| projects-121 |
101062258 |
iMPACt-erosion |
Robust and accessible modelling for an effective management of agricultural soil erosion in Europe |
HORIZON |
HORIZON-MSCA-2021-PF-01 |
HORIZON-MSCA-2021-PF-01-01 |
2023-02-01 |
2025-07-31 |
On going |
No data |
Soil erosion represents a serious challenge for agricultural production and for the environment. Soil erosion impacts, such as reduction of fertile soil, alteration of the carbon cycle and pollution and eutrophication of water bodies, represent a significant management concern for the European Union. Modelling approaches can deliver indicators on the state of soil erosion impacts and its trends, and scenarios in relation to climate and land use change. This can help define efficient and targeted mitigation strategies by identifying the long-term controlling factors and the areas where, and periods during which, soil is at high risk of erosion. However, to define such strategies, there remains a lack of modelling approaches a) able to provide with longer term baseline information which to measure the success or otherwise of mitigation strategies at the catchment scale and b) accessible and robust enough to be used, understood and trusted by users with more or less expertise, including researchers, land managers and policy makers. In response, this project will improve improve the robustness and accessibility of quantitative methods for supporting agricultural land management. The objectives of this project are: (i) to develop an accessible soil erosion model, iMPACt-erosion, to support agricultural land management in Europe at the catchment scale, (ii) to apply a robust and multi-disciplinary model evaluation approach to achieve greater confidence in the iMPACt-erosion model predictions and (iii) to identify the soil erosion controlling processes and vulnerable areas and periods to define targeted and effective mitigation strategies until 2100. |
https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101062258 |
Rivers and estuaries' |
| projects-122 |
101081963 |
H2OforAll |
Innovative Integrated Tools and Technologies to Protect and Treat Drinking Water from Disinfection Byproducts (DBPs) |
HORIZON |
HORIZON-CL6-2022-ZEROPOLLUTION-01 |
HORIZON-CL6-2022-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-04 |
2022-11-01 |
2025-10-31 |
On going |
€ 003 452 701.44 |
Water purification and disinfection are crucial processes to provide safe water to citizens, but the low quality of water sources due to soil/freshwater increasing contamination makes this goal very challenging. Disinfection byproducts (DBPs), produced when chlorine disinfectant reacts with organic matter in water, have a serious impact even at low concentrations on the environment and human health, still not well understood. Effects on human’s liver activity and neurotoxicity were already reported. H2OforAll project aims to assess main DBPs sources and fate through the development of fast, cost-effective and accurate sensor monitoring devices and also by modelling their spread through drinking water distribution systems. In addition, DBPs toxicity and environmental impact will be studied in this project and measures will be proposed to protect drinking water chain. On the other hand, breakthrough water treatments to remove DBPs or avoid their formation during water disinfection processes will be developed, paying attention to their life cycle analysis, costs and risks. A central knowledge base with reliable data on the occurrence of DBPs in Europe and their effects will be created to increase awareness of society and governmental organizations about these drinking water contaminants in order to draw new policy responses and guidance. |
https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101081963 |
Urban water' |
| projects-123 |
101119437 |
RESCUER |
Resilient Solutions for Coastal, Urban, Estuarine and Riverine Environments |
HORIZON |
HORIZON-MSCA-2022-DN-01 |
HORIZON-MSCA-2022-DN-01-01 |
2024-02-01 |
2028-01-31 |
On going |
No data |
The Doctoral Network (DN) “RESCUER“ (Resilient Solutions for Coastal, Urban, Estuarine and Riverine Environments) will focus on the training of young researchers (Fellows) in the general area of coastal oceanography, hydraulic and coastal engineering, applied mathematics, and scientific computation. The network will leverage advances in the numerical treatment of hydrodynamic equations in the past decade to create multi-physics models able to address pressing needs in practical modeling of various phenomena in the coastal zone with the goal of improving overall safety of coastal areas.Ensuring the safety of property and commercial developments onshore and offshore requires an integrated approach, including phase-resolving wave modeling, tracking and mitigation of morphological changes, potential flooding in urban areas and monitoring of water quality. While protective structures and emergency plans for catastrophic storm waves and storm surges are well established, the confluence of global warming and sea level rise with other known natural risk factors and increasing human activity create a new set of hazards and requires new thinking in coastal modeling and the planning of mitigation strategies.To address the challenges outlined above, we will rely on numerical techniques which are in each case tested against existing models and validated with experiments and field measurements. In our work with consulting companies and government agencies, we have identified a trend towards coupled models instead of traditionally used stand-alone models and a need for operational capabilities. These needs will be answered using new multi-physics models, state-of-the-art numerical methods, image recognition algorithms and innovative programming techniques such as GPU programming. The synergistic interplay of physical modelling, numerical analysis and large-scale simulation with lab experiments and field work plays an essential role in this network. Our project goes beyond the state of the art by improving existing numerical models, employing GPU programming and super-resolution techniques and building a unified suite of solvers that will allow us to address the multi-physics problems in coastal, estuarine, riverine and urban areas. |
https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101119437 |
Coastal waters', 'Urban water', 'Rivers and estuaries' |
| projects-124 |
101112738 |
SpongeScapes |
Evidence and Solutions for improving SPONGE Functioning at LandSCAPE Scale in European Catchments for increased Resilience of Communities against Hydrometeorological Extreme Events |
HORIZON |
HORIZON-MISS-2022-CLIMA-01 |
HORIZON-MISS-2022-CLIMA-01-05 |
2023-10-01 |
2027-09-30 |
On going |
€ 002 613 856.25 |
SpongeScapes aims to consolidate, expand and disseminate scientific knowledge to improve the sponge function of soil, groundwater and surface water systems to accelerate the appropriation by all stakeholders. SpongeScapes will contribute to enhancing climate resilience against hydrological extremes at landscape scale: We will review and demonstrate the effectiveness of solutions in 140 existing cases, further detail process understanding in X individual case studies, and upscale this knowledge together with stakeholders by co-designing sponge strategies on landscape scale. We bring individual solutions and strategies for upscaling closer to the market by providing realistic evaluations of their effectiveness under different hydrometeorological extreme events in current conditions and future scenarios. We provide stakeholders with methods to map opportunities and self-assess the potential for increasing sponge functioning of groundwater, soils and surface water systems within the local context, taking climate, geology, topography, soil characteristics and land-use into account. The wide variety of sponge measures and strategies provided by the X case studies enables assessments of their primary functioning, co-benefits and potential trade-offs, and suitable governance and policy environments for implementation. Using validation data from case studies, SpongeScapes improves state-of-the-art, open source (geo-)hydrological modelling tools and enhances the quantification of sponge strategy impact assessments linking detailed process understanding to landscape scale evaluations. In the case studies we will collaborate with a various public and private stakeholders directly impacted by, or involved in, changes relating ot improving sponge functioning at the landscape scale. Stakteholders include local decision-makers and community groups, who are directly impacted by changes related to sponge functioning on landscape scale. |
https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101112738 |
Groundwater', 'Urban water', 'Wetlands' |
| projects-125 |
101059264 |
SOS-WATER |
Water Resources System Safe Operating Space in a Changing Climate and Society |
HORIZON |
HORIZON-CL6-2021-CLIMATE-01 |
HORIZON-CL6-2021-CLIMATE-01-01 |
2022-10-01 |
2026-09-30 |
On going |
€ 004 099 406.25 |
Water scarcity, water quality degradation and the loss of freshwater biodiversity are critical environmental challenges worldwide, which have primarily been driven by a significant increase in water withdrawals during the last century. In the coming decades, climate and societal changes are projected to further exacerbate these challenges in many regions around the world. As such, defining a safe operating space (SOS) for water resources in a changing climate and society is urgently needed to ensure a sufficient and reliable supply of water of a quality acceptable for human activity and natural ecosystems. However, defining the SOS for the entire water resources system at spatial scales relevant to decision-making and its projections into the future requires going beyond state-of-the-art water system modelling toward a holistic and participatory assessment framework that includes data gathering, integrated modelling, and working with relevant stakeholders. SOS-Water aims to create the foundation for this framework. It will co-create future scenarios and management pathways with stakeholders in five case studies in Europe and abroad. It will advance water system models and link them with impact models of ecosystem services and biodiversity, to create a novel integrated water modelling system. This integrated water modelling system will be benchmarked against a wide range of state-of-the-art Earth observations and will be used to calculate selected indicators covering all dimensions of water resources systems, to ultimately design a multi-dimensional SOS of policies and water management pathways evaluated across a broad set of scenarios. The results of SOS-Water will help improving the understanding of water resources availability and streamline water planning and management at local to regional levels and beyond, such that the allocation of water among societies, economies, and ecosystems will be economically efficient, socially fair, and resilient to shocks. |
https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101059264 |
Urban water', 'Rivers and estuaries', 'Groundwater', 'Wetlands', 'Coastal waters' |
| projects-126 |
101040939 |
STORIES |
Spatial-Temporal Dynamics of Flood Resilience |
HORIZON |
ERC-2021-STG |
ERC-2021-STG |
2023-04-01 |
2028-03-31 |
On going |
€ 001 500 000.00 |
Existing studies on flood-society relations overwhelmingly concentrate on risk, exposure, vulnerability, damage, loss, and adaptation needs, most of which adopt a negative perspective. The fact that various human societies have well survived and continuously developed in flood prone areas (e.g., coasts, river deltas, flood plains, hilly valleys) is far less studied. Closing this research gap requires a deeper historical perspective to investigate the resilience of human society to floods, i.e., flood resilience and its changes. The Tea-Horse Road (THR) area, a flood hotspot across the mountainous Southeast Tibetan Plateau, is an ideal natural laboratory to study the spatial-temporal dynamics of flood resilience due to its long and uniquely documented history with extensive hazard experiences. STORIES will set up a theoretical framework on the multi-spatial-temporal features of flood resilience at the THR region, which covers the spatial differences (household, community, city and region) over the past 600 years regarding the governance, technology, society, and culture perspectives of flood resilience. A set of quantitative proxy data, historical archives, literature re-analysis, statistical data, observation data and field survey data will be integrated into both the empirical study in the case areas and the agent-based modelling across the cases. Specifically, STORIES aims to 1) establish a theoretical understanding of the spatial-temporal scales of flood resilience; 2) investigate the spatial patterns and temporal evolution of flood resilience at the THR cases; 3) model the spatial-temporal dynamics of flood resilience using agent-based models; 4) transfer and generalize the research findings of the THR cases to the Mekong River Delta and beyond. By doing so, STORIES will present pioneering work to shape the emerging research field of flood resilience, offering new and multi-dimensional knowledge on the dynamic nature of flood-society relations. |
https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101040939 |
Rivers and estuaries', 'Coastal waters' |
| projects-127 |
101096057 |
GLACMASS |
Past and Future High-resolution Global Glacier Mass Changes |
HORIZON |
ERC-2022-ADG |
ERC-2022-ADG |
2023-10-01 |
2028-09-30 |
On going |
€ 002 499 957.00 |
World-wide glaciers are losing mass which affects global sea-level, river runoff, freshwater influx to the oceans, glacier-related hazards, and landscape changes, with implications for human livelihoods and ecosystems. Hence, accurate estimates of past, current and future glacier mass variations at a high temporal and spatial resolution are key to effective adaptation strategies. However, previous mass-balance reconstructions and projections have relied on scarce observations with limited spatial and/or temporal resolution, as well as overparameterized, insufficiently constrained and highly simplified models, the latter necessitated by high computational costs incurred by the global scale.GLACMASS will propel the current state-of-the-art of global-scale glacier reconstruction and projection forward in unprecedented ways by delivering a fundamentally novel and internally consistent physically-based modelling framework that draws, for the first time on a global scale, on both data assimilation and modern machine learning techniques facilitated by emerging global-scale glacier-related satellite-derived data. The framework will be used to reconstruct multi-decadal past glacier changes, and make policy-relevant multi-century projections of mass and area changes of all >200,000 glaciers outside the ice sheets with unprecedented accuracy, spatiotemporal detail and computational efficiency, and also nowcast present mass changes in a near-real-time fashion for selected regions. The model framework will fuse output from a novel physically-based glacier evolution model with all relevant observations available for each glacier, such as in-situ, geodetic and gravimetry-derived mass balances, as well as snowlines and other observations, thus simultaneously exploiting the untapped strengths of different types of observational data sets in an optimal manner. |
https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101096057 |
Snow and ice' |
| projects-128 |
101064805 |
LEMMA |
Landslide and avalanchE Mechanics with Multiphysical datA |
HORIZON |
HORIZON-MSCA-2021-PF-01 |
HORIZON-MSCA-2021-PF-01-01 |
2022-09-01 |
2024-08-31 |
Completed |
No data |
Landslides and avalanches jointly cause approximately 150 deaths and €4.9 billion economic losses each year, with the impacts predicted to become more severe due to climate change. Mitigation and prevention of disasters requires accurate predictions of these phenomena, which due to their scale is only achievable via modelling and simulation. Accurate models of landslides in permafrost or avalanches must account for micro-scale (<1mm) processes such as cracks and shear bands that also involve thermal and hydrological effects that will be exacerbated by climate change. Such models do not currently exist. Further, this level of refinement is not computationally viable when modelling an entire mountainside, and so a new approach must be adopted.This project will: 1) Develop new models for permafrost and snow subject to climate-change-induced loadings; 2) Use the new data-driven mechanics framework to transfer information from these models to the scale of the mountainside; and 3) Simulate the effects of climate change on the Mont-Blanc massif at Chamonix. This will combine the researcher's experience with shear band models with the supervisor's expertise in crack models and optimisation techniques. A secondment at a group specialising in simulating landslides and avalanches will provide the expertise to implement the simulation on a real mountainside. This interdisciplinary project will ideally set the researcher for a career in academia in Europe, while benefiting the community at Chamonix, in particular the guide's association, as they will be able to plan adaptations and mitigations for the effects of climate change, ensuring their tourism industry remains viable. Specialised multiphysical models that are adapted to permafrost and snow will advance the state-of-the-art significantly, and the implementation of optimisation techniques in data-driven mechanics has wide applicability throughout civil and mechanical engineering, geology and environmental science. |
https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101064805 |
Snow and ice' |
| projects-129 |
101077837 |
CONCRETER |
Groundwater flow CONtrols on CRitical zonE ThErmal Regime |
HORIZON |
ERC-2022-STG |
ERC-2022-STG |
2023-06-01 |
2028-05-31 |
On going |
€ 001 499 830.00 |
The foundations of modern hydrogeology have been built within the paradigm of quasi-equilibrium temperature distribution within groundwater systems. The presumed thermal stability of groundwater is vitally important for many groundwater and stream ecosystems which cannot tolerate a wide temperature range and face growing threats from climate and land-use changes. Yet, recent results evidenced the great impact of ongoing atmospheric warming on shallow groundwater temperatures. Groundwater flow is expected to strongly affect groundwater and stream warming trends. A major issue is that existing modeling frameworks have largely sidestepped (1) the complexities associated with the multi-scale heterogeneity in groundwater flow, and/or (2) the transient nature of groundwater fluxes and surface temperature. Furthermore, direct field evidences of the impact of climate and anthropogenic forcings on the temperature distribution are still rare. The CONCRETER will therefore assess the role of groundwater dynamics in shaping the thermal regime of the critical zone, the shallow subsurface where the water, element, energy and biological cycles interact. The focus on the interaction of subsurface heterogeneity with heat transport processes will require the development of original numerical models (WP1) and novel temperature imaging laboratory experiments (WP2). WP3 will bring critical in situ data to constrain these newly developed models. WP4 will further develop advanced numerical models to separate the effects of fluid flow and of surface warming. With the help of the developed numerical approaches, WP5 will study the evolution of temperature at field sites (characterized in WP3) chosen to isolate the role of different forcings (climatic, anthropogenic) on critical zone thermal regime. CONCRETER will provide new physical frameworks and modelling tools for multi-scale heat transport processes in the critical zone, with the potential to re-define their quantitative understanding. |
https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101077837 |
Groundwater' |
| projects-130 |
101072777 |
PlasticUnderground |
Integrated Cross-Sectoral Solutions to Micro- and Nanoplastic Pollution in Soil and Groundwater Ecosystems |
HORIZON |
HORIZON-MSCA-2021-DN-01 |
HORIZON-MSCA-2021-DN-01-01 |
2022-12-01 |
2026-11-30 |
On going |
No data |
Recent evidence of increasing accumulation of micro- and nanoplastics (MnP) in soils and groundwater raise severe concerns by agricultural and water industries, food manufacturers, regulators, environmental interest groups and citizens. Private and public sectors require detailed understanding of environmental and public health risks posed by MnP in soils and groundwater. The PlasticUnderground Doctoral Network creates supra-disciplinary intersectoral capacity for analysing the fate, transport and impacts of MnP in soils and groundwater to develop solutions for reducing their environmental and public health risks, supporting the EC’s circular plastic economy strategy. The central aim of the PlasticUnderground Doctoral Network is to deliver international scientific excellence through a holistic supra-disciplinary and inter-sectoral research and training network on solutions to the emerging crisis of MnP pollution in subsurface ecosystems in soils and groundwater, integrating knowledge across traditional discipline boundaries to benefit the public and private sectors. The supra-disciplinary research programme includes unique training opportunities for a cohort of 10 Doctoral Candidates (DCs) (plus one individually funded through ETHZ CH and three funded through UoB, RU and Polymateria UKRI as Associated Partners) in environmental and social science, ecotoxicology, soil science and aquatic ecology, analytical chemistry, agronomy, data science and numerical modelling as well as responsible innovation, method standardization for use in regulatory decision making and risk assessment. The integrated training programme will prepare DCs with skill sets that are urgently required in agricultural, water, chemical, and manufacturing industries, environmental and regulatory agencies, academia, and the public sector and includes training provision by key stakeholders that will directly benefit from the training in this network. |
https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101072777 |
Groundwater' |
