The Institute for Environment and Sustainability

Transcription

1 Open Day JRC-Malta, 20 th November The Institute for Environment and Sustainability Prof. Dr. Leen Hordijk Director

2 Open Day JRC-Malta, 20 th November IES Mission Statement The mission of the Institute for Environment and Sustainability is to provide scientifictechnical support to the European Union s Policies for the protection and sustainable development of the European and global environment. Customers: EC, EEA, EP, Member States, Global Organisations

3 Responding to major Policy Themes Open Day JRC-Malta, 20 th November Environment and Prosperity INSPIRE Sustainable Transport Life Cycle Assessment

4 EXAMPLE: SEIS Open Day JRC-Malta, 20 th November Communication from European Commission to European Council and Parliament Towards a Shared Environmental Information System (SEIS) COM(2008) 46 final It presents an approach to: modernise and simplify the collection, exchange and use of the data and information required for the design and implementation of environmental policy, progressively replace the current, mostly centralised systems for reporting by systems based on access, sharing and interoperability. The overall aim is to maintain and improve the quality and availability of information required for environmental policy.

5 SEIS Activities Open Day JRC-Malta, 20 th November Builds on existing legal framework including Directives on Public Sector Information (2003/98/EC), Access to Environmental Information (2003/4/EC), and INSPIRE (2007/2/EC), as well as Regulation on the European Environment Agency (401/2009) Repeals obsolete reporting requirements Streamlines information requirements in existing thematic environmental legislation Modernises reporting provisions (towards on-line services) Develops 10 thematic data centres (EEA, JRC, EUROSTAT) Undertakes pilot studies

6 Role of JRC in SEIS Open Day JRC-Malta, 20 th November Contributes to the development of SEIS concept and implementation (with DG ENV, EUROSTAT, EEA) Develops and manages Data Centres on Soils and Forest Manages three SEIS Pilot projects in behalf of DG ENV: Development and Prototyping of INSPIRE technical specifications for air, water, waste and biodiversity Environmental Monitoring Facilities (SEIS-EMF) Development and demonstration of technical IT solutions for data exchange and reporting under the CAFE Directive using INSPIRE services (SEIS-CAFÉ) Shared Environmental Information System Monitoring Capacity Baseline and Evolution Study (SEIS-BASIS)

7 SEIS-BASIS Open Day JRC-Malta, 20 th November Objectives: Provide baseline assessment of the operational capacity of the Member States to collect data for the implementation of the environmental acquis Undertake a comparative analysis and fitness-for-purpose assessment Propose alternative policy options for SEIS to overcome lack of comparability and quality of data and assess their impacts (including cost-benefits)

8 Responding to major Policy Themes Open Day JRC-Malta, 20 th November Environment and Solidarity Marine Environment Water Quality Agri-environment Soil and Forest Data Centres Greenhouse Gas Inventories

9 Example: Marine environment and climate change Open Day JRC-Malta, 20 th November Satellite observations of sea surface temperature (SST) from 1983 to 2007 have been analysed to identify climatic variability in the Mediterranean Sea: SST has on average increased by 0.7 and 1.2 in the Western and Eastern Mediterranean since 1985 Changes are not uniform in time but the highest rate of change is found in summer Changes are not uniform in space but are distributed irregularly throughout the Mediterranean Sea Nykjaer: Mediterranean Sea surface warming , Climate Research, vol 39: 11-17, 2009

10 Responding to major Policy Themes Open Day JRC-Malta, 20 th November Environment and Security Environmental Pollution Radioactivity Monitoring Environment and Health Floods & Droughts Forest Fires

11 EXAMPLE: FLOODS Change in flood risk by 2080s in Europe Open Day JRC-Malta, 20 th November change in Expected Annual Damage (averaged over NUTS2) A2 B2 EAD of EU27, currently 6.5 billion, is projected to rise to 18 billion (A2) and 14 billion (B2) JRC PESETA study

12 /23/02 0:00 8/24/02 0:00 8/25/02 0:00 8/26/02 0:00 8/27/02 0:00 8/28/02 0:00 8/29/02 0:00 8/30/02 0:00 8/31/02 0:00 Dessau/Rosslau Wittenberg Torgau Riesa Dresden Labe Decin Labe/Usti N.L. Vltava/Prague Adaptation: early warning systems the European Flood Alert System (EFAS) Open Day JRC-Malta, 20 th November EU Flood GIS Realtime H-Q data Historical Data 120 forecasts daily /23/02 0:00 8/24/02 0:00 8/25/02 0:00 8/26/02 0:00 8/27/02 0:00 8/28/02 0:00 8/29/02 0:00 8/30/02 0:00 8/31/02 0:00 Dessau/Rosslau Wittenberg Torgau Riesa Dresden Labe Decin Labe/Usti N.L. Vltava/Prague Static Data Europ. Data Layers 24/365 Web-Interface Meteo -Data 25 organisations Expert Knowledge of Member States Impact: earlier crisis preparedness actions by national civil protection (e.g. HU, RO) Support to EU Flood Directive, river basin Action Plans for floods (Danube, Elbe), and EU Civil Protection (MIC)

13 EFAS An on-line system that Open Day JRC-Malta, 20 th November 2009 gives an overview where floods are predicted in the next days. 13 Accessible 24/7

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15 EXAMPLE: DROUGHTS European Drought Observatory (EDO) - vision Open Day JRC-Malta, 20 th November Web-based Platform for detection, monitoring, forecasting and information exchange Commonly agreed products (e.g. drought indices) Joint comparison and analysis of information Mutual exchange of knowledge & methodologies Direct up- and downscaling Real-time monitoring and forecasting (early warning, preparedness) Multi-scale approach, integrating EU / continental level MS level Regional / river basin level Data Infrastructure INSPIRE Subsidiarity principle European level information + platform (JRC) National datasets managed at MS level Regional information processed by river basin / regional environmental authorities De-central data holding

16 EDO: Products Open Day JRC-Malta, 20 th November EDO Products: Precipitation Indicators Modelled Soil Moisture Remote Sensing Indicators 3-month Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) for 10-12/2008 aggregated to regional level

17 EDO: Forecasted Soil Moisture Anomaly Open Day JRC-Malta, 20 th November

18 EDO: Photosynthetic Activity Open Day JRC-Malta, 20 th November fapar, 1.2 km resolution for 21-31/05/2009

19 EDO: Standardised Precipitation Index Open Day JRC-Malta, 20 th November SPI Time Series ( ) 3-month Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) for 08-10/2009 at 5 km spatial resolution SPI Time Series ( )

20 EXAMPLE: AIR POLLUTION Air pollutants along a Mediterranean cruise route Open Day JRC-Malta, 20 th November The concentrations of important trace Deck 14, the JRC air gases and aerosols over the monitoring station Mediterranean are elevated due to a combination of local sources and long range transport. Air pollutants in the 47m Western Mediterranean Basin appear to accumulate due to sea-breeze circulation. Heating of the lower atmosphere caused by the radiative effects of air pollutants may be a cause of reduced probability of storms. COSTA FORTUNA at port of SAVONA, May m Simulations with the TM5 model show yearly average ozone concentrations over the Mediterranean higher than in the surrounding regions. The concentrations of ozone are particularly high over the Mediterranean because its lifetime over the sea is longer than over the continent. Model results need to be confirmed by measurements.

21 Air pollutants along a Mediterranean cruise route Open Day JRC-Malta, 20 th November Measurements of ozone and Black Carbon on Costa Crociere cruise ships started in October Other measurements were added later: NOx, SO 2, particle size distributions. Most measurements are performed in the Western Mediterranean in spring-autumn along a fixed route. BARCELLONA Black Carbon SAVONA CIVITAVECCHIA Mean concentration of Ozone 2006 PALMA TUNIS PALERMO MALTA ppbv EM 1/1-3/3 WM 26/4-31/10 ATL 1/11-6/12 ALL OBS EDG EYR EMEDG NON Ozone Model simulations of the impact of ship emissions have been tested against the ship borne observations in the Eastern and Western Mediterranean and in the Atlantic. OBS : ship observations EDG, EYR and EMEDG : ship emission inventories included in simulation NON : no ship emissions included

22 Open Day JRC-Malta, 20 th November Thank you!