scholarly journals The science-policy interface – in need for "society" as a third component

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jutta Thielen-del Pozo ◽  
Lise Autogena ◽  
Joshua Portway ◽  
Florian Pappenberger
Keyword(s):  
Science Policy ◽  
Weather Forecasting ◽  
Weather Prediction ◽  
Weather Forecast ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Joint Research ◽  
Science Policy Interface ◽  
A Performance

<p>The European Union is funding research through so-called framework programmes (FPs), the financial and strategic tools to stimulate excellence, innovation, economic growth and creation of jobs across Europe. The allocated research budgets increased considerably from less than 4 billion Euro for FP1 (4 years) to 100 billion for Horizon Europe (FP9, 7 years), demonstrating the strategic importance that is being attributed to research and development for a strong and competitive Europe. The upcoming framework programme Horizon Europe will add a new level of ambition for the scientific, economic as well as societal impact of EU funding and address global challenges that affect the quality of our daily lives.</p><p>However, if societal issues that affect our everyday lives are to be addressed effectively in research and to drive the necessary innovation process in view of a better future, then the third component at the science-policy interface must be “society”. Robust data, facts and evidences represent an important input to policy making in addition to other inputs and considerations. Scientists and policy makers must therefore not only network amongst their communities and experts but also interact with the public and engage in dialogue with citizens in order to first understand what the concerns and issues are and later to explain the solutions.</p><p>The Joint Research Centre has engaged in an Art, Science and Society programme to fill this gap. Artists are invited to the JRC to co-develop projects with the scientists under a specific theme – in 2015 the topic was “Food”, in 2017 “Fairness” and in 2019 “Big Data, Digital Transformation and Artificial Intelligence”. The final works are exhibited during the so-called Resonances Festival.</p><p>This presentation illustrates at the example of the Resonances III installation “Weather Prediction by Numerical Process - a forecast for Europe” by artists Lise Autogena and Joshua Portway in collaboration with the co-authors, the added value of this approach. The installation is a performance inspired by the work of L.F. Richardson (1881–1953), a truly multi-disciplinary scientist, who contributed to finite difference solutions of partial differential equations, turbulent flow and diffusion, also fractals, and the cause and evolution of conflicts. He was particularly visionary in his work on designing a numerical scheme for weather forecasting. While serving as ambulance driver during WWI, he performed the calculation for a weather forecast for Europe “by hand”. Even if the result of his years of calculations resulted in a wrong forecast because the numerical solution was not stable, the methodology for numerical weather forecast was born and today’s weather forecasts follow largely the same method – just with infinite more computing power. Richardson estimated that 64000 scientists, working together in a big orchestrated calculation, would be needed to calculate the weather in real-time.</p><p>The chosen format for the art installation is a performance, ritualistically re-enacting a small part of this epic calculation, drawing the audience into a multi-faceted discussion on the relevance of Richardson’s legacy today in the times of super computing and climate change.</p>

scholarly journals An Assessment and Spatial Modelling of Agricultural Land Abandonment in Spain (2015–2030)

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 560 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolina Perpiña Castillo ◽  
Eloína Coll Aliaga ◽  
Carlo Lavalle ◽  
José Carlos Martínez Llario
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Natura 2000 ◽  
Spatial Modelling ◽  
Land Abandonment ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Northern Spain ◽  
Joint Research ◽  
Protection Measures ◽  
High Nature Value Farmland

This article presents a study based on the outputs from the LUISA Territorial modelling platform (Joint Research Centre of the European Commission) focused on regional and local future projections of land abandonment between 2015 and 2030. Spain is taken as representative of one of the countries highly affected by agricultural land abandonment in the European Union. The most relevant factors driving land abandonment (biophysical, agroeconomics, farm structure and demographic) are described and mapped. Results from the analysis reveal that the Galicia region, northern Spain (Asturias, Cantabria, Gipuzkoa, Bizkaia), north-eastern Spain (Aragón region), central Pyrenees/Ebro basin (Huesca, Navarra, Lleida) and south-eastern Spain (Murcia, Almería, Alicante, Málaga) are expected to undergo important abandonment processes. The study also concludes that land abandonment within mountainous, high nature value farmland and Natura 2000 areas is lower compared to the outside area without conservation and protection measures.

scholarly journals A Harmonized Data Model for Noise Simulation in the EU

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kavisha Kumar ◽  
Hugo Ledoux ◽  
Richard Schmidt ◽  
Theo Verheij ◽  
Jantien Stoter
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
Data Model ◽  
Input Data ◽  
Assessment Methods ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Joint Research ◽  
Schema Design ◽  
Noise Assessment ◽  
The Eu

This paper presents our implementation of a harmonized data model for noise simulations in the European Union (EU). Different noise assessment methods are used by different EU member states (MS) for estimating noise at local, regional, and national scales. These methods, along with the input data extracted from the national registers and databases, as well as other open and/or commercially available data, differ in several aspects and it is difficult to obtain comparable results across the EU. To address this issue, a common framework for noise assessment methods (CNOSSOS-EU) was developed by the European Commission’s (EC) Joint Research Centre (JRC). However, apart from the software implementations for CNOSSOS, very little has been done for the practical guidelines outlining the specifications for the required input data, metadata, and the schema design to test the real-world situations with CNOSSOS. We describe our approach for modeling input and output data for noise simulations and also generate a real world dataset of an area in the Netherlands based on our data model for simulating urban noise using CNOSSOS.

Landscape change analysis and assessment (case studies in Slovakia and Bulgaria)

2009 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Feranec ◽  
Monika Kopecka ◽  
Rumiana Vatseva ◽  
Anton Stoimenov ◽  
Jan Otahel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Cover ◽  
Landscape Change ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Change Analysis ◽  
Joint Research ◽  
Data Layer ◽  
Environment Agency ◽  
Data Layers

AbstractLandscape change assessment was conducted in selected areas of Slovakia and Bulgaria in 1990–2000 using CORINE land cover (CLC) data layer analysis. Assessment of causes that led to these changes was undertaken, with an emphasis on those that determined the extensification of agriculture. The LC data were obtained under the CLC90 and I&CLC2000 projects, jointly managed by the European Environment Agency in Copenhagen, Denmark and the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission in Ispra, Italy. The CLC1990-2000-changes data layer was generated by overlaying the CLC90 and CLC2000 data layers for change in areas of a minimum 5 ha. The analysed causes of changes (driving forces) were then classified. Land cover (LC) changes characterizing urbanization processes occurred only in the Trnava and Tatras areas. Intensification of agriculture was also higher in these two areas. LC changes characterizing the extensification of agriculture were dominant in Plovdiv and Trnava. Deforestation and forestation were identified in all areas (Trnava, Tatras, Plovdiv, and Burgas). The basic reasons of these changes were related to the transformation of national economies from being centrally planned to market controlled, following the fall of socialism and before the countries joined the European Union.

scholarly journals Glass Waste3: A Preliminary Study for a New Industrial Recovery Processing

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1997
Author(s):  
Rossana Bellopede ◽  
Lorena Zichella ◽  
Paola Marini
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Plant ◽  
Separation Efficiency ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Glass Production ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
Flow Sheet ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Joint Research ◽  
Glass Waste

In recent times, the selection and treatment of glass waste are implemented in processing plants where a secondary raw material (SRM) named glass cullet, which is suitable for glass production, and a waste containing a high percentage of glass (glass waste2) is obtained. In the literature, there are many studies conducted on the recovery of the cullet, while few are the studies on the recovery of the waste that is produced by cullet processing. According to the 2013 Joint Research Centre (JRC) Reference report, the cullet produces savings in terms of energy and raw materials. However, it has a high current cost and its availability is becoming difficult, therefore its use is not always economically advantageous. The goal and strategy of the European Union is zero waste. For this purpose, further treatment of glass waste has been investigated. Through the industrial treatment of the glass waste2, a glass waste3 constituted again by an SRM made of glass is obtained together with a high quantity of presumed SRM (e.g., heavy plastic, corks, iron, non-ferrous metals, etc.). The process treatment separating these SRMs from the glass waste3 is, in this case, a pilot plant that needs to be optimized in order to reach an economic and sustainable industrial process solution. In particular, the materials to be recycled are exploitable product fractions with different particle sizes and physical properties (such as density, shape and resistance). This research is based on data collected from a North Italy process plant and is aimed at solving the issue of waste in this kind of process by implementing a pilot plant already present. Representative samples of feed material (glass waste3) and different products of the pilot plant have been analyzed. Moreover, laboratory tests were executed to improve separation efficiency and to valorize the different product fractions. A flow sheet of a new treatment plant has been developed and an economic evaluation has been made. The materials that will be separated in the new plant could be traded as SRM—e.g., plastics, metals, synthetic and cork stoppers—which constitute almost 90% of the total feed of the plant.

Developing a Sub-seasonal Forecasting System for Hydropower Reservoirs in Scotland 

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert M. Graham ◽  
Jethro Browell ◽  
Douglas Bertram ◽  
Christopher J. White
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Weather Forecasting ◽  
Cost Model ◽  
Weather Prediction ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Model Output ◽  
Adverse Weather ◽  
Nwp Model ◽  
Hydropower Reservoirs

<p>Inflow forecasts play an essential role in the management of hydropower reservoirs. Forecasts help operators to mitigate flood risks, meet environmental requirements, and maximise the value of power generated. In Scotland, operational inflow forecasts for hydropower facilities are typically limited in range to 2 weeks ahead, which marks the predictability barrier of deterministic weather forecasts. Extending the horizon of these forecasts may allow operators to take more proactive responses to risks of adverse weather conditions, thereby improving water management and increasing profits.</p><p>This study outlines a method of producing skilful probabilistic inflow forecasts for hydropower reservoirs on sub-seasonal timescales (up to 6-weeks ahead), directly from Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) model output. Using a case study site of a large hydropower reservoir in the Scottish Highlands, we use the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF) extended-range forecast to create probabilistic inflow forecasts for the reservoir. Inflow forecasts are derived by training a linear regression model for the observed inflow onto the NWP precipitation, and subsequently applying post-processing techniques from Ensemble Model Output Statistics.</p><p>We show that the inflow forecasts hold fair skill relative to climatology up to six weeks ahead. Average inflow forecasts for the period 1-35 days ahead hold good skill relative to climatology, and are comparably skilful to an average inflow forecast for the period 8-14 days ahead. Forecasts are more skilful in winter than summer, which is consistent with physical teleconnections from the tropics that operate on sub-seasonal timescales.</p><p>We further apply a stylised cost model that demonstrates the potential value of these forecasts through improved water management. The stylised cost model indicates that the sub-seasonal probabilistic inflow forecast are sufficiently reliable to improve decision making and deliver added value across all forecast horizons up to six weeks ahead, relative to climatological or deterministic forecasts.</p>

scholarly journals Towards IASI-New Generation (IASI-NG): impact of improved spectral resolution and radiometric noise on the retrieval of thermodynamic, chemistry and climate variables

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. 4367-4385 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Crevoisier ◽  
C. Clerbaux ◽  
V. Guidard ◽  
T. Phulpin ◽  
R. Armante ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spectral Resolution ◽  
Weather Forecasting ◽  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Weather Prediction ◽  
Detection Threshold ◽  
Weather Forecast ◽  
Atmospheric Composition ◽  
Atmospheric Species ◽  
New Instrument ◽  
New Generation

Abstract. Besides their strong contribution to weather forecast improvement through data assimilation, thermal infrared sounders onboard polar-orbiting platforms are now playing a key role for monitoring atmospheric composition changes. The Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) instrument developed by the French space agency (CNES) and launched by EUMETSAT onboard the Metop satellite series is providing essential inputs for weather forecasting and pollution/climate monitoring owing to its smart combination of large horizontal swath, good spectral resolution and high radiometric performance. EUMETSAT is currently preparing the next polar-orbiting program (EPS-SG) with the Metop-SG satellite series that should be launched around 2020. In this framework, CNES is studying the concept of a new instrument, the IASI-New Generation (IASI-NG), characterized by an improvement of both spectral and radiometric characteristics as compared to IASI, with three objectives: (i) continuity of the IASI/Metop series; (ii) improvement of vertical resolution; and (iii) improvement of the accuracy and detection threshold for atmospheric and surface components. In this paper, we show that an improvement of spectral resolution and radiometric noise fulfil these objectives by leading to (i) a better vertical coverage in the lower part of the troposphere, thanks to the increase in spectral resolution; and (ii) an increase in the accuracy of the retrieval of several thermodynamic, climate and chemistry variables, thanks to the improved signal-to-noise ratio as well as less interference between the signatures of the absorbing species in the measured radiances. The detection limit of several atmospheric species is also improved. We conclude that IASI-NG has the potential to strongly benefit the numerical weather prediction, chemistry and climate communities now connected through the European GMES/Copernicus initiative.

scholarly journals Towards IASI-New Generation (IASI-NG): impact of improved spectral resolution and radiometric noise on the retrieval of thermodynamic, chemistry and climate variables

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. 11215-11277 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Crevoisier ◽  
C. Clerbaux ◽  
V. Guidard ◽  
T. Phulpin ◽  
R. Armante ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spectral Resolution ◽  
Weather Forecasting ◽  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Weather Prediction ◽  
Detection Threshold ◽  
Weather Forecast ◽  
Atmospheric Composition ◽  
Atmospheric Species ◽  
New Instrument ◽  
New Generation

Abstract. Besides their strong contribution to weather forecast improvement through data assimilation, thermal infrared sounders onboard polar-orbiting platforms are now playing a key role for monitoring atmospheric composition changes. The Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) instrument developed by the French space agency (CNES) and launched by Eumetsat onboard the Metop satellite series is providing essential inputs for weather forecasting and pollution/climate monitoring owing to its smart combination of large horizontal swath, good spectral resolution and high radiometric performance. EUMETSAT is currently preparing the next polar-orbiting program (EPS-SG) with the Metop-SG satellite series that should be launched around 2020. In this framework, CNES is studying the concept of a new instrument, the IASI-New Generation (IASI-NG), characterized by an improvement of both spectral and radiometric characteristics as compared to IASI, with three objectives: (i) continuity of the IASI/Metop series; (ii) improvement of vertical resolution; (iii) improvement of the accuracy and detection threshold for atmospheric and surface components. In this paper, we show that an improvement of spectral resolution and radiometric noise fulfill these objectives by leading to (i) a better vertical coverage in the lower part of the troposphere, thanks to the increase in spectral resolution; (ii) an increase in the accuracy of the retrieval of several thermodynamic, climate and chemistry variables, thanks to the improved signal-to-noise ratio as well as less interferences between the signatures of the absorbing species in the measured radiances. The detection limit of several atmospheric species is also improved. We conclude that IASI-NG has the potential for strongly benefiting the numerical weather prediction, chemistry and climate communities now connected through the European GMES/Copernicus initiative.

scholarly journals A Benthic Zonation System as a Fundamental Tool for Natural Capital Assessment in a Marine Environment: A Case Study in the Northern Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 3786 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Marcelli ◽  
Sergio Scanu ◽  
Francesco Manfredi Frattarelli ◽  
Emanuele Mancini ◽  
Filippo Maria Carli
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Natural Capital ◽  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Posidonia Oceanica ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
Tyrrhenian Sea ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Joint Research ◽  
Accurate Identification ◽  
Marine Ecosystem Services

Coastal marine areas are characterized by the highest values of ecosystem services and by multiple uses that are often in conflict with each other. Natural capital analysis is claimed to be a valid tool to support space planning. In the context of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) of the European Union (EU), the EU Joint Research Centre (JRC) Scientific and Policy Report 2014 defines the monitoring of specific descriptors and their possible use, based on an ecosystem-services approach. Mediterranean marine ecosystems are characterized by high biodiversity and the presence of relevant benthic biocenosis that can be used as a tool to support coastal planning, conservation, and monitoring programs. In this study, we considered the Mediterranean benthic biocenosis, as classified by Pérès and Picard, as a working tool and propose a basic spatial unit for the assessment of marine ecosystem services. Focusing on a high-resolution local-scale analysis, this work presents an accurate identification of the different biocenoses for the coastal area of Civitavecchia in the Northern Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy, and ecosystem services, as well as a benefits assessment, of the Posidonia oceanica meadows.

FACETs: A Proposed Next-Generation Paradigm for High-Impact Weather Forecasting

2018 ◽  
Vol 99 (10) ◽  
pp. 2025-2043 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lans P. Rothfusz ◽  
Russell Schneider ◽  
David Novak ◽  
Kimberly Klockow-McClain ◽  
Alan E. Gerard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Weather Forecasting ◽  
Weather Prediction ◽  
National Research Council ◽  
Weather Forecast ◽  
High Impact ◽  
Environmental Threats ◽  
Probabilistic Information ◽  
Communication Paradigm ◽  
High Impact Weather ◽  
Comprehensive Framework

AbstractRecommendations by the National Research Council (NRC), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and Weather-Ready Nation workshop participants have encouraged the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the broader weather enterprise to explore and expand the use of probabilistic information to convey weather forecast uncertainty. Forecasting a Continuum of Environmental Threats (FACETs) is a concept being explored by NOAA to address those recommendations and also potentially shift the National Weather Service (NWS) from (primarily) teletype-era, deterministic watch–warning products to high-resolution, probabilistic hazard information (PHI) spanning periods from days (and longer) to within minutes of high-impact weather and water events. FACETs simultaneously i) considers a reinvention of the NWS hazard forecasting and communication paradigm so as to deliver multiscale, user-specific probabilistic guidance from numerical weather prediction ensembles and ii) provides a comprehensive framework to organize the physical, social, and behavioral sciences, the technology, and the practices needed to achieve that reinvention. The first applications of FACETs have focused on thunderstorm phenomena, but the FACETs concept is envisioned to extend to the attributes of any environmental hazards that can be described probabilistically (e.g., winter, tropical, and aviation weather). This paper introduces the FACETs vision, the motivation for its creation, the research and development under way to explore that vision, its relevance to operational forecasting and society, and possible strategies for implementation.

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