Hidrológiai Közlöny, 2020 (100. évfolyam)
2020 / 2. szám
BO Hidrológiai Közlöny 2020. 100. évf. 2. sz. Austrian Hydrological Society - a bridge between science and practice Shortened version of a presentation at the Hungarian Hydrological Society, Budapest, 17 October 2019 Franz Nobilis Professor extraordinary at the University of Vienna, Retired Head of Hydrographisches Zentralbüro (Department for Water Balance) at the Ministry for Sustainability and Tourism (BMNT), Vienna, Austria (E-mail: franz.nobilis@gmail.com) THE BACKGROUND The AHS Austrian Hydrological Society (ÖGH Österreichische Gesellschaft für Hydrologie) was founded in 1994 at the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna on the occasion of the centenary celebration of Hydrographischer Dienst (Hydrological Service) in Austria. The author was the nucleus to form AHS/ÖGH as head of Hydrographisches Zentralbüro and professor at the University of Vienna (Institute for Meteorology and Geophysics) at that time. A board of important actors came together from universities, governmental organisations, water power plant agencies, private institutions and others. The first President was Prof. Wolfgang Stalzer, head of the Department Water in the responsible ministry (BMLFUW), now called Ministry of Sustainability and Tourism, BMNT and the Vice-President was the well-known Prof. Werner Kresser, head of the Institute of Hydrology at the Technical University of Vienna, who years before was the head of Hydrographisches Zentralbüro. Both persons had strong links to Hungary, Prof. Stalzer acting as head of the Austrian delegation at the Österreichisch-Ungarische Gewässerkommission (Austrian-Hungarian Commission for transboundary rivers and lakes) and Prof. Kresser who had a strong friendship to Prof. Woldemar Lászlóffy of Hungary. They created e.g. the conferences for flood forecasting in the Danube Basin, the title was later extended to water balances and water management as well as projects for the water balance of the River Danube. The author at that time and later had a great network of hydrologists behind him, being involved in WMO as Hydrological Advisor for Region VI (Europe) and Chairman of the Working Group on Hydrology of RA VI, as President of the Surface Water Commission (ICSW) of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS), in UNESCO-IHP including the Regional Working Group on Hydrology of the River Danube and others. THE AIMS OF THE AHS The aims of AHS/ÖGH are since 1994 valid: to support the information exchange between the operational hydrological services in Austria (Hydrographische Dienste in Österreich), the specific hydrological institutes at the universities, the user of hydrological data (planning and civil engineers) as well as the research and teaching of hydrology and related fields as water management, hydrometeorology or hydrogeology and to stimulate this processes. AHS is therefore a forum for people in Austria interested in hydrology in general. AHS is a non-profit organization, for benefit of the public. Before the start of AHS, a study was done with respect to other comparable societies in Europe, estimating the number of potential members. Today the society has about 200 members, 25% coming from universities, 25% from the operational service, 20% from the general administration, 20% from civil engineering and technical planning offices and 10% from private industry. HYDROLOGICAL ATLAS OF AUSTRIA Being a very young society, a very strong activity was necessary to accumulate the power of hydrologist in Austria. This power was found in the promotion, strategy planning and fund raising for the Hydrological Atlas of Austria www.bmnt.gv.at/wasser/wasserkreislauf/hydrologischeratlas. The comments on the idea, contents and product, printed version and the digital Hydrological Atlas of Austria are cited in the printed version as the following: • Idea - Protection and sustainable use of water resources require comprehensive knowledge of the water cycle components and their spatial and temporal distribution as well as information about human impacts and water quality. A synopsis of different hydrological and water management issues of the special importance for a better assessment of possible developments. The Hydrological Atlas of Austria (HAA) offers a uniform and consistent representation of hydrologic information about Austria. This detailed knowledge is made accessible to a wide audience in illustrative form. Its aim is to increase public awareness to the fact that water is a precious resource. The contents of the atlas and its presentation are useful for meeting the information demand expressed through the different areas of public interest e.g. research, education, economy and politics. • Contents and the product - The Hydrological Atlas of Austria is a dual product. It consists of conventionally printed thematic maps and is combined with a digital, GIS-based version. Thereby, both the expectations of the traditional map users and those who prefer electronic representations are met. A cartographical concept has been found, which one the one hand presents a homogeneous layout, which gives the HAA its own identity and on the other hand enables an optimal representation of the various topics in the atlas. The structure of atlas covers the different components of the water cycle (e.g. precipitation, runoff, lakes and groundwater), contains various chapters dealing with water and mass balance and also covers water management themes as well as those of water and environment. The authors of the individual maps represent the leading Austrian institutions in the fields of the respective topics. Thus, the HAA is a true collaborative product of Austria’s hydrologists.
