scholarly journals Assessment and recommendations for a consolidated European approach to space weather – as part of a global space weather effort

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. A37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hermann J. Opgenoorth ◽  
Robert F. Wimmer-Schweingruber ◽  
Anna Belehaki ◽  
David Berghmans ◽  
Mike Hapgood ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Space Weather ◽  
European Space Agency ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Global Space ◽  
Space Agency ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
Global Threat ◽  
Weather Risks ◽  
The Eu

Over the last 10–20 years there has been an ever-increasing international awareness of risks to modern society from adverse and potentially harmful – and in extreme cases even disastrous – space weather events. Many individual countries and even international organisations like the United Nations (UN) have begun to increase their activities in preparing for and mitigating effects of adverse space weather. As in the rest of the world there is also in Europe an urgent need for coordination of Space Weather efforts in individual countries as well as in and among European organisations such as the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Union (EU). This coordination should not only improve our ability to meet space weather risks, but also enable Europe to contribute to on-going global space weather efforts. While space weather is a global threat, which needs a global response, it also requires tailored regional and trans-regional responses that require coordination at all levels. Commissioned by the European Space Science Committee (ESSC) of the European Science Foundation, the authors – together with ex-officio advice from ESA and the EU – have over two years assessed European activities in the realm of space weather and formulated a set of recommendations to ESA, the EU and their respective member states, about how to prepare Europe for the increasing impact of adverse space weather effects on man-made infrastructure and our society as a whole. We have also analysed parallel international activities worldwide, and we give advice how Europe could incorporate its future activities into a global scheme.

scholarly journals Space weather and risk management

2005 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 23-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Lappalainen ◽  
K. Kauristie ◽  
R. Pirjola
Keyword(s):  
Risk Management ◽  
Space Weather ◽  
European Space Agency ◽  
Research Area ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Near Earth Space ◽  
Emergency Situations ◽  
Space Agency ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. The term space weather is used for the solar driven variability in particle and electromagnetic conditions of the near-Earth space that may harm the performance of ground-based and space-borne technology. The European Union (EU) and the European Space Agency (ESA) have started a common programme called the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES). Many of the GMES operational services will rely on technology prone to space weather phenomena. For long-term environmental monitoring this is not a problem, but for applications of risk management in emergency situations the impact of space weather should be considered and evaluated. In this paper, we discuss how ESA's previous activity together with European national initiatives in the space weather area can be used to support GMES and how EU could participate in this work in its Framework Programmes and within the European Research Area (ERA).

scholarly journals Digital business taxation issues and threats abstract

2020 ◽  
pp. 98-121
Author(s):  
Alanas Gulbinas ◽  
Kamilė Jogminaitė
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Current Situation ◽  
Business Taxation ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Bilateral Agreements ◽  
Corporate Profit ◽  
Eu Directive ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu

“Article of digital business taxation issues and threats”, analyzes the impact of the digitalization in modern society and the changes of corporate profit tax. This article has been concentrated on the regulation of the European Union but mentions the international adjustments as well. The article has been written in a discussion of national law and bilateral agreements, which apply to the traditional permanent headquarters concept. This article discusses the current situation, where digital businesses are not being taxed with corporate profit tax, and possibilities to change it according to the needs of the digital economy In addition, when digital businesses emerged, the permanent headquarters concept, which taxed based on the permanent location, required further discussion and a new definition. Therefore, the article talks over the proposals of the European Union to equalize corporate profit taxation. The article analyzes the possible consequences and issues of the adaptation of the EU directive. In question of regulating the corporate profit tax, the authors discussed the competence of the EU.

The EU as guarantor of environmental protection in Germany

elni Review ◽  
2017 ◽  
pp. 17-24
Author(s):  
Thomas Ormond
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Environmental Law ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Law And Policy ◽  
Main Instrument ◽  
Energy Community ◽  
The Eu

In recent years it has become fashionable again among politicians and publicists across Europe to practice ‘Brussels bashing’ and make the EU responsible for many ills of globalisation and modern society. This applies in particular to the field of environmental law. The European Union has been active in the field of environmental protection since the 1970s, i.e. since a time when there was no Union yet but a European Economic Community (EEC), a European Coal and Steel Community and a European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). The EEC Treaty of 1957 did not know the term ‘environmental protection’ and for the next decades did not contain any explicit legislative competence for this subject matter. The main instrument of EU environmental policy is the directive. In the European context it means a framework law, as proposed by the EU Commission and adopted by the Council and the European Parliament, which the Member States have to transpose within certain deadlines into their national law, and specify and implement by their authorities into practice. The directive is binding as regards the objective (the result to be achieved) but leaves the choice of form and methods to the national authorities. It is estimated that 80% of current environmental law in Germany (as well as probably in other Member States) is determined by the European Union. The author of this article presents his thoughts on how the EU shapes Member State environmental law and policy, highlighting inter alia “innovation from Brussels” such as EIA, access to environmental information and climate protection, as well as the systematic and risk-based approach as hallmark of EU legislation.

The science return of the ESA Hera mission to the binary asteroid Didymos

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Michel ◽  
Michael Kueppers ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
European Space Agency ◽  
Direct Determination ◽  
Hypervelocity Impact ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Impact Speed ◽  
Asteroid Impact ◽  
Space Agency ◽  
The Impact

<p>The Hera mission has been approved for development and launch in the new ESA Space Safety Programme by the ESA Council at Ministerial Level, Space19+, in November 2019. Hera will both offer a high science return and contribute to the first deflection test of an asteroid, in the framework of the international NASA- and ESA-supported Asteroid Impact and Deflection Assessment (AIDA) collaboration.</p> <p>The impact of the NASA DART (Doube Asteroid Redirection Test) spacecraft on the natural satellite of Didymos in October 2022 will change its orbital period around Didymos. As Didymos is an eclipsing binary, and close to the Earth on this date, the change can be detected by Earth-based observers. ESA’s Hera spacecraft will rendezvous Didymos four years after the impact. Hera’s instruments will perform the measurements necessary to understand the effect of the DART impact on Didymos’ secondary, in particular its mass, its internal structure, the direct determination of the momentum transfer and the detailed characterization of the crater left by DART. This new knowledge will also provide unique information on many current issues in asteroid science.</p> <p>From small asteroid internal and surface structures, through rubble-pile evolution, impact cratering physics, to the long-term effects of space weathering in the inner Solar System, Hera will have a major impact on many fields. For instance, collisions play a fundamental role in our Solar System history, from planet formation by collisional accretion to cratering of solid surfaces and asteroid family formation by collisional disruption. The fully documented hypervelocity impact experiment provided by DART and Hera will feed collisional models with information obtained at actual asteroid scale and for an impact speed (~6 km/s) that is close to the average impact speed between asteroids in the main belt. Moreover, Hera will perform the first rendezvous with an asteroid binary, characterize the smallest object ever visited (165 m in diameter) and provide the first direct measurement of an asteroid interior. Additionally, studies using Hera data will in turn affect our understanding of the asteroid population as a whole. The scientific legacy of the Hera mission will extend far beyond the core aims of planetary defense.</p> <p>Acknowledgment: The authors acknowledge funding support from ESA and from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 870377 (project NEO-MAPP), from the European Space Agency and from the French space agency CNES.</p>

European space programme shows renewed vigour

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
European Space Agency ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Space Agency ◽  
Rule Out

Subject Outlook for the European space programme. Significance The European Union Space Council agreed at end-2014 to develop a larger version of the Ariane 5 rocket, with a maiden flight scheduled for 2020. The agreement forms part of a five-year budget settlement for the European Space Agency (ESA). The overall package reflects the differing industrial and technological interests of the ESA's major funding nations, and follows months of wrangling between France and Germany that threatened to undermine Europe's position in the satellite launcher business. With the agreement to develop a new launcher, France has become the leading investor in the ESA. Impacts European governments have managed to cut a deal that so far satisfies all of the main players' industrial and technological interests. However, uncertainty about the details and stability of the various commitments casts doubts over the credibility of the agreed package. Member states have resolved many disputes, allowing for innovation to continue. Still, austerity will keep pressure on costs, and may rule out the participation of some member states altogether.

Assessing Geo-hazard Vulnerability of Cities and Critical Infrastructures: Working in the e-Shape Framework

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan López-Vinielles ◽  
Pablo Ezquerro ◽  
Gerardo Herrera-García ◽  
Marta Béjar-Pizarro ◽  
Valerio Comerci ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
European Space Agency ◽  
Surface Displacement ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Economic Losses ◽  
Large Cities ◽  
Geological Surveys ◽  
Space Agency ◽  
Environment Agency ◽  
The Eu

<p>To improve safety in large cities, products and services exploiting Earth Observation (EO) technologies can be used to map vulnerable urban areas potentially affected by geohazards, with the aim of reducing human and economic losses caused by natural disasters. This work aims to increase the use of multi-mission EO derived products and services to assess urban vulnerability and geohazards, raising early awareness and training key users and decision makers on the use of EO derived products and services.</p><p>Currently, the InSAR processing tools from Geohazards Exploitation Platform (GEP) funded by European Space Agency, provide massive and dense surface displacement information, and availability of such data is expected to be expanded soon with the upcoming European Ground Motion Service being developed by the European Environment Agency. As the main end users are not trained to understand and analyze this type of data, the EU founded e-Shape project, in collaboration with the national Geological Surveys, is introducing a methodology for the use of InSAR products and supporting them to co-design specific products useful for the dissemination of information to the users active in key societal sectors  (local and regional administrations, and civil protection authorities). To this end, four products with different requirements have been developed, including the InSAR map, the InSAR validation report, the active geohazards report and the vulnerable urban areas report. These four products describe the displacements of the area, their accuracy, their relationship to triggers and the potential problems they could create, providing information for both technical staff and non-technical managers and decision-makers.</p>

scholarly journals Global re-analysis datasets to improve hydrological assessment and snow water equivalent estimation in a sub-Arctic watershed

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (9) ◽  
pp. 4685-4697 ◽  
Author(s):  
David R. Casson ◽  
Micha Werner ◽  
Albrecht Weerts ◽  
Dimitri Solomatine
Keyword(s):  
Snow Water Equivalent ◽  
European Space Agency ◽  
Peak Discharge ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Snowmelt Runoff ◽  
Streamflow Prediction ◽  
Runoff Volume ◽  
Space Agency ◽  
Snow Water ◽  
Spring Flow

Abstract. Hydrological modelling in the Canadian sub-Arctic is hindered by sparse meteorological and snowpack data. The snow water equivalent (SWE) of the winter snowpack is a key predictor and driver of spring flow, but the use of SWE data in hydrological applications is limited due to high uncertainty. Global re-analysis datasets that provide gridded meteorological and SWE data may be well suited to improve hydrological assessment and snowpack simulation. To investigate representation of hydrological processes and SWE for application in hydropower operations, global re-analysis datasets covering 1979–2014 from the European Union FP7 eartH2Observe project are applied to global and local conceptual hydrological models. The recently developed Multi-Source Weighted-Ensemble Precipitation (MSWEP) and the WATCH Forcing Data applied to ERA-Interim data (WFDEI) are used to simulate snowpack accumulation, spring snowmelt volume and annual streamflow. The GlobSnow-2 SWE product funded by the European Space Agency with daily coverage from 1979 to 2014 is evaluated against in situ SWE measurement over the local watershed. Results demonstrate the successful application of global datasets for streamflow prediction, snowpack accumulation and snowmelt timing in a snowmelt-driven sub-Arctic watershed. The study was unable to demonstrate statistically significant correlations (p < 0.05) among the measured snowpack, global hydrological model and GlobSnow-2 SWE compared to snowmelt runoff volume or peak discharge. The GlobSnow-2 product is found to under-predict late-season snowpacks over the study area and shows a premature decline of SWE prior to the true onset of the snowmelt. Of the datasets tested, the MSWEP precipitation results in annual SWE estimates that are better predictors of snowmelt volume and peak discharge than the WFDEI or GlobSnow-2. This study demonstrates the operational and scientific utility of the global re-analysis datasets in the sub-Arctic, although knowledge gaps remain in global satellite-based datasets for snowpack representation, for example the relationship between passive-microwave-measured SWE to snowmelt runoff volume.

scholarly journals The scope of criminal liability for misappropriation of authorship in EU countries: comparative analysis

2020 ◽  
pp. 192-217
Author(s):  
Ramunė Steponavičiūtė
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Criminal Liability ◽  
Legal Protection ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Cultural Development ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Ways Of Coping ◽  
Eu Countries ◽  
The World ◽  
The Eu

Intellectual property legal protection is undoubtedly one of the most important factors and conditions of effective economic, social and cultural development in modern society. According to researchers, absolute majority of countries in the world have set criminal liability for certain crimes against intellectual property rights, including all of the European Union (hereinafter – EU) countries. One of those crimes is misappropriation of authorship. Yet the criminal laws of EU countries criminalise misappropriation of authorship very differently - some protect not only author rights but also related rights, the conditions for criminal liability in the general corpus delicti are of a very different scope as well as the punishments for those crimes differ significantly. This analysis will present the scope of criminal liability in all the EU countries, including the reasons why, as well as will try to find the answer whether ways of coping with these difficulties exist.

scholarly journals Terrain subsidence detected by satellite radar scanning of the Copenhagen area, Denmark, and its relation to the tectonic framework

1969 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
pp. 25-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Roll Jakobsen ◽  
Urs Wegmuller ◽  
Ren Capes ◽  
Stig A. Schack Pedersen
Keyword(s):  
European Space Agency ◽  
Information Service ◽  
Radar Data ◽  
Coastal Protection ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Persistent Scatterer Interferometry ◽  
Space Agency ◽  
Satellite Radar ◽  
Flooding Risk ◽  
Eu Project

In the European Union (EU) project Terrafirma, which is supported by the European Space Agency to stimulate the Global Monitoring Environment System, we are using the latest technology to measure terrain motion on the basis of satellite radar data. The technique we employ is known as persistent scatterer interferometry (PSI); in Denmark, it was previously used to map areas of subsidence susceptible to flooding in the Danish part of the Wadden Sea (Vadehavet) area (Pedersen et al. 2011). That study was part of the flooding risk theme under the TerraFirma Extension project. Another coastal protection monitoring activity in the EU seventh framework project SubCoast followed, in which the low-lying south coast of Lolland, prone to flooding, was studied. The Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) is also involved in the three-year EU collaborative project PanGeo in which GEUS is one of 27 EU national geological surveys. The objective of PanGeo is to provide free and open access to geohazard information in support of the Global Monitoring Environment System. This will be achieved by providing a free, online geohazard information service for the two largest cities in each EU country, i.e. 52 towns throughout Europe with c. 13% of EU’s population.

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