River to Rock II Research Conference

The River to Rock II Research Conference aims to enhance our understanding of river systems and their resilience to environmental change. This event, hosted at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction, United States, will delve into the controls of river systems through the study of recent and sedimentary analogues, as well as through numerical modeling of their evolution over time and space. A key aspect of the conference is to leverage the ancient fluvial record, which provides critical context for decision-making and landscape management in modern rivers. This understanding is vital for managing subsurface resources such as groundwater, hydrocarbons, and sequestered CO2.The program features an impressive lineup of keynote speakers, including Eilen Wohl from Colorado State University, Irina Overeem from the University of Colorado at Boulder, Kathryn Stack Morgan from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Eric Barefoot from the University of California, Riverside, and Anastasia Piliouras from Pennsylvania State University. Sessions will explore various critical topics such as the role of the sedimentary record of ancient river deposits in improving the management of modern rivers, the differences between Anthropocene rivers and their Holocene or older counterparts, and the impact of rapid climate change on fluvial systems. Furthermore, discussions will emphasize the necessity for cross-disciplinary approaches to address real-world challenges in fluvial environments, including resilience to climate change. Other areas of focus will include the influence of fluvial processes on carbon storage, understanding resource distribution in fluvial deposits, and insights from physical experiments and numerical modeling. Attendees will also investigate river variability across time and space and explore analogues of Earth’s river deposits on Mars. Registration for the conference includes morning refreshments, lunch, and an afternoon snack, as well as an optional field trip that offers transportation, a field guide handout, drinks, and lunch. This event promises to be an enriching experience for researchers and practitioners interested in the complexities of river systems and their management.