scholarly journals Cyprus enters the space arena with "Excelsior " H2020 Teaming project and the Eratosthenes Centre of Excellence: Why Cyprus? Why Excelsior? What are the needs and opportunities?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyriakos Themistocleous ◽  
Diofantos Hadjimitsis ◽  
Gunter Schreier ◽  
Haris Kontoes ◽  
Albert Ansmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Earth Observation ◽  
The European Union ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Horizon 2020 ◽  
Centre Of Excellence ◽  
The Government

<p>Cyprus enters the space arena with the ‘EXCELSIOR’ project. ‘EXCELSIOR’ is expected to bring change in many aspects, including new opportunities for researchers, enhanced skills development for future experts in the Earth Observation and Geoinformation sector on a local, national, European and global level. Due to its geographical proximity, ‘EXCELSIOR’ can become a hub for partners in Middle Eastern and Northern African countries. Cyprus’s unique geostrategic position can support Earth Observation from satellites programmes in three continents and provide valuable services in the processes of satellite calibration and validation. The ERATOSTHENES Centre of Excellence (ECoE), with its expertise and infrastructure, could further complement the existing network of international ground stations. Cyprus is ideally located to host the ECoE, due to its climate, which is characterized by 300 days of sunshine a year, providing excellent weather conditions for cloud free satellite images.</p><p>There are some distinct needs and opportunities that motivate the establishment of an Earth Observation Centre of Excellence in Cyprus. The needs include: i) to establish a Supersite for aerosol and cloud monitoring in the Eastern Mediterranean, Middle East and North Africa (EMMENA): strong demand for EO monitoring to provide data to evaluate the extent of pollution and climate change, especially in the EMMENA region; ii) to observe droughts and water shortages in the EMMENA region; iii) to adopt Rehabilitation programmes in EMMENA; iv) to reduce Disaster Risk and v) to create a Regional Digital Innovation Hub for Earth Observation in Cyprus. The foreseen opportunities include: i) the ECoE has the potential to become a catalyst for facilitating and enabling Regional, European and International cooperation; ii) the Eco E can capitalise on the favourable environmental, weather and climatic conditions of Cyprus to conduct cutting-edge research with impact in various sectors, including climate change, marine, solar energy, etc.; iii) the development of the Cyprus Space Strategy, which can be exploited for further Earth observation research and applications; iv) create a unique European capacity in Cyprus by mobilizing internal national assets and consolidating European EO capabilities in Cyprus to serve EMMENA. The ECoE will procure and develop the European Satellite Ground Stations covering the EMMENA region; v) accessing funding instruments for Earth Observation at the national and European Level and vi) the development of Big Data management and analytics.                              </p><p>The EXCELSIOR project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No 857510 and from the Government of the Republic of Cyprus through the Directorate General for the European Programmes, Coordination and Development.</p>

scholarly journals The "Excelsior" H2020 Widespread Teaming Phase 2 Project: ERATOSTHENES: EXcellence Research Centre for Earth SurveiLlance and Space-Based MonItoring Of the EnviRonment

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diofantos Hadjimitsis ◽  
Gunter Schreier ◽  
Haris Kontoes ◽  
Albert Ansman ◽  
Giorgos Komodromos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Resource Management ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Earth Observation ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
Observation Data ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Electronic Communications ◽  
Research And Innovation ◽  
University Of Technology ◽  
The Government

<p>The EXCELSIOR project aims to upgrade the existing ERATOSTHENES Research Centre established within the Cyprus University of Technology into a sustainable, viable and autonomous ERATOSTHENES Centre of Excellence (ECoE) for Earth Surveillance and Space-Based Monitoring of the Environment. The ECoE for Earth Surveillance and Space-Based Monitoring of the Environment will provide the highest quality of related services both on the National, European and International levels through the ‘EXCELSIOR’ Project under H2020 WIDESPREAD TEAMING. The vision of the ECoE is to become a world-class Digital Innovation Hub (DIH) for Earth observation and Geospatial Information becoming the reference Centre in the Eastern Mediterranean, Middle East and North Africa (EMMENA) within the next 7 years. The ECoE will lead multidisciplinary Earth observation research towards a better understanding, monitoring and sustainable exploitation and protection of the physical, built and human environment, in line with International policy frameworks. Indeed, the scientific potential of the new upgraded ECoE focusing on the integration of novel Earth observation, space and ground based integrated technologies for the efficient systematic monitoring of the environment. Furthermore, ECoE aims to excel in five domains:  i) Access to energy; ii) Disaster Risk Reduction; iii) Water Resource Management; iv) Climate Change Monitoring and v) Big Earth observation Data Analytics. This will be achieved through research and innovation excellence in the respective scientific and technological disciplines and working together with other Earth observation industries, whereby the ECoE will develop a pool of scientific expertise and engineering capability as well as technical facilities. The partners of the EXCELSIOR consortium include the Cyprus University of Technology as the Coordinator, the German Airspace Center (DLR), the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS), the National Observatory of Athens (NOA) and the Department of Electronic Communications, of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works of Cyprus.                                                                                  </p><p>The EXCELSIOR project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No 857510 and from the Government of the Republic of Cyprus through the Directorate General for the European Programmes, Coordination and Development.</p>

Current Threats to the Environmental Conditions in Cities of the Eastern Mediterranean

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manfred A. Lange
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Heat Waves ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Liquid Waste ◽  
Dust Storms ◽  
Urban Structures ◽  
Space Cooling

<p>The environmental conditions in urban settings are subject to processes and conditions within cities, on the one hand, and have a strong bearing on the overall conditions and the quality of life of the cities’ inhabitants, on the other. The built environment, in general, and buildings and infrastructure, in particular, play a major role in shaping the urban environment. At the same time, environmental conditions affect strongly the conditions within and outside of buildings.</p><p>The continued growth of cities in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle Eastern (EMME) region, the demise of environmental quality adds to the challenges faced by their inhabitants. Of the many factors contributing to these threats, climate change and its amplification in urban structures, the increasing load of pollutants in air and water and the rising numbers of dust storms as well as the growing amount of solid and liquid waste stand out.</p><p>The significant increase in the number of cars and the rising quantity of energy production has contributed to ever-worsening air quality in EMME cities. More specifically, urban road transport represents one of the major sources of air-borne pollutants in many of these cities and causes substantial threats to the health of their inhabitants.</p><p>The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and the EMME region are major sources of desert dust storms that travel north and east to Europe and Asia, thereby strongly affecting cities and their air quality in the EMME. Dust storms and suspended bacteria and viruses pose serious consequences to communities in the EMME region and are likely to worsen due to ongoing climate change.</p><p>Present and future changes in climate conditions will have numerous adverse effects on the EMME region, in general, and on EMME cities, in particular. This includes extended heat waves as well as enhanced water scarcity for inhabitants and green spaces. In combination with poor air quality, this will cause severe health risks for urban populations as well as the need for increased and extended periods of space cooling in private, commercial and municipal buildings. The greater needs for water and energy in urban structures are interrelated and have been described by the Water-Energy Nexus. The higher demand for water is increasingly satisfied through desalination, which is particularly energy-intensive. The need for additional space cooling during hot spells in cities will require more electricity.</p><p>The high rate of population growth, ever-increasing urbanization, changes in lifestyles and economic expansion in the EMME countries result in steadily increasing volumes of solid and liquid waste. The waste problems are exacerbated by the rising number of displaced persons and refugees in growing camps in some of the EMME countries, particularly, in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon. The huge quantity of daily produced sewage sludge in Middle Eastern countries presents a serious challenge due to its high treatment costs and risks to the environment and human health.</p><p>This paper will address some of these challenges, which call for holistic and interdisciplinary efforts to design effective and sustainable adaptation strategies in EMME cities.</p>

An investigation of oil and gas geopolitical situation in the eastern Mediterranean region

2021 ◽  
Vol 05 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nima Norouzi
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Region ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean Region ◽  
The United States ◽  
The European Union ◽  
African Region ◽  
Turkish Republic ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Government

: One of the focal points of the global energy struggle in recent years has been storytelling in the Eastern Mediterranean. Greece and the Greek Cypriot government (GCA), in cooperation with Egypt and Israel, are implementing a containment strategy against Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) in the region. Turkey’s response to this plan was an exclusive agreement with Libya. Turkey and Libya have signed a memorandum of understanding between the government of national reconciliation on limiting the maritime jurisdiction of the new continental shelf in the Eastern Mediterranean - the only borders of the lottery’s economic zone. Greece could act with other countries, and it is said that Turkey’s competence will be ratified in the face of agreements that may restrict movement. The United States and the European Union (EU) also sought to share gas with European countries against Turkey, Israel, and the GCA. This article focuses on Libya’s ongoing competition, given Libya’s oil geopolitics and challenges in the eastern Mediterranean region. This paper briefly investigates the energy geopolitics in the eastern Mediterranean and North African region; this paper aims to conclude the diverse opinions led by various interests and points of view and propose a solution for the ever-growing tensions in this region.

scholarly journals Climate change impacts on West Nile virus transmission in a global context

2015 ◽  
Vol 370 (1665) ◽  
pp. 20130561 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shlomit Paz
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
West Nile Virus ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Climatic Factors ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
West Nile ◽  
Transmission Cycle ◽  
Western Asia ◽  
West Nile Virus Transmission

West Nile virus (WNV), the most widely distributed virus of the encephalitic flaviviruses, is a vector-borne pathogen of global importance. The transmission cycle exists in rural and urban areas where the virus infects birds, humans, horses and other mammals. Multiple factors impact the transmission and distribution of WNV, related to the dynamics and interactions between pathogen, vector, vertebrate hosts and environment. Hence, among other drivers, weather conditions have direct and indirect influences on vector competence (the ability to acquire, maintain and transmit the virus), on the vector population dynamic and on the virus replication rate within the mosquito, which are mostly weather dependent. The importance of climatic factors (temperature, precipitation, relative humidity and winds) as drivers in WNV epidemiology is increasing under conditions of climate change. Indeed, recent changes in climatic conditions, particularly increased ambient temperature and fluctuations in rainfall amounts, contributed to the maintenance (endemization process) of WNV in various locations in southern Europe, western Asia, the eastern Mediterranean, the Canadian Prairies, parts of the USA and Australia. As predictions show that the current trends are expected to continue, for better preparedness, any assessment of future transmission of WNV should take into consideration the impacts of climate change.

scholarly journals Whole plant community transplants across climates reveal structural community stability due to large shifts in species assemblage

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Tomiolo ◽  
Mark C. Bilton ◽  
Katja Tielbörger
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Plant Density ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Rainfall Variability ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Community Response ◽  
Community Stability ◽  
Species Abundances ◽  
Mediterranean Regions

Summary(1) Climate change will decrease precipitation and increase rainfall variability in Eastern Mediterranean regions, with responses of plant communities largely uncertain. Here, we tested short-term responses of dryland plant communities to contrasting rainfall regimes using a novel experimental approach.(2) We exposed three annual plant communities to sharp changes in climatic conditions using whole community reciprocal transplants of soil and seed banks. We tested for the role of climate vs. community origin on community response and resistance. In parallel, we asked whether origin-specific climatic adaptations predict compositional shifts across climates.(3) For both community origins, the most dry-adapted species in each community increased in dry climate and the wet-adapted species increased in wet climate. Dry community origins showed large compositional shifts while maintaining stable plant density, biomass and species richness across climates. Conversely, wet communities showed smaller compositional shifts, but larger variation in biomass and richness.(4) Asynchrony in species abundances in response to rainfall variability could maintain structural community stability. This, in combination with seed dormancy, has the ability to delay extinction in response to climate change. However, increasing occurrence of extreme droughts may, in the long-term, lead to loss of wet-adapted species.

scholarly journals Econometrics Analysis of the Relationship between Climate Change and Economic Growth in Selected West African Countries

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 39
Author(s):  
Ebrima K. Ceesay ◽  
Hafeez O. Oladejo ◽  
Prince Abokye ◽  
Ogechi N. Ugbor
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Economic Growth ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
Random Effect ◽  
West African ◽  
Estimation Methods ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Climate Change Effects ◽  
The Government

Linkages between Climate Change, Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction have become increasingly popular in local and international communities. This is due to the fact that we are currently facing pressing issues about climate change and poverty reduction effects in our planet. In this paper an empirical testing of the effects of Climate Change, Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction was carried out. Panel estimation methods of fixed effect, random effect, and panel unit root test-fisher type with trend and constant were applied. From the results, shows that economic growth has a negative and highly significant effect on the growth of poverty in the selected West African countries. Using growth rate of economics as dependent variable, the result shows that growth of poverty is highly significant. The population living in rural areas is significant with growth of poverty and highly significant with growth of food security. The policy recommendation is that the government of the west African countries should put in place strategies to reduce poverty, climate change effects on economics growth by following measures; to have strong institution and avoidance of corruption.Such strategies contain to counter climate change effects and increase the resilience of the economy, society and country in general.

scholarly journals Quality Assurance Framework Development Based on Six New ECV Data Products to Enhance User Confidence for Climate Applications

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanne Nightingale ◽  
Folkert Boersma ◽  
Jan-Peter Muller ◽  
Steven Compernolle ◽  
Jean-Christopher Lambert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Earth Observation ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Climate Data ◽  
Area Index ◽  
Data Products ◽  
Reference Measurements

Data from Earth Observation (EO) satellites are increasingly used to monitor the environment, understand variability and change, inform evaluations of climate model forecasts and manage natural resources. Policy makers are progressively relying on the information derived from these datasets to make decisions on mitigating and adapting to climate change. These decisions should be evidence based, which requires confidence in derived products as well as the reference measurements used to calibrate, validate or inform product development. In support of the European Union’s Earth Observation Programmes Copernicus Climate Change Service, the Quality Assurance for Essential Climate Variables (QA4ECV) project fulfilled a gap in the delivery of climate quality satellite derived datasets by prototyping a robust, generic system for the implementation and evaluation of Quality Assurance (QA) measures for satellite-derived ECV climate data record products. The project demonstrated the QA system on six new long-term, climate quality ECV data records for surface Albedo, Leaf Area Index, FAPAR, NO2, HCHO and CO. Provision of standardized QA information provides data users with evidence-based confidence in the products and enables judgement on the fitness-for-purpose of various ECV data products their specific applications.

scholarly journals SWAT BASED ASSESSMENT AND PREDICTION OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND ITS IMPACT IN THENPENNAI SUB-BASIN OF SOUTH INDIA

2018 ◽  
Vol XLII-5 ◽  
pp. 557-562
Author(s):  
K. Nivedita Priyadarshini ◽  
S. A. Rahaman ◽  
S. Nithesh Nirmal ◽  
R. Jegankumar ◽  
P. Masilamani
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Scale Model ◽  
Impact Of Climate Change ◽  
Temperature And Precipitation ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Soil And Water

<p><strong>Abstract.</strong> Climate change impacts on watershed ecosystems and hydrologic processes are complex. The key significant parameters responsible for balancing the watershed ecosystems are temperature and rainfall. Though these parameters are uncertain, they play a prime role in the projections of dimensional climate change studies. The impact of climate change is more dependent on temperature and precipitation which contributes at a larger magnitude for characterising global warming issues. This paper aims to forecast the variations of temperature and precipitation during the period of 2020&amp;ndash;2050 for the northern part of Thenpennar sub basin. This study is modelled using SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) &amp;ndash; a scale model developed to predict the impact of changes that occurs in land, soil and water over a period of time. This study is validated using the base period from 1980&amp;ndash;2000 which shows the distribution of rainfall and temperature among 38 watersheds. The results from this study show that there is a decrease in the rainfall for a maximum of about 20% in the month of December during the predicted period of 2020 and 2050. This study assesses the possible adverse impact of climate change on temperature and precipitation of Thenpennai sub-basin. This kind of predictions will help the government agencies, rulers and decision makers in policy making and implementing the adaptation strategies for the changing climatic conditions.</p>

scholarly journals Legal Provisions and Market Conditions for Energy Communities in Austria, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain, and Turkey: A Comparative Assessment

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (20) ◽  
pp. 11212
Author(s):  
Mehmet Efe Biresselioglu ◽  
Siyami Alp Limoncuoglu ◽  
Muhittin Hakan Demir ◽  
Johannes Reichl ◽  
Katrin Burgstaller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Social Acceptance ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Energy System ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Horizon 2020 ◽  
Legal Provisions ◽  
The Eu

The Climate Pact and the European Green Deal constitute the main components of the European Union (EU)’s climate change policy. Energy transition, that is, transformation to a zero-carbon global energy system, is one of the main pillars of climate change mitigation policies. This transformation, coupled with the empowerment of individuals within the energy system, shifts citizens from their roles as customers towards a more active role. Within this framework, energy communities stand out as significant facilitators for the participation of individuals and communities in the energy system, promoting self-consumption and contributing to the social acceptance of renewable energy initiatives, among other direct and indirect benefits. The main directives introducing energy communities into the EU legal system are RED II and ED 2019. This study, conducted as a part of a Horizon 2020-funded eCREW project, assessed the adaptability and implementability of these two directives within national legislation, along with the associated legal and administrative frameworks, utilizing evidence from Austria, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain, and Turkey. The comparative analysis also enhances the understanding of the concept of renewable energy communities and citizen energy communities, both in the EU and in nonmember countries. The results of the analysis revealed that none of the countries studied had yet completed the process of harmonizing their legislation concerning energy communities.

scholarly journals Uncertainty under Climate Change: the Resource Cycle of Industry in Taiwan’s Offshore Islands

2019 ◽  
Vol 117 ◽  
pp. 00015
Author(s):  
Yu-Hsuan Lan ◽  
Chang-Hsien Hsu
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Management Level ◽  
The People ◽  
The World ◽  
The Government ◽  
Resource Cycle ◽  
Corporate Social

The annual rainfall in Taiwan is actually 2.6 times than the average number in the world. There are as many as 2,500 mm of rainfall per year, but because of the geographical and climatic conditions,which leads to the fact that even if the rainfall is abundant in Taiwan, the water consumption of the people living in the island area is really far below the global average. A large part of the rainfall follows violent rain caused by the deterioration of the environment. The delay of the rainy season and the increase of the intensity of the typhoon have caused to suffer from flooding every year in Taiwan.This study takes “WIND LION PLAZA “ as the object. How do private enterprises “Kinmen” in the offshore islands where resources are more scarce implement “water saving measures and resource reuse” promoted by the government? In addition, it also includes the purpose and expectation of the implementation of this policy by the enterprise. Furthermore, how to implement the resource cycle and the management level between the government and the enterprise is to achieve sustainable development of resources, and do corporate social responsibility to achieve sustainable development of resources.

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