The EGU 2016 Sergey Soloviev Medal is awarded to Irasema Alcántara-Ayala for her outstanding contribution to the basic knowledge of natural hazards, vulnerability and prevention of disasters in developing countries.

From the EGU medals 2016 webpage:

“Irasema Alcántara-Ayala is an outstanding expert in natural hazard and risk assessment, with knowledge spanning from mass movement processes, landslide occurrences and hazards to vulnerability, disaster risks and prevention of disasters. Alcántara-Ayala’s research has consistently been of very high quality. Her paper ‘Geomorphology, natural hazards, vulnerability and prevention of natural disasters in developing countries’ is one of the influential articles in the field, being widely cited and extensively used by the scientific community and decision makers. Her research distinguished itself by the degree to which it combines theoretical and intensive field investigations with state-of-the-art science and technology, such as landslide instrumentation and monitoring, geographic information systems and satellite imagery. What makes Alcántara-Ayala internationally recognised, and one of a few truly unique scholars in this field, is her ability to combine natural science with social science approaches, using, among other things, the analysis of social vulnerability and integrated research methods on disaster risk to help in understanding the generic and specific impact of physical hazards on society. Her efforts have not only improved our understanding of natural hazards from a natural scientific point of view, but also raised social awareness about the importance and the need for implementing disaster risk reduction strategies based on the understanding of root causes. In an era of recognised global environmental change, it is essential that the science of disaster risk is comprehensively understood and undertaken, and this can only be done through interdisciplinary and integrated approaches, such as those represented by Alcántara-Ayala’s research. She has closely collaborated with the National Centre for Disasters Prevention in Mexico, and published several bulletins and reports addressing, among other aspects, natural hazards and the significance of educating and promoting the culture of prevention. She has led a very distinguished career. She got her BSc degree in geography from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), obtained her PhD in geography/geomorphology from King’s College London (UK), and spent her postdoctoral years in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at MIT (USA). In 2000, she was selected as an assistant professor at the Institute of Geography at UNAM, was promoted to full professor a few years later, and appointed as director in 2008, becoming the youngest female director in the institute’s history. Of particular organisational and social significance are her election to, and enthusiastic participation in, leading international organisations, including the International Association of Geomorphologists, International Consortium of Landslides, International Geographical Union, the Integrated Research on Disaster Risk programme co-sponsored by the International Council for Science, the International Social Sciences Council, and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction. Alcantara-Ayala’s academic activities in terms of natural hazards and disaster risk reduction are of great significance not only for geosciences, but also for the wellbeing of societies, especially in the developing world.”

The EGU 2016 Ralph Alger Bagnold Medal is awarded to Niels Hovius for outstanding research in the field of Earth surface science, as well as for being a key figure in European geomorphology and a versatile interdisciplinary scientist.

From the EGU medals 2016 webpage:

“Niels Hovius is one of the leading Earth surface scientists worldwide, an excellent communicator, and a versatile and interdisciplinary Earth scientist. He keeps abreast of an impressive range of research areas, from climate science and river dynamics, to organic carbon transfer and burial, hillslope processes, landslide hazards, seismics methods and sophisticated geochemistry. He is always well informed, able to form his own well-thought-through judgement, and keen (and able) to integrate disparate fields and observations into a coherent picture. This diversity is expressed in his scientific agenda. Hovius set out to compile river sediment delivery, but his real early career accomplishment was the establishment of landslide systematics from painstaking counting size-frequency distributions of landslides in New Zealand and Taiwan. He was then drawn to the very active Taiwan mountain belt, leading to a whole series of groundbreaking projects on bedrock incision and the stochastic nature of sediment transport. In a much-cited paper (Dadson et al, Nature 2003), he also established that erosion rates are high where rapid deformation, high storm frequency and weak substrates coincide, regardless of topographic relief. Hovius and his group authored a series of papers that established how earthquakes trigger landslides, and have become leaders in this research field. Another important contribution was the realisation that mass-wasting processes have the ability to sequester large amounts of carbon from terrestrial biomass in adjacent basins. Work with Bob Hilton has shown that the ensuing CO2 withdrawal potentially equals that by silicate weathering. More recent work deals with deep weathering and associated submarine groundwater discharge, and also with the deployment of broadband seismometers as real-time monitors of sediment flow in steep channels. This list is by no means complete, but demonstrates the diversity of his research. It should be noted that this was achieved with minor resources and a small, but always powerful, research group at Cambridge University. Hovius has had an outstanding group of young students and postdocs, many of whom are now important figures in the geomorphology community. At EGU, Hovius has played a key role in developing a strong and vibrant geomorphology community, promoting EGU outreach activities, and most recently establishing the new EGU open access journal Earth Surface Dynamics as one of its founding editors. These are commendable activities, but central to this nomination are Niels Hovius’ fundamental and outstanding scientific contributions to the field of geomorphology and their impact for global Earth surface processes in general.”