Workshop 2025

Digital supporting materials:
1) Program (PDF)
2) Abstract booklet (PDF)

Program for the III. TOPO-EUROPE Workshop – 30 September – 03 October, 2025 – SOPRON, Hungary

29th September
Arrival of participants

18.00-19.30 Icebreaker in HUN-REN Institute of Earth Physics and Space Science (EPSS)
(Sopron, Csatkai Endre utca 6-8).

29th September Ligneum, Sopron University, Sopron, Bajcsy-Zsilinszky u. 4.

  • 9.00-9.10 Opening and welcome by István Kovács, HUN-REN EPSS Acting Director
  • 9.10-9.30 Sierd Cloetingh: TOPO-EUROPE: the science of Earth System Dynamics and its impact on geo-environment and geo-energy

9.30-11.40 Session 1: Coupled Deep Earth and Surface processes (Chair Pietro Sternai, Milan)

  • 9.30-9.50 Liviu Matenco: Understanding multiscale tectonic cyclicity in sedimentary basins
  • 9.50-10.10 Nevena Andrić-Tomašević: Sedimentary basins: fingerprinting the lithospheric-scale processes

10.10-10.40 Coffee break

  • 10.40-11.00 Alessio Lavecchia: Plume–Lithosphere Interaction and the role of the Mid-Lithospheric Discontinuity in craton delamination
  • 11.00-11.20 Ross Mitchell: The next supercontinent: Plate tectonics of the future
  • 11.20-11.40 Taras Gerya: Future dynamics and long-term survival of human civilization

12.00-13.00 Lunch in the Nyugat Restaurant (5 min walk)

13.00-14.00 Session 2: Melts and fluids of the lithosphere – the Pannonian Basin as a natural laboratory (Chair: István Kovács)

  • 13.00-13:20 László Fodor & Réka Lukács: Migration of deformation, basin subsidence, magmatism in extensional basins: comparative constraints from numerical models and observations (Pannonian Basin)
  • 13.20-13.40 Márta Berkesi: Quantifying geological CO2 accumulation in the subcontinental lithospheric mantle during post-rift evolution of a sedimentary basin (Bakony-Balaton Highland Volcanic Field, Pannonian Basin, Central Europe)
  • 13.40-14.00 Artur Ionescu: Quantifying present and past geological CO₂ degassing: The Carpathian Mofettic Area

14.00-17.00 Session 3: Renewable geo-energy and geo-hazards (Chair János Szanyi)

  • 14.00-14.30 Tom Beer: GeoHazards, GeoRisks and the guns of Flanders Fields
  • 14.30-14.50 Tony Alfredo Stabile: Exploring reservoir and fluid-injection induced seismicity in a seismically active region: A case study from the High Agri Valley, Southern Italy
  • 14.50-15.10 Miklós Kázmér: Seismic activity along the Periadriatic Lineament in the past 2000 years

15.10-16.00 Coffee break and posters

  • 16.00-16.20 Rita Njeru Mwendia: From reservoir to pore scale: Technology-driven digital approaches for sustainable geothermal energy
  • 16.20-16.40 Abdulhaq Hawkar: A data-driven sand channel prediction ml–model from well log data for optimized utes site selection and thermal breakthrough prevention: Case study from Hungary
  • 16.40-17.00 János Szanyi: The future of the geothermal energy sector in Hungary

17.00-18.20 Posters

18.20-18.50 Public lecture by István Bozsó: Assessing environmental hazards from space: novel applications of low-cost space geodesy to track topographic changes (in Hungarian)

19.00 Conference dinner, wine, music

1st October HUN-REN Institute of Earth Physics and Space Science (Sopron, Csatkai Endre utca 6-8).

9.00-10.30 Working group meetings on the topic of the workshop

  • Presentations of objectives for WG’s, followed by short presentations of individual members of WG members and open discussion
  • WG1: Tectonics, climate and biogeodynamics (Chairs Pietro Sternai and Taras Gerya)
  • WG2: Renewable geo-energy and geohazards (Chairs: Kristóf Porkoláb)

10.30-11.00 Coffee break

11.00-12.30 Opening of the HUN-REN TKI Rybach Research Centre for Renewable Geo-energy

  • 11.00-11.10 Sierd Cloetingh: The Rybach Research Centre (RRC) and the energy transition: a forward look
  • 11.10-11.40 Brief introduction to the host and shareholders of the HUN-REN TKI Rybach Research Centre
  • 11.40-12.00 Jan-Diederik van Wees (TNO/UU): Advances in geothermal research and innovation: a Dutch and European perspective
  • 12.00-12.10 Balázs Gulyás (President HUN-REN): Official opening of the LRC
  • 12.10-12.30 Ladislaus Rybach (ETH Zürich): Looking back and ahead

12.30-13.30 Lunch break at EPSS

  • 13.30-16.00: WG group meetings: synthesis: components for research proposals, Rybach Research Centre council meeting

16.00-16.30: Coffee break

  • 16.30-18.00: Reports to plenary for the two WG’s + General discussion

18.00: Closure of TOPO-EUROPE meeting and drinks

2nd October: short course by Taras Gerya (ETH Zürich): Biogeodynamics and subduction modelling: state of the art and hands-on

3rd October: short course by Pietro Sternai (Uni Milano-Bicocca): Neo-Tethyan geodynamics and Cenozoic climate: setting the stage for our present and future world – with coupled geodynamic and surface process numerical modelling practicals



About the III. TOPO-EUROPE Workshop – 30 September – 03 October, 2025 – SOPRON, Hungary

For those who are new to this initiative, a short summary about the TOPO-EUROPE project:

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 modeling 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. The cooperations built upon the workshop discussions significantly contribute to the research network’s objectives in terms of renewable energy, climate change and geological hazards.

Your participation and contribution are highly appreciated.

The main topics of the meeting:

  • Coupled deep Earth – surface processes
  • Melts and fluids of the lithosphere
  • Bio-Geodynamics
  • Renewable geoenergy
  • Geohazards
  • Working group sessions on the topics of the meeting 

Preliminary program:

29th September, evening – ice-breaker with snacks and wine at the EPSS, Sopron

30th September – plenary presentations in the topic of the meeting at the Ligneum Hall of the University of Sopron. Gala dinner at the Ligneum.

1st October – working group sessions on the topics of the meeting at the EPSS, Sopron.

2nd October short course led by Taras Gerya (ETH Zürich):”Biogeodynamics and subduction modeling: state of the art and hands-on”

3rd October short courses led by Pietro Sternai (Uni Milano-Bicocca): “Neo-Tethyan geodynamics and Cenozoic climate: setting the stage for our present and future world – with coupled geodynamic and surface process numerical modeling practicals”

Registration:

Please save the dates. Please also register and submit your short abstracts (max 150 words) via the link below to facilitate the organization of the meeting.

Register here

Conference fees:

Professionals: 100 Euro

Students: 50 Euro

Short course: 30 Euro/day

The conference fee includes the organization costs for the first two days, the ice-breaker, daily 2 coffee breaks and lunch, the gala dinner and the wine tasting. The short course fee includes the coffee breaks and buffet lunch during the day.

Early career scientists can apply for financial support to the organizing committee. In your application letter please indicate your career level and introduce the topic you would like to present at the workshop. Please send your application to the following address no later than 15 June (kover.szilvia@epss.hun-ren.hu)

Deadlines:

Registration: 15th June

Abstract submission: 15th July

Payment: 15th September



Short courses

Please install and test MATLAB on your computer prior to the workshop.

2nd October, 2025

Biogeodynamics and subduction modeling: state of the art and hands-on – short course by Taras Gerya (ETH Zürich)

In this seminar, the state of the art in Biogeodynamics and its relationship to subduction modeling will be presented. The participants will also be able to do simple exercises in numerical modeling of subduction in MATLAB and inform each other about their results. With that we will discuss importance of subduction for Earth and for exoplanetary perspective.

1) Matlab simulations of oceanic subduction

Testing the effects of 1) Plate length, 2) Plate thickness, 3) Density contrast between the slab and the mantle, 4) Plate viscosity, 5) Mantle viscosity, 6) Gravitational acceleration.

2) Matlab simulations of oceanic subduction in presence of a continent Topographic variations due to subduction and isostasy

Testing the effects of: 1) Planetary parameters (gravitational acceleration, average ocean depth, mantle viscosity, mantle strength); 2) Oceanic lithospheric mantle properties (thickness, density contrast with the mantle, viscosity, strength); 3) Oceanic crust properties (thickness, density contrast with the mantle, viscosity, strength); 4) Sediments properties (thickness, density contrast with the mantle, viscosity, strength); 5) Continental crust properties (thickness, density contrast with the mantle, viscosity, strength); 6) Continental lithospheric mantle properties (thickness, density contrast with the mantle, viscosity, strength).

3rd October, 2025

Neo-Tethyan geodynamics and Cenozoic climate: setting the stage for our present and future world – with coupled geodynamic and surface process numerical modeling practicals – short course by Pietro Sternai (Uni Milano-Bicocca)