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Two contributions within the SERIOUS project were presented at the 19th International Symposium on Water Management and Hydraulic Engineering (WMHE 2026), held from 16 to 19 September 2026 in Opatija, Croatia. 

Fran Vuić, Research Assistant on the SERIOUS project, presented the paper “Comparison of Univariate and Bivariate Approaches to Design Hydrograph Derivation in Croatian and Slovenian Catchments”, co-authored by Damir Bekić, Nejc Bezak and Kristina Potočki. The study compares a conventional univariate approach based on the Typical Flood Hydrograph method with a bivariate approach based on the joint analysis of flood peak discharge and flood volume using copulas. The analysis was carried out for selected catchments in Croatia and Slovenia and contributes to the development of a methodological framework for synthetic design hydrographs and their future classification using machine-learning methods. 

The second SERIOUS-related contribution, “Flood Hazard Changes Across the Danube River Basin Under Climate Change”, was presented by Tobias Conradt and co-authored by Fred F. Hattermann from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. The study applies the PIK Danube Model, combining the SWIM eco-hydrological model and CaMa-Flood hydrodynamic model, to investigate how flood hazard across the Danube River Basin may change under future climate scenarios. The work was supported jointly by the EU Horizon project DIRECTED and the Croatian Science Foundation through the SERIOUS project. 

Together, the two contributions address complementary aspects of the SERIOUS research programme, ranging from the derivation and classification of design hydrographs at catchment scale to the assessment of future flood hazards across the wider Danube River Basin. 

From 31 August to 4 September 2026, Fran Vuić, Research Assistant on the SERIOUS project, participated in the HydRoData 2026 Summer School, organised by the UNESCO Chair on Water-related Disaster Risk Reduction at the University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering. 

The summer school focused on hydrological data, covering the workflow from data acquisition and monitoring to data processing, visualisation, statistical analysis and hydrological modelling. Particular emphasis was placed on practical applications using the R programming language. 

In addition to lectures and computer-based exercises, the programme included practical fieldwork and a full-day field excursion. Participants visited the Karst region and Planina Cave, where river-discharge measurements were carried out using ADCP equipment, followed by a visit to an operational meteorological station in Postojna. The programme also included practical activities related to streamflow and water-quality measurements. 

The summer school provided practical experience in modern methods of hydrological data collection and analysis that are directly applicable to research activities within the SERIOUS project. 

From 22 to 26 June 2026, Fran Vuić, Research Assistant on the SERIOUS project, participated in the PUB Summer School – Runoff Predictions in Ungauged Basins, held at TU Wien in Vienna, Austria. 

The summer school focused on methods for estimating runoff characteristics in catchments where local runoff observations are unavailable. The programme covered regionalisation methods, estimation of low flows and floods, flow-duration curves, runoff hydrographs and hydrological signatures. 

Through a combination of lectures and practical exercises, participants were introduced to approaches for transferring hydrological information from gauged to ungauged catchments and for analysing runoff behaviour across different climatic and physiographic conditions. 

The acquired knowledge is closely related to the research activities of the SERIOUS project, particularly regional hydrological analysis and the development of methodologies for synthetic design hydrographs. 

Research related to the SERIOUS project was presented at the 49th MIPRO ICT and Electronics Convention in Opatija, Croatia, held from 25 to 29 May 2026. The paper, “Comparative Assessment of Unsupervised Machine Learning Methods for Flood Wave Shape Analysis”, was authored by Maksim Kos, Damir Pintar, Fran Vuić and Kristina Potočki. https://doi.org/10.1109/MIPRO70003.2026.11591532 

The study compares three machine learning methods, K-means, hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and self-organising maps (SOM), for classifying flood wave shapes using historical hydrological data from the Sava River Basin in Croatia. 

The research contributes to the development of data-driven approaches for flood wave classification and supports the SERIOUS project’s work on synthetic design hydrographs under current and future climate conditions. 

The second meeting of the SERIOUS project was held on 13 May 2026 at the Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of Zagreb. 

The meeting brought together project team members to review the progress achieved so far during project and to discuss ongoing research activities.  

As part of the meeting, an invited lecture titled Bridge Scour and Hydraulics under Climate Change: From Deterministic Design to Risk-Based Assessment was delivered by Ana Margarida Bento from CIIMAR (Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research). The lecture provided valuable insights into uncertainty-aware and risk-based approaches for bridge scour assessment under changing climatic conditions. 

The meeting marked an important milestone in the project and provided a solid foundation for the activities planned in the coming months. 

The SERIOUS project  had two different project contributions at 2026 EGU General assembly that was held in Vienna 27 April–2 May 2025.  The first contribution, Climate Change, Flood Wave Characteristics and Local Scour: A Review of Modelling Approaches, was authored by Kristina Potočki, Anandharuban Panchanathan, Martina Lacko, and Nejc Bezak. The study presents a review of modelling approaches that link climate change projections, flood wave characteristics, and local scour at bridge piers.  

Link: https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU26/EGU26-16359.html 

The second contribution, Expected Changes of River Flood Hazards across the Danube Basin, was authored and presented by Tobias Conradt from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. The presentation examined projected changes in river flood hazards across the Danube Basin under future climate scenarios. 

Link: https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU26/EGU26-7164.html 

Dr. Anandharuban Panchanathan is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Galway, specializing in hydrology and hydrodynamic modeling. With a PhD in Civil Engineering and over a decade of international experience, he currently contributes to the StopFloods4.ie project, funded by Science Foundation Ireland, where he develops high-resolution Delft3D models to simulate complex coastal and fluvial flood processes. His expertise spans digital twins, extreme value analysis, and multi-scale simulations across Europe and India. Within the SERIOUS project, he contributes this research expertise to strengthen the project’s international dimension through critical hydroclimate and bridge scour review work and the mentorship of PhD students, ensuring the continuity of planned high-impact research activities. 

Field measurements were conducted at the Sava River bridge in Zagreb on 4 March 2026 as part of the ongoing activities within the SERIOUS project. Measurements were carried out using the ScourBuoy device, which enables monitoring of riverbed changes and precise positioning during fieldwork.  The collected data will support further hydrological and hydraulic analyses, and their influence on local scour processes.

Fran Vuić is our newly employed Research Assistant and PhD Candidate at the University of Zagreb Faculty of Civil Engineering, Department of Hydroscience and Engineering. Born and raised in Zagreb, he earned his MSc in Civil Engineering from the same institution, where he continues to build his academic and research career. His work is primarily focused on hydrology, particularly flood analysis, synthetic design hydrographs, and the impacts of climate change on water-related processes. His previous experience includes data processing for marine hydrographic surveying, as well as GIS-related work on the development of the Green Infrastructure Registry of the Republic of Croatia. He is particularly interested in statistical analysis, GIS, and hydrological modelling.