GEOframe Winter School 2026 (GWS2026)

The GEOframe Winter School 2026 will be held at the University of Trento (Department of Civil, Environmental, and Mechanical Engineering) on the following dates:

• December 1-3, 2025
• January 7-10, 2026

Preliminary Program:

• December 1–3, 2025 (Online via Zoom or onsite):
• Software installation
• Geomorphological analysis of the basin
• January 7–10, 2026 (Onsite):
• Kriging-based spatialization of meteorological variables
• Energy balance and evapotranspiration estimation
• Snow modeling
• River runoff simulation
• Model calibration and verification
• Hands-on seminars will also be offered on the following topics:
• Use of satellite data for hydrological applications
• Meteorological datasets for hydrological applications (including in situ data, modeled data, real-time, and forecast data)

All lectures and hands-on sessions will be recorded and published on the School’s Vimeo channel, allowing for asynchronous participation. Special arrangements will be made for international participants in different time zones.

Location and Timing

The venue of the winter school is the University of Trento, Polo Mesiano, Room H1.

• December 1-3, 2025: Hybrid sessions, available online and onsite
• January 7-10, 2026: Onsite sessions, In-person attendance required

Output of the School

The main objective of the GEOframe Winter School is to equip participants with the skills and knowledge necessary to set up and run the GEOframe hydrological modeling system for their own area of interest. By the end of the course, participants will be able to produce spatially distributed estimates of all key components of the water balance, including: Rainfall, Snow accumulation and melt, Evapotranspiration, Runoff, Root-zone soil moisture, and Groundwater levels

Overview of GEOframe

GEOframe is not just a single model but a comprehensive, open-source hydrological modeling system built entirely with open-source tools. It offers a modular and flexible approach to hydrological simulation by leveraging the Object Modelling System v3 (OMS3) to connect a wide variety of modeling components.

The system includes dozens of modeling options, each tailored to represent specific processes of the hydrological cycle across varying spatial and temporal scales—from sub-hourly to yearly resolutions, and from point-scale simulations to large river basins.

Each modeling solution within GEOframe is a carefully selected combination of components optimized to simulate particular hydrological processes, such as: Spatially variable rainfall, Snow dynamics, Energy and water fluxes, Evapotranspiration, Runoff generation and routing, Soil moisture dynamics, and Groundwater flow.

Rather than forcing users to adapt their problem to a rigid model, GEOframe provides the flexibility to tailor the modeling approach to the specific characteristics and needs of the study area.

GEOframe has been successfully applied across a range of scales and contexts, from small experimental catchments to large basins such as the Blue Nile, the Po River Basin (Italy’s largest), and the Adige River Basin. In these regions, GEOframe has been used to produce high-resolution hydrological simulations calibrated and validated with observed data (e.g., discharge).

Contents of the School

GEOframe comprises dozens of modular components covering rainfall-runoff processes, evaporation, transpiration, infiltration, terrain analysis, interpolation models, and calibration tools. The Winter School focuses on using a selected set of these tools to perform a comprehensive hydrological budget of catchments.

At its core, the rainfall-runoff modeling in GEOframe is based on dynamical systems, specifically systems of ordinary differential equations (ODEs). The school explores both the theoretical foundations and practical implementation of these models, structured around a 7-step methodology.

In addition to lectures and hands-on sessions, the Winter School also serves as a platform for discussion and knowledge exchange between senior researchers, early-career scientists, and professionals.

Participants’ Background

The Winter School is open to a maximum of 30 participants, including:

• PhD students
• Postdoctoral researchers
• Early-career scientists
• Professionals from local authorities

Ideal participants are those interested in deepening their understanding of hydrological processes and learning how to model them using GEOframe tools. 

The course will focus on:

• Infiltration processes
• Energy and water budgets
• Vegetation transpiration
• Process-based hydrological modeling

Application requirements

All applicants must submit a CV and a motivation letter as part of the registration process.

Workload and Credits

The Winter School will be conducted in English and includes 8 full days of activity, with sessions scheduled from 09:00 to 13:00 and 14:00 to 18:00 CET.

Participation Costs

Registration is mandatory for all participants. The course fee is €210 for researchers, PhD students, and scientists involving:

• A certificate of attendance
• Dedicated support on a personal simulation project

Certificates will be issued upon submission of a small simulation project developed with GEOframe, with tutoring provided during and after the School.

Free Participation is granted to:

• Students enrolled in Hydrological Modeling courses at the University of Trento
• PhD students from the University of Trento (DICAM and C3A programs)
• Participants in the PRIN projects: Waterstem, COACH-WAT, and SUNSET
• Participants in the project "Studio delle caratteristiche idrologiche del Distretto del fiume Po mediante l’applicazione della modellistica GEOframe"
• Members of the Young Hydrologic Society (Italian chapter) and the Società Idrologica Italiana (SII)

Registration

Please register via the official registration form (link to be updated soon). Stay tuned for updates on deadlines and additional details.