences, Potsdam in section Basin Modelling. His research interests include numerical modelling of coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical processes, deformation of fractured systems and localized and diffused deformation in porous reservoir rocks.

Mirny mine, a former open fit diamond mine, now inactive, located in Mirny, Eastern Siberia, Russia. The mine is 525 meters deep (4^th in the world) and has a diameter of 1,200 m, and is one of the largest excavated holes in the world. .
Credit: Jean-Daniel Paris (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

The Scorpion and the Frog. This old tale, which was first documented by the movie Mr. Arkadin by Orson Welles, reports a scorpion that wants to cross a river… and asks a frog for a ride. Embarking on a lose-lose situation, both the frog and the scorpion are doomed in the tale.

Dramatic, this fable severely resembles how humans conduct their quest for resource extraction. Surface mining, a particular type of resource extraction, is devastating. It involves strip mining, open-pit mining and mountaintop-removal mining and accounts for more than 80% of ore mined each year (Ramani, 2012). Surface mining disturbs the landscape and impacts habitat integrity, environmental flows and ecosystem functions; it raises concerns about water (Miller and Zégre, 2014), air and soil quality (Mummey et al., 2002), and often also public health. Legacies of surface mining may include loss of soil structure and fertility, altered hydrology, and long-term leaching of contaminants from tailings and end-pit lakes (Isosaari and Sillanpää, 2010; Li, 2006; Ramani, 2012).

A new study debates the possible routes to deal with the legacies of surface mining. In a first instance, the authors revisit the terms remediation, reclamation, restoration and rehabilitation (R4) and clearly distinguish them in terms of the end-goal. While remediation is a more technical term and aims at removing pollutants and avoiding human exposure to them, restoration proposes the full recovery of the original ecosystem, prior to mining. Although frequently claimed as the end-goal, restoration may often not be feasible because of a myriad of constrictions.

To find out more about how the R4 is differentiated and where surface mining will likely happen in the future, check out the full study by Dr. Lima and her co-workers here.

Dr. Ana Theresa Lima is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Ecohydrology group, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Waterloo, Canada, and a Visiting Associate Professor at the Department of Environmental Engineering, Universidade Federal de Espirito Santo, Vitória, Brazil. Her research interests include electrokinetics, urban soils and the impact of human activity on them, organic and inorganic pollution and possible remediation techniques, and environmental policy.

References

Miller, A., Zégre, N., 2014. Mountaintop removal mining and catchment hydrology. Water 6, 472–499. doi:10.3390/w6030472

Mummey, D.L., Stahl, P.D., Buyer, J.S., 2002. Soil microbiological properties 20 years after surface mine reclamation: spatial analysis of reclaimed and undisturbed sites. Soil Biol. Biochem. 34, 1717–1725. doi:10.1016/S0038-0717(02)00158-X

Isosaari, P., Sillanpää, M., 2010. Electromigration of arsenic and co-existing metals in mine tailings. Chemosphere 81, 1155–1158.

Li, M.S., 2006. Ecological restoration of mineland with particular reference to the metalliferous mine wasteland in China: A review of research and practice. Sci. Total Environ. 357, 38–53. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2005.05.003

Ramani, R. V., 2012. Surface Mining Technology: Progress and Prospects. Procedia Eng. 46, 9 – 21.

Air pollution from open burning of straw nearby residential area.
Credit: Ali Mohammadi (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

We all know that pollution, of any kind, is not good news and that it may lead to health risks. Air pollution, such as smog, is something many large cities experience, especially in low- and middle-income countries. The World Health Organisation reports that “As urban air quality declines, the risk of stroke, heart disease, lung cancer, and chronic and acute respiratory diseases, including asthma, increases for the people who live in them.”  But how do these health risks impact premature mortality?

A recent study on air pollution in urban areas in India has estimated that fine particulate matter (i.e. very small airborne particles released by various sources, such as fossil fuel or organic matter burning) exposure has lead to over half a million premature deaths. Though this number was not obtained by studying who actually died from air pollution, but rather via statistical extrapolation of data obtained in less polluted areas, the study suggests that air pollution in India leads to about 3.4 life years lost.

Read the whole article by Chelsea Harvey in the Energy and Environment section of the Washington Post here.

Image Credit: Paul Saab

By Lindsey Higgins, PhD student at Stockholm University and the Bolin Centre for Climate Research

***

This year we will have our own student reporter, Lindsey Higgins, from Stockholm University, at the EGU GA. Lindsey will be reporting on research presented in the ERE sessions on this blog and social media. Please let us know if you think you have a suitable session for Lindsey to attend and report on. Here is some more about Lindsey and her motivations!

****

Blog by Lindsey Higgins

As far back as I can remember, I have always felt drawn to the sciences. Fortunately, I had encouraging teachers when I was young and strong mentors throughout my university years. When choosing my degree program as an undergraduate, Physical Geography seemed like a perfect fit. It provided me with the opportunity to study a variety of topics and to really refine my research interests. At Buffalo State College in New York I chose a concentration of meteorology and climatology while also studying for a minor in Anthropology. This combination was the start of my interest in the intersection of human activity and environmental variability.

After taking part in any research project I could get myself into as an undergraduate, I felt the experience and drive necessary to further my academic career. At The Ohio State University I had the privilege of a research assistantship at the Byrd Polar Research Center in the Ice Core Climatology group. After working with a strictly climatological project for my Master’s degree, I was ready to move back into research that brought in the aspect of human involvement in the environment.

Currently, I am a PhD student at Stockholm University working with a crater lake in northern Tanzania. In my dissertation research, I use lake sediment to reconstruct past variability and remote sensing to look at modern fluctuations in the size of this lake. As this lake is an important freshwater resource for the people living around it, I became very interested in how it is affected by activities in the surrounding area and began collaborating with social scientists. If you are interested in this work, I will be presenting on Tuesday at 13.45 in room -2.47 during the session “Narrowing the gap: palaeoenvironment and human interaction during Late Quaternary” (CL1.06/GM6.9).

Aside from my research interests, I also find myself drawn to science communication and outreach. This is what led me to apply for a student reporter position at EGU. I often find myself asking how as researchers, we can translate our work to make it more understandable for the general public as well as people in positions to impact environmental policy development. It is my hope that after I complete my doctoral program, I can continue to be involved with this bridge between scientific research and public outreach.

I am grateful for this opportunity to report for the Energy, Resources and the Environment division and looking forward to sharing my experience at this year’s General Assembly!

If you are an Early Career Scientist (ECS) your first experience at the EGU General Assembly can be a bit bewildering with the sheer numbers of sessions and people milling around.

You might find it worthwhile attending a short course on:  “How to navigate the EGU, Tips & Tricks”  (SC36): http://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU2016/session/22155.”

Monday 18th of April; 12.15 – 13.15; Room -2.85

Although aimed at ECS it is open to everyone, with special focus for those who are attending the EGU for the first time. The aim is to help these first-time-EGU-ers to find their way at the conference and help them to make the most out of it

Posted on behalf of the short course coordinators, Anouk Beniest and João Duarte

]]>

Communicating with the public is increasingly an issue for geoscientists both in research and in industry, but how do we deal with communicating those aspects of our work that are controversial? Many scientists shy away from those issues that are likely to draw the attention of an angry public, because, quite reasonably, they don’t want to be attacked for just doing their job. But these controversial or contested aspects of geoscience are becoming more and more visible in our society, from fracking for shale gas, to the new plans to consult on deep geological storage of radioactive waste http://www.nda.gov.uk/rwm/national-geological-screening/consultation/ and the withdrawal of the UK government’s support for Carbon Capture and Storage funding http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/nov/25/uk-cancels-pioneering-1bn-carbon-capture-and-storage-competition and as such we have a responsibility to address them. More and more researchers are turning their attention to how the public understand these issues and therefore, how to communicate them, but in order to embrace this issue fully we need to appreciate the experiences of those people who are already communicating these subjects – what are the successes and failures?

In a step towards drawing these groups closer together, we have convened a session at the upcoming European Geoscience Union General Assembly in Vienna in April, focussing on the Communication of Contested Geoscience [http://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU2016/session/20173]. This session will explore the challenges of communicating the controversial and high-profile geoscience topics that are increasingly discussed in Europe, critique current practice and propose new strategies for public engagement in contested geoscience. We invite participants from across all sectors, including industry and government, to submit abstracts on the communication of new and controversial geological topics (geothermal power, carbon capture and storage or CCS, oil and gas extraction, radioactive waste disposal, etc) within the informal, non-formal and adult engagement sectors, including issues of risk perception, trust, the role of experts and public understanding of science.

We would like to invite you submit an abstract to this innovative PICO session by the deadline for abstracts, which is Wednesday 13^th January at 13.00 CET. If you are unfamiliar with a PICO session it combines the best parts of a poster and oral presentation, by having a short oral to present the highlights of your findings, with a poster style interactive session using your whole digital presentation on touch screens beside the posters. This allows you to capture your audience’s attention quickly, but then go into as much or as little detail than is possible on a poster.

For more information on submitting an abstract, please see here: [http://egu2016.eu/abstract_management/how_to_submit_an_abstract.html].