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Newsletter 4 March 2013
Black Sea day celebration and enviroGRIDS final conference, October 31. 2012 in Batumi
Introduction (Coordinator: Anthony Lehmann) Now I can say that I never thought we would get to the end of this project. We had so much to do, the tasks were so challenging, and four years seemed to be so long when writing the proposal. BUT WE DID IT …almost as planned, and in a very collaborative and constructive atmosphere!!! I learned so much from this project, and clearly I built my own capacities! Of course, from a scientific perspective, we addressed several important challenges such as improving environmental data sharing and processing in order to build the first hydrological model for the entire Black Sea catchment, and to explore several scenarios of land cover, demographic and climatic changes. Similar scientific and environmental challenges exist everywhere around the World, but they are particularly useful in this part of the World because of the important environmental crisis that the Black Sea catchment is facing coupled with
the lack of strong policy implementation. However, where I learned the most was from the human side of the project. I have seen dedicated scientists from all the Black Sea countries and beyond giving their best to build together the Black Sea catchment Observation System. Regardless of nationality, age, gender and religion, all the enviroGRIDS partners were fully committed to the project’s common objectives, as if we had all found along the shores of the Black Sea the warm arms of a caring mother.
Batumi’s coast of Georgia, Nov.1. 2012
Unfortunately, what is true in the enviroGRIDS consortium is not a feeling that is sufficiently shared among the people living in the region. This is why the work of the Black Sea Commission (BSC) as well as the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) is so important. This is also why these commissions should be given much more financial, technical, scientific and political means, because they participate in the preparation of a sustainable future for this region. When we think about the history of the Black Sea that has seen among others, the Greeks, the Romans, the Venetians, the Ottomans and the Hunts occupying this region, one would hope that the cultural heritage from all these great civilisations would highlight the beauty and importance of this part of the world,
making its inhabitants proud and caring about their heritage. Unfortunately, economical constraints, religious differences and nationalistic behaviours are dominating the regional development, where a more sustainable and collaborative pathway is clearly needed. This is why in the framework of this capacity building project, much hope came from the skills and great achievements of several young scientists. We decided therefore to dedicate to them this last Newsletter with a selection of portraits to thank them for their appreciated efforts. We wish that they will be a source of inspiration for future generations.
Key achievements in 2012-‐2013 (Manager: Nicolas Ray) The last quarter of any project is always a thrilling moment. It is the time where the key project achievements need to be finalized, integrated, and efficiently disseminated. One of the key project outputs, namely the calibrated high-‐resolution hydrological model of the Black Sea catchment, was finalized towards the very end of the project. We had to face many complex data integration issues and new software development was required to handle the largest SWAT hydrological model ever developed. Great collaboration among partners made it possible eventually, and this SWAT model will be the basis of many applications beyond the project life span. GEO/GEOSS activities continued to be strengthened during that period, with our participation in the GEO Plenary in Foz do Iguaçu (Brazil) in November 2012. Capacity building on GEOSS and OGC related material was done in Georgia during the Final meeting of the project (Oct. 30 – Nov. 2, 2012). Numerous services (25+), data sets (250+) and layers (300'000+) have been registered in the GEOSS by enviroGRIDS partners. The enviroGRIDS portal (http://portal.envirogrids.net) has gone through its final lifting, and access to the key tools (Geoportal, Greenland, gSWAT, eGLE, BASHYT) developed in the project is now possible through a useful single sign-‐on. The dissemination "dream item" came from the TV channel EuroNews. They covered the project through an extensive 8’
documentary in their FUTURIS collection in July 2012 (available on enviroGRIDS website front page). Needless to say it was extremely useful for disseminating a high-‐quality summary of the project in several languages. Towards the end of the project we also strengthened our implication in both ICPDR (Danube Commission) and the Black Sea Commission. ICPDR has officially adopted the strategy of an open-‐source SDI based on the recommendation of the enviroGRIDS project. As much as we have achieved, challenges still remain. An administrative one is first expected, as we are gearing up for writing the Final Report to be submitted to the Commission. Then, some of the results, methodologies, tools, concepts, and analyses from the project will be published through three special issues of peer-‐reviewed international journals. Finally, the momentum of the collaboration among several partners needs to be maintained, and it will be through forthcoming joint projects. As the project comes to its completion, a deep feeling surfaces: that of being immensely lucky
to have had the privilege of managing enviroGRIDS. The many colleagues – now friends – I had to interact with, the challenges and the solutions, the achievements, the difficulties. I learnt a lot, and had my share of capacity building, for the future!
UNIGE (Violeta Djambazova) I engaged in enviroGRIDS for my first research project as a Master student at the University of Geneva. It was a very rich opportunity in terms of partners involved as well as objectives and
corresponding research topics. I was enthusiastic to participate in such an effort supported by the European Community and curious to explore international collaboration. Being Bulgarian, I was also eager to contribute to the undertaking of Bulgaria as a partner country towards sustainable energy use. Thus my work was directed to the evaluation of the electricity production potential from wind installations in Bulgaria. I was in contact with local partners, both the wind data holders and energy experts. We exchanged by writing and met on one occasion. But distance with research partners is not easily managed, not only for itself but because it can reflect differences in viewpoint, research method, stakes in the project, understanding of research goals, data sharing policy, fears and expectations. All of which factors I did not suspect the influence. Therefore difficulties in collaboration relations in this context range from plain misunderstandings to manifestations of politics associated with scientific research, in addition to the politics of the subject matter, here renewable energy use. The latter two are not simple to dissociate and I experienced this as a complex canvas, against which to interpret interactions, and work towards completing my study. Considerations relating to political science are an
inseparable facet of the pure ‘technical’ aspects of research in a research project of this magnitude. My interest was caught in particular by the question of the role of science in policy making. It is the most relevant one to the goal of implementing policy targets in sustainable development through funding of research, such as expressed by the European Community in contributing to enviroGRIDS. In the continuation of the project, it is currently the topic of my doctoral thesis in environmental sciences.
UNEP/GRID (Grégory Giuliani) EnviroGRIDS is so far the greatest moment of my scientific career. This was a unique opportunity for a young scientist to be part of such an important and ambitious project.
From a scientific point of view, I had the chance to lead the workpackage on Spatial Data Infrastructure and to do my PhD under the supervision of Prof. Anthony Lehmann (UNIGE-‐Switzerland) and Prof. Stefano Nativi (CNR-‐Italy). I learned also a lot in contact with so many good scientists belonging to this consortium. In a general scientific context, sharing and documenting data is part of the elementary scientific approach, allowing scientists to compare their results and methods more
easily, and then enhancing scientific accountability, credibility and potentially improving quality of data for the benefit of everyone. This project also gave me the possibility to participate in numerous events and conferences around Europe and outside. This allowed me to discover the state-‐of-‐the-‐art of spatial data infrastructure and this was really exciting. Probably the most important lesson I have learnt in enviroGRIDS is that, besides all the good scientific and technical results, an important aspect of participating in a large European research project is the spirit of collaboration. Having the chance to work with various scientists coming from different countries with different cultures was stimulating. All these moments of exchange, sharing, discussions have enriched and broadened my scientific and human horizons. One of the objectives of enviroGRIDS was to build the capacities of scientists to share data in the Black Sea region. Enabling data sharing relies mostly on individuals that should have in common: (1) a sense that better data will lead to better decisions, (2) a sharing spirit that they got something in return and are viewed as collaborative partners, and (3) the fact that they are involved in a professional culture that honours serving society and cooperating with others. For me, this was a key value representative of enviroGRIDS partners. At the end of this project, I would like to thank all the enviroGRIDS members for their time, patience, trust, friendship, and for all the great moments we had along the entire project. I really hope that we will have the chance to continue our collaborations in the future.…
UMA (Emanuele Mancosu) I entered the enviroGRIDS project at the end of 2010 supporting the tasks of work package 3, at the beginning with the Autonomous University of Barcelona and later with the University of Malaga. I gained more and more responsibility up to
coordinating the WP3's activities during the last year of the project. WP3 aims at building future scenarios of land use, climate and demography for the Black Sea catchment, as a basis for assessing water resources. Thanks to this project, I have been able to expand my knowledge in the field of land use dynamics, also to the competence of the European Topic Centre (ETCLUSI, then ETCSIA) where I am working. Several methodologies previously explored in a European framework were extended to the Black Sea basin level, bordering the crossroad of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. Such a deep research implied interpretative exchanges with partners and local institutions to find out regional data, being aware of physical geographic conditions and policy status of the territory to overcome lack of resources and fulfil the research background. Among the assimilated technical work, mostly characterized by evaluating and improving GIS procedures, the analysis and application of a modelling framework was the most interesting
part. This necessity brought the team and me to master powerful modelling software able to draw plausible future scenarios on land use, through the interpretation of historical data and by employing ancillary data as driving forces. The whole process was supported by evaluation of experts. Since the project had ambitious objectives, work package 3 was also a big challenge: operating within a wide study area, selecting useful data from different providers and countries, processing a huge quantity of data, and finally producing convincing results. EnviroGRIDS has made collaboration possible with experts from different countries and contexts, starting from the smaller circle of colleagues from the centre, passing through the WP’s partners and up to the larger net of experts and institutions involved. Creating stronger relationships has facilitated the expansion of scientific knowledge reaching great results. Moreover, it was fundamental to have the chance to learn from the Black Sea area, not only in a theoretic way but also in a more active way, meeting the people and visiting the places involved, making this experience more real.
EAWAG (Elham Rouholahnejad)
I started my PhD study at the ETH Zurich, Environmental Science Department in September 2009. My project was to study the water resources availability and quality in the Black Sea Basin within the framework of the
enviroGRIDS project. My task was a rather ambitious one and seemed unapproachable to me at the beginning, but I quickly learned that nothing was
impossible and with cooperation and collaboration everything could be achieved. This work was a great opportunity for me to tackle existing gaps in water resources management in the region, and to contribute to a high standard scientific community as well as stakeholders. Now that I am looking back, I see all the ups and downs, and I realize how much I have learned. I am very grateful for being part of the professional team in the enviroGRIDS project, and am humbled by the challenging task in front of us. EnviroGRIDS not only brought me a valuable scientific experience in water research study, hydrology, modelling, climate change and land use change impact analysis, but also it was a great source of ideas and experiences on how to work as a team. The project deepened my insight of the spirit of shared environment -‐shared experiences-‐ and shared data. I realized that environment does not know political boundaries, and environmental problems do not stop at the borders!
The objective of the project was to explore the past, present and future of the Black Sea Basin and I am very happy to have contributed in the hydrological part. The important questions were:
-‐ Are the existing databases sufficient for modelling the BSB? Could we build a high-‐resolution hydrological-‐crop model of the region? Could we calibrate and validate such a model? Could we estimate how much freshwater there is and what is the status of water quality? How much confidence would we have of our estimates? Could such a large model be run on our existing computer
resources? What would the future hold for the region in light of climate and land use changes?
Tremendous advances in modelling and model calibration have allowed us to perform the tasks mentioned above. We used Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to build the hydrological water quantity-‐quality model coupled with crop yield. We used SWAT-‐CUP to calibrate and validate the model with uncertainty analysis.
Using the above methodologies, we were able to study the past 37 years of the Black Sea Basin hydrological statues, assess historical changes, support environmental monitoring and seasonal forecasting of trends, and we evaluated the impact of natural and manmade pressures on water resources by prediction of future changes. We hope that this leads to analysis of alternative management plans and establishes optimal strategies by decision makers for reaching the desired water quantity and quality standards in the Black Sea Basin.
ITU (Özgür Doğru) I have been involved in enviroGRIDS project as a member of ITU Partner since the beginning, the year 2009, when I was a visiting researcher for my PhD research at the National Geographic Institute, in France. Although enviroGRIDS was not the first
EU project that I was involved in, it is the biggest one with lots of researchers from 30 partners distributed in 15 countries from all over the Black Sea Catchment and Europe. Therefore, enviroGRIDS is one of my
most important milestone experiences in my professional life for several reasons. EnviroGRIDS gave me the opportunity to work in a scientific network with a large number of qualified scientists. We all shared our experiences and knowledge on our fields during meetings and conferences for four years, so it was a great pleasure for me to be involved in such a comprehensive project. EnviroGRIDS project aimed to build capacity for a Black Sea Catchment Observation and Assessment System supporting Sustainable Development. This goal does not only include the technical aspects such as data and methodology but also covers training of young scientist to be able to ensure the permanency and sustainability of the scientific works at Black Sea Catchment in the future. All of the young researchers who started their PhD research within the enviroGRIDS project are now young and experienced scientists ready to work for the progress of the Black Sea Catchment. This result is going to sustain the spirit of the enviroGRIDS project when it is completed. I was involved in WP2 and WP5 as a researcher during the enviroGRIDS project and I was also assisting the Leader of Work Package 5, Prof. Dr. Seval SÖZEN. Therefore, in addition to technical self-‐improvement on GIS and open-‐source data publishing issues, enviroGRIDS project acquainted me with management processes. At the end of the project, I would like to thank all enviroGRIDS members who have contributed to the project. I hope that our professional relations will continue in the future.
ITU (Filiz Bektaş Balçık) I have participated in enviroGRIDS since 2009 as a member of Istanbul Technical University team. This project allowed me to work with 30 different partners from 15 different countries. I believe that it was a unique opportunity to improve not only my scientific vision but
also my social and cultural point of view. Within this project, I had a great chance to work as part of a scientific network in a collaborative environment. During the project, I have gained valuable knowledge from other disciplines. I also had a chance to improve my skills to work together with scientists from different disciplines and different countries in a comprehensive project. We had the opportunity to share our experiences and knowledge related to our topics via conferences, workshops and meetings carried out at different times and in many countries. It was a great pleasure for me to be part of this multi-‐cultural collaborative environment and share our experiences. In this project, I took part in two different working groups (WP2 and WP5). Especially close collaboration between ITU and UTCN guided me to improve my aspect in Remote Sensing Technology and Computer Sciences. During this project, the most important achievement for me was learning how to find an efficient way to work with scientists who are expert in different disciplines. I strongly believed that this project allowed me to get a chance to work with the best professionals in their own areas, a chance that is rarely given for a young scientist like me.
UTCN (Denisa Rodila)
In this project, I have found a collaborative environment which offered me the chance to be part of a great scientific research team and to meet experts in different research
fields. Being part of this community helped me grow and enhance my knowledge especially in Environmental Sciences but also in Computer Sciences considering the project challenges and collaborations.
I have developed tight professional relationships with all the partners that I have collaborated with, based on competent professional skills and good communication. During the project meetings and reunions I had a great intercultural experience, which allowed me to get in contact with a lot of different people and their culture, and to share information and knowledge. Although enviroGRIDS was not the first international project I was involved in, I have gained a lot of experience in working with teams having different backgrounds and different expertise. I was sometimes intrigued and surprised to find out how experts in other research fields perceive the insight of Computer Sciences and what the general idea is about the computing environments behind every system. I have shared a lot of knowledge and I have improved my know-‐how in related
research fields, which helped me broaden my horizons even more. I have gained experience working and collaborating in the interdisciplinary domains of Environment and Computer Sciences and these gained scientific capacities and experiences have been capitalized in different high-‐level national and international journals and conference papers. Overall, I had a great pleasure being part of such a large consortium and getting to know such wonderful people, starting from the management team and continuing with all the partners I interacted with. From my point of view, enviroGRIDS was a successful project not only for fulfilling the proposed objectives but also for creating strong professional relationships among the involved partners.
ANTEA GROUP (Annelies Beel) My company, a private engineering consultancy, was responsible for Work Package 7 on ‘Dissemination and training’. I started cooperating in enviroGRIDS by organizing a small project meeting in Ghent (Belgium) in October 2010. Compared with the meeting in Batumi 2 years later, this was a minor challenge.
Now, after having organized the end conference in Batumi (November 2012, Georgia) for more than 200 people, I have learned a lot. Thanks to the excellent cooperation with enviroGRIDS partners such as Anthony Lehmann and Nicolas Ray (Coordinators, University of Geneva) and Mamuka Gvilava (Geographic, Georgia) and the Tourism Agency of Batumi, this conference was a real success.
Other tasks in WP7 included the compilation of policy briefs and newsletters, writing reports of workshops, gathering open access publications etc. They were successfully fulfilled thanks to the good response and support of all the enviroGRIDS partners. Furthermore, Antea Group also had a mayor role in Work Package 5, dealing with Early Warning Systems in the Black Sea Region based on pilot case studies. I have been focusing on the social impacts of floods (Körös case study, Hungary). A GIS tool was built to assess the social impact of floods. It has been a real challenge and opportunity to work in a data poor environment. This enviroGRIDS project has been a great scientific and intercultural experience to me and I have been able to get in contact with a many different people. Furthermore, I would also like to thank all the colleagues at Antea Group that cooperated in this project.
Project after-‐life plan (Anthony Lehmann) A lot of efforts have been put in this project to help and serve the two main identified end users, namely the BSC and the ICPDR. The challenge for after the end of the project is to insure that these commissions will be able to use the products of the project, and that the partners will keep trying to develop new activities and projects in relationship to what was achieved in the enviroGRIDS project. In order to favour this process, we proposed to sign agreements with the BSC, the ICPDR and between the enviroGRIDS partners in charge of the Black Sea Catchment – Observation
System. The aim of these agreements is to maintain the interest and capacities of the two commissions to use the outputs of enviroGRIDS on one side, and also to keep the system up and running on the other side. For the Black Sea Commission, the possibility of setting nutrient loads targets for each catchment entering the Black Sea is an interesting mean to drive a new policy to reduce the eutrophication in the Black Sea. For the ICPDR, a great opportunity exists to extend its great experience on River basin management in the East. For the enviroGRIDS project, the aim is to keep all the data and the models produced by the project freely available, especially the scenarios and the hydrological model outputs. From the University of Geneva coordination, the participation in two new FP7 networking projects (IASON & EOPOWER) will allow to pursue the development of useful technical solutions. Thanks to our Georgian partner, it is now clearly established that this country will be the next one becoming an official GEO member. Finally, the University of Geneva and UNEP/GRID will actively participate in the organisation of the next GEO Plenary and Ministerial in Geneva in January 2014.
Public Deliverables (months 37-‐48) (soon available at www.envirogrids.net) D4.11 Calibrated water quantity and quality model for BSC, with impacts of scenarios D5.8 Synthesis of vulnerability and adaptation issues D5.10 Illustrated pilot case studies for the Black Sea Catchment Disaster Early Warning System
D5.11 Report on the Biodiversity societal benefit area D6.11 Functional prototypes available on the web of BSC-‐OS for citizens D7.17 Fourth newsletter and policy briefing D7.18 Report on End-‐conference
Selected 2012 Publications Gorgan, D., Bacu, V., Mihon, D., Stefanut, T., Rodila,
D., Cau, P., Abbaspour, K., Giuliani, G., Ray, N. and A. Lehmann. 2012. Software platform interoperability throughout enviroGRIDS portal. Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing, 5(6): 1617-‐1627
Rouholahnejad, E., Abbaspour, K.C., Vejdani, M., Srinivasan, R., Schulin, R. & Lehmann, A. 2012, A parallelization framework for calibration of hydrological models. Environmental Modelling & Software31: 28-‐36
Medinets S., & Medinets V. 2012. Investigations of Atmospheric Wet and Dry Nutrient Deposition to Marine Surface in Western Part of the Black Sea.Turkish Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 12: 497-‐505
Acknowledgements The European Commission, project under call FP7-‐ENV-‐2008-‐1, grant agreement No. 226740.
Final enviroGRIDS event at the GEO headquarter in Geneva
Proud to be an enviroGRIDS partner:
