The Fourth RTD Framework Programme 1994-1998
Area ‘Environment and Climate’
A Survey of Projects related to DEFRA’s Water & Land Research Programme
Note re Copyright Ó European Communities, 2001 This report contains information on individual projects that is derived from the the CORDIS website and the following statement is applicable.
Neither the Commission of the European Communities nor any person acting on its behalf is responsible for the use which might be made of the attached information. The attached information is drawn from the Community R & D Information Service (CORDIS). The CORDIS services are carried on the CORDIS Host in Luxembourg. Access to CORDIS is currently available free-of-charge to qualified persons on application to CORDIS Customer Service, BP 2373, L-1023 Luxembourg, Fax No +352-441012-2248
The CORDIS World Wide Web site is http://www.cordis.lu/
Report prepared by The Foundation for Water Research For the Drinking Water Inspectorate June 2001
The Fourth RTD Framework Programme 1994 – 1998
Area ‘Environment and Climate’
A Survey of Projects related to DEFRA’s Water and land Research Programme
Summary
This report contains details of 142 research projects carried under the European Commission’s 4th Framework Research Technology and Development Programme 1994-1998 (FP4). All the projects come within the ‘Environment and Climate’ (ECP) programme area of FP4.
The projects selected are considered by FWR to have relevance, to a greater or lesser degree, to the interests of DEFRA’s Water and Land Research Programme. Many of the selected projects have now been fully executed; all of them are expected to be completed by the end of 2002. Details of results from completed projects are normally obtainable from the respective Project Coordinator. Full contact details of Project Coordinators are provided for each project.
In the paper-based version of this report, details of projects are included in two separate sections (A and B) at the end of the report. The two sections represent the two different sources of information from which details about the projects were derived.
In the electronic (PDF file) version of the report, details of each project, from either source, are obtainable by ‘clicking’ on the ‘Project Reference’ or ‘Project Title’ in the table listing all the projects.
1.Introduction 1.1 During the period 1994 to 1998, under the aegis of the Fourth Research and Technological Development Framework Programme (FP4), the European Commission let contracts for several thousand research and development projects covering an extensive range of topic areas (see 1.1 para 2). In parallel with FP4, and as a separate EC initiative, a major programme of research in the nuclear sector was conducted under the Euratom Framework Programme. 1.2 Within FP4, the contracts for research projects were let at various times over the period from 1994 to 1998 and for differing durations ranging from 12 months to 4 years. Most projects have now been completed and final reports submitted to the Commission. However, a few projects are still being executed and some will not actually be completed until 2002.
1.3 Published information about the content of individual FP4 projects (objectives, work programme, contractors etc) was slow to emerge before 2000, but details of most projects have now become available through the EC's CORDIS web-site (www.cordis.lu) or through the EUROPA web site. Information regarding each project undertaken under the
2 'Environment and Climate' topic area of FP4 has also been published in paper form by the EC (1).
1.4 Under the terms of FP4 research contracts, the results of each project are required to be submitted to the Commission in periodic progress reports and in a final report. Furthermore, the final report, or a summary of it, has to be made available, through the ‘contract coordinator’ (i.e the ‘Prime Contractor’), to other bona fide interests in the EU. The Commission itself does not undertake to provide reports to interested parties although some report summaries are available on the CORDIS web site (www.cordis.lu). Experience gained in the preparation of the present report has shown that, most prime contractors are very responsive to requests for their final reports and they do not usually make any charge. In the case of some major projects, the project itself may have a dedicated web site from which information can be derived. In a few cases, the project has generated a hard-back book which is usually also available on request.
1.5 The object of this report is to identify those FP4 projects that are considered to relate, directly, or more broadly, to the Policy Objectives of the (then) DETR's (now DEFRA's) Water and Land Division (WLD) and its associated research interests (Appendix A) The titles of the Projects are listed in Table 1. Outline details are provided of the objectives and work programme of most of the selected projects and, in each case, the identity and contact details of the main contractor, and of other participating contractors, are provided. Results from individual projects are not included. However, if such information is required, it should be easily obtained on request to the appropriate contractor
2. Outline of FP4 Topic Coverage 2.1 The full FP4 programme comprised 11 topic areas, each containing a range of sub-topics:-
A. Information and Communications Technologies B. Industrial Technologies C. Environment D. Life Sciences and Technologies E. Energy F. Research and Training in the Nuclear Sector G. Transport H. Targeted Socio-economic Research I. Cooperation with Third Counties and International Organisations J. Dissemination and Exploitation of Results K. Stimulation of the training and mobility of researchers
The total budget for FP4 was approximately 12,000 million euros (approximately £7,000 million). Most contracts were shared cost contracts in which the EC normally contributed up to half the total costs. Topic area C, ‘Environment’ is of most direct relevance to WLD interests and is the sole focus of this report.
2.2 The topic area ‘Environment’ is divided into two main programme areas:-
• Environment and Climate (ECP) • Marine Science and Technologies ( MAST III Programme)
3
For the purposes of this report, only the ‘Environment and Climate’ programme is considered to be of direct relevance to WLR Policy objectives.
3. Environment and Climate Programme (ECP) 3.1 It is claimed that the programme on ‘Environment and Climate’ is the world’s second largest research programme in this field. It comprises close to 600 individual projects and a total budget of about (£300 million).
3.2 The ECP is described as ‘a strong platform for cooperation in solving major environmental issues of concern to the citizen, particularly for better living conditions, better safety, better use of scarce resources, and improving the quality of life within the context of sustainable development; global issues like climate change are also addressed. It is also described as ‘the bedrock for providing the sound scientific and technical basis for developing and implementing the EU’s environment policies and for fulfilling international environmental commitments, such as those resulting from inter-governmental conventions' (1)
3.3 The ECP involves over 500 research contractors, as well as many industrial interests in the 15 Member States of the EU. About 17 non-member States also participated in the programme.
3.4 There is strong UK representation among the programme contractors, either as the prime contractor/coordinator or as a partner. Among the leading contractors are the Natural Environment Research Council and Ministry of Defence establishments. Many UK universities are also involved, some with more than 10 projects each.
3.5 The ECP has a dedicated section on the Cordis Web-site (www.cordis.lu/env/home) and this serves as a 'general information resource' on activities being carried out under the ECP, in particular by providing details of the research projects currently being implemented. The site also complements the ' Environment and Climate' homepage on the EUROPA server to which links are established where appropriate. However, it is important to note that very little information has yet been made available on the Cordis web-site (as at June 2001) about the final results, as compared to the original project descriptions, of any of the FP4 research projects.
The current ECP home page claims that the programme is now 'fully implemented', The meaning of that phrase is uncertain but is thought only to indicate that all contracts have been awarded and are started. It also claims that 'projects are running and first results available'. Further, it is stated that 'most results are expected to become available in the Year 2000'. However, as detailed below (7.1), although most contracts should now be completed, a few of the later contracts are actually not due for completion until year 2003.
3.7 The advice from EC sources is that, if a report is required on a particular contract which has been executed, the prime contractor/ coordinator should be contacted with a request for a copy of the report. In accordance with the terms of the contract, in most cases, the prime contractors/coordinators are required to supply such reports on request although a charge may be made for the service. For this reason, the summary of projects contained in Appendix B includes details of the coordinator and, where applicable, the name and telephone No. of the contact person in the UK, if a UK contractor or subcontractor is
4 involved. In many cases, contacting the UK contractor, or subcontractor, is likely to be the best approach in the first instance.
4. Sources of Information about ‘Relevant Projects’ Two sources of detailed information about relevant ECP projects have been used. In this paper- based version of the report, all the details are given in Sections A and B, respectively, the sources of which are different.
A. A selection of 109 ECP projects listed by the EC on the EUROPA web site (http://www.forum.europa.eu int/irc/rtd/eesdwatkeact/info/data/water/web) as being relevant to the new Fifth Framework Programme (FP5) Key Action 1 ‘Sustainable Management and Quality of Water’. Although most of the 109 projects listed are clearly of direct relevance to WLR interests, some are likely to be of only peripheral relevance in this context (e.g. Project 97-0788 in topic Area 1.1.4 ‘Integrated Water Management in Cyprus; economic and institutional foundations). However, since most of the projects in the database have some relevance to WLR, for the sake of completeness, all of them are listed in the present report. Full project details (i.e. objectives, work programme, contractors etc) are available in Section A of the report.
B. An additional list of 33 ECP Projects that have been identified separately (by FWR) as of potential relevance to the WLR programme. Some of these projects (e.g .in Topic Area 1.2.2, Project 98-0802 ‘Cyanobacterial Toxins’) are likely to be of particular interest in relation to water quality management although they were not included in the Europa database described at A. Details about most of the 33 projects have been derived from the Cordis web site (www.cordis.lu). The titles are identified by italicization and an asterisk in Table1. It should be noted that the project details in Section B are less comprehensive than in the case of those projects derived from source ‘A’ and they are presented in a different format. However, the information provided is likely to be sufficient for initial identification of projects of interest. Details of the Project Coordinator, and of other Project contractors are included. From these sources, further information about results can be obtained.
5. Database of Relevant Projects 5.1 Table 1 lists all the relevant projects in the ECP grouped according to the various topic areas. For each of the projects listed, the Table displays (i) Project No, (ii) Project title, (iii) Project acronym (if given), (iv) the original completion date of the project (which, in a few cases may have been extended).
5.2 In the electronic version of this report, the details of each project (where available) are accessed simply by ‘clicking’ on the project title.
6. Overview of the projects in the ECP considered relevant to WLR interests 6.1 The following contains a summary of the projects which are considered relevant, to a greater or lesser degree, by FWR to WLR interests in each of the topic areas defined under the ECP. The number of projects given in parentheses alongside the title of each topic area indicate the total number of projects actually undertaken in that area, only a proportion of which are listed as relevant in Table 1.
5 Topic Area 1: Natural Environment, Environmental Quality and Global Change
Sub area 1.1.1 Basic Processes of the Climate (Total of 30 projects) The topics covered by this sub-area are not directly related to WLR interests and none of them are included in Table 1. However, they have some indirect significance in terms of the basic processes affecting climate change and hence, potentially, future water resources. Topics range from greenhouse gas emissions, melting of polar ice sheets to oceanic storage of carbon and variations in sea levels.
Sub-area 1.1.2 Climate systems in the past (Total of 19 projects) This sub-area is focused on obtaining a historic datum for climate change phenomena by examining the past climatic conditions based on a range of variables. Projects include establishing ice coring databases, pollen and diatom databases and tree growth records. They have no direct relevance to WLR policy objectives and none are included in Table 1.
Sub-Area 1.1.3 Climate variability, climate simulation and prediction of climate change (Total of 28 projects) This area is closer to WLR Research Policy Objectives (B) but most projects are on a global scale and are focused on fundamental aspects such as anthropogenic gas emissions, global ocean circulation and atmospheric temperature trends. One project only, on climate change and sea level, is detailed in Table1.
Sub-Area 1.1.4 Impact of climate change and other environmental factors on natural resources (Total of 60 projects) The range of topics covered in this sub-area is more closely aligned to WLR interests and 22 projects are listed in Table1. The projects of main interest concern the effects of climate change on water resources and supply planning, catchment modelling and water quality. Groundwater recharge, the fate of pollutants in soils and aquifers and catchment modelling are also featured in relation to the influence of other environmental factors.
Sub-Area: 1.2.1: Atmospheric physics and Chemistry (Total of 91 projects) This sub-area comprises 2 main topic areas: • Stratospheric chemistry and depletion of the ozone layer • Tropospheric physics and chemistry Although clearly of long-term importance in terms of climate change and related environmental impacts including water resources, this area of research has only very distant relevance to WLR research policy. Subject areas range from ozone depletion, greenhouse gas emissions, UV radiation and cloud formation to halogen chemistry in the upper atmosphere. No details are given in Table 1.
Sub-Area 1.2.2 Biospheric Processes (Total of 65 projects) A total of 30 projects in this topic area are considered of some relevance to WLR research policy and objectives. Many have a connection to ecosystem management, the maintenance of biodiversity on land, estuaries, rivers and lakes, and assessments of the impact of climate change on each. Four projects are identified as of particular interest. These concern, respectively, modelling of semi-natural ecosystems (95-0052), biogases transfer in estuaries and the influence on atmospheric chemistry (96-0213), and the seasonal dynamics of plankton in
6 lakes.. Of particular interest is Project 98-0802 (CYANOTOX) which concerns the development of an early warning system for the presence of toxic cyanobacterial blooms in waters and the development of more sensitive analytical methods for such toxins.
Topic Area 2: Environmental Technologies
Sub-Area 2.1.1 Instrumentation for measurements in the stratosphere (Total of 8 Projects) None of the projects in this sub-area are considered to be of direct interest to WLR since they all relate to atmospheric processes.
Sub-Area 2.1.2 Instruments, techniques and methodologies of UV radiation measurement (Total of 4 Projects) Three projects are of potential interest in relation to Objective A of WLR research policy (Appendix A). Both relate to development of methods of measuring/ monitoring pollutants in wastewaters.
Sub-Area 2.1.3 Instrumentation for measurements in the troposphere (Total of 4 Projects) The title of this sub-area is misleading since it contains three projects of direct relevance to WLR, two concerning measurement of pollutants in surface waters or in sludges and soils. and the other concerning the development of biosensors for bioavailable heavy metals in sludges and soils.
Sub-Area 2.1.4 Biosensors (Total of 6 Projects) Five projects included this area are of potential main interest, and in particular, those concerning, respectively, the measurement of algal cells and toxins in water (Project 98-0784) and the tracing of endocrine disruptors in surface waters and sludge (Project 98-0801)
Sub-Area 2.1.5 Instrumentation for measurements in wastewater (Total of 14 Projects) Six projects are considered of relevance, some of which concern measurements of hazardous compounds in wastewaters and one relating to the behaviour of endocrine disruptors in soil/water ecosystem resulting from sludge disposal to agriculture.
Sub-Area 2.1.6 Methods for the development of environmental archaeometry (Total of 1 project) This area is small and of no relevance to WLR
Sub-Area 2.2.1 Method of estimating and managing risks to the environment (Total of 49 Projects) This topic area contains a substantial number of projects, Nine of them are deemed to be of potential interest to WLR. The topics of interest include the assessment of health risks from, endocrine disruptors, other environmental hormones, dioxins, and various other priority pollutants and also the prediction of the aquatic toxicity of mixtures of chemicals.
Sub-Area 2.2.2 Analysis of the life-cycle of industrial and synthetic products (Total of 3 Projects)
7 None of the projects in this area are of relevance to WLR.
Sub-Area 2.2.3 Technologies to protect and rehabilitate the environment (Total of 38 Projects) This is another important area with 27 potentially relevant projects including, respectively, the development of technologies to remove and recover toxic metals from water, to remediate/ rehabilitate metal-polluted soils, risk assessment for contaminated land, and treatment methods for wastewaters.
Sub-Area 2.2.4 Technologies to protect and rehabilitate European Culture (Total of 18 Projects) This topic area contains no projects of relevance to WLR
Sub-Area 2.3.1 Hydrological and hydrogeological risks (Total of 20 Projects) Most of the projects in this area are concerned with flood risk and flood forecasting, but some relate to avalanches and landslides, the latter being considered of fairly remote interest only. This area of research is of much more direct interest to the Environment Agency than to WLR but 9 projects are listed as of potential relevance.
Sub-Area 2.3.2 Seismic risk (Total of 23 Projects) This area is not considered to be of any direct relevance to WLR interests.
Sub-Area 2.3.3 Volcanic risk (Total of 12 Projects) This area is of not considered to be of any relevance at all to WLR interests.
Sub-area 2.3.4 Forest Fires (Total of 10 Projects) This area is not considered to be of any direct relevance to WLR interests.
Topic Area 3: Space techniques applied to environmental monitoring and research Although the title of this main topic area does not suggest much of relevance to WLR research objectives, there are 6 projects out of a total of 102, which are considered to be of potential interest.
Sub-Area 3.1.1 Methodological research (Total of 24 Projects) One project in this area (Acronym: CLEAN SEAS) is directed to the remote surveillance of pollution in the marine environment and may have longer-term relevance.
Sub-Area 3.1.2 Pilot projects (Total of 18 Projects) Three projects are of direct relevance to WLR. One relates to a system for remote mapping of rainfall and evaporation in Europe, and the other to the development of a system for determining the total amount of surface water stored in networks of natural or man-made channels.
Sub-Area 3.2: Research and development work for potential future operations (Total of 13 Projects) No projects in this area are of interest
Sub-Area 3.3: Centre for earth observation (Total of 47 Projects)
8 Of the 8 projects listed, three projects are of particular interest since they concern the use of remote sensing for detection and monitoring of, respectively, algal blooms in water, wetland changes/river basin management and coastal erosion phenomena.
Topic Area 4: Human dimensions of environmental change (Total of 87 Projects) This is a very large single area without any sub-divisions. Most of the projects focus on the development of policy and decision-making in environmental management. Some 13 projects are identified as of potential relevance to WLR policy objectives, mainly to Objective F in Appendix 1. Several projects address decision making in regard to policy making in water management in response to the impact of climate change. Others look more generally at policy making in water and the environment in the context of EU legislation. The remaining projects identified as of interest cover diverse topics such as green taxes, European waste management policy, land use and the sustainable use of water in metropolitan cities.
Topic Area B1(b) : Structure And Dynamics of shelf ecosystems One project only, relating to the cycling of nitrogen in estuaries, is included in Table 1
7. Schedule of output from Projects 7.1 According to the information given in Table 1, the respective scheduled completion dates of 153 of the listed contracts are as follows:-
Complete by 31 December 1998* : 13 Complete by 31 December 1999* : 64 Complete by 31 December 2000*: 44 Complete by 31 December 2001* : 27 Complete by 31 December 2002* : 5
*or earlier
7.2 It should be noted that, in some cases, an extension of the contract period has been permitted by the EC so that the completion date may be later than indicated in the project details. Information on this aspect is best obtained direct from the prime contractor Note: The completion date of two contracts is still unknown
7.3 It is seen that the results from at least 120 contracts should be available by now, and those from another 27contracts by the end of 2001. Results from the 5 remaining contracts will not be available until 2002 at the earliest.
Reference
(1) European Commission Environment and Climate 1994-1998; Project Synopses. Published by the European Commission in 4 Volumes in 1999 ISBN 92 -828-6162-7
9 Appendix A
DETR Central Research Strategy Water and Land Research Programme
Relevant Policy Objectives
A. To protect and improve the water environment, and specifically the water quality in rivers, lakes ' estuaries, coastal and marine waters and ground water. B. To ensure that adequate supplies of water are available, taking full account of the environmental impacts of water abstraction and the scope for improving efficiency in the distribution and use of water. C. To ensure that the regulatory framework for the water industry works effectively to protect consumer's interests while adequately safeguarding the environment and public health and safety. D. To ensure that appropriate drinking water standards are set and enforced to protect public health E. To promote UK water industry exports and sustainable water management in other countries. F. To promote EC policy on environmental liability consistent with UK interests and to create an improved framework for protecting land quality, preventing its contamination and promoting the clean up of contaminated land and the sustainable use of sewage sludge.
Research Objectives
1. To support programmes to maintain advice and guidance on safety under the Reservoirs Act 1975. To study techniques and issues relating to the quantitative aspects of water resource and supply. 2. To support the development of policy and the enforcement of regulations through the Drinking Water Inspectorate of drinking water in relation to national and international obligations and potential health issues. 3. To provide a basis for implementation of the Water Acts and various EC Directives on quality aspects of fresh water and coastal waters through the assessment of inputs on water quality and consequent standards for control. 4. To assess the scope for utilisation and disposal of sewage sludge to land, faced with loss of sea outlets to the UK. 5. To develop methods of risk assessment of contaminated soils and evaluate remedial treatment options and contaminated land management generally. 6. To support the development of UK marine environmental policy, especially within the framework of international discussions and assessments of the environmental quality of the North East Atlantic.
Current main research interests 1. Cryptosporidium 2. Water conservation and resources 3. Pathogens from sewage sludges 4. Support for UK implementation of Framework Directives on water quality 5. OSPAR candidate list of human activities - marine ecosystem sensitivity identification.
10 6. New, emerging areas of interest 1. Detection, analysis and epidemiology of other pathogens, including BSE; 2. Endocrine disrupters. 3. Contaminated land register. 4. National soil strategy. 5. Abandoned mines. 6. OSPAR list of chemicals for Priority Action - development of programmes and measures for specific pollutants. 7. Ecosystem approach to Marine Environment Health - ecosystem health indicators.
11 Table 1 List of ECP projects of relevance to WLR Interests
Topic End Project No Project Title Acronym Area Date Area 1.1.3 Climate variability, simulation of climate and prediction of climate change
95 - 0124* 1.1.3 Climate change and sea level Mar-99 Area 1.1.4: Impact of climate change and other environmental factors 95 - 0070 1.1.4 Assessment of cumulative uncertainty in Spatial Decision Support Systems: Application to examine the Jun-98 contamination of groundwater from diffuse sources 95 - 0071 1.1.4 Artificial recharge of groundwater Feb-99 95 - 0118 1.1.4 Mediterranean desertification and land use. Project 4; ephemeral channels and rivers MEDALUS-III-P4 Jul-99 95 - 0134 1.1.4 Validating hydrological moderocess studies and internal data from research basins; tools for assessing Mar-99 VAHMPIRE hydrological impacts of environmental change 95 - 0156 1.1.4 Management of coastal aquifers in Europe; palaeowaters, natural controls and human influence May-99 95 - 0186 1.1.4 Groundwater and river resources action programme on a European Scale GRAPES Mar-99 95 - 0187 1.1.4 Development of integrated catchment models for supporting water mangement decisions Mar-99 97 - 0439 1.1.4 Effect of upscaling of input data on the output of predictive models in relation to catchment water quality Nov-00 CAMSCALE 97 - 0440 1.1.4 Climate, hydrochemistry and economics of surface water systems CHESS Nov-00 97 - 0441 1.1.4 Contaminant transport monitoring rechniques and remediation strategies in cross European fracture chalk Jun-01 FRACFLOW 97 - 0454 1.1.4 Water resource system planning WARSYP May-00 97 - 0456 1.1.4 Scale dependence of groundwater flow and contaminant transport in fractured rock SCALFRAC Nov-00 97 - 0457 1.1.4 Pore-to-core scale up studies of the transport properties of organic pollutants with natural attenuation PORE-TO-CORE Nov-00 97 - 0459 1.1.4 Utilisation of groundwater desalination and wastewater re-use in the water supply of seasonally stressed Aug-00 WASSER regions 97 - 0553 1.1.4 Assessment of regional impact of droughts in Europe ARIDE Jan-00 97 - 0554 1.1.4 Fundamental aspects of metal speciation and transport in metal-contaminated soils and aquifers FAMEST Dec-00 98 - 0788 1.1.4 Integrated water management in Cyprus; economic and institutional foundations CYPRUS Jul-01 98 - 0789 1.1.4 Water resources management in a changing environment: the impact of sedimant on sustainability WARMICE Jan-02 98 - 0790 1.1.4 Enhancement of integrated water management strategies with water reuse at catchment scale CATCHWATER Aug-01 98 - 0791 1.1.4 Climate change and water management: managing european water resources in an uncertain future Feb-01 95 - 0133* 1.1.4 Impact of climatic change on river basin hydrology under different climatic conditions CC-HYDRO Feb-99 97 - 0452* 1.1.4 Water Resources: Influence of climate change in Europe WRINCLE Jan-01
* Project details given in Section B Table 1 List of ECP projects of relevance to WLR Interests
Topic End Project No Project Title Acronym Area Date Area 1.2.2: Biospheric processes 95 - 0007 1.2.2 A programme of mountain lake research MOLAR Mar-99 95 - 0026 1.2.2 Biodiversity of microorganisms in aquatic systems BIOMASS Aug-99 95 - 0060 1.2.2 Procedural operationalisation of techniques for the functional analysis of European wetland ecosystems PROTOWET May-99 95 - 0061 1.2.2 European river margins: Role of biodiversity in the functioning of riparian systems ERMAS-II Feb-99 95 - 0147 1.2.2 Dynamics and stability of reed-dominated ecosystems in relation to major environmental factors that are EUREED -II May-99 subject to global and regional anthropogenically induced changes 95 - 0164 1.2.2 Artic and Alpine stream ecosystem research AASER Mar-99 96 - 0213 1.2.2 Biogases transfers in estuaries BIOGEST Aug-99 Environmental cycling of selected persistent organic pollutants(POPs) in the Baltic region POPCYCLING- 96 - 0214 1.2.2 Jun-99 BALTIC 96 - 0215 1.2.2 Integrated management methods: monitoring environmental change in coastal dune ecosystems DUNES Jun-99 96 - 0216 1.2.2 The eco-metabolism of estuarine intertidal flat ECOFLAT Jul-99 96 - 0217 1.2.2 Biogeochemistry of an acidic and metal rich river-estuary system, consequences for Atlantic shelf waters TOROS Jun-96 (Gulf of Cadiz, SW Spain) 96 - 0218 1.2.2 The role of buffering capacities in stabilising coastal lagoon ecosystems ROBUST Jul-99 97 - 0395 1.2.2 Nitrogen control by landscape structure in agricultural environments NICOLAS Dec-00 97 - 0420 1.2.2 Shallow wetland functioning and restoration in a changing European environment SHALE Oct-00 97 - 0435 1.2.2 Regional analysis of subsurface retention oif nitrogen and the impact of such retention on the export of RANR May-00 nitrogen from land to sea 97 - 0436 1.2.2 European salt marshes modelling EUROSSAM Mar-00 97 - 0453 1.2.2 Response of European freshwater lakes to environmental and climatic change REFLECT Jan-01 97 - 0571 1.2.2 Baltic sea cyanobacteria BASIC Jan-00 97 - 0582 1.2.2 Influence of rising sea level on ecosystem dynamics of salt marshes ISLED Feb-01 97 - 0593 1.2.2 Mediterranean atmospheric mercury cycle system MAMCS Jan-00 97 - 0594 1.2.2 Atmosheric nitrogen inputs into the coastal ecosystem ANICE Feb-01 97 - 0595 1.2.2 Mercury species over Europe. Relative importance of depositional mrthylmecury fluxes to various MOE Jan-01 ecosystems 97 - 0596 1.2.2 Effects of climate induced temperature change on marine coastal fishes CLICOFI Apr-01 97 - 0631 1.2.2 Submarine groundwater-fluxesransport- processes from methane-rich coastal sedimentary environments SUB-GATE Mar-01 97 - 0637 1.2.2 Assessing the consequences of global changes for the Barents sea region: the Barents Sea impact study BASIS Jan-00
* Project details given in Section B Table 1 List of ECP projects of relevance to WLR Interests
Topic End Project No Project Title Acronym Area Date 97 - 0638 1.2.2 Global mass balance of persistent semi-volatile organic compounds: an approach with PCB as an indicator GLOBAL-SOC Feb-01 95 - 0002* 1.2.2 Changing land use enhancement of biodiversity and ecosystem development CLUE Feb-99 95 - 0051* 1.2.2 Concerted Action ; Coordination of terrestrial ecosystems research initiative TERI Jul-99 95 - 0052* 1.2.2 European terrestrial ecosystem modelling activity ETEMA May-00 98 - 0802* 1.2.2 Cyanobacterial Toxins CYANOTOX Jan-02 Area 2.1.2: Instruments, techniques and methodologies for UV radiation 95 - 0016 2.1.2 Analysis of different groups of organic pollutants in industrial effluents and waste waters using selective ORGANIC group extraction procedures POLLUTANTS IN Feb-99 WASTEWATERS 95 - 0020 2.1.2 Development of new instrumental methods for on-site monitoring of industrial waste water WASTE WATER Feb-99 MONITOR 95 - 0021 2.1.2 Protocol for the eveluation of residues in industrial contaminated liquid effluents PERICLES Feb-99 Area 2.1.3: Instrumentation for measurements in the troposphere 95 - 0066 2.1.3 River Analyser: an analytical system for measuring multiple analytes in river water RIANA Jul-99 95 - 0141 2.1.3 Development of new multisensing biosensors for the detection of bioavailable heavy metals in soild BIOMETSENSOR Jun-99 matrices 96 - 0333 2.1.3 Measurement of priority metabolites using integrated optoelectronic biosensors derived from antibody and ENVIROSENSE Jan-00 macrocyclic receptor libraries Area 2.1.4: Biosensors 97 - 0480 2.1.4 Environmental monitoring by fluorescence induction and detection EMFID Nov-00 97 - 0482 2.1.4 Biosensors for environmental monitoring/ environmental technologies BIOSENSORS FOR Oct-00 97 - 0493 2.1.4 Water quality monitoring by luminescent cyanobacterial biosensors: a novel early warning system aginst AQUA-SENSE Dec-00 algal blooms 98 - 0784 2.1.4 The application of integrated biosensors with antibody and macrocyclic receptor libraries in the ALGAETOX Jan-02 measurement of algal cells and toxins in water 98 - 0801 2.1.4 Biosensor tracing of endocrine disrupting compounds in surface water, wastewater and sludge for water SANDRINE Feb-02 quality assessment Area 2.1.5: Instrumentation for measurements in wastewater 97 - 0473 2.1.5 Prediction of behaviour of potential endocrine disruptors in soil using vitellogenin Elisa assays as PRENDISENSOR Nov-00 biosensors 97 - 0474 2.1.5 Analysis and fate of concrete admixtures in wastewaters ANACAD Mar-00
* Project details given in Section B Table 1 List of ECP projects of relevance to WLR Interests
Topic End Project No Project Title Acronym Area Date 97 - 0475 2.1.5 Hydrocarbon sensor EWALD Dec-99 97 - 0476 2.1.5 Integrated immuno extraction sampling and portable biosensor prototype for in-field monitoring IMEXSPORT Nov-00 97 - 0494 2.1.5 Priority surfactants and their toxic metaboloites in waste effluent discharges; An integrated study PRISTINE Feb-01 97 - 0608 2.1.5 On-line sampling and monitoring in combination with automated determination of micropollutants in ON LINE WASTE Jan-01 industrial and communal waste water WATER ANALYSIS Area 2.2.1: Methods of estimating and managing risks to the environment 96 - 0222 2.2.1 Application and standardisation of biochemical fingerprint techniques relating to risk assessment of BIOPRINT-II Aug-99 toxicants in soil ecosystems 96 - 0223 2.2.1 Diagnostic ecotoxicology: cell-based methodology to develop markers for early, sublethal effects Sep-99 assessment 96 - 0298 2.2.1 Microbenthic communities inEuropean rivers used to assess effects of land-derived toxicants Aug-99 96 - 0319 2.2.1 Predict ; prediction and assessment of the aquatic toxicity of mixtures of chemicals PREDICT Jan-00 97 - 0581 2.2.1 Endocrine disrupting ability of environmental pollutants EDEAEP Jun-00 96 - 0169 2.2.1 A biological end-point to refine in-vitro assessment of cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of environmental APOPTOSIS Apr-99 pollutants 96 - 0170* 2,2,1 Assessment of human risk for adverse effects of endocrine active organohalogen contaminants 97 - 0509* 2.2.1 Identification of endocrine disrupting effects in aquatic organisms IDEA Jan-01 97 - 0567* 2.2.1 Environmental oestrogens (EEs) and neuro- endocrine regulation of reproduction in fish EEs-FISH Jan-00 REPRODUCTION 98 - 0798* 2.2.1 Community programme of research on environmental hormones and endocrine disrupters COMPREHEND Jan-00 Area 2.2.3: Technologies to protect and rehabilitate the environment 95 - 0064 2.2.3 Integrated water recycling and emission abatement in the textile industry IN-PROCESS Feb-99 95 - 0065 2.2.3 Improvement of microbiological control in closed water systems for the paper and board industry MICO Jul-98 95 - 0068 2.2.3 The removal of toxic metals from water and their selective recoverys by biosorption, elution and electrolysis BIOELECDETOX Mar-99 95 - 0081 2.2.3 Extractive membrane bioreactors for detoxification of chemical industry wastes EMB FOR Sep-99 95 - 0097 2.2.3 Mercury removal from wastesources MERWAS Mar-99 97 - 0512 2.2.3 Denitrification of water using electrochemical biofilms DENWEB Mar-00 97 - 0611 2.2.3 A novel bioreactor for the treatment of hydrocarbon polluted waters BIOTREAT Feb-02 97 - 0613 2.2.3 Application of modern technologies for treatment of effluents from leather manufacture Oct-00 97 - 0615 2.2.3 Cost-effective destruction of toxic wastes by supercritical hydrothermal oxidation SUPERHYDROX Nov-00 97 - 0632 2.2.3 Photocatalytic oxidation of polluted industrial effluent PCATIE Oct-01 97 - 0635 2.2.3 Concerted Action for the European leather industry TANNERY NET Jun-00
* Project details given in Section B Table 1 List of ECP projects of relevance to WLR Interests
Topic End Project No Project Title Acronym Area Date 97 - 0636 2.2.3 Minimization of wastewater pollution in European rextile printing using natural thickeners and additives BIODEGRADABLE Sep-00 97 - 0678 2.2.3 Concerted action on environment technology CENTEC Feb-01 95 - 0079 2.2.3 Detecting and locating non-aqueous phase contaminants in soils by three geophysical methods GEOLOCAPOL Dec-98 95 - 0082 2.2.3 A network for industrially contaminated land in Europe NICOLE Feb-99 95 - 0086 2.2.3 Microbial adaptation to degradation of natural and sythetic organohalogens Nov-99 95 - 0095 2.2.3 Concerted action on risk assessment for contaminated land CARACAS Nov-98 96 - 0343 2.2.3 Ecotoxicological assessment of remediation techniques for contaminated soil materials ECOMOSART Jan-00 97 - 0602 2.2.3 An integrated approach for the pytoremediation of organic pollutants in the rhizosphere BIOREMEDIATION Jun-01 97 - 0610 2.2.3 Bioremediation and economic renewal of industrially degraded land by biomass fuel crops BIORENEW Mar-01 97 - 0612 2.2.3 Improving the biodegradation at light-NAPL contaminated sites ISBN-REM Apr-01 97 - 0617 2.2.3 Stimulation of bacterial mobility to enhance bioremediation of soil BAMBI Mar-01 98 - 0721 2.2.3 Contaminated land rehabilitation network for environmental technologies CLARNET+ Jul-01 97 - 0634 2.2.3 On line measurement for preventing fouling when closing industrial process water circuit CLOOPT Aug-99 95 - 0083* 2.2.3 Strategies for rehabilitation of metal polluted soils PHYTOREHAB Feb-99 95 - 0085* 2.2.3 Treatment of fly ash for sound material utilisation UPCYCLE Aug-99 97 - 0598* 2.2.3 In-situ remediation of contaminated soils by plants PHYTOREM May-01 Area 2.3.1: Hydrological and Hydrogeological risks 96 - 0281 2.3.1 Satellite and combined satellite-radar rechniques in meteorological forecasting for flood events MEFE May-00 96 - 0290 2.3.1 The development of active on-line hydrological and meteorological models to minimise impact of floooding HYDROMET Jul-00 96 - 0257* 2.3.1 Forecasting floods in urban areas downstream of steep catchments TELFLOOD Sep-98 96 - 0261* 2.3.1 Development of advanced radar technology for application to hydrometeorology Nov-98 96 - 0263* 2.3.1 River Basin Modelling, management and flood mitigation RIBAMOD Oct-98 96 - 0293* 2.3.1 Flood awareness and mitigation; decision and negotiation processes FLOODAWARE Aug-98 97 - 0529* 2.3.1 Flash flood risk assessment under the impact of land use changes and river engineering works FRAMEWORK Jan-00
97 - 0535* 2.3.1 European river flood occurrence and total risk assessment system EUROTAS Jan-01 97 - 0589 * 2.3.1 The European multi-hazard risk assessment project TEMRAP Jun-00 Area 3.1.1: Methodological Research 96 - 0334* 3.1.1 Clean Seas; European marginal seas- a study of pollution monitoring from space CLEANSEAS Dec-99 Area 3.1.2: Pilot projects 97 - 0396 3.1.2 Applied remote sensing and GIS integration for model parameterization ARSGISIP Jan-01 97 - 0478 3.1.2 European energy and water balance monitoring system EWBMS Mar-00
* Project details given in Section B Environment & Climate 1994 - 98
Main FP4 projects with relevance to the new FP5, EESD KA1 areas
- 1 - 1.1.4.-1.1.1 Strategic planning and integrated management methodologies and tools at catchment scale
Contract No : ENV4-CT95-0007 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 2.555.400 HARTMUT BARTH EC contribution (EURO) : 2.000.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 March 1996 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 1.2.2 Biospheric processes
Coordinator University College London Simon PATRICK Department of Geography Tel : +44-171-436 9248 Environmental Change Research Centre Fax : +44-171-380 7565 Bedford Way 26 E-mail : GB - London WC1H 0AP
Partners University of Helsinki University of Edinburgh Department of Geography - Faculty of Science Department of Geology and Geophysics-Grant Institute Laboratory of Physical Geography GB - Edinburgh FI - Helsinki R. THOMPSON A. KORHOLA Charles University Hydrobiological Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Faculty of Science Czech Republic Department of Hydrobiology CZ - Ceské Budejovice CZ - Praha 2 V. STRASKABOVA J. FOTT Institute of Zoology and Ecozoology - Slovak Academy of Institute of Freshwater Biology - Polish Academy of Sciences Sciences PL - Kraków Department of Hydrobiology J. GALAS SK - Bratislava F. SPORKA
National Institute of Biology Institute of the Industrial Ecology of the North - Kola Science Laboratory for Freshwater and Terrestrial Ecosystems Centre Research RU - Apatity SI - Ljubljana T. MOISEENKO A. BRANCELJ
Norwegian Institute for Water Research Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck NO - Oslo Institut für Zoologie und Limnologie B. WATHNE AT - Innsbruck R. PSENNER Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften Universidad de Barcelona Institut für Limnologie Departamento de Ecología - Facultad de Biologia AT - Mondsee ES - Barcelona R. SCHMIDT J. CATALAN
Universidad de Granada Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Instituto del Agua URA 1126 - Neurobiologie et Physiologie Comparées ES - Granada FR - Arcachon L. CRUZ-PIZARRO J. MASSABUAU
- 2 - Strategic planning and integrated management methodologies and tools at catchment scale 1.1.4.-1.1.1.
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas Universitetet i Bergen Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo Botanical Institute - Faculty of Mathematics and Exact Departamento de Quimica Ambiental Sciences ES - Barcelona NO - Bergen J. GRIMALT H. BIRKS Universitetet i Bergen Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche Zoological Institute - Faculty of Mathematics and Exact Istituto Italiano di Idrobiologia 'Dr. M. De Marchi' Sciences IT - Verbania-Pallanza Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries R. MOSELLO NO - Bergen G. RADDUM University of Liverpool Eidgenössische Anstalt für Wasserversorgung , Environmental Radioactivity Research Centre - Department Abwasserreinigung und Gewässerschutz of Mathematical Sciences Abteilung für Umweltphysik GB - Liverpool CH - Dübendorf G. APPLEBY A. LOTTER
Universität Zürich Institut für Pflanzenbiologie CH - Zürich K. HANSELMANN
- 3 - 1.1.4.-1.1.1 Strategic planning and integrated management methodologies and tools at catchment scale
Title: Measuring and modelling the dynamic response of remote mountain lake ecosystems to environmental change. A programme of mountain lake research. (MOLAR) Objectives: - to measure and model the dynamic responses of remote mountain lake ecosystems to acid (sulphur plus nitrogen) deposition; - to quantify and model pollutant (trace metals, trace organics) fluxes and pathways in remote mountain lakes and their uptake by fish; - to measure and model the temporal responses of remote mountain lake ecosystems to climate variability on seasonal, inter- annual and decadal time-scales; - to continue the development of a high quality environmental database on remote mountain lake ecosystems in Europe and to disseminate results widely to enhance public awareness, environmental education and environmental decision making.
Brief description of the research project: The arctic and alpine regions of Europe represent the most remote and least disturbed ecosystems in Europe, yet they are threatened by acid deposition, toxic air pollutants and by climate change. The remote lakes that occur throughout these regions are especially sensitive to these threats for a number of related reasons :
- many have little ability to neutralise acidity because of their low base status; - nitrate levels are high because their catchments are characterized by a flat soil cover and sparse vegetation to buffer the nitrogen deposition; - some trace metal and trace organic compounds (e.g. mercury, volatile organic compounds) accumulate preferentially in the food chain of cold regions; - climatic warming in Europe is predicted to be greatest in arctic and alpine regions.
Due to this sensitivity remote mountain lakes are not only vulnerable to environmental change but they are also excellent "sensors" of change. In particular their high resolution sediment records can be used to infer the speed, direction and biological impact of changing air quality and climate.
The MOLAR project builds upon two successful previous EC-funded projects : ALPE-1 (Acidification of Remote Mountain Lakes : Palaeolimnology and Ecology) and ALPE-2 (Remote Mountain Lakes as Indicators of Air Pollution and Climate Change).
Along North-South and West-East climatic transects a European network of 35 remote mountain lakes has been established to investigate the following research tasks :
1. Mountain lake ecosystem response to acid deposition
- to measure sulphur and nitrogen deposition at study sites to quantify acidifying inputs; - to assess the seasonal variability of water chemistry at each site with respect especially to the dynamic behaviour of nitrogen, phosphorus and acidity; - to assess the seasonal variability in populations of diatoms, zooplankton, littoral and profundal invertebrates in relation to seasonal changes in the physical and chemical environment; - to test the hypothesis that histological and physiological analyses of fish populations can be used as early indicators of acid stress; - to test the hypothesis that the importance of microbial loops in the pelagic food web increases along the acidity gradient; - to evaluate the applicability of empirical, steady-state, mass balance and dynamic critical load models to mountain lakes and to develop linked chemical-biological models for scenario assessment with respect to future EU and UN-ECE sulphur and nitrogen protocols.
2. Measuring and modelling major element and pollutant fluxes in mountain lakes and their impact on fish
- to quantify deposition fluxes of base cations (dust, including organic carbon and nitrogen), strong acids (sulphur, nitrogen), trace metals, organochlorinated compounds (including PCBs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), and spheroidal carbonaceous particles (SCPs) to high altitude lakes and their catchments; - to identify the geographical sources of the constituents of the particulate flux from the analysis of grain size, geochemistry, mineralogy, pollen, organic detritus and SCPs; - to study the effect of atmospherically deposited dust as a neutralizing agent for acid snow and rain; - to investigate pathways and chemical speciation of pollutants in the lake water column; - to investigate the effects of trace metals (mercury, lead, cadmium) and persistent organic compounts (including PAH, PCB) on fish; - t4o q-uantify the contemporary and historical depositional fluxes of the fallout radioisotope tracers 210Pb and 137Cs and SCPs to validate predictive models for pollutant transport in remote mountain lake ecosystems. Strategic planning and integrated management methodologies and tools at catchment scale 1.1.4.-1.1.1.
Contract No : ENV4-CT95-0156 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.552.500 PANAGIOTIS BALABANIS EC contribution (EURO) : 1.000.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 February 1996 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 39 months Area FP4 : 1.1.4 Impact of climate changes and other environmental factors on natural resources
Coordinator Natural Environment Research Council Wyndham Michael EDMUNDS British Geological Survey Tel : +44-1491-838800 Kingsley Dunham Centre Fax : +44-1491-692345 GB - Nottingham NG12 5GG E-mail : [email protected]
Partners Institute of Geology - Estonian Academy of Sciences Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Isotope Research Group Faculteit der Aardwetenschappen EE - Tallinn Vakgroep Hydrogeologie, Kwartairgeologie en R. VAIKMAE Laaglandgenese NL - Amsterdam C. APPELO Universiteit Gent Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland Laboratory for Applied Geology and Hydrogeology Hydrogeological Division BE - Gent DK - København NV K. WALRAEVENS E. NYGAARD
Université de Paris-Sud XI Universitat Politécnica de Catalunya Laboratoire d'Hydrologie et de Géochimie Isotopique Departamento de Ingeniería del Terreno y Cartográfica FR - Orsay ES - Barcelona L. DEVER E. CUSTODIO Universidade de Aveiro Instituto Tecnologico e Nuclear Departamento de Geociências Departamento de Quimica Hidrogeologia PT - Sacavem PT - Aveiro A. MONGE SOARES M. MARQUES DA SILVA Universität Bern Physikalisches Institut Abteilung für Klima- und Umweltphysik CH - Bern H. LOOSLI
- 5 - 1.1.4.-1.1.1 Strategic planning and integrated management methodologies and tools at catchment scale
Title: Management of coastal aquifers in Europe: palaeowaters, natural controls and human influence.
Objectives: To improve our understanding of the evolution of groundwaters in coastal areas during times of lowered sea levels in the late Pleistocene and Holocene along a NE-SW European traverse from Estonia to the Canary Islands. Assess the response of representative coastal aquifers to human influence and climatic change as a basis for the improved groundwater management of coastal regions of Europe.
Brief description of the research project: The project will focus on:
Aquifers as archives of former climatic and environmental conditions. To investigate the extent to which groundwater retains the signature of past recharge events. Such evidence can be used as additional proxy data on climatic change, notably direct evidence of former wet episodes, which can be compared and checked with other marine or continental indicators (sediment cores, ice cores for example). The time scale of interest for the groundwater archive is up to 50,000 years with a potential resolution of measurement using radiocarbon of +/- 100 years, although hydrogeological and geochemical factors will affect this resolution. A wide range of isotopic and geochemical indicators will be applied to aquifers in the different countries
The extent of freshening of coastal saline aquifers. To investigate the renewal of saline aquifers that occurred during freshwater advance during sea level lowering, the rate of these processes during the past 50,000 years and their impact at the present day. The focus will be on present coastlines where the effects are more marked and where re-advance of the sea may even have trapped undetected freshwater in the near and offshore zones.
The extent of palaeowater advance into sedimentary basins. Lowered sea levels also had an effect inland by encouraging deeper circulation of groundwater, controlled by more distant outlets. Present saline/fresh water interfaces at depth in many inland areas are therefore likely to be the result of former hydrological conditions unrelated to present day hydraulic heads.
The interface between modern polluted and pre-industrial groundwater resources. To investigate the extent to which high quality palaeowaters are being impacted by pollution.
Freshwater storage. Water supply in coastal regions is often difficult to manage due to the combined effects of seasonal demand and sea-water intrusion. Cyclic storage and recovery of freshwater in deep saline aquifers. The design of such schemes depends on an understanding of the hydraulic and geochemical conditions in such aquifers, including their former evolution.
Modelling of the water quality changes over the past 50,000 years. To use the data from the various European countries to determine at what rates geochemical processes have operated in freshening (or salinising) aquifer systems in relation to past scenarios of hydraulic head change. To project these to future change, accelerated by climate change and human activity over the range of climatic conditions in the European Community.
- 6 - Strategic planning and integrated management methodologies and tools at catchment scale 1.1.4.-1.1.1.
Contract No : ENV4-CT95-0164 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 600.000 HARTMUT BARTH EC contribution (EURO) : 600.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 March 1996 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 1.2.2 Biospheric processes
Coordinator University of Oslo John E. BRITTAIN Zoological Museum Tel : +47-22-851727 Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries Laboratory Fax : +47-22-851837 Sargsgatan 1 E-mail : [email protected] NO - 0562 Oslo
Partners University of Birmingham University of Iceland School of Geography Institute of Biology GB - Birmingham IS - Reykjavik A. MILNER G. GISLASON
Université de Genève Museo Tridentino di Scienze Naturali Laboratoire d'Ecologie et de Biologie Aquatique IT - Trento CH - Genève B. MAIOLINI E. CASTELLA
- 7 - 1.1.4.-1.1.1 Strategic planning and integrated management methodologies and tools at catchment scale
Title: Arctic and Alpine stream ecosystem research. (AASER)
Objectives: The main objectives of the AASER project are:
- to investigate the sensitivity of arctic and alpine stream ecosystems to environmental change;
- to elucidate the primary physical and chemical variables that determine the distribution of aquatic macroinvertebrates downstream of source areas in arctic and alpine aquatic systems;
- to identify the key variables and quantify the conceptual model of Milner and Petts (1994) concerning the zonation of stream invertebrates of glacial margins;
- to validate the model on arctic and alpine stream ecosystems regarding its representativeness and sensitivity.
Brief description of the research project: Milner and Petts (1994) proposed a qualitative conceptual model relating zoobenthic population gradients in arctic and alpine streams to geomorphological channel stability, distance from the glacier, and time since deglacation.
In order to validate this model and to quantify its key parameters, downstream gradients of macroinvertebrate communities and a number of physico-chemical variables in arctic and alpine streams will be measured in the field, in relation to latitude, degree of continentality and local conditions. In addition, the field investigations will elucidate the changes in hydrological regimes of those streams, in relation to source-area characteristics (hydrochemical fingerprinting).
Field sites are located in Svalbard, Iceland, Eastern and Western Norway, Northern and Southern Alps and in the Pyrenees. Each area will contain at least one pair of catchments comprising a glacial-melt dominated stream and a non-glacial stream. Within each catchment data on climate and hydrology (e.g. temperature, run-off, solute and suspended sediments), physical habitat (geomorphology), on epilithic algae and zoobenthos, and on water chemistry will be collected during representative seasonal periods.
Sophisticated statistical approaches will be applied to test whether macroinvertebrate community structures in glacier-fed (compared to non-glacial) rivers across a latitudinal gradient in Europe follows the patterns predicted by the qualitative conceptual model of Milner and Petts. This will be used to test the working hypothesis that mainly water temperature and channel stability together determine the structure of invertebrate communities in arctic and alpine streams, and that hence macroinvertebrate communities can be used as sensitive integrative indicators of climatic and environmental changes in those ecosystems.
- 8 - Strategic planning and integrated management methodologies and tools at catchment scale 1.1.4.-1.1.1.
Contract No : ENV4-CT95-0186 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.855.600 PANAGIOTIS BALABANIS EC contribution (EURO) : 1.000.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 March 1996 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 1.1.4 Impact of climate changes and other environmental factors on natural resources
Coordinator Natural Environment Research Council Alan GUSTARD Institute of Hydrology Tel : +44-1491-838800 Benson Lane Fax : +44-1491-692424 GB - Crowmarsh - Gifford OX10 8BB E-mail :
Partners Centro de Estudios y Experimentación de Obras Públicas Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas ES - Madrid Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser T. ESTRELA GR - Heraklion I. VARDAVAS
Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 Universidad de Cantabria Institut de Mécanique de Grenoble - IMG Departamento de Física Moderna Laboratoire d'Etude des Transferts en Hydrologie et ES - Santander Environnement J. CRUCES FR - Grenoble R. HAVERKAMP Universidad Complutense de Madrid Universitat Politécnica de Catalunya Facultad de Ciencias Geologicas Departamento de Ingenieria Hidraulica ES - Madrid ES - Barcelona M. LLAMAS J. DOLZ RIPOLLES
- 9 - 1.1.4.-1.1.1 Strategic planning and integrated management methodologies and tools at catchment scale
Title: Groundwater and river resources action programme on a European scale. (GRAPES)
Objectives: The principal objective of the GRAPES project is to develop a water resources action plan in order to mitigate the degradation of European catchments resulting from the over-exploitation of groundwater resources.
Brief description of the research project: Methods to meet this objective will be developed through case studies on three example catchments, two semi arid catchments and one temperate, representing the broad cross section of European catchments where the groundwater resources are over exploited. In conjunction with these case studies wider, Pan European studies will be undertaken to develop methodologies for identifying, on a European basis, the causes, the areas and the degree of over exploitation of aquifer resources. These studies will include the development of regional definitions of over-exploitation.
The project will make maximum use of existing historical data obtained through previous EC RTD programmes and national monitoring programmes, but will not be seeking to undertake further monitoring programmes. The principal deliverable will be the Groundwater and River resource Action Programme on a European Scale which will take the form of a guidance manual detailing:
- methods for identifying aquifers and catchments where resources are potentially overexploited, including selection of correct indices of over-exploitation for a particular European region;
- decision making frameworks for developing and assessing alternative water resource management plans for individual catchments and guidance on strategies to achieve local training and participation in the decision making.
- generic methods for the selection and application of modelling approaches suitable for a particular catchment problem and novel methods for modelling catchment recharge and the use of easy to apply conceptual models in groundwater management.
- 10 - Strategic planning and integrated management methodologies and tools at catchment scale 1.1.4.-1.1.1.
Contract No : ENV4-CT96-0364 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.305.800 LUC LEPAN EC contribution (EURO) : 1.020.500 Fax : +32-2-2960588 Starting date : 1 March 1997 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 33 months Area FP4 : 3.3 Centre for Earth observation
Coordinator Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck Helmut ROTT Institute for Meteorology and Geophysics - Faculty of Natural Scences Tel : 43-512-507 5451 Innrain 52 Fax : 43-512-507 2924 AT - 6020 Innsbruck E-mail : [email protected]
Partners Österreichische Elektrizitätswirtschafts AG University of Sheffield Abteilung Wasserkraft und ökologie Centre for Earth Observation Science AT - Wien GB - Sheffield O. PIRKER S. QUEGAN
Macaulay Land Use Research Institute Ltd. Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute Land Use Division Research and Development Department GB - Aberdeen SE - Norrköping G. WRIGHT B. JOHANSSON
Universität Bern Geographisches Institut CH - Bern M. BAUMGARTNER
- 11 - 1.1.4.-1.1.1 Strategic planning and integrated management methodologies and tools at catchment scale
Title: Hydrology of alpine and high latitude basins. (HYDALP)
Objectives: To provide application support for operational use of remote sensing data in hydrological models and to demonstrate this through pilot applications in 4 European river drainage basins.
Brief description of the research project: HYDALP will develop tools for improved hydrological modelling and forecasting. Among the main applications of hydrological models are water power and water resources management, flood warnings, environmental protection, the design of reservoirs and other water-related constructions as well as climate research. Sensors on board of earth observation satellites, providing spatially distributed information, are of high interest for hydrology because the elements of the water cycle show complex spatial patterns. Nevertheless, the application of remote sensing data in hydrology has been rather limited so far because the use of these data requires complex processing techniques.
The project activities include further development of methods, the generation of support tools, and the demonstration of applications for runoff modelling and short-term runoff forecasting in alpine and high latitude drainage basins. The requirements for hydrological modelling and forecasting will be defined in conjunction with customers, who will also guide and assess the methodological developments and application/validation tasks throughout the project.
In order to obtain representative results, drainage basins in four European regions with different physiographic characteristics are proposed for methodological developments and application tests. The remote sensing part will largely rely on available methods. Methodological improvements will be concerned with the extraction of information from earth observation data for hydrology. Another group of tasks will deal with the modification of hydrological model to utilise the input from remote sensing. Important parts of the project are the validation of the hydrological model, the assessment of the improvements due to the remote sensing contribution, and the study of cost effectiveness.
All activities will be carried out in close interaction with customers, namely operational agencies concerned with hydrology, water management, and hydro-power generation. The customer group will be organised through a sub-contract. In addition, two of the project partners are also potential customers of remote sensing data, applying hydrological models for operational forecasts, but so far without using earth observation data. Finally, it is planned to develop an integrative system for hydrological modelling and forecasting which will be made available to the public through CEO Enabling Services. This will include also on-line-accessible demonstration packages in order to promote the use of earth observation data for hydrology.
- 12 - Strategic planning and integrated management methodologies and tools at catchment scale 1.1.4.-1.1.1.
Contract No : ENV4-CT96-0366 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.810.500 LUC LEPAN EC contribution (EURO) : 1.128.000 Fax : +32-2-2960588 Starting date : 1 February 1997 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 24 months Area FP4 : 3.3 Centre for Earth observation
Coordinator Geosys SRL Francisca GOMEZ Avenida Pio XII 92/2- Tel : 34-1-7671026 ES - 28036 Madrid Fax : 34-1-7671660 E-mail : [email protected]
Partners Confederacion Hidrografica del Guadiana Instituto da Agua ES - Ciudad Real PT - Lisboa E. LUNA A. MENDES
Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha International Institute for Aerospace Survey and Earth Instituto de Desarrollo Regional - Albacete Sciences ES - Albacete Department of Earth Resources Surveys S. CASTAÑO Division of Water Resource Survey NL - Enschede A. MEIJERINK Winand Staring Centre of Integrated Land, Soil and Water Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II Research Istituto di Idraulica, Topografia e Costruzioni Rurali - Facoltà Department of Water Management in Arid Zones di Agraria NL - Wageningen IT - Portici W. BASTIAANSSEN A. SANTINI
Consorzio di Bonifica di Paestum - Sinistra Sele IT - Capaccio Scalo M. ARBINO
- 13 - 1.1.4.-1.1.1 Strategic planning and integrated management methodologies and tools at catchment scale
Title: Application of space techniques to the integrated management of a river basin water resources. (ASTIMWR)
Objectives: To understand the extent to which EO can support the monitoring of wetland changes and how this may be applied to river basin management
Brief description of the research project: Water is a vital natural resource. Half of the European Union Member States receive their water from other countries. As demand outstrips supply, access to water will become a central political issue element in the 21st century. Not only will it be a source of conflict within and between regions, but also between countries. Information on water supply is already essential, and its importance will only increase. Some of this information can be provided by Earth observation.
ASTIMwR will use information derived from Earth observation to help manage water resources in a river basin lying partly in Spain and partly in Portugal. It will first examine how its customers currently use the information they receive from conventional sources. Although there are many aspects of water management that could be studied in this river basin, ASTIMwR will concentrate on how its customers currently map evapotranspiration and irrigation, and how they monitor changes taking place in wetlands. It will then analyse which of the information requirements could be supplied by remote sensing, and use the results of this study to design a system to supply that information. It will also examine what modifications might be required to apply the method to a river basin in Italy in order to serve ;
- the public who use wetlands for recreation, or depend on wetlands for their livelihood; - public servants responsible for managing conflict in the use of water resources.
- 14 - Strategic planning and integrated management methodologies and tools at catchment scale 1.1.4.-1.1.1.
Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0420 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.247.500 HARTMUT BARTH EC contribution (EURO) : 1.247.500 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 October 1997 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 1.2.2 Biospheric processes
Coordinator University of Liverpool Brian Moss School of Biological Sciences Tel : 44 151 794 4995 Applied Ecology Research Group Fax : 44 151 794 5094 Crown street E-mail : [email protected] GB - Liverpool L69 3BX
Partners Lund University Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen Department of Ecology - Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Nederlands Instituut voor Oecologisch Onderzoek Sciences Centrum voor Limnologie SE - Lund NL - Nieuwersluis L. HANSSON E. DONK, VAN Universitat de València (Estudi General) University of Helsinki Departamento de Microbiología y Ecología - Facultat de Department of Ecological and Environmental Sciences Biologia FI - Lahti ES - Burjassot T. KAIRESALO M. MIRACLE-SOLE
Universidad de León Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Microbiología ES - León M. FERNANDEZ
- 15 - 1.1.4.-1.1.1 Strategic planning and integrated management methodologies and tools at catchment scale
Title: Shallow wetland lake functioning and restoration in a changing European environment. (SHALE)
Objectives: To examine how plant-dominated shallow lake systems respond to nutrient and disturbance impacts along climatic gradients; to compare new information on the responses of shallow lakes to various restoration measures; and to create new information on the mechanisms by which shallow lake ecosystems are stabilised or destabilised so as to benefit lake managers and environmental decision makers.
Brief description of the research project: Shallow lakes close to cities have often been polluted by sewage effluents and agricultural run-off, resulting in a replacement of clear water and macrophyte communities by turbid, plankton dominated communities. Nutrient control used alone has often failed to restore such shallow lakes to clear-water states.
This project studies the functioning of shallow lake ecosystems along a climate gradient from Finland to Spain. A common experiment will be carried out in replicated mesocosms in similar shallow lakes in each country to examine how the phytoplankton and macrophyte communities respond to increased nutrient loading and control (by cutting of the plants) in different climatic circumstances. This will help indicate how these important wetland lakes may respond to global climatic change and will help lake managers and conservation organisms plan the future management and restoration of such systems.
The project also envisages to maintain long-term observations on six established whole-lake restoration experiments (Little Mere, Rostherne Mere in the UK, Vesijarvi in Finland, Zwemlust in the Netherlands, Ringsjorn in Sweden, Albufera of Valencia in Spain) to capitalise on existing information and benefit from mutual experience. These lakes have been subjected to various combinations of nutrient control and biomanipulation.
Furthermore, the project will include detailed investigations of the mechanisms which stabilise or cause changes in the shallow lake communities. This will include studies on: plant-associated Crustacea as algal grazers; fish movements in relation to zooplankton predation; mobilisation of heavy metals by plants from the sediment into the open water; recruitment of cyanophytes and their interactions with daphnid populations; release of nutrients within plant beds and internal cycling of nitrogen and phosphorus between the plant beds and open water; and effects of fish and bird grazing on the stability of plant populations.
The results will be made available through semi-popular as well as learned journal publications so as to benefit a user community which includes environment and conservation agencies, water supply and waste disposal companies and local and national governments.
- 16 - Strategic planning and integrated management methodologies and tools at catchment scale 1.1.4.-1.1.1.
Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0440 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.171.870 PANAGIOTIS BALABANIS EC contribution (EURO) : 790.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 November 1997 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 1.1.4 Impact of climate changes and other environmental factors on natural resources
Coordinator Natural Environment Research Council David Boorman Institute of Hydrology Tel : 44 1491 692231 Benson Lane Fax : 44 1491 692424 GB - Crowmarsh - Gifford OX10 8BB E-mail : [email protected]
Partners Finnish Environmental Institute National Technical University of Athens Impact Research Division Department of Water Resources, Hydraulic and Maritime FI - Helsinki Engineering S. REKOLAINEN GR - Athens M. MIMIKOU
Vrije Universiteit Brussel Commission of the European Communities Afdeling Hydrologie - Faculteit van de Toegepaste Environment Institute Wetenschappen IT - Ispra (VA) BE - Bruxelles G. BIDOGLIO W. BAUWENS
Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche Istituto di Ricerca sulle Acque Reparto Sperimentale di Bari IT - Bari R. MARINI
- 17 - 1.1.4.-1.1.1 Strategic planning and integrated management methodologies and tools at catchment scale
Title: Climate, hydrochemistry and economics of surface water systems. (CHESS)
Objectives: To investigate how expected changes in climate will affect the quality of freshwater resources in Europe.
Brief description of the research project: The effects of climate change on water quality will be investigated using a modelling framework comprising catchment and in-stream water quality models. After validation against present day conditions, simulations will represent direct and indirect effects of climate change (e.g. the chances in land use and land management that may result from climate change). The methods will be applied to a set of catchments representing a transect of European climates.
Model development will be based on existing expertise and experience in the development and application of these models, and be focused on deriving robust models applicable throughout Europe. Techniques will be developed to determine the most appropriate scale at which to link the catchment and in-stream models. These will be based on the quantity and resolution of available data, knowledge of pollution sources (e.g. the relative importance of point on non-point sources), the overall accuracy required from the model, and practical limitations imposed by computing resources.
Methods of describing the quality of the freshwater resource in a river system will be examined, including those based on existing national and EU use-related standards (e.g. for public water supply, irrigation, industry, and ecological sustainability). The possibility of developing an alternative description of the value of the resource based on an economic evaluation will be also explored.
The quality indices will be used to describe the present-day state and the situation under various future conditions, thereby enabling a relative assessment of the effects of climate change against other possible changes within the catchment.
Applying the methods to the study catchments will result in a consistent statement of the current status and value of freshwater resource, and how they may alter as the result of climate change, at the European scale.
- 18 - Strategic planning and integrated management methodologies and tools at catchment scale 1.1.4.-1.1.1.
Contract No : ENV4-CT98-0790 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.720.150 PANAGIOTIS BALABANIS EC contribution (EURO) : 1.150.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 February 1999 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 30 months Area FP4 : 1.1.4 Impact of climate changes and other environmental factors on natural resources
Coordinator Suez - Lyonnaise des Eaux-Dumez Valentina Lazarova Centre International de Recherche sur l'Eau et l'Environnement Tel : 33 1 34 80 22 51 Département Réutilisation des Eau Fax : 33 1 30 53 62 11 Rue du Président Wilson 38 E-mail : [email protected] FR - 78230 Le Pecq
Partners Université des Sciences et Techniques du Languedoc - Mekorot Water Company Ltd. Montpellier 2 Water and Waterwater Quality - Reclamation Department Laboratoire Geofluides-Bassins-Eau IL - Tel Aviv FR - Montpellier J. SACK F. BRISSAUD
Cranfield University Universidad de Barcelona School of Industrial and Manufacturing Science Departament de Productes Naturals, Biologia Vegetal i GB - Cranfield - Bedford Edafologia- Facultat de Farmàcia T. STEPHENSON ES - Barcelona M. SALGOT
Università degli Studi di Catania Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières Dipartimento di Ingegneria Agraria Département Hydrologie Géochimie et Transferts - Direction IT - Catania de la Recherche S. BARBAGALLO FR - Orléans P. LACHASSAGNE
Commission of the European Communities Environment Institute IT - Ispra (VA) H. MUNTAU
- 19 - 1.1.4.-1.1.1 Strategic planning and integrated management methodologies and tools at catchment scale
Title: Enchancement of integrated water management strategies with water reuse at catchment scale. (CATCHWATER)
Objectives: To develop a comprehensive modelling tool for the implementation of sustainable integrated water management strategies at CATCHMENT scale based on water reuse. The long term objective is to enhance water resource availability through the choice of best water management scenarii and to ensure public health and environmental protection by means of appropriate treatment processes and storage strategies.
Brief description of the research project: For this purpose, a relevant socio-technical-economical methodology will be developed and validated on the basis of field data from several of the largest and oldest water reclamation sites in various European countries (England, France, Israel, Italy, Spain) and for different reuse applications (agricultural and landscape irrigation, aquifer recharge, grey water recycling, indirect potable reuse). Water quality and process reliability of various treatment chains will be evaluated on the basis of common monitoring programs. Health and environment risks will be assessed on the basis, respectively, of mathematical methods and hydrogeological modelling of storage systems (aquifers) with the software MARTHE. Public surveys will be performed in England and France in order to evaluate public perception and attitudes to multi-quality water supplies and to characterise human and socio-economic aspects of water reuse.
Two master plan models, developed in France and UK, will be upgraded and used as decision making support for the choice and optimisation of the water management at CATCHMENT scale. The simulation of such complex dynamic processes will contribute to the understanding of the intrinsic relationships between environmental and economic issues associated with integrated water management. The final modelling tool will enable: 1) the multi-factor analysis and identification of best water management scenarii with the study of the influence of climate change (droughts, seasonal storage), new standards and regulations (wastewater discharge and reuse), existing infrastructure, human factors including public acceptance, demographic growth, economic development, health and environment impacts; 2) to help decisions on conception and/or management of such systems in each local context, considering most of their potential impacts (technical, economical and social); 3) to identify the most appropriate technology for a given water quality and local conditions; 4) to propose recommendations for water quality guidelines and best practices of water reuse and water management at CATCHMENT scale.
The proposed model and related socio-technical-economic methodology will be applicable in different regions, climates and socio-economic situations. The major expected outcome is to promote the development of integrated water management and water reuse in rural areas (agriculture reuse being the main application), and in both urban and industrial areas, thus contributing to the sustainable development of regions suffering from water scarcity, climate changes and intensive population growth.
- 20 - Socio-economic aspects of sustainable use of water 1.1.4.-1.1.2.
Contract No : ENV4-CT96-0189 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 470.600 MICHEL-HENRI CORNAERT EC contribution (EURO) : 295.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 June 1996 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 38 months Area FP4 : 4 Human dimensions of environmental change
Coordinator Institut National du Génie Urbain Thierry PROST Rue F.Garcin 21 Tel : +33-78-62 10 13 FR - 69003 Lyon Fax : +33-78-62 10 00 E-mail :
Partners Université Lumière Lyon 2 Association Economie et Humanisme Economie des Changements Technologiques FR - Lyon FR - Ecully E. BAYE T. KIRAT
Ecologic - Gesellschaft für Internationale und Europäische Leeds Metropolitan University Umweltforschung mbH Centre for Urban Development and Environmental DE - Berlin Management R. KRAEMER GB - Leeds G. HAUGHTON
Università Commerciale 'Luigi Bocconi' Analistas Socio-Politicos - Cabinete de Estudios SL Istituto di Economia delle Fonti di Energia - Facoltà di Environmental Policies Research Team Economia ES - Madrid IT - Milano V. PÉREZ-DÍAZ A. MASSARUTTO
- 21 - 1.1.4.-1.1.2 Socio-economic aspects of sustainable use of water
Title: Interactions entre gestion du cycle urbain de l'eau et technologies de l'environnement dans une perspective de développement durable. Objectives: To assess the influence of urban water management systems (encompassing institutional, economic and technical aspects) on the definition of sustainable development objectives; to identify the relations between water management systems and public R&D water programmes at the national and EU levels.
Brief description of the research project: The concept of water management system is developed to cover all technical, economical, and institutional aspects regarding the management of drinking water (purification and distribution), domestic and industrial waste water (collection and treatment), and stormwater (collection and treatment) networks.
The characteristics of - and interactions between - sustainable development, national innovation systems, and R&D processes are clarified with respect to water issues. A major task of the research is to determine their specific national features through case studies in five countries (Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, France, Spain).
The main components of the research are : i) to assess water management systems' impacts on the definition of environmental objectives based on sustainable development approaches in the five Member States under analysis; ii) to examine how these water management systems may influence the production and diffusion of appropriate water technologies according to sustainable development criteria; iii) to analyse the impacts of water management systems on the water R&D public programmes in the five Member States; iv) to examine types of contracts, monitoring and control processes, aiming to balance the negative effects of water management systems on water R&D processes.
Those research tasks are intended to clarify to which extent the interactions between water management systems and national innovation systems in the five Member States may support or retard a converging process towards a European environmental water policy.
- 22 - Socio-economic aspects of sustainable use of water 1.1.4.-1.1.2.
Contract No : ENV4-CT96-0196 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 664.000 MICHEL-HENRI CORNAERT EC contribution (EURO) : 424.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 June 1996 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 31 months Area FP4 : 4 Human dimensions of environmental change
Coordinator Instituto Superior Técnico Francisco NUNES CORREIA Departamento de Engenharia Civil Tel : +351-1-8418302 Av. Rovisco Pais Fax : +351-1-8470913 PT - 1096 Lisboa E-mail :
Partners Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées Ecologic - Gesellschaft für Internationale und Europäische Laboratoire Techniques Territoires et Sociétés Umweltforschung mbH FR - Noisy-le-Grand DE - Berlin B. BARRAQUE R. KRAEMER
Technische Universiteit Delft WRC plc RBA Centre - Faculty of Civil Engineering Medmenham Laboratory NL - Delft GB - Marlow - Medmenham J. WESSEL T. ZABEL
- 23 - 1.1.4.-1.1.2 Socio-economic aspects of sustainable use of water
Title: Towards sustainable European water management : appraisal of current water policies and required action. (WATER-21)
Objectives: To evaluate the barriers to sustainability of current practices in water management in EU countries and to identify required changes towards water policies that are more compatible with sustainable development objectives.
Brief description of the research project: The traditional objective of water management is to match availability and needs, in space and time, with regard to quantity and quality, under economically and technically feasible conditions. This objective is usually pursued through technological development. However, this is quite limited and insufficient, if a sustainable development goal is sought. The achievement of such goal requires the analysis of the policy formulation process, its actors, context and dynamics.
The research project focuses on the analysis of the policy formulation process with regard to water management. This is intended to provide a better insight of the social, economical and technological factors supporting and conditioning water policies and their dynamics. It matters not only how questions are answered but which questions are asked. Therefore, the analysis of the requirements of water management and the driving forces of water policy definition, are an essential element of this project. Moreover, a comprehensive literature review and critical evaluation of research results in this area is undertaken in order to select a set of indicators of sustainability specifically related to water resources management.
WATER 21 is divided in four phases: contextual analysis of water policy formulation; policy dimensions relevant for sustainability; review of criteria and indicators for sustainable development; and an in depth appraisal of water policies and development of policy recommendations. These tasks are conducted on the basis of case studies in five EU countries: Portugal, France, Germany, Netherlands and United Kingdom.
- 24 - Socio-economic aspects of sustainable use of water 1.1.4.-1.1.2.
Contract No : ENV4-CT98-0782 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 658.400 MICHEL-HENRI CORNAERT EC contribution (EURO) : 450.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 January 1999 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 24 months Area FP4 : 4 Human dimensions of environmental change
Coordinator Universität Dortmund Dietrich Groh Institut für Umweltforschung Tel : 49 231 7552205 Otto-Hahn-Strasse 6 Fax : 49 231 7555146 DE - 44221 Dortmund E-mail : [email protected]
Partners WRC plc Dienst Landbouwkundig Onderzoek Medmenham Laboratory Landbouw-Economisch Instituut GB - Marlow - Medmenham NL - Den Haag T. ZABEL F. BROUWER
- 25 - 1.1.4.-1.1.2 Socio-economic aspects of sustainable use of water
Title: Co-operative agreements in agriculture as an instrument to improve the economic and ecological efficiency of the European Union water policy. (CO-OPERATIVE AGREEMENTS) Objectives: To analyse the political feasibility of co-operative agreements between farmers, water supply companies and nature conservation bodies as an instrument to meet environmental standards as economically efficient and ecologically effective as pos-sible. The objective of this research project is also to assess the significance of those co-operative agreements for a more flexible Euopean Union water policy as well for reforming the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
Brief description of the research project: Starting point of this research project is the need to improve the economic efficiency of water use and the effectiveness of provisions concerning the protection of ecosystems with special regard to the impact of agriculture. As environmental data show, many water resources in the European Union are contaminated particularly by agro-chemicals. Furthermore, natural habitats have been destroyed and biodiversity is diminishing at an increasing rate as a result of intensive agricultural production.
Although there are many debates on the strategies which might influence farmers` behaviour concerning a more sustainable agriculture, the present knowledge on the economical and ecological efficiency of individual policy instruments is limited. The target of the project is to analyse co-operative agreements between farmers and the water supply companies and regulatory authorities/conservation bodies as an instru-ment to meet environmental standards as economically efficient and ecologically effective as possible. The role of co-operative agreements in realising a more rational water utilization, especially in the Mediterranian countries, will also be inves-tigated.
In Germany, in particular, and also to a lesser extent Austria, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, there are many co- operative agreements which show that the compliance with environmental standards can be reached whilst minimising the costs involved. In these cases, economic efficiency can be demonstrated by comparing the costs and benefits resulting from such agreements. For example the costs saved in drinking water treatment may well exceed the costs to agriculture arising from the use of less agro-chemicals.
On the other hand, in many EC member countries, this use of this instrument is presently rare. The primary tasks of this research project is to explore the reasons of this and to investigate special policies or measures to establish co-operative agree- ments in the European Union on a larger scale. The economical efficiency and ecological effectivity of co-operative agreements compared with that of taxes and of command and control regulations will also be assessed.
Furthermore, the significance of co-operative agreements for a more flexible Euro-pean Union water policy as well for reforming the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) will be analysed.
- 26 - Socio-economic aspects of sustainable use of water 1.1.4.-1.1.2.
Contract No : ENV4-CT98-0788 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 250.000 PANAGIOTIS BALABANIS EC contribution (EURO) : 250.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 January 1999 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 30 months Area FP4 : 1.1.4 Impact of climate changes and other environmental factors on natural resources
Coordinator University College London Tim Swanson Centre for Social and Economic Research on the Global Environment Tel : 44 171 5045050 Gower Street 136 Fax : 44 171 9162772 GB - London WC1E 6BT E-mail : [email protected]
Partners University of Cyprus Ministry of Agricultural and Natural Resources Department of Economics Water Development Department CY - Nicosia CY - Nicosia M. FAURE A. CHRISTODOULIDES
Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule - ETH Zürich Universiteit Maastricht Geologisches Institut Maastrichts Europees Instituut voor Transnationaal CH - Zürich Rechtswetenschappelijk Onderzoek W. BALDERER NL - Maastricht P. PASHARDES
- 27 - 1.1.4.-1.1.2 Socio-economic aspects of sustainable use of water
Title: Integrated water management in Cyprus: economic and institutional foundations. (CYPRUS)
Objectives: The objective is the development of the economic and institutional foundations for an integrated water management system (IWMS) for the island of Cyprus. Three primary goals have been identified as instrumental to the development of an integrated water management system (IWMS) for Cyprus: 1) optimal water allocation assessment - the acquisition and analysis of information that will provide an indication of the optimal water allocation within this economy; 2) impact assessment - the evaluation of the economic, social and environmental impacts of a new allocation of water across activities and across households within Cyprus; and 3) institutional analysis and policy assessment - the identification of the institutional and instrumental reforms that would be needed within Cyprus in order to support the introduction of an integrated water management system, and the consideration of the impact of EU water regulation policies in the context of a highly constrained economy indication of some possible directions for more general reforms to EU legislation in anticipation of future expansion.
Brief description of the research project: The work is multidisciplinary in approach, comprising a team of economists, hydrologists, and legal analysts. The three goals outlined above are underpinned by a series of specific research activities. These are:
(1) to evaluate the volume and quality of existing groundwater resources for two specific regions of the island (the central Troodos mountains and the coastal region of Kiti), and determine sustainable levels of water supply from these sources; (2) to determine optimal levels of aggregate water supply over time, taking account of potential new sources of supply and the true social costs of production; (3) to determine the optimal allocation of this water supply between different economic sectors and activities by reference to the benefits resulting from the application of the marginal unit of water supply to alternative activities; (4) to estimate the socially efficient price of water, reflecting the long run marginal social cost of production; (5) to assess the potential structural and distributional implications arising from the introduction of efficient water policies, and resultant changes in consumption patterns, and evaluate possible offsetting policy measures that could be introduced to mitigate undesirable effects; (6) to analyse the impacts of the instruments that might be used for implementing water policy, and hence identify potential reforms and their impacts.
- 28 - Operational management schemes and decision support systems 1.1.4.-1.1.3.
Contract No : ENV4-CT95-0060 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.038.400 HARTMUT BARTH EC contribution (EURO) : 950.800 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 May 1996 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 1.2.2 Biospheric processes
Coordinator Royal Holloway and Bedford New College Edward MALTBY Wetland Ecosystems Research Group Tel : +44-1784-477404 Egham Hill Fax : +44-1784-477427 GB - Egham - Surrey GU25 4LN E-mail : [email protected]
Partners Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht Université de Rennes I Vakgroep Botanische Oecologie en Evolutiebiologie - Fonctionnement des Ecosystèmes et Biologie de la Faculteit Biologie - Beheercluster Experimentele Botanie Conservation NL - Utrecht FR - Rennes J. VERHOEVEN B. CLEMENT
The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences University of Dublin - Trinity College Department of Forest Ecology - Faculty of Forestry Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering SE - Umeå IE - Dublin M. NILSSON P. JOHNSTON
Umweltforschungszentrum Leipzig-Halle GmbH Department of Hydrogeology DE - Leipzig K. HENLE
- 29 - 1.1.4.-1.1.3 Operational management schemes and decision support systems
Title: Procedural operationalisation of techniques for the functional analysis of European wetland ecosystems. (PROTOWET)
Objectives: - To establish a generic European hydrogeomorphic wetland classification which will support the development of functional analysis procedures.
- To test, calibrate, and modify where necessary, the functional analysis procedures, with particular reference to the boundary and threshold values for environmental parameters and processes to enable Europe-wide extensions of the methodology for river marginal, lake margin and estuarine wetland systems.
- To establish the basis for the operationalisation of the functional assessment procedures as an effective tool for applied wetland management and policy development.
The above objectives will contribute to the overall goal of the project, i.e. to extend and operationalise functional assessment procedures with an overall generic hydrogeomorphic classification of European wetlands.
Brief description of the research project: The PROTOWET project is composed of a partnership of researchers covering a wide range of expertise, including wetland hydrogeology, hydrology, pedology, phytosociology, biogeochemical nutrient and heavy metal analyses and functional ecology of wetlands.
PROTOWET extends the work of the FAEWE project (contracts: STEP-CT90-0084 and EV5V-CT94-0559) into different wetland types to embrace lake margin and estuarine wetlands, as well as river marginal sites in the far north and centre of Europe.
The project will test, calibrate and develop operational procedures of functional analysis for this range of wetland types. Standard protocols and methods as well as modelling techniques will be developed in order to assess and predict key wetland functions. These functions include nutrient removal and retention, sediment and contaminants retention, ecosystem maintenance, food web support, etc.
The project will primarily address the overall functional aspects of the various wetland types, supported by appropriate process studies instead of focusing on the processes themselves; it will effectively link the best available scientific knowledge of how wetland ecosystems are working to the needs of decision-makers and environmental managers.
- 30 - Operational management schemes and decision support systems 1.1.4.-1.1.3.
Contract No : ENV4-CT95-0134 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.904.510 PANAGIOTIS BALABANIS EC contribution (EURO) : 1.000.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 March 1996 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 1.1.4 Impact of climate changes and other environmental factors on natural resources
Coordinator Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas Francesc GALLART Instituto de Ciencias de la Tierra 'Jaume Almera' Tel : +34-3-330-2716 Lluis Solé Sabaris S/N Fax : +34-3-411-0012 ES - 08028 Barcelona E-mail : [email protected]
Partners Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas Escuola Superior d'Agricultura de Barcelona Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología Usos i Conservacio del Sol, Climatologia i Agroecologia ES - Jaca ES - Barcelona J. GARCIA RUIZ J. RAMON
Universidad de Barcelona University of Newcastle Upon Tyne Departamento de Geoquímica, Petrología I Prospección Department of Civil Engineering Geológica Water Resource Systems Research Unit ES - Barcelona GB - Newcastle - Upon Tyne A. CASAS P. O'CONNELL ADAS Consulting Limited Università degli Studi di Bologna Cros Research and Development - ADAS Wolverhampton Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e Geologico-Ambientali GB - Wolverhampton IT - Bologna P. QUINN E. TODINI Technische Universität Braunschweig Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Institut für Geographie und Geoökologie - Institut d'Aménagement des Terres et des Eaux Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät, Fachbereich 2 CH - Lausanne DE - Braunschweig A. MUSY A. HERRMANN
- 31 - 1.1.4.-1.1.3 Operational management schemes and decision support systems
Title: Validating hydrological moderocess studies and internal data from research basins : tools for assessing hydrological impacts of environmental change. (VAHMPIRE) Objectives: To improve hydrological modelling approaches, through identifying model weaknesses in reproducing actual internal catchment processes as well as investigating parameter variability, and to progress in understanding hydrological processes, through improved field observation and issues arising from modelling queries and outputs. The long-term objective is to provide reliable tools for assessing the hydrological consequences of environmental change and defining the land and watershed management strategies necessary to preserve water quantity and quality.
Brief description of the research project: A physically-based hydrological model (SHETRAN) and a parsimonious model (TOPMODEL) will be validated and improved using data from small experimental catchments, including work to ensure that the internal dynamics and processes of the catchments are properly represented. Submodels for precipitation interception in forests and for snow melting will be specially developed.
A new generation of field techniques, including TDR (Time Domain Reflectometry), GPR (Ground Probing Radar) and GPS (Global Positioning System), are to be tested and used together with other field experiments to obtain data for internal validation of subsurface hydrology in small research catchments. The methodology for hydrological use of GPR at the hillslope and small catchment scales (soil water content, soil water reserve and water table delineation) will be developed through validation in a range of field conditions.
Joint field campaigns are to be performed in the Vallcebre catchments (Southeast Pyrenees), an area with strong spatial and temporal heterogeneities in hydrological characteristics and process operation. The purpose of these campaigns is not only to gather field data, but also to create the best conditions for exchanging experience between researchers concerned with modelling and those concentrating on field work. Identifying model deficiencies and guiding field observations from model outputs is a primary objective of these campaigns. Other field campaigns, at a range of experimental sites in Spain, the UK and Switzerland will be performed for specific purposes (investigating the hydrological consequences of land use change, erosion processes, flow generation and partitioning, snow melting). Data from Experimental Catchments in Germany will be used to test models in other environmental conditions.
The issue of scale in hydrological modelling will be addressed as part of the project. The effects of increasing DTM (Digital Terrain Model) resolution, compiled with detailed information collected using GPS, will be investigated within the TOPMODEL framework. Algorithms will be developed for the upscaling of model parameters in SHETRAN, and a new regional-scale model TOPKAPI, will be developed and tested, thereby allowing the application of models calibrated and validated in small basins to wider areas. Finally, the performance of the more sophisticated models used in the project (SHETRAN, TOPMODEL, TOPKAPI) will be compared with that of two commonly used water management models (SACRAMENTO and BROOK).
- 32 - Operational management schemes and decision support systems 1.1.4.-1.1.3.
Contract No : ENV4-CT95-0187 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 266.500 PANAGIOTIS BALABANIS EC contribution (EURO) : 160.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 March 1996 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 1.1.4 Impact of climate changes and other environmental factors on natural resources
Coordinator Natural Environment Research Council Jim HUDSON Institute of Hydrology Plynlimon Office Tel : +44-1686-430652 Staylittle - LLanbrynmair Fax : +44-1686-430441 GB - Powys SY19 7DB E-mail :
Partners VITUKI - Water resources Research Centre Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht HU - Budapest Vakgroep Fysische Geografie - Faculteit Ruimtelijke G. JOLANKAI Wetenschappen NL - Utrecht J. KWADIJK
- 33 - 1.1.4.-1.1.3 Operational management schemes and decision support systems
Title: Development of integrated catchment models for supporting water management decisions.
Objectives: The overall objective is to develop simulation models for water yield and quality of complex drainage basins, to the point where they can be used to account for and to predict the effects of climate change and other environmental changes, notably land use, on surface waters. Specific aims are the identification of trends and fluctuations in quantity and quality of surface flows in response to recent climate variation, the integration of catchment models using geographical information system (GIS) techniques, and the application of models to investigate the consequences of water management options on drainage basin performance.
Brief description of the research project: Data from three drainage basins (the Rivers Severn and Wye in the UK and the Zala in Hungary, each of area about 2000 sq.km), including long term data from smaller experimental catchments, will be evaluated for trends, periodicities and abrupt changes that can be attributed to climate, land use change etc. Critical assessment of the precision of rain- and flow-gauging will be an essential part of this phase, which aims at the separation of climatic from land-use effects, and at the creation of a GIS database with terrain and land-use information in addition to hydrological and water quality data, to ensure a consistent approach to the analysis of the three catchments.
A system of hydrological and water quality models will be developed and adapted to interface with the GIS: a steady-state model of a river system with point and non-point source pollutant inputs, based on the SENSMOD system, a monthly flow model relating climate to runoff, based on the large-scale RHINEFLOW model, and a rainfall-runoff model to analyze the impact of intense runoff events, especially on water quality in rivers.
Problems and critical issues of zones affected by climate change will be identified, with particular attention being paid to the significance of drought in the Great Plains of Hungary, where evapotranspiration already exceeds precipitation, and in the UK, where recent years have seen prolonged drought periods and pressure on the water industry. Management strategies, both to combat water shortages and to alleviate anthropogenic environmental impacts, will be investigated and examined in the light of results obtained from the model studies. A closing workshop will be held in Hungary, to help to disseminate the results of the study, and to promote the use of the results and techniques in other European countries.
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Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0396 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.482.000 ALAN CROSS EC contribution (EURO) : 1.161.800 Fax : +32-2-2960588 Starting date : 1 January 1998 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 3.1.2 Pilot projects
Coordinator Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena Wolfgang-Albert Fluegel Institut für Geographie Tel : 49 3641 632775 Lehrstuhl für Geoinformatik Fax : 49 3641 632727 Löbdergraben 32 E-mail : [email protected] DE - 07743 Jena
Partners Österreichisches Forschungszentrum Seibersdorf GmbH Université Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg 1 Geschäftsfeld Umweltplanung Service Régional de Traitement d'Image et de Télédétection AT - Seibersdorf FR - Strasbourg K. STEINNOCHER P. DE FRAIPONT
Università degli Studi di Firenze University of Oulu Dipartimento di Scienza del Suolo e Nutrizione della Pianta Department of Geography - Faculty of Sciences IT - Firenze FI - Oulu G. RODOLFI A. COLPAERT
Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan NO - 5059 - Bergen Enheten för Miljö- och Naturresursinformation S. SANDVER SE - Stockholm F. QUIEL
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Title: Applied remote sensing and GIS integration for model parameterization. (ARSGISIP)
Objectives: To demonstrate and verify the cost-effective implementation of EO data for the parameterisation of hydrological, erosion and solute transport models.
Brief description of the research project: Rationale The impacts of agricultural and forestry practises on river catchments must be understood and measured by those agencies concerned with the sustainable management of Europe’s water resources. ARSGISIP will exploit the potential of EO to identify and classify source areas which generate runoff, erosion or pollution, and to detect and evaluate related environmental pressures and to forecast environmental change.
Content The three year project will be carried out by seven Research End User Teams (RETs) from research organisations and agencies dealing with such environmental problems, and will in turn build a European Research End User Consortium (EREC). Three major European climatic regions are covered by the EREC: cold boreal (Finland, Norway, Sweden), humid temperate (France, Germany, Austria) and Mediterranean (France, Italy). All RETs will apply standard remote sensing techniques of optical and microwave data according to their respective end user's requirements. Results obtained will contribute towards a methodological pool comprised in the Idealized European Catchment (IEC). Six Work Packages are defined: Database, Identification, Classification, Delineation, Parameterisation and Validation. They will provide the milestones and deliverables of ARSGISIP such as: individual databases, key model parameters related to physiographic catchment properties, classifications of crop patterns, forest canopy, erosion hazard and land degradation, flood plains, eutrophication and sediment input of reservoirs and lakes. The derived classifications will be verified and evaluated by extensive ground truthing campaigns in the respective RET's domain and results will be presented as thematic maps. By integrating the results into a GIS, source areas will be delineated as Response Units (RUs) e.g. for runoff generation or nutrient leaching. The latter are modelling entities and will be parameterised by means of GIS analysis for the end users models. Validation of the parameterisation will include simulation runs using "what-if?-scenarios" and field-verification, e.g. mapping inundated areas or erosion dynamics. Thorough cost-benefit analyses carried out in close cooperation with the respective end users will complete the validation exercise.
Customer Thüringer Talsperrenverwaltung (D) Amt der Kärntner Landesregierung (A) Amt der Oberöstereichischen Landesregierung (A) Mission Environnment-Alsace (F) Gemmes (Groupe TREDY) (F) Ente Autonomo del Flumendosa (I) North Ostrobothnia Regional Environment Centre (NO) Water Resources and Energy Administration (NO) Environmental Protection Agency (S)
Geographic Area Thuringia (D); Carithia (A); Upper Austria (A); Alsace (F); Sardinia (I); North Ostrobothnia (SF); Jostedalen, Oesterdalen, Gudbrandsdalen (NO) Lagen (S)
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Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0439 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 751.000 PANAGIOTIS BALABANIS EC contribution (EURO) : 567.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 November 1997 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 1.1.4 Impact of climate changes and other environmental factors on natural resources
Coordinator Cranfield University Peter Loveland School of Agriculture, Food and Environment Tel : 44 1525 863246 Soil Survey and Land Research Centre Fax : 44 1525 863253 Silsoe Campus E-mail : [email protected] GB - Cranfield - Bedford MK45 4DT
Partners Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Institut de Mécanique de Grenoble - IMG Department of Soil Sciences -Faculty of Agriculture, Laboratoire d'Etude des Transferts en Hydrologie et Landscape Planning and Horticulture Environnement SE - Uppsala FR - Grenoble N. JARVIS G. VACHAUD
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Title: Effect of upscaling of input data on the output of predictive models in relation to catchment water quality. (CAMSCALE)
Objectives: To improve understanding of the effect of changes of spatial and temporal scale within input data to process-based models, as reflected in comparisons between modelled output and concentrations of nitrate-nitrogen and pesticides in surface waters at the catchment scale.
Brief description of the research project: The main focus is the use of process-based models at different spatial and temporal scales. Such models have invariably been developed at research sites where intensive parameterisation is possible, e.g. climate data on a daily basis, careful and accurate measurements of input data for farming practices and so on. Extension of such models to larger areas inevitably produces problems because these input data are not available for all combinations of landuse and soil type, the nearest weather station may be distant, and many data may be of poor resolution, or missing.
The Consortium represents a range of climates, ranging from the cold temperate climate zone through cool marine to temperate Mediterranean, and related land uses. Databases range from national digital datasets for soils, landuse, climate and elevation, to catchment specific data based on water quality monitoring. Missing data will be derived from a combination of pedotransfer functions, probabilistic ‘slicing’ or regional averages, and, for climate, interpolation of coarser scale data derived from climate change runs.
The models chosen are typical of those in widespread use with respect to their underlying physics, chemistry and assumptions. These include: the HOST (Hydrology of Soil Types) system, which describes dominant pathways of water movements through soils, SWANCATCH which predicts the concentration of solutes and flow at the catchment outlet, the use of GIS systems in catchment studies (CATCHIS), plant-soil-atmosphere modelling at the regional scale (ACCESS), weather generators (SWELTER), an integrated deterministic model, developed to simulate water and nitrogen transport in the soil- plant- atmosphere continuum (WAVE), a distributed model (ANSWERS) initially developed to determine the influence of non point-source agricultural pollution on surface water quality, the MACRO model to predict pesticide losses to groundwater and surface waters via drainage systems.
The upscaling effect will be dealt with by the aggregation of spatial data, and the disaggregation of temporal data at appropriate spatial scales, e.g. 100m, 1 km, 5 km, depending on the size of the catchment in question in a stepwise fashion. Comparison will also be made between modelled output using national datasets, and that using data derived from the recently revised 1:1 000 000 European soil map.
For the process based models, two avenues will be explored with respect to time-dependent data, i.e. running using longer time steps, e.g. weekly or monthly, and the derivation of daily climate data from longer term climate data, e.g. by the use of weather generators.
These procedures will be carried out on at least one catchment supplied by each partner.
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Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0454 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.662.000 PANAGIOTIS BALABANIS EC contribution (EURO) : 1.000.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 November 1997 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 30 months Area FP4 : 1.1.4 Impact of climate changes and other environmental factors on natural resources
Coordinator Iberdrola Ingenieria y Consultoria S.A. Laureano F. Escudero División de Integración de Tecnologias Tel : 34 1 3833180 Departamento de Ingeniería de Sistemas de Apoyo a la Decisión Fax : 34 1 3833311 Avenida de Burgos 8 B E-mail : [email protected] ES - 28036 Madrid
Partners Compagnie Nationale d'Aménagement de la Région du Bas- Confederación Hidrografica del Tajo Rhône et du Languedoc Office of Hydrologic Planning Département Ingenierie ES - Madrid FR - Nîmes F. FLORES B. VORON
Ente Autonomo del Flumendosa Università degli Studi di Cagliari Department of Technical Management Dipartimento di Ingegneria del Territorio IT - Cagliari IT - Cagliari R. SILVANO P. ZUDDAS
Universidad Politecnica de Valencia Departamento de Ingenieria Hidraulica y Medio Ambiente ES - Valencia J. ANDREU
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Title: Water resource systems planning. (WARSYP)
Objectives: The objective of the project is to investigate, design and computer implement a decision support system for a hydraulic modelling framework and algorithm optimisation of water resource systems planning under uncertainty on climate and hydrological exogenous inflow and demand for a set of inter-related basin systems along a given planning horizon.
Brief description of the research project: The complexity of water-related problems in the Mediterraneous countries is escalating as the uses of water and the (environmental and others) objectives to be fulfilled continue to expand. Most of the easier structural solutions for greater water resources utilisation have already been implemented and new projects, including interbasin transfers, find some opposition in the society. In these circumstances the need for rational water resources planning is becoming stronger than ever as a result of the impact of the changes in the general climatic conditions and the increasing demand of the water resources using.
The ability to help the decision maker on Water Resource Systems (WARS) planning in practice depends on the sophistication of the tools and techniques available. The WARSYP (WARS Planning) project will remedy the inadequacies of the tools currently available by developing a hydrologic Modelling framework and a Decision Support System to help the planning of large systems currently considered intractable and, so, to narrow the gap between the problem description modelling and the problem policy decision making.
The project addresses the improvement of better quality (better utilisation, lower costs) and efficiency (shorter response time) in WARS planning through better hydrologic modelling and decision support system implementations. It will have a direct bearing on the WARS management agencies’ assignment of water resources to the requirements of the different uses, by operating significant demand savings and minimising the degradation in quality of both water environment and natural environment associated with its use.
A fundamental objective of the WARSYP project is to assess the degree of systems’ reliability, to determine the risk of significant water deficiencies even over very extended areas, and to determine the structural works and management changes that should be performed to mitigate the consequences of disastrous drought out events.
The WARSYP product can also be used for a water shortage risk diagnostic and prevention and, then, to locate the risk of anomalous losses in the surface and groundwater systems, assessing the drought vulnerability of the individual sources and demand nodes, and locating the works that could mitigate the most serious consequences. For this purpose hydrological and hydrogeological research will be carried out along the project, at least in some sample areas of particular interest to define the currently available water resources and possible time trends that modify their capacity and vulnerability in qualitative as well as quantitative terms.
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Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0478 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.324.400 ALAN CROSS EC contribution (EURO) : 705.000 Fax : +32-2-2960588 Starting date : 1 March 1998 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 3.1.2 Pilot projects
Coordinator Ingenieursbureau voor Environmental Analysis and Remote Sensing BV Andries Rosema Kanaalweg 1 Tel : 31 15 2562404 NL - 2628 EB Delft Fax : 31 15 2623857 E-mail : [email protected]
Partners Centro de Estudios y Experimentación de Obras Públicas WRC plc Centro de Estudios Hidrograficos European Topic Centre on Inland Waters ES - Madrid GB - Marlow - Buckinghamshire T. ESTRELA T. LACK
Landbouwuniversiteit Wageningen Departement Meteorologie NL - Wageningen H. DE BRUIN
- 41 - 1.1.4.-1.1.3 Operational management schemes and decision support systems
Title: European energy and water balance monitoring system. (EWBMS)
Objectives: 1) To put in place and demonstrate a pre-operational system for monitoring and mapping of rainfall and actual evapo- transpiration for Europe and the Mediterranean region. 2) To test the utility of this system in contributing to the data needs of the European Environment Agency, its European Topic Centre on Inland Waters in particular, for the purpose of monitoring climatic effects on the hydrological cycle and the management of fresh water in terms of quality and quantity. 3) To create a European Energy and Water Balance Distributed Data Base and to implement this data base within the European Environment Agency's Topic Centre
Brief description of the research project: Rationale The European Environment Agency has identified several principal environmental problems related to the hydrological cycle and the availability of fresh water. These and related problems are generally addressed by means of run-off observations and mathematical modelling.
The quality of such efforts, however, is known to be severely restricted by the quality of the available input data. The data required consist mainly of “effective rainfall”, i.e. rainfall minus actual evapotranspiration. Untill know, however, only point rainfall data are available, while actual evapotranspiration is not known.
In satellite remote sensing new techniques and potential services have emerged, based on the monitoring of actual evapotranspiration and rainfall using Meteosat thermal and visible data. In the present project service providers and end-users are co-operating to test the utility of these these data for improved hydrological modeling at both the European and national level.
Content After defining and refining the products to be generated on the basis of Meteosat, the partner/service provider will process 7 years of Meteosat data to dekadely, monthly and yearly maps of rainfall and actual evapotranspiration of Europe and Africa between 25 and 55o N. These products will be used by partners/end-users to study the utility of these data for improved hydrological modeling of the River Danube basin and several smaller basins in Spain. It will also be investigated if the Meteosat derived cloud and rainfall information can be used to improve the estimation of rainfall distribution in relation to rain storm events.
The project includes a technical validation component. Using Large Aperture Scintillometers average fluxes at pixel scale will be measured at two selected sites in southern Europe. Rainfall results will be validated using an independent set of rain gauge measurements.
Objectives and achievements will be diffused by means of a colour brochure, publications and the projects WEB page. External users may obtain data at marginal costs, provided that they complete and submit an application report.
Customer European Topic Centre on Inland Water, Water Resource Centre (UK) Centro d Estudios y Experimentacion de Obra Publica (ES)
Geographic Area River Danube (9 countries) Selected catchments TBD (ES)
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Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0516 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.009.126 ALAN CROSS EC contribution (EURO) : 603.000 Fax : +32-2-2960588 Starting date : 1 November 1997 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 3.1.2 Pilot projects
Coordinator Commission of the European Communities Iain Maxwell Shepherd Institute of Systems, Informatics and Safety Tel : 39 332 78 9489 Via E. Fermi Fax : 39 332 785815 IT - 21020 Ispra E-mail : [email protected]
Partners Dansk Hydraulisk Institut Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Hydrological Modelling Department School of Agriculture DK - Hørsholm Laboratory of Soil Science A. REFSGAARD GR - Thessaloniki G. ZALIDIS University College London Department of Geography GB - London J. THOMPSON
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Title: System for hydrology using land observation for model calibration. (SHYLOC)
Objectives: To construct and test a software package allowing users to combine satellite data with digitised stream positions to determine the amount of surface water stored in a network of natural or man-made channels. The focus will be on wetlands protected by European and international environmental legislation.
Brief description of the research project: Rationale The competent authorities in the Member States are required under the Habitats Directive to establish management plans for the conservation of designated sites. SHYLOC will assist in this process by providing quantitative assessments of the impact of development plans affecting the fast declining European wetland habitats.
Content The main task of this project will be the development of a user-friendly software package SHYLOC for the assessment of water storage in ditches using earth observation. A complementary software development will be the coupling of the hydrological MIKE-SHE code with the hydraulic MIKE-11 code. Account will be taken of user needs in the project both by an analysis of user requirements at the start of the project and an assessment at the end of the project to see whether these needs have been met.
The SHYLOC package will be compared to ground measurements on 4 test sites. In two of the test sites - the North Kent marshes and Lake Karla - a water balance will be developed using the MIKE-11 - MIKE-SHE coupling developed as part of this project. The results of the water balance will be compared to the ground measurements and to the results from SHYLOC. The performance of the system will be assessed in terms of accuracy for the test sites of the project and in terms of potential for more widespread application.
Customer Ministry of Environment and Energy (DK) Natoinal forets and Nature Agency (DK) English Nature (UK) Environment Agency (Kent Area Office) (UK) Ministry of Environment (GR)
Geographic Area Pevensey Levels and the North Kent marshes (UK); Former Lake Karla and Lake Mavruda (GR)
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Contract No : ENV4-CT98-0759 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.476.830 LUC LEPAN EC contribution (EURO) : 910.000 Fax : +32-2-2960588 Starting date : 1 September 1998 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 24 months Area FP4 : 3.3 Centre for Earth observation
Coordinator Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha Santiago Castaño Instituto de Desarrollo Regional - Albacete Tel : 34 67 599500 Campus Universitario Fax : 34 67 599233 ES - 26071 Albacete E-mail : [email protected]
Partners Junta de Aguas de Baleares Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial 'Esteban Terradas' Dirección General de Régimen Hidráulico Departamento de Teledetección y Aeronomia Servicio de Estudios y Planificación Laboratorio de Teledetección ES - Palma de Mallorca ES - Madrid A. BARON A. FERNANDEZ-RENAU Geoapikonisis Ltd. National Observatory of Athens Remote Sensing Applications - Photogrammetric Institute of Ionospheric and Space Research Application - GIS Solutions GR - Athens GR - Athens C. KONTOES D. AIFANTOPOULOU
Eastern Crete Development Organisation SA Alenia Aerospazio - Un'Azienda Finmeccanica SpA Department of Geographical Information Systems Divisione Spazio GR - Heraklion Telecommunications and Remote Sensing Unit V. DESPOTAKIS IT - Roma G. STELLATO Ingenieursbureau voor Environmental Analysis and Remote Sensing BV NL - Delft R. ROEBELING
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Title: Land and water management in Mediterranean islands using earth observation data. (ISLA)
Objectives: The ISLA project has the objective to develop and test a user-driven pre-operational application to support water managers in their decision-making activities, providing them with specific and up-to-date information obtained from EO data.
Brief description of the research project: The supply and demand for water - in time and space are increasingly unbalanced, encouraging over-exploitation and degradation of water reserves, and provoking conflicts between competing users. Even when water is not in short supply, pollution and waste threaten the environment and the long-term security of supply at an acceptable price.
In the Mediterranean islands, limited water supplies combined with highly developed tourism and irrigation agriculture lead to extreme pressures on surface and ground water. Because of the social and environmental importance of water its management ought to be based on reliable information obtained from objective data but the cost of data collection by conventional techniques (photointerpretation, questionnaires, fieldwork...) makes this almost impossible.
Remote Sensing, as a tool for data capture, combined with tables (data from wells, piezometres, river flows...) and cadastral data (information at a parcel scale) in a Geographical Information System allows the generation of accurate information at a reasonable cost. However, potential final users (River basin organisms, Regional Authorities, hydroelectric companies...) are often unconvinced of the usefulness, accuracy and cost-effectiveness of these techniques. It is necessary to "bring" the final user closer to EO techniques, through their application to specific problems, avoiding generalisation and looking for easier "tools" for their daily work.
The ISLA project aims at implementing and testing a user-driven pre-operational application to support water managers in their decision-making activities, providing them with specific and up-to-date information obtained from EO data.
A MODULAR software application will be implemented in a friendly environment (user menus) for handling and combining remote sensing data with existing information (tables and maps), in order to solve the most typical and urgent problems that water managers face focusing on the following aspects of water management:
Land and water management. Snowmelt monitoring. Submarine spring detection. General water balance.
These four modules will then be integrated into the final pilot system which should be a user-friendly tool, structured in user- oriented menus that will enable user staff without specific remote sensing knowledge to handle complex data for obtaining significant information.
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Contract No : ENV4-CT98-0789 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 654.800 PANAGIOTIS BALABANIS EC contribution (EURO) : 450.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 January 1999 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 1.1.4 Impact of climate changes and other environmental factors on natural resources
Coordinator University of Durham Sue White School of Engineering and Applied Science Tel : 44 191 3743905 South Road Fax : 44 191 3742550 GB - Durham DH1 3LE E-mail : [email protected]
Partners Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas Universität für Bodenkultur Wien Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología Institut für Wasserwirtschaft, Hydrologie und Konstruktiven ES - Jaca Wasserbau J. GARCÍA RUÍZ AT - Wien H. HABERSACK
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Title: Water resources management in a changing environment: the impact of sediment on sustainability. (WARMICE)
Objectives: Using three focus sites in a range of environmental conditions this study aims to obtain a better understanding of the sediment delivery process and hydrological functioning of reservoir catchments under current conditions. Data collected in the study will be used to compare results from statistical, simple conceptual (simple) and physically-based distributed models in order to identify short-comings in the modelling process. All of this will lead to improvements in sediment yield estimation techniques. Improved methodologies will be developed for assessing the impacts of land use and climate change on sediment yield, and will then be used to predict changes in hydrological behaviour and sediment delivery due to changed scenarios. Finally the information will lead to the development of management strategies for catchments, reservoirs and rivers where sediment loading is causing water resource or environmental problems.
Brief description of the research project: The same basic methodology will be followed in all focus sites. The catchment of a reservoir with a sedimentation problem will be selected for study and variables relevant to the hydrological and erosion process will be mapped and analysed using GIS software. Using a variety of tracing techniques sediment source and deposition areas and their connectivity to the reservoir system will be mapped. This will enable sediment delivery patterns and ratios to be assessed for the study sites. Relationships between sediment source and sink areas and other physical variables stored in the GIS will be studied in order to predict changes in these areas under future scenarios. Sediment cores will also be taken from the focus reservoirs (and others) so that the deposition sequence can be studied. This will yield information on flood frequency and the role of extreme events in sediment transport to the reservoirs. The use of minerals to identify sediment source areas and related event frequencies will also be assessed from the cores and source material taken from the catchment.
Hydrological and erosion-sediment transport mapping from model simulations using the SHETRAN modelling system for current conditions will be compared with field data, and shortcomings identified. This may result in the need for model modifications. The use of simpler (balance) models will be assessed and tested.
A range of possible hydrological and erosion-sediment transport scenarios will be drawn up from work currently being carried out by the local water authorities and the project partners. Work already underway on the possible impacts of river regime change under future climate scenarios will also contribute to the modelling process for future conditions. Model runs (using SHETRAN and simpler statistical and conceptual approaches) will then be used to predict future changes in the sediment supply and delivery process and their impacts on water and sediment yields to reservoirs.
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Contract No : ENV4-CT98-0791 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 538.480 PANAGIOTIS BALABANIS EC contribution (EURO) : 450.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 February 1999 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 24 months Area FP4 : 1.1.4 Impact of climate changes and other environmental factors on natural resources
Coordinator University of Southampton Nigel William Arnell Department of Geography Tel : 44 1703 594648 Highfield Fax : 44 1703 593295 GB - Southampton SO17 1BJ E-mail : [email protected]
Partners National Technical University of Athens Ruhr-Universität Bochum Department of Water Resources, Hydraulic and Maritime Grundbau, Wasser- und Verkehrswesen - Fakultät für Engineering Bauingenieurwesen GR - Athens Lehrstuhl für Hydrologie, Wasserwirtschaft und M. MIMIKOU Umwelttechnik DE - Bochum A. SCHUMANN Natural Environment Research Council Institute of Hydrology GB - Crowmarsh - Gifford N. REYNARD
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Title: Climate change and water management: managing european water resources in an uncertain future. (Climate change and water management) Objectives: The aim is to examine how water resources could and should be managed in the face of global climate change, given the type and magnitude of all the pressures on water management in Europe and the characteristics of the many different water management institutions involved. This is important because although there have been several assessments of the potential impacts of climate change, water managers are unsure how to incorporate climate change in water management. Three objectives are:
1. to review the pressures facing water resources and water management in Europe, over the medium to long term, and their relative importance and degree of uncertainty; 2. to identify a range of water management strategies and evaluation procedures, suiting different institutional environments, which can cope with climate change and other pressures. 3. to present guidelines to water managers (at utility, national and European scale) on the assessment of medium and long- term strategies for water management in the context of uncertain climate and other changes.
Brief description of the research project: The project takes a case study approach, based on catchments and water management agencies in different parts of Europe with different sets of pressures. Each case study will test and evaluate procedures for coping with climate change in water management. The project is organised into nine work packages, some of which run in parallel. These packages will:
- identify pressures facing water managers over short, medium and long terms; - identify and evaluate climate change scenarios in terms of their value for water managers; - identify case study catchments, collate relevant data and define scenarios for non-climatic change; - identify potentially feasible adaptation strategies; - identify potentially appropriate evaluation criteria and methodologies; - identify information requirements of water managers; - conduct case studies, focusing particularly on the effects of uncertainty - climatic and non-climatic - on future hydrology, water resources and their management; - assess effects of climate change on water resources at the European scale, considering explicitly the effects of uncertainties in climate scenarios; - integrate the case studies and draw general conclusions.
Throughout, climate change is placed in the context on non-climatic changes affecting water management. The project will provide guidance to water managers, and will also provide new insights into the relative importance of different pressures on the water environment in Europe.
- 50 - Ecosystem functioning 1.1.4.-1.2.1.
Contract No : ENV4-CT95-0026 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 831.000 HARTMUT BARTH EC contribution (EURO) : 799.200 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 February 1996 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 42 months Area FP4 : 1.2.2 Biospheric processes
Coordinator Université de Haute Alsace Serge NEUNLIST Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Mulhouse Tel : +33-89427020 Laboratoire de Synthèse Organique et de Chimie Microbienne Fax : +33-89599859 Rue Alfred Werner 3 E-mail : FR - 68093 Mulhouse
Partners Solvit Université Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg 1 CH - Kriens Institut Le Bel E. LACZKO Laboratoire de Chimie et Biochimie des Microorganismes FR - Strasbourg M. ROHMER Universidad de Barcelona Eidgenössische Anstalt für Wasserversorgung , Departamento de Ecología - Facultad de Biologia Abwasserreinigung und Gewässerschutz ES - Barcelona Abteilung für Umweltphysik J. PRETUS CH - Dübendorf M. STURM
University College London Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland Department of Geography Geobotany Environmental Change Research Centre DK - København NV GB - London N. ANDERSON S. PATRICK Universitetet i Bergen Botanical Institute - Faculty of Mathematics and Exact Sciences NO - Bergen H. BIRKS
- 51 - 1.1.4.-1.2.1 Ecosystem functioning
Title: Biodiversity of microorganisms in aquatic systems. (BIOMASS)
Objectives: The objectives of the "BIOMASS" project are :
- to assess the diversity of lipids in lakes (water column, sedimenting material, sediments) and the impact of environmental change on this diversity - to develop and quantify the significance of lipids as markers of microbial diversity in the water column and in the sediment of lakes - to compare the microbial diversity changes as determined by the analyses of lipids with available historical limnological data and, in the absence of such data, with changes inferred from paleolimnological (i.e. fossil remains of diatoms, ostracods and cladocera) and geochemical data (i.e. fossil pigments) - to develop and refine analytical methods on the molecular level and statistical models to explore the relation between microbial diversity and biodiversity of ecosystems.
Brief description of the research project: The scope of this project is to assess microbial diversity from an ecologically relevant perspective, to relate this diversity to environmental factors (e.g. physico-chemical conditions, environmental changes, climate) and to analyse the contribution of microbes or microbial diversity to the overall biodiversity in lakes, taking into account endogenous ecosystem properties and responses to environmental stresses.
It is intended to demonstrate that molecular markers, such as pigments and especially lipids, can be used for this purpose. Fairly stable lipids (hopanoids, sterols, gamma ceranes, etc.) will be analyzed in the water column and in the sediments of lakes. A total of 24 lake sites will be selected along the major climatic zones of Europe and with respect to trophic status of the lakes. It is assumed that stable lipids and pigments, ubiquitously distributed in the organic matter of lake sediments, can be used as markers of the diversity of living communities. To validate the results obtained on changes in lipid and pigment contents in relation to environmental changes, they will be compared to other approaches, in particular palaeoecological methods, primarily fossil remain studies (e.g. Diatoms, Ostracods, Cladocera).
Further microbiological, biochemical and chemical laboratory experiments will be performed to validate the significance of lipids as markers.
Multivariate statistical analyses will be employed to investigate the importance of environmental variables in explaining any differences in microbial diversity observed along the investigated time scales and environmental gradients.
Finally, a model will be generated allowing a prognosis of changes in microorganism diversity in relation to environmental changes of global relevance.
- 52 - Ecosystem functioning 1.1.4.-1.2.1.
Contract No : ENV4-CT95-0061 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.480.300 HARTMUT BARTH EC contribution (EURO) : 890.400 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 February 1996 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 1.2.2 Biospheric processes
Coordinator University of Birmingham Geoffrey PETTS School of Geography Tel : +44-121-4145518 GB - Birmingham B15 2TT Fax : +44-121-4145528 E-mail : [email protected]
Partners University of Bucharest Loughborough University Ecological Research Team - Faculty of Biology Department of Geography RO - Bucuresti GB - Loughborough - Leicestershire S. CRISTOFOR V. BLACK
Natural Environment Research Council Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Institute of Freshwater Ecology ERS 0104 - Centre d'Ecologie des Systèmes Fluviaux Eastern Rivers Laboratory FR - Toulouse GB - Huntingdon - Cambridge H. DECAMPS L. PINDER Museo Tridentino di Scienze Naturali Lund University IT - Trento Limnology Institute B. MAIOLINI Department of Ecology SE - Lund L. VOUGHT Umeå Universitet Université de Neuchâtel Department of Ecological Botany Institut de Botanique SE - Umeå Laboratoire de Phytsociologie et Ecologie C. NILSSON CH - Neuchâtel A. BUTTLER
- 53 - 1.1.4.-1.2.1 Ecosystem functioning
Title: European river margins: Role of biodiversity in the functioning of riparian systems. (ERMAS-II)
Objectives: Generally, the ERMAS-project aims to model the sensitivity of river margin ecosystems to environmental changes at various spatial scales.
This second project phase aims specifically - to evaluate the functional role of biodiversity (i.e. autogenic processes) in determining the sensitivity of river margin ecosystems to differences in environmental conditions (particularly temperature and hydrology).
Brief description of the research project: This 2nd phase of the ERMAS-project will address the following two fundamental questions:
(1) How does the sensitivity of river margin ecosystems to environmental change vary along climatic, disturbance and successional gradients?
(2) How is the sensitivity of river margin ecosystems influenced by species richness and composition?
To answer these questions four specific tasks have been defined:
In relation to regional environmental factors, considering climatological (precipitation and temperature regimes), hydrolological (flow regime, water quality) and geomorphological (landform history, sediment transport) variables; and in relation to local environmental factors, considering hydrolological (soil moisture regime, time and duration of flooding), geomorphological (soil particle size, elevation, soil temperature), and management (land use, bank management, historic uses) variables,
- the plant and animal (invertebrate) diversity will be analysed; - the influence of plant diversity on litter decomposition will be established; - the influence of plant diversity on the dynamics of carbon and nitrogen determined; and - the relationship between litter diversity and animal (invertebrate) diversity established.
This will lead to the development and verification of a spatial model of plant biodiversity in relation to environmental factors (at regional and local scales). In addition, the role of plant biodiversity (via litter) in the functioning of river margin systems (through predictions of litter, C and N dynamics) will be assessed. Finally, a model to explain and to predict the relationship between invertebrate diversity and litter decomposition will be developed.
Field experiments to verify the models and to establish the relationship(s) between biodiversity and the functioning of river margin wetland ecosystems will be executed in Sweden (Rivers Vindel, Helge), UK (Trent/Severn or Dee Rivers, Gt. Ouse), France (Garonne River), Italy (Adige/Po Rivers), Switzerland (upper Rhône River) and Romania (Danube delta).
- 54 - Ecosystem functioning 1.1.4.-1.2.1.
Contract No : ENV4-CT95-0147 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.000.000 HARTMUT BARTH EC contribution (EURO) : 1.000.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 February 1996 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 39 months Area FP4 : 1.2.2 Biospheric processes
Coordinator Århus Universitet Hans BRIX Department of Plant Ecology Tel : +45-8942-4714 Institute of Biological Sciences Fax : +45-8942-4747 Nordlandsvej 68 E-mail : [email protected] DK - 8240 Risskov
Partners Institute of Botany - Academy of Sciences of the Czech Institute of Ecology and Botany - Hungarian Academy of Republic Sciences Section of Plant Ecology HU - Vácrátót CZ - Trebon M. DINKA H. CIZKOVA
Institutul de Cercetare si Proeictare Delta Dunarii Institute of Biology RO - Tulcea Terrestrial Ecology J. HANGANU RO - Bucuresti M. PAUCA-COMANESCU
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin Universität Konstanz Institut für Biologie Limnologisches Institut Fachgebiet Ökologie DE - Konstanz DE - Berlin W. OSTENDORP J. KOHL Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen Lund University Nederlands Instituut voor Oecologisch Onderzoek Limnology Institute Centrum voor Terrestrische Oecologie Department of Ecology NL - Heteren SE - Lund J. VAN DAMME S. WEISNER Universidad de Barcelona University of Hull Departamento de Ecología - Facultad de Biologia Department of Applied Biology ES - Barcelona GB - Hull F. COMIN J. ARMSTRONG
- 55 - 1.1.4.-1.2.1 Ecosystem functioning
Title: Dynamics and stability of reed-dominated ecosystems in relation to major environmental factors that are subject to global and regional anthropogenically induced changes. (EUREED-II) Objectives: This 2nd phase of the EUREED-project aims
- to increase the understanding of the interactive effects of climate, atmospheric composition, eutrophication and management practices on the dynamics and ecosystem integrity of reed-dominated wetlands;
- to develop tools to predict the consequences of man-induced environmental changes on reed ecosystem functioning; and
- to suggest management options, including preventive and restorative measures in relation to reed die-back.
Brief description of the research project: During this second phase, the EUREED project, started in the Environment Research Programme (1990-94; Contract EV5V- CT92-0083), will investigate
- the balance between accumulation and decomposition of organic matter, the cycling of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus, and will quantify and model the emission of greenhouse gases from reed-dominated wetland ecosystems in relation to the season, trophic status, and water table management, in order to assess how environmental conditions are influencing the carbon and nutrient cycling in those wetlands and how these phenomena are related to the die-back of reed vegetation. As a consequence it is envisaged that on the basis of this information the functional role of reed-dominated land-water ecotones as nutrient accumulators and transformers as well as sources of the release of atmospheric greenhouse gases can be assessed.
- the growth dynamics and ecophysiology (photosynthesis, respiration, carbon and nutrient allocation) of Phragmites in relation to the climate conditions in boreal-mediterranean and oceanic-continental climatic gradients, in order to predict the effects of future changes in ecosystem functioning (scenario models).
- in experimental studies the growth dynamics and anatomy of and aeration in Phragmites in relation to sediment biogeochemistry, temperature and water table regime, in view to further identify possible causal factors in the process of reed die-back.
- the influence of water table fluctuations, salinity, eutrophication, harvesting regime and fire on Phragmites growth, regeneration and viability, in order to improve the understanding of the ecosystem integrity ("stability") of reed wetlands and to develop appropriate management tools, including preventive and restoration measures, against reed die-back.
- the ploidy-level and the clonal diversity within Phragmites populations along environmental and climatic gradients, and to study their relation to plant phenology and ecophysiology. This assessment of the genetic variability of Phragmites populations in Europe will serve to clarify whether eutrophication may lead to the loss of genetic diversity in reed ecosystems, and if so, to evaluate the consequences for the stability of the reed stands in a changing environment.
- 56 - Ecosystem functioning 1.1.4.-1.2.1.
Contract No : ENV4-CT96-0273 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 847.000 KATRI KOSONEN EC contribution (EURO) : 697.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 June 1996 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 4 Human dimensions of environmental change
Coordinator University of East Anglia Kerry TURNER School of Environmental Sciences Tel : +44-1603-593176 Centre for Social Economic Research on the Global Environment Fax : +44 1603 250588 GB - Norwich NR4 7TJ E-mail : [email protected]
Partners Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam University of the Aegean Economic and Social Institute Department of Environmental Studies Department of Spatial Economics Laboratory of Environmental Economics NL - Amsterdam GR - Mytilini J. OPSCHOOR M. SKOURTOS Universiteit van Tilburg - Katholieke Universiteit Brabant Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences NL - Tilburg The Beijer International Institute of Ecological Economics J. VAN DER STRAATEN SE - Stockholm C. FOLKE
- 57 - 1.1.4.-1.2.1 Ecosystem functioning
Title: Ecological-economic analysis of wetlands : functions, values and dynamics. (ECOWET)
Objectives: To develop an interdisciplinary assessment of wetland processes and functions and their related economic values, in order to inform policy makers about the "true" value (benefits) of conserved wetlands and the costs of wetland conservation, restoration or creation measures.
Brief description of the research project: The research focuses on : i) the provision of scientifically accurate and accessible descriptions of wetland processes and functions and their value in ecological and socio-economic terms, deriving a policy-relevant assessment methodology for judging the social significance of conserved wetland areas (or created and/or restored areas); ii) the refinement of economic valuation methods and techniques to allow the evaluation of wetland use and non-use benefits; iii) the development of environmental change scenarios to model possible future states for wetlands, their conservation requirements and the policy measures necessary to implement more rational management strategies.
These issues are explored through a set of temperate wetland case studies in The Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Greece. The case studies highlight land use change in peatland-lake ecosystems, wetland restoration and creation, nutrient sink functions and the valuation of flood alleviation, recreation and amenity and pollution buffer zone services.
The research provides guidance to resource managers about trade-offs between different use and preservation options within particular wetlands but is also of more general application across a range of wetlands within the EU.
- 58 - Ecosystem functioning 1.1.4.-1.2.1.
Contract No : ENV4-CT96-0298 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 957.480 JEAN-FRANÇOIS JUNGER EC contribution (EURO) : 850.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 August 1996 E-mail : jean-franç[email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 2.2.1 Methods of estimating and managing risks to the environment and to humans
Coordinator Universiteit van Amsterdam Wim ADMIRAAL Sectie Aquatische Öcotoxicologie - Faculteit Biologie Tel : +31-20 525 77 10 Kruislaan 320 Fax : +31-20 525 77 09 NL - 1098 SM Amsterdam E-mail :
Partners Universidad de Barcelona University of Göteborg Departamento de Ecología - Facultad de Biologia Botanical Institute - Faculty of Mathematics and Natural ES - Barcelona Sciences S. SABATER Department of Plant Physiology SE - Göteborg H. BLANCK University of Joensuu Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieuhygiëne Department of Biology Laboratory of Inorganic Analytical Chemistry FI - Joensuu NL - Bilthoven J. KUKKONEN R. CLEVEN
- 59 - 1.1.4.-1.2.1 Ecosystem functioning
Title: Microbenthic communities in European rivers used to assess effects of land-derived toxicants.
Objectives: The aim of the proposed study is to assess community effects of toxicant fluxes in rivers. This can be achieved through a new methodology incorporating the large biological and chemical differences among European rivers.
Brief description of the research project: The fate and biological effectivity of toxicants in river system is supposed to be greatly affected by the concurrent loading with humics and various ions. To verify this, the speciation of metals, herbicides and PAH will be quantified. For metals, an experimental mobile voltametric instrument will be used together with sorption on chelating resins. Dialysis of isotope- labelled organic toxicants will be used to assess differences in speciation of selected herbicides and PAH among rivers.
When chemicals are present in biologically effective concentrations, these are likely to induce changes in the tolerance profile and species composition of communities. Such changes will be assessed in a selection of rivers, using natural communities of closely stacked micro-algae, bacteria and microfauna, settled on sand and cobbles. Short-term metabolic tests will be used to describe the sensitivity of photosynthesis in algae (14 C-technique), DNA multiplication in bacteria (3H- thymidine method), and replication in eukaryotes (e.g. ciliates; adenine/thymidine method). Differences in tolerance to selected compounds (metals, herbicides, PAH), measured with these physiological techniques will be compared with longterm community changes observed at river stations polluted with either a single type of contaminants or complex mixtures. Communities in artificial streams are used to verify questions raised in these field studies.
Photometric alternatives for the isotope-based physiological techniques will be developed to allow wider application in future and a mobile facility for in situ community tests will be created.
The project will bring the biological and chemical approaches together into case studies of river pollution in northern, western and southern Europe. The complementary expertise of the partners allow an assessment of the consequences and risks of toxicant input in rivers that differs considerably from traditional methods based on a strategy of 'one species at a time' and 'one substance at a time'.
The proposed research is likely to fulfil the needs of a growing catchment oriented management of pollutants in Europe.
- 60 - Ecosystem functioning 1.1.4.-1.2.1.
Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0453 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.562.660 HARTMUT BARTH EC contribution (EURO) : 1.200.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 January 1998 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 1.2.2 Biospheric processes
Coordinator Natural Environment Research Council David Glen George Institute of Freshwater Ecology Tel : 44 15394 42468 Windermere Laboratory Fax : 44 15394 46914 Far Sawrey E-mail : [email protected] GB - Ambleside - Cumbria LA22 OLP
Partners University of Dublin - Trinity College University of Helsinki Environmental Science Unit Lammi Biological Station - Faculty of Science IE - Dublin FI - Lammi N. ALLOTT L. ARVOLA
Uppsala University Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften Erken Laboratory Institut für Limnologie SE - Norrtälje AT - Mondsee K. PETTERSSON M. DOKULIL
Universität Konstanz Eidgenössische Anstalt für Wasserversorgung , Limnologisches Institut Abwasserreinigung und Gewässerschutz DE - Konstanz Abteilung für Umweltphysik U. GAEDKE CH - Dübendorf D. LIVINGSTONE
University of East Anglia Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck Climatic Research Unit Institut für Zoologie und Limnologie GB - Norwich AT - Innsbruck D. VINER R. PSENNER
- 61 - 1.1.4.-1.2.1 Ecosystem functioning
Title: Response of European freshwater lakes to environmental and climatic change. (REFLECT)
Objectives: 1. To describe and analyse the year-to-year variations in the seasonal dynamics of plankton in a series of lakes and establish the extent to which these variations are related to local changes in the catchment and regional changes in the weather. 2. To describe and analyse the historical (20-25 year) variations in the weather patterns that characterise the three lake districts selected for study and relate these to large-scale variations in the European weather. 3. To extend the network of automatic water quality monitoring stations developed under the EU ‘LIFE’ programme and use these high-resolution records to analyse the functional links that exist between successional changes in the plankton and day- to-day changes in the weather. 4. To develop, validate and apply a suite of water quality models that can be used to analyse the effects of day-to-day changes in the weather on the seasonal succession of plankton. 5. To construct a series of high resolution spatial and temporal climate change scenarios that are tailored to the requirements of the lake models and use these to assess the likely impact of regional changes in the weather on the water quality of European lakes. 6. To develop simulation models and expert systems that can be used by water supply organisations to optimise the management of lakes and reservoirs under future conditions of environmental change.
Brief description of the research project: Freshwater plankton communities are widely regarded as ideal ‘sentinels’ of environmental change. They respond in a predictable way to changes in the catchment and are dominated by short lived organisms that respond rapidly to changes in the weather. Limnologists throughout Europe have long been interested in the factors that influence the inter-annual variations in the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of lakes. In recent years, it has become clear that many of these variations are driven by large-scale changes in the weather. The most important large-scale feature is the atmospheric pressure change known as the North Atlantic Oscillation but some quasi-cyclical changes have also been related to north- south movements of the Gulf Stream in the Atlantic.
In the REFLECT project, we have assembled a consortium of specialists from the leading limnological laboratories in Europe to produce a definitive study of the local and regional factors that influence the dynamics of lake in three climatic zones: Northern Europe (Finland and Sweden); the Atlantic Coast (UK and Ireland) and Central Europe (Germany, Austria and Switzerland). The project will included historical studies of the changes recorded in a selected series of lakes over the past 20-50 years and modelling studies designed to assess the sensitivity of these lakes to future changes in the weather. An important feature of the proposed models is their explicit link to weather variables generated by climate change experiments (GCM’s). The climatologists in the consortium will prepare scenarios of the changes expected in the different regions and will perform ‘what if’ experiments to assess the effect of these changes on the selected lakes.
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Contract No : MAS3-CT96-0048 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.659.000 ELISABETH LIPIATOU EC contribution (EURO) : 1.400.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 June 1996 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : B.1.(b) Structure and dynamics of shelf ecosystems
Coordinator National Environmental Research Institute - Ministry of Environment and Tage DALSGAARD Energy Department of Lake and Estuarine Ecology Tel : +45-89 20 14 00 Vejlsovej 25 Fax : +45-89 20 14 14 DK - 8600 Silkeborg E-mail : [email protected]
Partners University of Essex Università degli Studi di Parma Department of Biological Sciences Dipartimento di Scienze Ambientali GB - Colchester IT - Parma
University of Göteborg Fundaçao da Faculdade de Ciencias da Universidade de Departement of Marine Botany - Botanical Institute Lisboa SE - Göteborg Instituto de Oceanografia da Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa PT - Lisboa
Århus Universitet Institute of Biological Sciences Department of Microbial Ecology DK - Århus C
- 63 - 1.1.4.-1.2.1 Ecosystem functioning
Title: Nitrogen Cycling in Estuaries (NICE)
Objectives:
Brief description of the research project: Objectives:
The project will study the fate of anthropogenic nitrogen discharged into estuaries and coastal waters. The removal of nitrogen in these waters will be quantified in order to evaluate to what extent nitrogen is being transported from land to the open seas.
Contents:
The processes leading to removal of nitrogen is burial of organic nitrogen in the sediment and bacterial denitrification which is preceded by a number of microbial processes in the sediment. To assess the importance of nitrogen removal on a European scale it is important to understand its regulation. A number of key parameters for the regulation of nitrogen removal have been identified: the presence of benthic primary producers, tidal range and climate.
The benthic primary producers have been divided into three functional groups: benthic microalgae, marine angiosperms and floating macroalgae. One major part of the project deals with investigation of the mechanisms by which the benthic primary producers affect nitrogen turnover and the processes ultimately leading to nitrogen removal in coastal areas.
The effects of tidal range and climate will be analysed by comparing four different study areas. We have selected two study areas in southern and two in northern Europe each representing micro and macro tidal conditions. The macro tidal areas are the Great Ouse Estuary in England and the Tagus Estuary in Portugal and the micro tidal areas are the Kattegat area between Sweden and Denmark and the Valli di Comacchio in Italy. In each of the micro tidal areas study sites have been selected in order to represent ecosystems dominated by each of the three functional groups of benthic primary producers. In the macro tidal areas benthic microalgae are the dominant benthic primary producers and they hence dominate the study sites selected.
Technical approach:
On each of these study sites a measuring program will be conducted using standardised methods. Sampling will be frequent and nitrogen removal and turnover will be quantified on an annual basis.
The techniques used will be traditional methods for estimating sediment- water fluxes and nitrogen -15 techniques combined with newly developed/adapted techniques for estimating nitrogen turnover and primary production. This will include the use of microsensors for oxygen, nitrate and nitrous oxide. Experiments will be carried out as a combination of laboratory and in situ measurements.
Achievements:
The comparable study of areas with distinct climatic and tidal characteristics combined with the study of the role of benthic primary producers in nitrogen turnover and removal will allow separation of the effects of these variables. On this basis a classification system of estuaries and coastal waters will be developed in order to assess the nitrogen removal ability of these waters.
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Contract No : ENV4-CT96-0223 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.137.800 JEAN-FRANÇOIS JUNGER EC contribution (EURO) : 950.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 June 1996 E-mail : jean-franç[email protected] Duration : 39 months Area FP4 : 2.2.1 Methods of estimating and managing risks to the environment and to humans
Coordinator Umweltforschungszentrum Leipzig-Halle GmbH Helmut SEGNER Abteilung Chemische Ökotoxikologie Tel : +49-341-235 2329 Permoserstraße 15 Fax : +49-341-235 2401 DE - 04318 Leipzig E-mail : [email protected]
Partners University of Aberdeen Dublin Institute of Technology Department of Zoology Radiation Science Centre - Department of Physics GB - Aberdeen IE - Dublin D. HOULIHAN C. MOTHERSILL
Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique Uppsala University Centre de Recherche de Rennes Department of Environmental Toxicology Ecologie et Physiologie des Poissons SE - Uppsala FR - Rennes P. PAERT P. PRUNET Biopredic SA Université de Rennes I FR - Rennes FR - Rennes C. CHESNE Y. VALOTAIRE
- 65 - 1.1.4.-1.2.2 Ecological quality targets
Title: Diagnostic Ecotoxicology: cell-based methodology to develop markers for early, sublethal effects assessment.
Objectives: The proposed project aims at a rational development of scientifically based ecotoxicological effects assessment methodology as required for refinement of water quality objectives in EC countries. The combined utilization of novel culture technology with conventional whole animal experiments represents an innovative approach in establishing markers for the early diagnosis of exposure and sublethal effect. The proposal can achieve this task because it assembles a unique group of European experts in cell culture technology and whole animal physiology.
Brief description of the research project: The proposed programme has been targeted at freshwater organisms, particularly fish and amphibia. A comparison between these evolutionary related animal groups with clearly different life history will illustrate fundamental processes of toxicant action as well as the value of cellular markers for diagnosis of pollutant exposure and effect.
The design of the work programme integrates a cell-to-organism approach - establishing diagnostic markers in studies with isolated cells and asking whether these markers still work in the intact animal - with an organism-to-cell approach - using animals exposed to low levels of toxicants and asking whether the diagnostic markers are expressed in their cells:
- Mechanisms and characteristics of chemical action will be studied in isolated cells (alternative models) that are targets of toxicant uptake, metabolism or effect (skin, gills, gut, liver, muscle, spermatogonia, leucocytes, macrophages).
- The ecotoxicological implications of accumulation and effect of chemicals will be assessed by (a) differentiation between protective (tolerance) and pathologic (disease) processes, and by (b) validating the in vitro findings in in vivo studies, using both field sampling (agricultural areas, Elbe floodplains) and laboratory experiments.
Cells and organisms will be exposed to single chemicals and to mixtures. A set of four reference chemicals has been selected including substances of low water solubility or reducing surface tension: nonoxyl 2, 4-dichlorophenol, pentachlorophenol, copper.
Basic research on identification of suitable cellular markers will be accompanied by pre-competitive research on the potential development of these markers into routine diagnostic tools for environmental testing and monitoring.
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Contract No : ENV4-CT96-0319 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 849.600 JEAN-FRANÇOIS JUNGER EC contribution (EURO) : 849.600 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 January 1997 E-mail : jean-franç[email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 2.2.1 Methods of estimating and managing risks to the environment and to humans
Coordinator Universität Bremen Lothar Horst GRIMME Institute of Cell Biology, Biochemistry and Biotechnology Tel : +49-421-218-2389 Löbener Straße 2 Fax : +49-421-218-7253 DE - 28344 Bremen E-mail :
Partners Università degli Studi di Milano University of Göteborg Istituto di Entomologia Agraria - Facoltà di Agraria Botanical Institute - Faculty of Mathematics and Natural IT - Milano Sciences M. VIGHI Department of Plant Physiology SE - Göteborg H. BLANCK Università degli Studi di Milano Bicocca Dipartimento di Scienze dell' Ambiente e del Territorio IT - Milano
- 67 - 1.1.4.-1.2.2 Ecological quality targets
Title: Predict : prediction and assessment of the aquatic toxicity of mixtures of chemicals. (PREDICT)
Objectives: The goals of PREDICT are:
1. to compare the predictive value of the reference models of concentration, addition and independent action for the effects of multi-component mixtures of chemicals with different models of action at low, non-significant effect concentration of the individual constituents, 2. to evaluate the potential of quantitative structure activity relationships (QSAR) for the prospective assessment of effects of mixtures of chemicals and to optimise grouping criteria for similarly acting chemicals, and, 3. to validate predictions made from the reference model of concentration addition for similar acting chemicals on a multispecies community test level.
Brief description of the research project: The general technical approach of PREDICT is as follows:
The prediction of mixture toxicities will be derived from reference models of combination effects (concentration addition, independent action) on the basis of statistically estimated concentration response functions (Probit, Logit or Weibull) of the single chemicals using the SAS programme package.
The assessment of combination effects will be based on the comparison of predicted and observed toxicities of mixtures of aquatic pollutants, with the aim to identify standard response patterns (additivity, independence) as opposed to singularities (synergism, antagonism).
The aquatic toxicity of chemicals applied singly and in multi-component mixtures will be experimentally determined using a single species algal test. The validation of observed combination effects on a higher level of biological complexity will be performed using a periphyton community test.
Surface waters and aquatic organisms are typically exposed to numerous chemicals simultaneously or in sequence. Consequently, hazard assessment in aquatic toxicology has to include rational approaches to predict possible combination effects.
The recent report to the Scientific Advisory Committee on Toxicology and Ecotoxicology of the EEC concluded that the concept of concentration addition provides a reasonable basis to predict combined effects of similar acting substances. it should be applied when environmental quality norms are set.
However, three questions remain to be answered: - Which criteria shall be used to classify substances as similar acting ? - Is the concept of concentration addition valid for the prediction of mixture toxicities on more complex than single species levels ? - What are reasonable predictions for combined effects of substances with dissimilar modes of action ?
- 68 - Ecological quality targets 1.1.4.-1.2.2.
Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0494 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 799.000 JÜRGEN BÜSING EC contribution (EURO) : 600.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 February 1998 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 2.1.5 Instrumentation for measurements in waste water
Coordinator Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz Thomas Peter Knepper Institut für Geowissenschaften Tel : +49-611-7804358 Chair of Applied Hydrochemistry Fax : +49-611-7804375 Johannes-Joachim-Becker-weg 21 E-mail : [email protected] DE - 55099 Mainz
Partners Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo Institut für Siedlungswasserwirtschaft Departamento de Quimica Ambiental DE - Aachen ES - Barcelona H. SCHRÖDER D. BARCELÓ Universiteit van Amsterdam Universidad de Cádiz Vakgroep Milieu- en Toxicologische Chemie - Faculteit der Departamento de Quimica-Fisica Scheikunde ES - Cádiz NL - Amsterdam A. GOMEZ-PARRA P. DE VOOGT
Sociedad General Aguas de Barcelona SA Petroquimica Española S.A. Servei Laboratori Petresa Plant - Chemical Department ES - Barcelona ES - San Roque - Cádiz F. VENTURA A. MORENO
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas Instituto de Ciencas Marinas de Andalucia Departamento de Oceanografia ES - Puerto Real Cadiz
- 69 - 1.1.4.-1.2.2 Ecological quality targets
Title: Priority surfactants and their toxic metabolites in waste effluent discharges: An integrated study. (PRISTINE)
Objectives: The project is a part of the WASTE WATER CLUSTER, which is a focused approach involving three European research projects within the area Environmental technologies in the EU Environment & Climate programme. The objective is to improve the understanding of the transformation, fate and toxicity of selected groups of industrial pollutants discharged into the water resources by using complementary sampling and advanced measuring techniques. The expected results should provide better monitoring data for risk assessment of waste water and should in the long run lead to a cleaner, healthier, and sustainable environment for the European citizen. PRISTINE wants to improve the knowledge of pollution by surfactants and decrease the contamination level adopting an ecological compromise between industry and policy makers.
Brief description of the research project: Surfactants are surface-active compounds, which are used in industrial processes as well as in trade and households. They have one of the highest production rate of all organic chemicals. Commercial mixtures of surfactants consist of several tens to hundreds of homologues, oligomers and isomers of anionic, nonionic, cationic and amphoteric compounds. Therefore their identification and quantification in the environment is complicated and cumbersome. Detection, identification and quantification of these compounds in aqueous solutions, even in the form of matrix-free standards, still faces the analyst with considerable problems.
The present proposal combines researchers in the field of analytical environmental chemistry, toxicology and industry that needs to treat wastewater heavily contaminated with surfactants as well as industry that produces surfactants and that is interested in improving their knowledge on fate and toxicity data on surfactants and metabolites formed.
An analytical methodology, that permits to determine the various surfactants and identify new metabolites, will be developed. Multistep sample preparation methods together with advanced techniques like LC-MS (including various types of interfacing systems) will be used for the final identification. Unknown metabolites will be synthesized to unequivocally confirm their presence in the environment.
The analytical data of the various surfactants will be correlated with toxicity as e.g. endocrine disruptor effects. In this respect there is especially a lack of metabolite information, their toxicity and their levels in the aquatic environment. The levels of relevant surfactants will be monitored in biota and the degradation pathway studied in waste water treatment plants and in model studies in order to determine their possible impact on the health of the ecosystem.
Different aquatic environments in Europe will be investigated and a common analytical and toxicological protocol for the environmental fate of surfactants and their metabolites in urban and industrial waste water treatment plants achieved.
The information obtained by the completition of these objectives will provide monitoring and risk/hazard evaluation on waste waters and at longer stage will help the industry to adopt the Best Available Technique.
- 70 - Ecological quality targets 1.1.4.-1.2.2.
Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0581 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.260.100 JEAN-FRANÇOIS JUNGER EC contribution (EURO) : 941.400 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 January 1998 E-mail : jean-franç[email protected] Duration : 30 months Area FP4 : 2.2.1 Methods of estimating and managing risks to the environment and to humans
Coordinator Commission of the European Communities Erminio MARAFANTE Environment Institute Tel : 39 332 78 9144 European Chemicals Bureau Fax : 39 332 789328 IT - 21020 Ispra - Varese E-mail :
Partners Università degli Studi della Tuscia Bourgas Technological University Dipartimento di Agrobiologia e Agrochimica Laboratory of Mathematical Chemistry IT - Viterbo BG - Bourgas F. PALITTI O. MEKENYAN
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Consorzio Milano Ricerche GB - Lowestoft Istituto di Tecnologie Biomediche Avanzate IT - Milano P. VEZZONI
Landbouwuniversiteit Wageningen Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht Department of Toxicology Research Institute Toxicology - Faculty of Veterinary Sciences NL - Wageningen NL - Utrecht A. BROUWER M. VAN DEN BERG Karolinska Institute Department of Cell and Molecular Biology Division of Molecular Biology SE - Huddinge L. POELLINGER
- 71 - 1.1.4.-1.2.2 Ecological quality targets
Title: Endocrine disrupting ability of environmental pollutants. (EDEAEP)
Objectives: The objective of the project is (1) to use available literature data on endocrine-disrupting chemicals to develop a QSAR model and apply it to the EU High Production Volume Chemicals, (2) to select based on the results, a number of chemicals to undergo in vitro and in vivo testing, (3) to recalibrate the QSAR model and produce a list of potential endocrine-disrupting chemicals.
Brief description of the research project: As no straightforward definition exists and as no standardised test methods are available to determine endocrine-disrupters, a substance is seen as being an endocrine-disrupter for the purpose of this project, if it behaves similarly to “known” endocrine- disrupters (e.g., oestradiol, diethylstilboestrol) using the modelling and testing strategy of this project.
The major drawback of employing classical Linear Free Energy Relationship (LFER) based QSARs to model specific receptor binding activity is the classical QSARs limited applicability to congeneric series of molecules. A multitude of seemingly very different chemical structures can exert similar biological effects via the same mechanisms of action, e.g., through binding to a particular receptor. The project will therefore develop models capable of identifying those molecular characteristics, across structurally different classes of chemicals, that result in similar biological activity.
The QSAR models developed will be used to screen the chemicals from the EINECS and thereby identify potential endocrine- disrupters, thus, providing a scheme for prioritisation for detailed in vitro and in vivo toxicological investigations. Through the implementation of the testing strategy it is expected that current test methods will be further validated and further developed and provide a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms leading to the disruption of the endocrine system.
The methods applied are (1) in vitro oestrogen and androgen receptor function tests; (2) in vitro tests for the determination of hormone agonists and antagonists using hormone-specific cytosensors, including the study of metabolism; (3) in vitro tests to determine the aromatase (CYP19) activity and determine the in vivo vitellogenin formation in fish hepatocytes; (4) in vitro tests to determine the proliferation of target cells, apoptosis, genotoxicity and tumour promotion capabilities and (5) in vivo experimental rodent models for uterotropic effects and hormone responsive tumours.
- 72 - Management of water in the city 1.1.4.-1.3.1.
Contract No : ENV4-CT96-0249 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 570.700 MICHEL-HENRI CORNAERT EC contribution (EURO) : 525.700 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 May 1996 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 29 months Area FP4 : 4 Human dimensions of environmental change
Coordinator Institut für Regionalentwicklung und Strukturplanung e.V. Timothy MOSS Flackenstraße 28-31 Tel : +49-30-30864628 DE - 15537 Erkner Fax : +49-30-30864611 E-mail :
Partners Elius - C. Vei Spiropoulou and Associates O.E. University of Newcastle Upon Tyne GR - Athens Department of Town and Country Planning C. VEI SPIROPOULOU Centre for Urban Technology GB - Newcastle - Upon Tyne S. MARVIN Danmarks Tekniske Universitet Institut for Planlaegning DK - Lyngby M. ELLE
- 73 - 1.1.4.-1.3.1 Management of water in the city
Title: Technical networks as instruments of sustainable flow management : a comparative analysis of infrastructure policy and planning in European urban regions. Objectives: To examine the way technical networks are managed and how changes in their management could contribute to achieving greater sustainability in European urban regions. By comparing utility services for energy, water, sewage and solid waste in selected regions, and by focusing on drinking water and sewage management in different urban settings, the project aims to identify factors which assist or inhibit the implementation of more sustainable practices.
Brief description of the research project: The research project focuses on four key issues : i) the changing context of utility services; in particular how growing demands for environmental sustainability, economic efficiency, social equity and public participation are currently met by conventional forms of infrastructure management; ii) the underlying assumptions and overall "logics" driving infrastructure management. Through the analysis of institutional structures, legal responsibilities and the processes of planning, decision-making and implementation the research determines the forces and logics shaping infrastructure provision; iii) the contribution of technical networks to sustainable urban and regional development. The research assesses the potential of technical networks as instruments of sustainable flow management; iv) the transferability of knowledge and experience. Through the comparative study the research draws conclusions on the criteria affecting transnational and transregional knowledge transfer, the applicability of the findings for European urban regions in general and the relevance of both to EU environmental policy.
These issues are explored through comparative studies of utility services in selected regions of Germany, the UK, Denmark and Greece. Detailed analysis is provided of the management of drinking water provision and sewage treatment in selected settlement types within regions of Berlin, Copenhagen and Newcastle upon Tyne. The transferability of the findings made in the urban regions to a Southern European setting will be tested in a survey of a self-contained island community in Greece, linking up with another project carried out by the team on infrastructure provision on Mediterranean islands.
- 74 - Waste water treatment and re-use 1.1.4.-1.3.2.
Contract No : ENV4-CT95-0064 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.935.500 JÜRGEN BÜSING EC contribution (EURO) : 1.508.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 15 January 1996 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 37 months Area FP4 : 2.2.3 Technologies to protect and rehabilitate the environment
Coordinator Centro Imprese Depurazione Acque Srl Roberto BIANCHI Via Laghetto 1 Tel : +39-31-920518 IT - 22073 Fino Mornasco - Como Fax : +39-31-921880 E-mail :
Partners Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche Politecnico di Milano Istituto di Ricerca sulle Acque Dipartimento di Ingegneria Idraulica, Ambientale e del IT - Roma Rilevamento A. LOPEZ IT - Milano A. ROZZI
Biotim NV Universiteit Gent BE - Brussel Faculteit Landbouwkundige en Toegepaste Biologische J. LIESSENS Wetenschappen Vakgroep Biochemische en Microbiële Technologie BE - Gent W. VERSTRAETE AquaAmbiente - Tratamento de Aguas e Sluçoes para o Instituto Superior Técnico Ambiente SA Departamento de Engenharia Química Laboratorio Laboratório de Engenharia Bioquímica PT - Parede PT - Lisboa J. BORDADO J. NOVAIS Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Toulouse University of Glamorgan Unité de Recherche Procédés Biologiques Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering Laboratoire d'Ingénierie des Procédés de l'Environnement Wastewater Treatment Laboratory FR - Toulouse GB - Pontypridd E. PAUL D. HAWKES
- 75 - 1.1.4.-1.3.2 Waste water treatment and re-use
Title: Integrated water recycling and emission abatement in the textile industry. (IN-PROCESS WATER RECYCLING)
Objectives: The main objective of this programme is to develop an integrated process for the provision of recycled water of assured quality with minimum emissions.
Brief description of the research project: Treatment of the textile effluents will be carried out using an integrated process as follows: the wastewater is treated in a first model (ANASORB) for chemical precipitation of heavy metals and adsorption of dyes on anaerobic sludge. The "enriched" suspended solids are removed by a settler and transferred to an anaerobic reactor. The digested sludge is mixed again with the wastewater. Surplus sludge is treated for heavy metal recovery before final disposal.
The clarified effluent then passes to an aerobic stage (SPAS module) which removes biodegradable organics and oxidises reduced nitrogen compounds. This stage is protected against toxicants by specific (chemical and biological) sensors. Innovative remedial action includes the addition of stand-by biomass and specific nutrients to enhance biological activity as well as biodegradable flocculative/dye-adsorption aids and especially acclimated aerobic cultures.
A final holistic polishing (HOLIPOL module) involves filtration processes (microfiltration MF, ultrafiltration UF and nanofiltration NF) and/or other physico-chemical treatments (ozonation and activated carbon absorption) to bring the water up to the standard required for reuse by the industry. Oxidation plus biological degradation of refractories left in the membrane concentrates will contribute to minimize emission of pollutants from the overall treatment.
All three modules are flexible in application, and can be used separately or together.
- 76 - Waste water treatment and re-use 1.1.4.-1.3.2.
Contract No : ENV4-CT95-0065 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.300.000 JÜRGEN BÜSING EC contribution (EURO) : 764.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 May 1996 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 26 months Area FP4 : 2.2.3 Technologies to protect and rehabilitate the environment
Coordinator Papiertechnische Stiftung Adolf N. GELLER PTS-Wasser-, Abwasser- und Reststoffforschungsstelle Tel : +49-89-1214660 Hess-Straße 134 Fax : +49-89-1236592 DE - 80797 München E-mail :
Partners Centre Technique de l'Industrie des Papiers, Cartons et Oy Keskuslaboratorio - Centrallaboratoriuum AB Celluloses The Finnish Pulp and Paper Research Institute - Paper Science Environnement et Analyses Centre FR - Grenoble FI - Espoo G. LENON P. MAURANEN
RHODIA Chimie SA Université de la Rochelle Division Bevaloid FR - La Rochelle FR - Sausheim J. MORROS
Groupe de Recherches et d'Animations pour le Développement, l'Innovation et l'Enseignement en Technologie Division Procédés Biotechnologiques Laboratoire Génie des Procédés FR - Compiègne J. LEBEAULT
- 77 - 1.1.4.-1.3.2 Waste water treatment and re-use
Title: Improvement of microbiological control in closed water systems for the paper and board industry. (MICO)
Objectives: The water consumption of the paper and board industry, compared to other industries, is of major importance. The current state-of-the-art already avoids about 90% of fresh water consumption by internal recirculation. Further reduction by extended system closure leads to considerable loading of the process water by dissolved fixed and volatile solids which favour the growth of microorganisms. To inhibit or destroy the microorganisms and to prevent slime formation, metal corrosion and bad odours in paper mills biocides are being applied. These are toxic substances that usually impair metabolic activities and by that can impose threats to man's health and to the environment. The planned project aims to control microbial activity in closed water systems without application of hazardous substances. The strategy, however, is not to search nonhazardous compounds and replace currently available biocides. The key to environmentally friendly microbial control is the knowledge of microbial behaviour and interaction in the process water.
Brief description of the research project: The first step is the development of reliable and specific methodologies which allow to measure microbial activity and to predict problems with paper machine operation and product quality caused by those. Commercially available methods to check water systems will be evaluated to assess their potential of differentiating between viable and inhibited cells, slime forming and non slime forming bacteria. Beyond conventional technologies a new approach is made to describe microbial activity directly related to paper machine operation. Methods of chemical, biochemical and microbiological analysis are being combined to differentiate between microorganisms capable of deranging paper machine operation or product quality and microorganisms which influence less these items.
The analytical methods are: - chemical analysis of easily performed sum parameters like pH, COD, BOD, MLVSS; - biochemical analysis including immunolabelling, oxygen transfer rates and microrespirometry, nutrient supply and uptake, head space GC; - microbiological investigations comprising cytometer sorting, epifluorescence microscopy, MICROTOX measurements. The next task is to gather information on the distribution, composition and activity of the prevailing paper mill microorganisms in the process water, in slime deposits and in the product. The examinations comprehend microbial screening procedures, chemical analysis of deposits and combined studies on the fate of microorganisms through the paper machine dryer section. Trials on the lab scale will have to prove the stressing factors and optimize their performance. They include the following technologies: - inoculation of selected bacteria and protozoa from paper machine white water and other sources in process water circuits - studies on slime growth and degradation by microorganisms - optimization of nutrient supply for useful microorganisms related to the needs of paper machine operation - chemical control of slime layers - application of physico-mechanical measures, i.e. high pressure, shear forces, ultrasonic and electrostatic water treatment
The testing equipment, i.e. a semi-automated labsheet former in combination with several mechanical treatment devices and a electrostatic apparatus will be run with process water. The water will come from selected paper mills with closed water circuits exhibiting problems obviously caused by microbiological activities.
- 78 - Waste water treatment and re-use 1.1.4.-1.3.2.
Contract No : ENV4-CT95-0068 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.012.600 JÜRGEN BÜSING EC contribution (EURO) : 787.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 March 1996 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 2.2.3 Technologies to protect and rehabilitate the environment
Coordinator University of Newcastle Upon Tyne Ian Christopher HANCOCK Department of Microbiology - Medical School Tel : +44-191-222-7704 Framlington Place Fax : +44-191-222-7736 GB - Newcastle - Upon Tyne NE2 4HH E-mail : [email protected]
Partners Instituto Superior Técnico Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Departamento de Engenharia Química Department of Chemistry Section 41 - Applied Transfer Phenomena-Hydro Metalurgy Laboratory of General and Inorganic Chemical Technology Separation Process and Environment Group GR - Thessaloniki PT - Lisboa A. ZOUBOULIS J. RODRIGUES DE CARVALHO Laboratório Nacional de Engenharia Civil Instituto Nacional de Engenharia e Tecnologia Industrial Departamento de Hidraulica - Nucleo de Hidraulica Sanitaria Departamento de Materiais PT - Lisboa PT - Lisboa M. MESQUITA F. RODRIGUES
Electrochemical Techniques Ltd. GB - Stockport F. HOLLAND
- 79 - 1.1.4.-1.3.2 Waste water treatment and re-use
Title: The removal of toxic metals from water and their selective recovery by biosorption, elution and electrolysis. (BIOELECDETOX) Objectives: The project takes a multidisciplinary approach involving the combination of microbiology, environmental engineering, chemical engineering, chemistry and electrochemistry. The successful project would economically: - reduce the metal ion concentrations down to 10 mg/L - enable the European Union to meet its own water quality directives - recover and recycle clean water for reuse within industry - recover the metals as separate metals for industrial use Thus there will be no toxic metal waste disposal hazards.
Brief description of the research project: Several of the present consortium came together in the last framework (EVWA-CT92-003) and have developed a successful, very specific, almost total, removal of cadmium (down to 10 g/litre) with the metal being recovered as virtually pure cadmium for reuse. This process will have limitations when applied to the mixed metal situation of commonly occurring contaminated waters. Such mixtures could be Cu, Ni, Zn with Cd, Hg, Pb, and a total removal of these would be advantageous in giving clear water, but if the metals were recovered as a mixture then this would be of low value and require further refining. This refining would in turn generate more pollution hazards.
To overcome these limitations we propose to: a) absorb the metal ions on dead bacteria or fungi or mixtures thereof, obtaining partial selection/absorption b) selective or partially selective elution of the metal ions from the separated biomass c) controlled potential electrolysis of the evaluates to give the individual metals
This is novel and we believe we are combining the best aspects of novel biosorption technology with the best aspects of chemistry, chemical engineering and electrochemistry to produce a low energy consuming highly efficient process to give clean water, recover separate metals with a good space time yield and low environmental impact and cost. This approach to removing and safety recycling mixtures of toxic metals as separate metals envisages a process involving repeated re-use of the microbial sorbant. Bacterial, yeast and fungal biomass will be used together, or in succession, to achieve maximum removal of the widest range of mixed metals. A degree of selectivity will be achieved (a) at the biosorption step by the use of bacterial and fungal biomass exhibiting different biosorption properties, (b) at the elution step by selective elution, (c) at the electrolysis stage by controlled potential electrolysis.
The overall process will contain the following steps: a) obtaining metal-binding bacteria and fungi for initial plant charge and much smaller make-up; b) contacting contaminated water with biomass, leading to absorption of metal cations onto the biomass; c) separating the metal-loaded bacteria by flotation or flocculation and filtration; d) sending the liquid effluent (containing traces of the metal-loaded biomass) to a suitable polisher to remove remaining traces of microbes and give metal-free water. Periodically the polisher is back-washed and the biomass returned to the system; e) eluting the metals from the flocculated and settled biomass by filter elution; f) electrolysing the dilute aqueous metal eluant to give metal and regenerate elution liquor for re-use; g) selling the metal powder for industrial use.
Steps a, b, c, e and f are subject of this research project.
- 80 - Waste water treatment and re-use 1.1.4.-1.3.2.
Contract No : ENV4-CT95-0081 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.481.000 JÜRGEN BÜSING EC contribution (EURO) : 1.080.500 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 March 1996 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 42 months Area FP4 : 2.2.3 Technologies to protect and rehabilitate the environment
Coordinator Imperial College of Science Technology and Medicine Andrew LINVINGSTON Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemical Technology Tel : +44-171-5945582 Prince Consort Road Fax : +44-171-5945604 GB - London SW7 2AZ E-mail :
Partners Gesellschaft für Biotechnologische Forschung mbH Hickson and Welch Ltd. Abteilung für Mikrobiologie GB - Castleford - West Yorkshire Biodegradation Group S. COOK DE - Braunschweig R. WITTICH Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica Solvay Deutschland GmbH Membrane Separation Laboratory Zentralbereich Forschung und Entwicklung PT - Oeiras Technikum / Umwelttechnologie J. CRESPO DE - Hannover H. RASCHE X-Flow BV NL - Almelo I. BLUME
- 81 - 1.1.4.-1.3.2 Waste water treatment and re-use
Title: Extractive membrane bioreactors for detoxification of chemical industry wastes. (EMB FOR CHEMICAL WASTE DETOX)
Objectives: The main goals of this project are to develop extractive membrane bioreactor (EMB) technology as a cost effective and environmentally friendly technology for dealing with aqueous wastes contaminated with toxic organics.
Brief description of the research project: The project will :
- develop new and improved microorganisms for toxic organic degradation - develop improved pure elastomer and composite membranes for organic extraction from aqueous streams - investigate the performance of membrane attached biofilms - test the EMB technology on site using real industrial waste streams.
The above activities will lead to an assessment of the technical and economic feasibility of the process being made.
- 82 - Waste water treatment and re-use 1.1.4.-1.3.2.
Contract No : ENV4-CT95-0097 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.006.800 JÜRGEN BÜSING EC contribution (EURO) : 535.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 March 1996 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 2.2.3 Technologies to protect and rehabilitate the environment
Coordinator EA Technology Ltd. G. SUNDERLAND Capenhurst Tel : +44-151-347-2411 GB - Chester CH1 6ES Fax : +44-151-347-2138 E-mail :
Partners Fundacion INASMET Asociacion de Investigation Electroquimica de Hemani SA Metalurgica del Pais Vasco Research and Development Departamento de Tecnología Química ES - San Sebastián ES - San Sebastián N. ARIZMENDI P. AGUIRRE
Instituto Superior Técnico Instituto de Investigação Científica Tropical Centro de Valorizaçào de Recursos Minerais Centro de Cristalografia e Mineralogia PT - Lisboa PT - Lisboa F. MARGARIDO M. FIGUEIREDO
Uniao Industrial Textil e Quimica SA Laboratory Uniteca PT - Estarreja D. SANTOS
- 83 - 1.1.4.-1.3.2 Waste water treatment and re-use
Title: Mercury removal from wastesources. (MERWAS)
Objectives: The chloralkali industry, generating chlorine and caustic soda, still uses mercurycontaining electrochemical cells, and is historically the most important source of mercury pollution. Cleaner, non-mercury, processes are available, but mercury brine sludges are still produced, and present a serious problem.
Mercury is also present in fluorescent light fittings, and discarded tubes present a pollution hazard. When tubes are collected, mercury can be recovered by distillation, condensation of mercury, and adsorption of residual mercury vapour on activated carbon, from which it must subsequently be recovered.
The objective of the project is to develop a treatment unit to recover mercury from:
(a) brine sludges from the chloralkali industry (b) residues from fluorescent light fittings
Elemental mercury will be recovered suitable for immediate recycling, thereby reducing primary mining and extraction.
Brief description of the research project: The project will comprise the following RTD tasks:
1. Assessment of requirements relative to EC and national regulations on discharge of mercury. 2. Characterisation of solid residues arising from fluorescent lamps and mercury-rich brine sludges. 3. Preconcentration of mercury-bearing residues, followed by leaching of mercury. 4. Iron removal and mercury concentration using ion exchange or solvent extraction. 5. Leaching tests on residues from (3.) for further extractable mercury. 6. Immobilisation of any toxic residues from (5.). 7. Design electrochemical call for mercury recovery. 8. Design and construct integrated unit to extract mercury from mercury-rich residues, and recover as elemental mercury, using above processes. 9. Demonstrate mercury recovery unit in field trials. 10. Provide economic, technical and environmental assessment of the process.
Successful outcome of this project will provide an effective on-site, at-source means of preventing mercury pollution.
- 84 - Waste water treatment and re-use 1.1.4.-1.3.2.
Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0512 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 700.000 JEAN-FRANÇOIS JUNGER EC contribution (EURO) : 350.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 March 1998 E-mail : jean-franç[email protected] Duration : 24 months Area FP4 : 2.2.3 Technologies to protect and rehabilitate the environment
Coordinator EA Technology Ltd. Tracy PEARS Capenhurst Tel : +44-151-3472563 GB - Chester CH1 6ES Fax : +44-151-3472560 E-mail :
Partners Nederlandse Organisatie voor Toegepast Inter Euro Technology Limited Trading as the Faraday Centre Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek IE - Chapelstown TNO Milieuwetenschappen en Energietechnologie J. PARKES Energie en Procesinnovatie NL - Apeldoorn J. VAN GROENESTIJN
- 85 - 1.1.4.-1.3.2 Waste water treatment and re-use
Title: Denitrification of water using electrochemical biofilms. (DENWEB)
Objectives: To design, fabricate and operate a bio-electrochemical reactor incorporating a novel electrode carrier system for the removal of nitrates from contaminated waters.
Brief description of the research project: In conventional denitrification processes, micro-organisms use oxygen in nitrate to oxidise an external carbon source to carbon dioxide whilst nitrate is reduced to nitrogen gas. An alternative method is to attach autotrophic micro-organisms as a biofilm to an electrode surface and use the hydrogen produced by the electrolysis of water for the reduction of nitrate to nitrogen gas. Since the biofilm is in intimate contact with the hydrogen produced, this should be a more rapid and efficient nitrate removal method than any other to date.
Two flexible small scale test reactors will be built to enable the partners to study different aspects of the process and to facilitate the rapid advancement of the technology in the 2 years of the project. Initially, different electrode materials and inoculum sources will be screened to assess the efficiency of biofilm attachment and growth.
Trials will then be carried out to assess the stability and thickness of the biofilm under the influence of shear forces and bubbles produced by electrolysis. The effect of power levels, pH, temperature and residual organic carbon on denitrification rates will be determined and the limiting factors established.
Data generated from the test reactors will be used to design an integrated pilot scale reactor. This reactor will be used in denitrification trials at an end-user site. The results will be assessed to determine the technical and economical feasibility of the process.
In parallel with the laboratory work, a mathematical model will be developed to predict the behaviour of the bio- electrochemical reactor. It will combine expressions for kinetic parameters (e.g. cell yield, specific growth rate, death rate), mass transfer and reactor hydrodynamics. The validity of the model will be tested using experimental data from the laboratory and pilot scale facilities. Such a model will enable the technology to be scaled up with confidence.
- 86 - Waste water treatment and re-use 1.1.4.-1.3.2.
Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0611 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.576.400 JEAN-FRANÇOIS JUNGER EC contribution (EURO) : 900.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 February 1999 E-mail : jean-franç[email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 2.2.3 Technologies to protect and rehabilitate the environment
Coordinator IBS Viridian Ltd. Paul Jackson John Wilson Business Park 114-1 Tel : 44 1922 743585 GB - Whitstable CT5 3QT Fax : 44 1922 58813 E-mail :
Partners Rentokil Ailsa Environmental Ltd. BioSystem GmbH GB - Paisley DE - Kontstanz A. MCNAIR H. KRAMER
Custom Foams Ltd Centre de Recherche sur l'Environment Industrial Dunkerque Custom Foams (Milton Keynes) FR - Dunkerque GB - Milton Keynes F. CAZIER A. TOWLER Tate & Lyle Industries Ltd. Nederlandse Organisatie voor Toegepast United Storage . Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek GB - Liverpool TNO Milieuwetenschappen en Energietechnologie L. KAVANAGH NL - Apeldoorn R. VAN HOUTEN
- 87 - 1.1.4.-1.3.2 Waste water treatment and re-use
Title: A novel bioreactor for the treatment of hydrocarbon polluted waters. (BIOTREAT)
Objectives: To design and develop a novel bioreactor for biological treatment of mineral, synthetic (biodegradable) and vegetable oil polluted waters. This novel bioreactor will be able to effect simultaneous separation, adsorption and biodegradation of oils in waste water, surface water and ground water, providing total exclusion of oil from treated effluent. The concept features many advantages over current physical and biological treatment systems.
Brief description of the research project: The contamination of waste water, surface water and ground water by oil is a particularly serious environmental problem. Oils are extremely difficult to break down by chemical or biological methods. Hydrocarbon oils tend to float on water and attach to solid surfaces. Due to these properties of oil when it contact with water, the contamination of oil in water can have disastrous environmental impacts on all forms of marine life.
Conventional techniques for treatment of hydrocarbon oils are based on physical techniques to separate oils for recovery. Examples include static separators, petrol interceptors, coalescing filters and membrane systems. Subsequent treatment of soluble oils by biological techniques is often adopted. These conventional physical techniques, based on static separation of oil and water, are ineffective. They do not remove all of the visible oil, and the levels of residual oil in the treated effluent are to high. If the physical fails to retain oils due to overload, emergency spillage’s or malfunction, the effects on downstream systems can be disastrous.
Biological systems can also be used alone for treatment and of hydrocarbon oils. This treatment involves the dispersed or attached growth systems. Examples include activated sludge assemblies and biofilters, both of these systems have disavandtages when dealing with hydrocarbons oils. This is due to the fine balance which must be maintained between the biological organisms and the levels of oil, to allow for efficient oxygen transfer.
There is a need within industry to develop an efficient system for removal of oil from waste water, ground water and surface water before it is returned to its natural surroundings, thus preventing long term pollution of many ecological environments.
The novel bioreactor will be designed for both anaerobic as well as anaerobic operation. An anaerobic process has several advantage especially for the treatment of nature oils. Within the project there will be several tests carried out to find out for which pollutants anareobic processes (i.e. denitrifying of methanogenic bacteria) have advantages.
To ensure the optimum conditions for bacterial growth and respiration a range of chemical, physical and mechanical factors have to be considered, especially as any variations in the quantity and concentration of hydrocarbon oils can inhibit the biological process resulting in process failure. The project therefore involves a high level of technical research to fully assess and understand the inherent problems of hydrocarbon oil treatment before experimental bioreactor systems can be built and tested.
- 88 - Waste water treatment and re-use 1.1.4.-1.3.2.
Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0613 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 700.000 JEAN-FRANÇOIS JUNGER EC contribution (EURO) : 350.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 April 1998 E-mail : jean-franç[email protected] Duration : 30 months Area FP4 : 2.2.3 Technologies to protect and rehabilitate the environment
Coordinator BLC Leather Technology Centre Farid Turan Engineering and Environmental Control Tel : 44 1604 679946 Kings Park Road Fax : 44 1604 679998 Moulton Park E-mail : [email protected] GB - Northampton NN3 6JD
Partners Instituto Nacional de Engenharia e Tecnologia Industrial Dansk Teknologisk Institut Instituto das Tecnologias Ambientais Department of Environmental Technology PT - Lisboa Section of Water Technology M. PENEDA DK - Taastrup S. RYDIN Fenland Sheepskin Co. Limited Moensters Garveri Fenland Sheepskin (Bridgewater) DK - Haagerup - Faaborg GB - Bridgewater M. JUUL MADSEN A. TINNION
Michell Ireland Ltd. Constantino Mota S.A. IE - Portlaw PT - Alcanena T. HARRIS A. ALVES SANTOS
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Title: Application of modern membrane technologies for the conservation of raw materials and the treatment of effluents from leather manufacture. Objectives: To investigate and exploit the full potential available from the large number of new and existing membrane products and to develop novel separation techniques and practical membrane based cleaner technologies to minimise wastes, prevent pollution and treat waste streams from the leather processing sectors.
Brief description of the research project: The principle objective of the project is to substantially reduce the environmental impact and improve the economics of the leather processing sector by development of membrane based systems for the cost-effective recovery and recycling of spent tannery process chemicals, by-products, water and solvents and the effective treatment of tannery waste streams in particular those containing hazardous and toxic compounds and difficult-to-treat pollutants.
The project will determine, select and develop the best products, designs and operation of modular membrane based separation systems. This will aim to provide a reliable, compact and improved performance over existing recycling and recovery processes and effluent treatment technologies. It will primarily focus on membrane products and processes that are of industrial significance, such as microfiltration and ultrafiltration (MF & UF), and further develop dynamically-formed membranes (DFM) and membrane bioreactor (MBR) systems which promise to offer enhanced separation of tannery process liquors and treatment of wastewaters.
A structures and comprehensive programme of fundamental and applied research will be undertaken up to full technical demonstration of selected membrane applications. The partnership will compromise of an experienced group of three research organisations and four leather manufacturers as the end-users for pilot plant demonstration. There will also be extensive contact with membrane suppliers and process equipment manufacturers to ensure the greatest coverage of expertise.
In particular, the project will focus on five membrane separation tasks, each following a structure approach from the initial product selection, process evaluation, up to the extended on-site demonstration trials. The main membrane applications will include the recovery and recycling of spent tannery liquors and concentration of chemicals and recovery of by-products from tannery effluents. The project will also investigate novel application of dynamically-formed membranes for treating "difficult" effluent streams, in particular for reducing colour, COD and fine suspended solids. Furthermore, enhanced biological effluent treatment using a combination of membranes for both biomass filtration and "bubbleless" oxygen mass transfer will be demonstrated.
- 90 - Waste water treatment and re-use 1.1.4.-1.3.2.
Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0615 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 900.000 JEAN-FRANÇOIS JUNGER EC contribution (EURO) : 450.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 May 1998 E-mail : jean-franç[email protected] Duration : 30 months Area FP4 : 2.2.3 Technologies to protect and rehabilitate the environment
Coordinator Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe GmbH - Technik und Umwelt Hubert Goldacker Institut für Technische Chemie Tel : 49 72 47 82 28 75 Chemisch-Physikalische Verfahren Fax : 49 72 47822244 DE - 76021 Karlsruhe E-mail : [email protected]
Partners Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique Stora Corporate Research AB Direction du Cycle du Combustible - Département de SE - Falun Technologie de l'Enrichissement A. WIGSTEN FR - Bagnols-sur-Cèze M. CARLES
Solvay S.A. Research and Technology Centre - Brussels Centre BE - Bruxelles C. BIVER
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Title: Cost effective destructuration of toxic organic wastes by supercritical hydrothermal oxidation. (SUPERHYDROX)
Objectives: The objective is the development of a continuous supercritical hydrothermal oxidation process for waste destruction which will break down class one waste into harmless substances such as CO2 and water loaded with a COD and BOD burden below the legal limits. The project should end up providing the feasibility of treating industrial quantities of waste by bench scale operation, resolution of corrosion problems, proving of continuous salt removal as well as definition and testing of appropriate of different effluent types.
Brief description of the research project: The proposal is focused on the development of a waste oxidation process with pressurised air which can be applied to a variety of hazardous waste effluent such as heavily loaded organic streams containing chlorine, sulphur and other problematic components. In case of slurries and suspensions dilution and/or pretreatment (e.g. filtration) may be required.
The process conditions ensure that water will be in the supercritical conditions (temperature ³ 400 °C, pressure ³ 250 bars) drastically enhancing homogeneity of the reacting components and accelerating oxidation kinetics The heat generated by the exothermic energy of the oxidation can be reused for effluent pretreatment and preheating. After decompression water will be recovered for reuse, CO2 can be released, mineral salts will be separated or likewise recovered . The solution of the following technical risks may influence the success of the project with respect to treatable hazardous waste categories and process economies: Corrosion problems may require expensive reactor materials and innovative reactor configurations. Solids must be removed from the high pressure system. Unexpected problems in the pretreatment step (e.g. membrane fouling) may increase operating and maintenance costs. The use of high pressure equipment could entail restrictions imposed by the safety authorities. Consequently the objectives of the proposal is to reduce these risks to low at the end of the project based on previous work results.
The project is a combined effort by material and chemical engineering experts in cooperation with industrial partners providing a variety of typical wastes and know how for commercial exploitation.
- 92 - Waste water treatment and re-use 1.1.4.-1.3.2.
Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0632 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 550.000 JEAN-FRANÇOIS JUNGER EC contribution (EURO) : 550.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 October 1998 E-mail : jean-franç[email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 2.2.3 Technologies to protect and rehabilitate the environment
Coordinator University of Ulster Brian Robert Eggins School of Applied Biological and Chemical Sciences Tel : 44 1232 366113 Shore Road Fax : 44 1232 366812 GB - Newtownabbey, Co.Antrim BT37 0QB E-mail : [email protected]
Partners Rijksuniversiteit Groningen The Robert Gordon University Department of Chemical Engineering Food Science and Technology Research Centre - School of NL - Groningen Applied Sciences A. BEENACKERS GB - Aberdeen P. ROBERTSON
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Title: Photocatalytic oxidation of polluted industrial effluent. (PCATIE)
Objectives: The aim of the project is to develop a novel effluent treatment process based on the photocatalytic properties of titanium dioxide, enhanced by ultrasound and electrochemistry.
Brief description of the research project: When titanium dioxide is illuminated with ultraviolet light (UVA) an electron is promoted to the conduction energy band leaving a hole in the valence energy band. The hole becomes a powerful oxidising agent which will convert most organic pollutants to carbon dioxide and water. This provides a method for treating a wide rang of affluents discharged by textile, agricultural, pharmaceutical, food and chemical industries. Current treatment methods are not effective and are expensive or require the use of toxic reagents. The process will enable such industries to comply with European Commission legislation relating to effluent discharge.
The ultrasound will improve the mass transport of the catalyst, help to break up larger, intractable molecules and contribute to the generation of hydroxyl radicals and of ultraviolet light in situ.
The electrochemical application will facilitate the removal of electrons, thus minimising electron hole recombination. It may also permit the simultaneous reduction of metal ions at the cathode.
- 94 - Waste water treatment and re-use 1.1.4.-1.3.2.
Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0635 Concerted Actions EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 280.000 JEAN-FRANÇOIS JUNGER EC contribution (EURO) : 280.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 April 1998 E-mail : jean-franç[email protected] Duration : 26 months Area FP4 : 2.2.3 Technologies to protect and rehabilitate the environment
Coordinator Dansk Teknologisk Institut Stefan Rydin Department of Environmental Technology Tel : 45 43 50 43 50 Section of Water Technology Fax : 45 43 50 71 50 Gregersensvej E-mail : [email protected] DK - 2630 Taastrup
Partners Confédération des Associations Nationales de Tanneurs et BLC Leather Technology Centre Mégissiers de la Communauté Européenne GB - Northampton BE - Bruxelles C. WOOD G. GONZALEZ-QUIJANO
Centre Technique Cuir Chaussure Maroquinerie Unione Nazionale Industria Conciaria FR - Lyon IT - Milano V. VAN DEN BOSSCHE G. ZILLI
Westdeutsche Gerberschule Reutlingen Stazione Sperimentale per l'Industria delle Pelli e delle Research and Development Department Materie Concianti DE - Reutlingen IT - Napoli H. GERMANN G. UMMARINO Asociación de Investigacion de las Industrias del Curtido y Hellenic Leather Centre SA Anexas GR - Athens ES - Igualada D. PAPAKONSTANTINOU J. ADZET ADZET
Centro Tecnológico das Indústrias do Couro PT - Alcanena C. BARROSO
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Title: Concerted action for the European leather industry. (TANNERY NET)
Objectives: To build of a European Network for the Leather Industry.
To recommend a strategy for environmental research for the European leather sector.
Brief description of the research project: The work programme of the present Concerted Action consist of different tasks.
- Building of a European Network for environmental research for the leather industry The membership of the concerted action will include tanneries and related industries, national leather association, universities and other research organisations.
- Updating of recent and ongoing environmental research for the leather industry. The updating will include research on national, regional, an European level. The activities will be related to the state-of-the-art (world-wide).
- Identifying the research needs both on short and long term for the European leather industry. This study will involve contacts with the leather industry (associations and selected tanneries), its suppliers (chemical and machinery industry), leather research institutes, legislating authorities and other relevant bodies. The results will be used for establishing a strategy for environmental research for the European Leather Industry.
- Organising three regional workshop in Europe. The overall objective is to discuss research needs for the leather industry and thereby giving input to the final strategy for environmental research.
- Publication of an encompassing final report, including the state-of-the-art and a strategy for environmental research for the European Leather Industry.
- 96 - Waste water treatment and re-use 1.1.4.-1.3.2.
Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0636 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 575.630 JEAN-FRANÇOIS JUNGER EC contribution (EURO) : 372.280 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 September 1998 E-mail : jean-franç[email protected] Duration : 24 months Area FP4 : 2.2.3 Technologies to protect and rehabilitate the environment
Coordinator Deutsches Institut für Textil- und Faserforschung Stuttgart Reinhold Schneider Institut für Textilchemie Tel : 49 711 9340 140 Department Textile Printing Fax : 49 711 9340 185 Koerschtalstrasse 26 E-mail : DE - 73770 Denkendorf
Partners Univerza v Mariboru Textile Factory Svila AG Textile Chemistry Institute Printing and Finishing Department Laboratory for Textile Printing SI - Maribor SI - Maribor P. PLAJNSEK S. SOSTAR Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas Dystar Textilfarben GmbH & Co. Deutschland KG Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo Marketing Textildruck Departamento de tecnologia de Tensioactivos DE - Frankfurt am Main ES - Barcelona H. MACH J. SANCHEZ LEAL GRÜNAU Illertissen GmbH Lamberti SpA Anwendungstechnisches labor Textildruck IT - Albizzate DE - Illertissen G. LI BASSI A. ROTH
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Title: Minimization of wastewater pollution in European textile printing using natural thickeners and additives. (BIODEGRADABLE ADDITIVES) Objectives: The objective of the study is the research and development of environmental-friendly additives for their use in reactive printing with natural biodegradable thickeners in order to improve printing qualities. Wastewater pollution will be minimized by the replacement of the ecological unfavourable synthetic thickeners by natural substances.
Brief description of the research project: In reactive printing usually sodium alginates or mixtures with carboxymethylated polysaccharides are used as thickening agent, but in some cases (using Viscose and bifunctional reactive dyes) reaction takes place resulting in unacceptable fabric handle. To prevent this, it is necessary to use synthetic thickeners (polyacrylic acids, polymaleic acids), which do not react with reactive dyes. Using these polymers two big problems occur: the outline sharpness is bad and also the synthetic thickener is not biodegradable, leading to persistence in the effluent. Printing trials with natural thickeners have shown, that different additives (some surfactants) can prevent the disaster of fabric stiffness, but up to now it is unknown which characteristics in chemical structure results in efficiency. The proposed project deales with the research and development of environmental-friendly additives as well as their application with natural and biodegradable thickeners. This will lead to an an environmental-friendly printing process with reduced wastewater pollution.
The R&D-work will start with the investigation of additives with different chemical structure. It should be possible to classify the compounds in a list of efficiency according to their chemical structure by analytical methods. Based on this screening/results new and more effective chemical compounds have to be synthesized and tested. The most effective compounds should be used for further investigations and applications in pastes with respect to wastewater pollution.
The next step is the application of the additives with different natural thickeners and variable mixtures, because most of the printers want to mix thickeners. This work will result in concrete values for additives depending on substitution degree of the thickeners. The rheology of these pastes have to be measured including the influence on printing quality, fixation rate and coloration. In addition to this fastness and wastewater depollution has to be determined.
After these basic tests in laboratory printing trials will be done in pilot plants and bulk production to improve paste recipes and to show the application spectrum of these basic compounds. Project results will be profitable for textile auxiliary producers and thickener manufacturer as well as for end-users like printing houses in every country of Europe.Particularly, the European water quality will benefit most.
- 98 - Waste water treatment and re-use 1.1.4.-1.3.2.
Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0678 Concerted Actions EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 500.000 JÜRGEN BÜSING EC contribution (EURO) : 500.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 February 1998 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 2.2.3 Technologies to protect and rehabilitate the environment
Coordinator Österreichisches Forschungszentrum Seibersdorf GmbH Peter Krejsa Division of Process and Environmental Technologies Tel : 43 2254 780 2650 AT - 2444 Seibersdorf Fax : 43 2254 780 2652 E-mail : [email protected]
Partners Enichem SpA University of Leeds Centro Ricerche di Novara Department of Civil Engineering IT - Novara GB - Leeds P. CORTESI J. BARTON
Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. Institut de Recherches Hydrologiques Bereich Projektträgerschaften Génie de l'Environnement - Direction de la Recherche DE - Bonn FR - Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy G. PANZNER M. JAUZEIN
Dansk Teknologisk Institut Department of Environmental Technology Section of Water Technology DK - Taastrup S. RYDIN
- 99 - 1.1.4.-1.3.2 Waste water treatment and re-use
Title: Concerted action on environment technology. (CENTEC)
Objectives: ETCA is an Environment Technology Concerted Action. The aim is to treat the following issues on a common European basis:
- Tools to develop and assess environmental technologies.
- RDT to promote the export of appropriate technologies and international co-operation..
- RDT needed to overcome bottlenecks in the implementation of Environmental Technologies.
- Ptrogress integration of end of pipe technologies.
- Waste management technologies, industry and the city of tomorow .
The above issues will be treated on the basis of Working Groups to bring together research, legislation and industry to assure appropriate co-ordination, multidisciplinarity and best use of funds. This will also help to avoid duplication of work, attract new partners for projects and the solution of problems. The Working Groups will elaborate the specified tasks list of the topics above with the emphasis to integrate national programmes and other European efforts, projects and programmes.
Brief description of the research project: Environmental Technologies are a key element for the European policy of a sustainable development of environment and society. The use of accumulated knowledge and continuous progress in technologies will help to reconcile the objectives of economic development with environmental sustainability. The competitiveness of European industry highly depends on its capacity of innovation.
Driving forces for innovation are:
- Societal awareness of environmental problems - Scientific-technical developments - The market
Therefore integrated multidisciplinary and multisectoral activities with the involvement of the principal stakeholders will shape future industrial activities. Consequently it is necessary to establish strong connections ( e.g. by concerted actions) between RTD, industry and policy makers.
A non-prioritised list of topics to assure the development of environmental technologies contains:
- Results from research programmes should become quickly available. - The assessment of methods and comparison of alternatives should be possible with well established tools. - The industrial implementation of new developments should be facilitated. - RTD tasks of the industry should be solved promptly and cost effectively by the most appropriate institutions or networks. - Political concepts and visions concerning environmental legislation should be transported to industry and RTD institutions at an early stage to allow the preparation of projects and an adaptation of activities. - Co-operation should be strengthened and duplication of work avoided by closer co-ordination with national programmes. - Access to European research infrastructures and facilities should be facilitated. - Future RTD tasks have to be oriented toward research areas of substantive regional, European and global significance.
Environmental Technologies are developed and applied to minimise or reduce the negative environmental impact of human activities and to enhance a sustainable development of industrial society.
Working group 1 Which tools are available for the development and the assessment of environmental technologies?
The development of environmental technologies is a complex process. Tools are necessary to provide information about the status of environment. Processes and products have to be developed, optimised and assessed. Detailed and continuous effluent controls have to be integrated in facility planning. (e.g. on-line measurement of effluent constituents, data transfer, processing and environmental assessments).
-Because 100 - of the non-linearity of complex systems the planning of processes by modelling and simulation has to be performed from the level of molecules up to the level of large scale facilities. Using simulation as a tool helps to reduce risks and Abatement of water pollution from contaminated land, landfills and 1.1.4.-1.4.1.
Contract No : ENV4-CT95-0079 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.503.900 JÜRGEN BÜSING EC contribution (EURO) : 824.450 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 April 1996 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 32 months Area FP4 : 2.2.3 Technologies to protect and rehabilitate the environment
Coordinator Institut Français du Pétrole Christian BOCARD Geophysics and Instruments Department Tel : +33-1 47526403 Avenue de Bois-Préau 1&4 Fax : +33-1 47527001 FR - 92500 Rueil-Malmaison E-mail :
Partners Universität Köln Deutsche Montan Technologie GmbH Institut für Geophysik und Meteorologie Institut für Lägerstätte, Vermessung und Angewandte DE - Köln Geophysik A. HOERDT DE - Bochum E. RÄKERS
Imaging Arts Co GR - Thessaloniki V. CHOUVARDAS
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Title: Detecting and locating non-aqueaous phase contaminants in soils by three geophysical methods. (GEOLOCAPOL)
Objectives: The developed methodology aims at locating and possibly determining the volume of Non-Aqueous Phase Liquid pollutants (NAPL) in the non saturated zone of soils up to the water-table in the depth-range 0-20 m. The methodology will especially apply to liquid hydrocarbons such as gasoline, diesel fuel and heavy fuel, to HAP-containing tars and to chlorinated hydrocarbons such as solvents and PCB's, for the investigation of industrially and accidentally contaminated sites with the interest of avoiding many boreholes.
It consists in combining three existing geophysical tools (Ground Penetrating Radar, Radiomagnetotellurics and Electrical Direct Current or Electromagnetic Tomography) to take advantage of their complementarity and in enhancing their respective resolution by using improved processing methods. The operational methodology will be completed by a dedicated graphic software for interactive 3D data visualisation.
Brief description of the research project: The general approach of the project is to test the geophysical methods on already investigated contaminated sites on which complementary analytical measurements by core sampling will be carried out to better characterize the spatial distribution of contaminants. Two sites will be investigated: - a former coke plant (HAP main contamination) - a closed petroleum products depot (gasoline - fuel contamination).
The physical parameters (electric permittivity and electrical resistivity) which are involved in the selected geophysical methods (GPR, RMT, ET) are sensitive to both NAPL-and water-content. Hence, geophysical measurements will be carried out on both sites in different hydric states of soil (winter and summer campaigns).
The interest of combining the three geophysical method is : - decreasing the uncertainty in the pollution recognition - separating the structural effects from the pollution effects using the different sensitivities of each method related to the kinds of soils - compensating the methods weaknesses by their complementarity - reaching a robust cross-interpretation allowing to give a better spatial distribution of the contaminated volume.
The end-product methodology will be defined as the combination of geophysical methods and data processing methods which will give the best field-correlated results.2
- 102 - Abatement of water pollution from contaminated land, landfills and 1.1.4.-1.4.1.
Contract No : ENV4-CT95-0082 Concerted Actions EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 658.700 JÜRGEN BÜSING EC contribution (EURO) : 300.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 February 1996 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 2.2.3 Technologies to protect and rehabilitate the environment
Coordinator ICI Chemicals & Polymers Ltd Dale Andrew LAIDLER Research and Technology Department Tel : +44-1928-511521 The Heath Fax : +44-1928-581864 GB - Runcorn WA7 4QD E-mail :
Partners ENEL SpA Repsol Petróleo SA Direzione Studi e Ricerche - Centro Ricerca Valorizzazione e Centro de Investigación Trattamento Residui ES - Madrid IT - Brindisi M. BRAVO G. FREGO
LECES Environnement Solvay S.A. FR - Maizières-les-Metz Research and Technology Centre - Brussels Centre F. KLEIN BE - Bruxelles
Nederlandse Organisatie voor Toegepast Institut de Recherches Hydrologiques Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek FR - Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy TNO Milieuwetenschappen Department of Environmental Quality - Energy Research and Process Innovation NL - Apeldoorn H. VAN VEEN Université de Technologie de Compiègne University of Reading Division Procedés Biotechnologique Department of Soil Science FR - Compiègne GB - Reading The Nottingham Trent University Centre for Research Into the Built Environment GB - Nottingham
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Title: A network for industrially contaminated land in Europe. (NICOLE)
Objectives: The objectives of the network are :
1. To provide a European forum for the dissemination and exchange of scientific and technological knowledge and ideas relating to all aspects of contaminated land arising from industrial activities. 2. To promote coordinated, multi-disciplinary, collaborative research that will enable European manufacturing and processing industry to identify, assess and manage contaminated sites more efficiently and cost effectively. 3. To inform relevant EU and Member State RTD Programme Planners of needs and priorities for future research and to improve the synergy and coordination of research being carried out in EU programmes and other initiatives at the European and Member State levels.
Brief description of the research project: The network will be divided into four Working Groups, each addressing aspects of the subject :
WG1 Site Assessment and Characterisation WG2 Contaminant Behaviour and Risk Assessment WG3 Control Methods WG4 Measurement & Monitoring
The Working Groups will be academy-led and coordinated by an industry-led Steering Group which will include representatives of the EU Environment and Standards, Measurements & Testing RTD Programmes.
The network's objectives will be achieved through a series of structures trans-network scientific conferences, workshops organised by the Working Group and a network newsletter. A Scientific Advisory Group will be formed to represent consensus views on priorities for the future research to the Commission :
- the remediation of contaminated sites. - the effect of contamination on the diversity of organisms that can degrade organohalogens. - availability of new cultures for application in environmental cleanup processes
- 104 - Abatement of water pollution from contaminated land, landfills and 1.1.4.-1.4.1.
Contract No : ENV4-CT95-0086 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 790.900 JÜRGEN BÜSING EC contribution (EURO) : 790.900 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 February 1996 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 45 months Area FP4 : 2.2.3 Technologies to protect and rehabilitate the environment
Coordinator Rijksuniversiteit Groningen Dick B. JANSSEN Department of Biochemistry Tel : +31-50-634209 Biotechnology Center Fax : +31-50-614165 Nijenborgh 4 E-mail : [email protected] NL - 9747 AG Groningen
Partners Technische Universität Dresden University of Wales Cardiff Lehrstuhl für Biochemie - Fakultät Mathematik und School of Pure and Applied Biology Naturwissenschaften GB - Cardiff DE - Dresden A. WEIGHTMAN K. VAN PÉE
The Queen's University of Belfast The Questor Centre GB - Belfast M. LARKIN
- 105 - 1.1.4.-1.4.1 Abatement of water pollution from contaminated land, landfills and
Title: Microbial adaptation to degradation of natural and synthetic organohalogens: effects on ecosystem acclimation and natural bioremediation of polluted sites. Objectives: The objective of the project is to understand how aerobic microorganisms develop the capacity to degrade synthetic halogenated aliphatic compounds to occur as soil and groundwater pollutants and to develop generic methods for stimulation of indigenous microbial populations to effect the removal of such pollutants from contaminated soil and groundwater.
Brief description of the research project: The project approach is to carry out laboratory research aimed at establishing the relationship between dehalogenation mechanisms for natural and synthetic organohalogen compounds. Subsequently, it will be investigated which genetic processes (mutation, genetransfer) occur during adaptation under selective conditions, and how these processes are influenced by environmental conditions.
The activities include : - isolation of organisms that degrade halogenated substrates, using as inocula samples obtained from unpolluted areas and contaminated sites - physiological and biochemical studies to determine dehalogenation and halogenation mechanisms in newly isolated strains - analysis of the genetic organization of organisms that degrade xenobiotic halogenated compounds - examination of genetic processes that occur in chemostats or biofilm systems and that lead to an expansion of the substrate range of the organisms. Organisms known to degrade natural or synthetic gene transfer and adaptation of the community will be established - testing the effect of environmental conditions on the development of dehalogenating organisms and community adaptation, and establishing the relevance to bioremediation strategies.
- 106 - Abatement of water pollution from contaminated land, landfills and 1.1.4.-1.4.1.
Contract No : ENV4-CT95-0095 Concerted Actions EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 449.600 JÜRGEN BÜSING EC contribution (EURO) : 449.600 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 February 1996 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 33 months Area FP4 : 2.2.3 Technologies to protect and rehabilitate the environment
Coordinator Umweltbundesamt Volker FRANZIUS Bismarckplatz 1 Tel : +49-30-8903-2496 DE - 14193 Berlin Fax : +49-30-8903-2285 E-mail :
Partners
- 107 - 1.1.4.-1.4.1 Abatement of water pollution from contaminated land, landfills and
Title: Concerted action on risk assessment for contaminated land. (CARACAS)
Objectives: The primary objective of the concerted action on risk assessment for contaminated sites are :
- to identify, compile, assess and review all relevant RTD projects and scientific approaches for risk assessment developed in the Member States of the European Union. - to propose scientific priorities for future programmes and projects of the European Commission and the EU Member States. - to elaborate guidelines and recommendations for assessing risk of contaminated sites.
Brief description of the research project: The concerted action will concentrate on the coordination of research activities on risk assessment for contaminated land within Europe and will develop recommendations and guidelines based on the current state of knowledge.
The general technical approach to achieve these goals will be as follows :
- identification and synopsis of respective RTD (Research and Technical Development) projects in the Member Sates.
- identification and compilation of relevant RTD projects funded by the European Commission under the "Environment and Climate" programme and other specific programmes.
- exchange of information and results with the Scientific Committee of the present EU study "Comparative study on the different national approaches of risk assessment and remedial investigation at a contaminated site".
- assessment, review and discussion of the objectives and the results achieved of the above-mentioned RTD projects. Evaluation of the different guidelines for comparative risk assessment, for detailed risk assessment, for setting priorities and technical instruments and scientific tools.
- compilation of all project information and drawing up of a status report about RTD projects on risk assessment. Creation of technical and scientific assumptions for a future harmonization of risk assessment in the European Union.
- identification of future R&D priorities on risk assessment of contaminated land.
- preparation of a final recommendation and information report for the European Commission and the EU Member States.
- Elaboration of a draft for recommendations or guidelines for risk assessment of contaminated land.
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Contract No : ENV4-CT96-0222 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 829.282 JEAN-FRANÇOIS JUNGER EC contribution (EURO) : 650.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 August 1996 E-mail : jean-franç[email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 2.2.1 Methods of estimating and managing risks to the environment and to humans
Coordinator Landbouwuniversiteit Wageningen Jan Edward KAMMENGA Nematologie Tel : +31-8370-82998 Binnenhaven 10 Fax : +31-8370-84254 NL - 6701 ES Wageningen E-mail : [email protected]
Partners Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck Zoologisches Institut Institut für Zoologie und Limnologie DE - Tübingen Abteilung für Ökophysiologie H. KÖHLER AT - Innsbruck R. DALLINGER National Environmental Research Institute - Ministry of Natural Environment Research Council Environment and Energy Institute of Terrestrial Ecology Department of Terrestrial Ecology GB - Huntingdon DK - Silkebork J. WEEKS V. SIMONSEN
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Faculteit der Biologie Vakgroep Ecologie en Oecotoxicologie NL - Amsterdam C. VAN GESTEL
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Title: Application and standardisation of biochemical fingerprint techniques in view of the risk assessment of toxicants in soil ecosystems. (BIOPRINT-II) Objectives: A main objective in environmental policy of the European Commission is the safeguarding of soil ecosystems against detrimental effects of chemical contaminants. Therefore, EC-funded research is aiming to develop specific ecotoxicological test methods using terrestrial invertebrates. The advantage of these tests over chemical analysis of toxicants is that they account for biovailability of hazardous compounds or detrimental effects on organisms. Furthermore, combined effects of different toxicants or the presence of unknown compounds can be measured using these test methods.
Brief description of the research project: Biochemical fingerprint techniques offer perspectives as tools for the risk assessment of chemicals in soils. By using biochemical indicators (biomarkers), they have the potential to bridge the gap between chemical analyses and impairment of physiology leading to effects at the ecosystem level. At present, different biomarker test systems for soil organisms, which include heat shock proteins, metal binding proteins, esterases and specific metabolic patterns, are under development and preliminary results are promising. The biomarker response appears to be a sensitive early warning of chemical stress before sublethal effects, such as inhibition of growth or reproduction, become apparent. Combined effects are integrated in the biomarker response and also unknown compounds are accounted for.
The main objective of this collaborative project is the development of biochemical fingerprint techniques, which have already been developed, for assessing the exposure and effect of toxicants on soil invertebrates in the field. The participants are connected by:
(1) applying specific biochemical expertise from each participant to various invertebrate species,
(2) assessing confounding factors of biomarker response,
(3) determining the effect of mixtures of toxicants and investigating the response persistence of biomarkers,
(4) investigating the applicability of biomarkers in joint field experiments, and,
(5) aiming for standardisation of biomarker assays for risk assessment procedures by drawing up assay protocols.
The research programme includes organisms of different taxonomic and ecological groups which play a vital role in soil ecosystem processes, e.g. nematodes, isopods, Collembola, gastropods and oligochaetes.
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Contract No : ENV4-CT96-0343 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.960.000 JÜRGEN BÜSING EC contribution (EURO) : 1.035.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 January 1997 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 2.2.3 Technologies to protect and rehabilitate the environment
Coordinator Institut de Recherches Hydrologiques Jauzein MICHEL Génie de l'Environnement - Direction de la Recherche Tel : +33-83-50-36-51 Rue Gabriel Péri 11 BI Fax : +33-83-50-36-99 FR - 54515 Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy E-mail : [email protected]
Partners LECES Environnement Deutsche Montan Technologie GmbH FR - Maizières-les-Metz Institut für Umwelt- und Verfahrenstechnik F. KLEIN DE - Essen F. PFEIFER
Ruhr-Universität Bochum Water Quality Institute Institut für Physiologische Chemie - Medizinische Fakultät Department of Ecotoxicology Abteilung Bioenergetik DK - Hørsholm DE - Bochum P. KRISTENSEN W. HANSTEIN Grupo Interlab S.L. Instituto Nacional de Engenharia e Tecnologia Industrial ES - Madrid Instituto das Tecnologias Ambientais J. SICILIA SOCIAS PT - Lisboa P. PARTIDARIO Siderurgia Nacional - Empresa de Serviços SA PT - Seixal M. SIMOES
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Title: Ecotoxicological assessment of remediation techniques for contaminated soil materials. (ECOMOSART)
Objectives: The ecotoxicological hazard of industrially polluted soils must be assessed to preserve human health and the environment. Using an approach coupling analytical chemistry and quantitative ecotoxicology, the objective of this project is to establish and validate an hazard assessment procedure which can be applied for the monitoring of polluted soils and the assessment of respective remediation techniques.
Brief description of the research project: The former, present and future ecotoxicologycal impact of abandoned or active industrial sites must be assessed to preserve human health and the environment. In the framework of abandoned site management and remediation or active site monitoring, analytical chemistry techniques are not sufficient due to the presence of complex mixtures of xenobiotics and natural compounds. As a matter of fact the effective hazard of each substance is not known in details, and the global risks induced by mixtures in interactive matrices like soils are difficult to integrate. A complementary approach can be proposed as for the definition of hazardous substances using biological assays or biological indicators for the impact assessment or the hazard diagnostic within or around industrial sites. This approach based on the measurement of effective impacts on living organisms or biological activities can be used for a better assessment of ecotoxicological hazards, risks or impacts.
Up to now, ecotoxicology has allowed to develop several tools for the assessment of potential impacts using specific target organisms as material for biological assays or biological indicators. These tools can be easily applied at the laboratory or in the field and give complementary data to classical field investigations and laboratory characterizations. In the framework of a methodology coupling analytical chemistry and quantitative ecotoxicology, the main objective of this research programme is to propose a general procedure which can be applied to abandoned or active industrial sites for the measurement, the monitoring or the prediction of ecotoxicological impacts on that part of the ecosystem which constitutes the site environment. By listing of available tools, checking of their applicability and interest or general application to real field situations and a final statistical analysis of the correlation between chemical and ecotoxicological indicators, a coherent choice of methods and derived criteria will be performed.
The obtained integrated approach will be tested and validated in the field of iron and steel industry, on sites where a complete set of historical data is available due to an effective remediation policy. This sector has been chosen for its historical importance in European countries in terms of industrial activities and potential environmental impacts. Nevertheless, the general methodology and the specific measurement techniques will be developed with the aim of a generalization to a wide range of industrial sectors and chemical hazards.
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Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0441 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.055.600 PANAGIOTIS BALABANIS EC contribution (EURO) : 763.800 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 December 1997 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 42 months Area FP4 : 1.1.4 Impact of climate changes and other environmental factors on natural resources
Coordinator Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland Johnny FREDERICIA Afdelingen for Kvartaer og Marin Geologi Tel : +45 38 142929 Thoravej 8 Fax : +45 38 142050 DK - 2400 København NV E-mail :
Partners Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Natural Environment Research Council The Jacob Blaustein Institute for Desert Research British Geological Survey Desert Hydrology Unit Hydrogeology Group IL - Sede-Boker GB - Wallingford - Oxon E. ADAR A. WILLIAMS Universität Karlsruhe (Technische Hochschule) The Hebrew University of Jerusalem - The Authority for Geologisches Institut - Fakultät für Bio- und Research and Development Geowissenschaften Department of Soil and Water Sciences - Faculty of Angewandte Geologie Agriculture DE - Karlsruhe IL - Rehovot H. HOETZL R. NATIV
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Title: Contaminant transport, monitoring technique and remediation strategies in cross European fractured chalk. (FRACFLOW)
Objectives: The objective of the study is to investigate the hydrous transport and fate of organic pollutants in fractured porous Chalk. The aim is to identify the flow routes and evaluate the effects of attenuation, retardation, fixation and degradation. On this basis the possibilities for monitoring and remediation will be approached.
Brief description of the research project: The project will physically characterise the fracture system in porous Chalk with respect to its wall and flow properties at a common field site. The field site in the arid part of Israel, with known contamination, readily allows fractures to be studied. Further trenches will be excavated and a few borings made to allow sampling and flow tests. In addition to the common field site the participants will include existing data end experience as well as a limited number of new analyses from fractured Chalk in Germany, Britain and Denmark.
Hydrogeological experiments will be carried out to prove the flow and contaminant transport ability of natural in situ fractures. Tracer tests are to be used for calculating effects of dilution and interaction with fracture walls and matrix. The Chalk matrix and fracture fill and drapes will be analysed for physical characteristics such as poro/perm variations away from the fracture wall and poresize distribution.
Chemical analyses will be performed on the percolating groundwater including the contaminants, and mineralogical investigations are to be conducted on fracture fill, drapes and the Chalk matrix. On this background the diffusion, sorption, desorption and fixation of contaminants will be studied in laboratory experiments.
The bacteria in the fractures will be identified and their influence on flow, retardation of contaminant transport and degradation of selected pollutants and actual lechates investigated through flow experiments with perculating microbes and incubation on the natural Chalk rock. The tests are to be conducted under the natural redox conditions. The degree of bio- degradation is to be investigated at different depths and distances from main fractures by analysis of both contaminant and metabolite concentrations.
The data hereby gathered for the local well described fracture system and its hydrogeological, geochemical and biological characteristics are to be entered into a model. By means of further stochastic modelling and development of a transient solution for a mixing-cell model it is attempted to extrapolate and test the experience from the field site in its less well described surroundings and further to indicate the modifications needed for application under humid climatic conditions in mid-northern Europe.
The agglomerated experience thus obtained shall be used to suggest appropriate ways of monitoring flow of polluted groundwater under different regional and climatic conditions, and to approach strategies for remediation.
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Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0456 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.183.600 PANAGIOTIS BALABANIS EC contribution (EURO) : 769.600 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 November 1997 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 1.1.4 Impact of climate changes and other environmental factors on natural resources
Coordinator Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center Noelle Elsie Odling Edvard Griegsvej 3A Tel : 47 55 297288 NO - 5059 - Bergen Fax : 47 55 200050 E-mail : [email protected]
Partners Weizmann Institute of Science Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Department of Environmental Sciences and Energy Research UPR 4661 - Département de Géosciences IL - Rehovot FR - Rennes B. BERKOWITZ P. DAVY
University of Edinburgh Department of Geology and Geophysics-Grant Institute GB - Edinburgh I. MAIN
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Title: Scale dependence of groundwater flow and contaminant transport in fractured rock. (SCALFRAC)
Objectives: The objective of the project is to determine scaling laws for groundwater flow and contaminant transport in naturally fractured rocks. This will be done through field based studies, physical experiments, theoretical studies, fracture system modelling and numerical modelling of flow and contaminant transport.
Brief description of the research project: Interest in groundwater resources is increasing in response to greater demands on water quality. Fractures form a wide-spread and important source of subsurface heterogeneity which strongly influence groundwater flow and contaminant transport. There has been a growing awareness in recent years that outcrop scale measurements cannot simply be extrapolated to large scales. The project is a study of the scaling properties of bulk permeability and dispersivity of fractured rock masses, from outcrop scale up to scales important for long term contaminant transport. This will be done through an integration of theoretical studies, physical experiments, field-based investigations and numerical modelling.
Data will be collected from a field site in a crystalline rock terrain using field based studies and analysis of aerial photography and satellite imagery. This data will be used to characterise the geometry, connectivity and scaling properties of the natural fracture system.
Through physical experiments, laboratory constitutive rules for flow and contaminant transport at a scale of 10 cm will be determined. The experiments will employ methods that most closely reproduce conditions at shallow subsurface levels.
A basic theory for the scale dependent behaviour of fracture systems, from which bulk hydrological properties of the fractured rock mass can be predicted, is at present lacking. A number of approaches will be used to contribute towards such a theory, including application of percolation theory, investigations into 3D fracture connectivity and studies of flow channelling in fractures. Fracture system geometry is required as input to discrete fracture flow models. Realistic fracture system models will be built using statistical and probabilistic approaches and by numerical modelling of the fracture process itself. The results of the field and experimental studies, connectivity analysis, and fracture system modelling will provide input to models of flow and contaminant transport. A range of models will be used including steady state 2D and 3D models of flow and contaminant transport, and 2D models of transient flow and contaminant transport. Through numerical modelling, the existence of a homogenisation length scale or REV for fractured rocks will be investigated.
A new geophysical method aimed at detecting scale effects in the field will be tested. The research results will be applied to field hydrological data from a variety of existing sites.
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Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0457 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.150.600 PANAGIOTIS BALABANIS EC contribution (EURO) : 670.300 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 November 1997 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 1.1.4 Impact of climate changes and other environmental factors on natural resources
Coordinator Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas Alkiviades Payatakes Institute of Chemical Engineering and High Temperature Chemical Tel : 30 61 997 574 Processes University Campus Fax : 30 61 990 328 GR - 26500 Patras E-mail : [email protected]
Partners Universität Stuttgart Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas Institut für Wasserbau Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Forth DE - Stuttgart Hellas A. DAHMKE GR - Heraklion N. PANOPOULOS
Technische Universiteit Delft Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland Fakulteit Civiele Techniek en Geo-wetenschappen Afdelingen for Kvartaer og Marin Geologi Department of Water Management, Environmental and DK - København NV Sanitary Engineering J. FREDERICIA NL - Delft S. HASSANIZADEH Christian-Albrechts Universität Kiel Institut für Geowissenschaften DE - Kiel
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Title: Pore-to-core scale-up studies of the transport properties of organic pollutants with natural attenuation. (PORE-TO-CORE)
Objectives: The overall objective of the project is to conduct a systematic experimental study of natural attenuation of organic pollutants in soil and groundwater on two different scales, namely pore-scale and core-scale, and to treat the results with proper theoretical modelling and scale-up methods, in order to develop a practical, true-to-mechanism and self-consistent macroscopic model that will be a reliable, predictive tool for the practitioner.
Brief description of the research project: The remediation of contaminated sites is an environmental and social problem of great importance, but also of great economic concern. Natural Attenuation must be taken into account in any realistic Risk Assessment, because it contributes very substantially to the reduction of the rate of growth of the pollutant plume. Furthermore, if we could devise means to enhance Natural Attenuation, we could develop an efficient and relatively inexpensive remediation strategy. Natural Attenuation is the collective term used to denote a complex network of physical (spreading of the plume through three-phase flow in the soil, volatilisation, vapour and biogas emission through the soil to the air, dissolution, adsorption, etc.), chemical (oxidation, chemisorption, etc.), and biochemical (intrinsic biodegradation by soil micro-organisms) processes that curb the growth, and eventually cause the decline of the plume of pollutants. At present, we have very little qualitative knowledge of the actual mechanisms and interdependence of these processes. The project aims at:
1) Quantitative understanding of all the aforementioned mechanisms and their interactions by performing a series of carefully- controlled and well-characterised laboratory experiments at two different scales, namely pore-scale and core-scale. This approach has been chosen because laboratory experiments (at both pore and core scale) allow (a) direct (even visual) observation, (b) high degree of control, and (c) very detailed spatial and temporal sampling and measurement; such possibilities are absent in the field.
2) Development of a self-consistent and reliable theoretical model of natural attenuation incorporating the above mechanisms in appropriate form, through rigorous scaling up from pore-scale to core-scale to macro-scale.
3) Development of a practical methodology for the determination (calculation or measurement) of all the relevant macroscopic mass-transfer and rate coefficients.
An abandoned tar factory in an EU country will be used as generic site for the project, in order to ensure the practical relevance and applicability of the results.
Successful completion of the project will produce a powerful tool for better practice and further improvements in soil remediation through natural attenuation, and for reliable risk assessment.
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Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0473 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 974.200 JÜRGEN BÜSING EC contribution (EURO) : 749.850 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 November 1997 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 2.1.5 Instrumentation for measurements in waste water
Coordinator Universidade Nova de Lisboa Fernando Santana Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia Tel : +351-1-2948397 Departamento de Ciências e Engenharia do Ambiente Fax : +351-1-2948554 Quinta da Torre E-mail : [email protected] PT - 2825 Monte de Caparica
Partners Technische Universität Berlin Dienst Landbouwkundig Onderzoek Institut für Ökologie und Biologie Instituut voor Agrobiologisch en Fachgebiet Ökotoxikologie Bodemvruchtbaarheidsonderzoek - Vestiging Haren DE - Berlin Department of Soil Ecology and Chemistry P. HANSEN NL - Haren J. JAPENGA Technische Universität Dresden Università degli Studi di Bari Institut für Abfallwirtschaft und Altlasten Istituto di Chimica Agraria - Facoltà di Agraria DE - Pirna IT - Bari B. BILITEWSKI N. SENESI
Institut für Chemo- und Biosensorik e.V. DE - Münster G. KEY
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Title: Prediction of the behavior of potential endocrine disruptors in soil using vitellogenin Elisa assays as biosensors. (PRENDISENSOR) Objectives: PRENDISENSOR focuses on the evaluation and prediction of environmental impacts of endocrine disruptors in soil/water ecosystems influenced by sludge disposal on agricultural soils. A biosensor will be developed, based on increased vitellogenin levels in fish, a biomarker for the presence of endocrine disruptors.
Brief description of the research project: Some xenobiotic compounds present in industrial effluents and sewage sludge are estrogenic (such as nonyphenol, other alkylphenol derivates, PCB’s, Diethylhexyl-Phtalate, etc.) and can cause alterations in the endocrine function of fish and other organisms. Effects have been observed in major European watersheds. Endocrine disruption seems to be related to high vitellogenin levels in male fish and thus a vitellogenin ELISA assay is likely to give an adequate prediction of endocrine disruptor activity in environmental systems. Although the potential risks of endocrine disruptor activity are now widely recognised, actual knowledge on their mobility and bioavailability in soils (sludge amended) to groundwater and surface water is still limited.
In this study, an existing model description for the behaviour of organic pollutants in soils will be adapted, so that it adequately describes and predicts the medium and long term mobility and bioavailability of (suspected) endocrine disruptors in soils and their presence in run off effluents. The model uses soil characteristics and (bio)chemical properties of the target compounds as input parameters.
Field lysimeter and laboratory experiments will be carried out, in order to quantify and mechanistically describe sorption, biodegradation and transport processes in soils from different European climate zones. Data will be used to validate the adapted model.
A biosensor will be developed, based on increased vitellogenin levels in fish, a biomarker for the presence of endocrine disruptors.
The use of vitellogenin ELISA assays will be optimised to screen environmental samples for the presence of estrogenic compounds originating from sewage sludge and industrial effluents, used in agriculture.
A river basin model will be developed to predict potential pollution of surface waters by sludge amended soils, which together with extrapolated vitellogenin ELISA data will enable risk assessment of endocrine disruptors.
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Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0554 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 604.800 PANAGIOTIS BALABANIS EC contribution (EURO) : 499.800 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 December 1997 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 1.1.4 Impact of climate changes and other environmental factors on natural resources
Coordinator Natural Environment Research Council David George Kinniburgh British Geological Survey Tel : 44 1491 692293 Hydrogeology Group Fax : 44 1491 692345 Crowmarsh Gifford E-mail : [email protected] GB - Wallingford - Oxon OX10 8BB
Partners Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris VI Landbouwuniversiteit Wageningen Laboratoire de Géochimie et Métallogénie Bodemkunde en Plantevoeding FR - Paris NL - Wageningen M. BENEDETTI W. VAN RIEMSDIJK
Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule - ETH Zürich Institut für Terrestrische Ökologie Fachbereich Bodenchemie CH - Schlieren R. SCHULIN
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Title: Fundamental aspects of metal speciation and transport in metal - contaminated soils and aquifers. (FAMEST)
Objectives: The overall objective is to apply and extend recent developments in the speciation and transport of metals in soils and aquifers in order to verify predictive models for the long-term fate and transport of metals in metal-contaminated soils and aquifers. This will be achieved by fulfilling the following four objectives:
* SPECIATION: To develop new field and laboratory methods for measuring trace metal speciation in pore waters from metal-contaminated soils and aquifers.
* CHARACTERISATION: To characterise the physico-chemical properties of metal-contaminated soils and aquifer materials that control metal solubility.
* MODELLING: To develop methods and modelling methodologies for predicting the solubility (partitioning), speciation and transport of metals and dissolved organic carbon in metal-contaminated soils and aquifers.
* TRANSPORT: To use laboratory column studies to verify transport models in contaminated soils and aquifers and to explore the influence of soil and aquifer treatments on metal mobility.
We hope to provide better ways of characterising metal-contaminated soils and aquifers for regulators so that improved methods of classification can be used. A key aspect of the approach is to be able to predict the transport of the metal from the contaminated sites.
Brief description of the research project: Field sampling: Metal-contaminated sites from each of the four participating countries will be selected for detailed study.
Speciation: The literature for organic -metal interactions will be reviewed and key datasets analysed. A data base of parameter values for the NICA-Donnan model will be prepared. The use of the Helmke method for measuring free metal ion concentrations will be developed. This uses a cation exchange membrane to separate free and ligand-bound metal.
Characterisation: The contaminated soils and aquifer materials will be characterised by classical methods (selective dissolution, XRF, XRD, microprobe) and by measurement of desorption/absorption isotherms including kinetics. Sorption/desorption of DOC will be studied.
Modelling: Chemical models will be developed for predicting the partioning of metal between solid and solution phases and for its speciation in solution (particularly binding to DOC). These will be used in the prediction of the transport behaviour.
Transport: Laboratory column studies with control and metal-contaminated soils will be used to verify the independent predictions of metal mobilities derived from the speciation, laboratory characterisation and modelling studies outline above. The calculations will be extended to make predictions of the long-term fate of metals at the sites studied.
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Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0602 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 766.100 JÜRGEN BÜSING EC contribution (EURO) : 450.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 June 1998 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 2.2.3 Technologies to protect and rehabilitate the environment
Coordinator Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Corinne Leyval UPR 6831 - Centre de Pédologie Biologique Tel : 33 3 83 51 84 63 Rue Notre Dame des Pauvres 17 Fax : 33 3 83 57 65 23 FR - 54501 Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy E-mail : [email protected]
Partners IACR - Rothamsted Experimental Station Ltd. Interuniversitäres Forschungsinstitut für Agrarbiotechnologie Department of Soil Science Tulln GB - Harpenden Abteilung Umweltbiotechnologie S. MCGRATH AT - Tulln A. LOIBNER
British Steel PLC Swinden Technological Centre GB - Rotherham D. PILLING
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Title: An integrated approach for the phytoremedation of organic pollutants in the rhizosphere. (BIOREMEDIATION IN THE RHIZOSPHERE) Objectives: To establish and improve remediation of organic pollutants (polyaromatic hydrocarbons, (PAHs))in the rhizosphere by enhancing microbial degradation activity by encouraging healthy plant growth in mixed cropping systems.
Brief description of the research project: The use of plants for soil bioremediation may be an economically and environmentally feasible way of remediating large areas of surface-contamination (e.g. from atmospheric deposition), or of residual contamination after pre-treatment. The main potential obstacle that need to be overcome to improve phytoremediation systems are low accessibility, low bioavailability of the pollutants due to absorption to soil particles, and lack of adequate microbial activity.
Plants may encourage microbial degradation by:
1. mobilising and transporting pollutants to sites of microbial activity;
2. releasing aromatic root exudates that may selectively foster aromatic-degrading microbes, and facilitate the co-metabolic degradation of non-substrate pollutants;
3. supporting a microflora in the rhizosphere with much greater adaptability for growth on different carbon sources (incl. pollutants) than a non-rhizosphere microflora;
4. providing specific micro-environments for pollutant-degrading commensal (such as pseudomonads) or symbiotic (e.g. mycorrhizae, rhizobia) micro-organisms;
5. adsorbing pollutants and micro-organisms to roots, thereby concentrating these within the same micro-environment;
6. helping pollutants-degrading micro-organisms spread through the soil via root and/or mycorrhizal growth;
7. supporting the growth of bacteria that produce surfactants that may help to increase the bioavailability of pollutants.
An innovate approach will be conducted to establishing and improving remediation in the rhizosphere by enhancing microbial degradation activity by encouraging healthy plant growth in mixed cropping systems.
A mixed grass-legume system will be used for remediating polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soil. This will include symbiotic arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi and rhizobia, which are likely to play an important role in this mixed cropping system, due to their ability to alleviate nutrient limitations and thus increase plant and root growth, and possibly due also to a direct role in metabolisation of PAHs. The ability of AM fungi and rhizobia, isolated from the rhizosphere of suitable grass and legumes and of known isolates, to improve PAH degradation in the rhizosphere will be studied in short term pot experiments and in a 10 months experiment in soil columns.
PAHs will be the target pollutants because of their ubiquity, their toxicity to humans and the environment, and their persistence.
The impact of the treatment on the physico-chemical behaviour and bioavailability of PAHs will be monitored (sorption/desorption studies, production of surfactants) using state-of-the-art analytical methods. Ecotixicological methods will be used to assess the environmental effects of such new bioremadiation technology, and to identify possible synergistic toxic effects caused by several pollutants such as PAHs.
Specific, measurable objectives of the work programme are as follows:
1. Selection and characterisation of soils for polluted industrial sites, predominantly contaminated with PAHs.
2. Isolation and assessment of the PAHs-degrading ability of AM fungi from the rhizosphere of suitable grasses and legumes (found at the sites), and of known isolates of AM fungi.
3. Isolation and assessment of the PAHs-degrading ability of rhizobia from the contaminated sites, and of known strains rhizobia.
4. Assessment of the interaction of (inoculated) AM fungi and rhizobia on -PAH- 124 degradation - in the rhizosphere.
Abatement of water pollution from contaminated land, landfills and 1.1.4.-1.4.1.
Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0610 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.425.700 JÜRGEN BÜSING EC contribution (EURO) : 850.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 March 1998 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 2.2.3 Technologies to protect and rehabilitate the environment
Coordinator WRC plc Drusilla Margaret Riddell-Black Henley Road Medmenham Tel : 44 1491 571531 GB - Marlow - Buckinghamshire SL7 2HD Fax : 44 1491 579094 E-mail : [email protected]
Partners University of Glasgow Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Department of Chemistry Tecnológicas Environmental Chemistry Section Departamento de Energías Renovables GB - Glasgow ES - Madrid I. PULFORD J. CARRASCO GARCIA Technische Universität Graz Svaløf Weibull Ab Institute of Chemical Engineering Nilsson-Ehle Laboratory Working Group for Sustainable Process Engineering SE - Svaloev AT - Graz S. LARSSON I. OBERNBERGER Institut für Energie- und Umweltforschung Heidelberg GmbH Universität Hohenheim DE - Heidelberg Institut für Bodenkunde und Standortslehre J. GIEGRICH Abteilung Bodenchemie DE - Stuttgart M. KAUPENJOHANN
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Title: Bioremediation and economic renewal of industrially degraded land by biomass fuel crops. (BIORENEW)
Objectives: To develop a system to rehabilitate heavy metal contaminated land employing biomass fuel crops.
Brief description of the research project: Land on the urban fringe contaminated with heavy metals as a result of industrial activity poses a risk both to human health and to the environment Remediation may be possible but is seldom undertaken for large areas suffering from low level contamination. A number of plant species grown as biomass fuel crops have been found to take up heavy metals, frequently in unusually high concentrations. This project proposes to use this trait to remove heavy metals from contaminated land. The biomass fuel crop species to be investigated are Salix, Miscanthus, Phalaris and Eucalyptus.
The characteristic whereby biomass fuel crops take up and tolerate, to a greater or lesser degree, heavy metals into their harvestable parts can be employed in one of two possible strategies: site stabilisation and site de-contamination. The site stabilisation approach will comprise biomass crops which do not take up metals into their harvestable portion but which can tolerate metalliferous growing conditions can be used to physically and chemically stabilise contaminated land, without affecting the extent of contamination. Site decontamination requires varieties which take up metals into their harvestable parts to remove metals from soil. The use of this biomass as a fuel justifies the long time-scales required to affect full renovation.
Plant trials will consist of the field testing of metal tolerant varieties and the development of a glass house based rapid screening technique which will reflect the long term metal tolerance of clones under field conditions. Soil amendment techniques are to be developed whereby the bioavailability of the heavy metals in soils can be manipulated to optimise metal removal.
A specially developed flue gas cleaning system designed to separate the metals present in the biomass into different ash fractions will be further developed and tested. Ideally, the resultant bottom ash will be suitable for recycling as a fertiliser, while metals may be recoverable from the fly ash fraction. The project will address demands for sustainable environmental technologies in that it provides a closed loop system for contaminated land remediation, reuse of the metals recovered and recycling of the principal by-product of the technology, namely biomass ash, as a fertiliser and liming agent.
A computer based decision support tool (DST) will be developed within the project, for the planning and execution of bioremediation by the proposed technology with the aim of promoting the adoption of the best available technology for any specific site. The DST will be constructed in such a fashion that it can be used by planning authorities and project developers alike. The inclusion of Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) stages in the DST will ensure that solutions can be developed for a site which will lead to overall environmental benefit.
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Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0612 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.155.250 JÜRGEN BÜSING EC contribution (EURO) : 900.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 April 1998 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 2.2.3 Technologies to protect and rehabilitate the environment
Coordinator Technische Universität München Ingrid Koegel - Knabner Lehrstuhl Bodenkunde Tel : 49 8161 713677 Hohenbachernstraße Fax : 49 8161 714466 DE - 85354 Freising E-mail : [email protected]
Partners EMC - Gesellschaft zur Erfassung und Bewertung von Landbouwuniversiteit Wageningen Umweltdaten mbH Bodemkunde en Plantevoeding DE - Erfurt NL - Wageningen R. SCHEIBKE S. VAN DER ZEE
Norwegian Geotechnical Institute Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II Environment and Avalanches Division Dipartimento di Scienze Chimico-Agrarie NO - Oslo IT - Portici G. BREEDVELD L. GIANFREDA
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Title: Improving in-situ biodegradation at light-NAPL contaminated sites: removing constraints with extensive measures. (ISBN- REM) Objectives: The main research objective is to elucidate the role of groundwater fluctuation on the phase distribution of LNAPL (Light Non Aqueous Phase Liquids ) in saturated zone and capillary fringe. The emphasis is on the consequence the phase distribution has for the availability of LNAPL for intrinsic biodegradation.
Brief description of the research project: LNAPL spills cause an accumulation at the phreatic water table in the form of free (liquid) product. The specific problem arising from an oil phase floating on top of (unconfined) groundwater aquifers is the distribution of the oil phase in the groundwater fluctuation zone. The vertical lubrication of the hydrocarbon phase results in a drastic increase of the oil covered surface (oil-film formation) in the zone of water table movement. This oil film not only is the source of a number of different contaminants but also changes almost all structural and functional properties of the aquifer. The light hydrocarbons are generally (bio)degradable under aerobic conditions, but the conditions at the contaminated layers are often unfavourable for degradation. Intensive in situ bioremediation is not achievable in view of the large areas and number of sites.
The approach consists of the assessment of physical, chemical and biological behaviour of large spills of LNAPLs in the subsurface, by a combination of: (i) field site characterization and monitoring, (ii) laboratory experiments on sorbate-sorbent interactions and (iii) studies of multiphase flow effects. This is accompanied by an evaluation of favourable conditions for in situ biodegradation. Investigations on how to create such favourable conditions are conducted at actually contaminated sites with labour and cost extensive remediation strategies, i.e. natural attenuation. Because of the hazard of further spreading of the contamination during the time span needed for degradation, a quantification of the release rate of the 'subsurface' contaminant source to the surroundings during extensive remediation is included.
Biodegradation studies include the evaluation, design and implementation of strategies for the decontamination of LNAPL- contaminated sites by the use of biological agents (microorganisms and enzymes) for decontamination.
The work package is completed by a modeling approach of multiphase flow and multicomponent (non-equilibrium) biodegradation.
The envisaged research is a combination of on one hand multiphase flow and on the other hand multicomponent (non- equilibrium) degradation. An integral part of this research is to actually compare simulations with field scale observations.The combination of experimental and theoretical work will result in a better understanding of contaminant fate in these polluted sites. This work will allow for a better, site-specific and therefore more efficient application of on-site remediation strategies, with emphasis on the removal of limiting factors for degradation as dependent of physical, chemical, and biological parameters of the contaminated soil.
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Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0617 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.149.400 JÜRGEN BÜSING EC contribution (EURO) : 649.700 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 March 1998 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 2.2.3 Technologies to protect and rehabilitate the environment
Coordinator Water Quality Institute Bjoern Kaare Jensen Department of Solid Waste, Microbiology and Groundwater Tel : 45 42 86 52 11 Agern Allé 11 Fax : 45 42 86 72 73 DK - 2970 Hørsholm E-mail : [email protected]
Partners Université Catholique de Louvain Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Département de Chimie Appliquée et des Bio-Industries - UPR 6831 - Centre de Pédologie Biologique Faculté des Sciences Agronomiques FR - Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy Unité de Chimie des Interfaces J. BERTHELIN BE - Louvain-la-Neuve P. ROUXHET Nederlandse Organisatie voor Toegepast Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek Department of Geochemistry TNO Milieuwetenschappen DK - København NV Department of Environmental Biotechnology C. JACOBSEN NL - Apeldoorn H. RIJNAARTS
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Title: Stimulation of bacterial mobility to enhance bioremediation of soil. (BAMBI)
Objectives: To investigate the possibilities to stimulate mobility of specific PAH-degrading bacterial populations in conjunction with selected in situ bioremediation techniques and by interfering with selected geochemical, physiological, or biological parameters governing the mobility.
Brief description of the research project: Biodegradation is a commonly applied technique to remediate contaminated sites all over Europe. However, optimisation of in situ bioremediation techniques until now has almost entirely been based on addition of agents to enhance biodegradation to the soil or addition of agents supposed to enhance the solubility and the bio-availability of high molecular compounds. However, it has now come to a point where the techniques cannot be optimised further without adding to the scientific basis for understanding the ecology of the specific degrading bacterial populations soil, that is their metabolism and behaviour in a natural soil environment.
In bioremediation context, a very important part of this is how bacteria using high molecular compounds, often highly immobile and unevenly distributed in the soil, manage to maintain a steady substrate supply. The question arises whether they are able to adapt a strategy based on the migration of the bacteria themselves in the soil, and in connection with that which geochemical, physiological, biological parameters govern the colonisation behaviour and mobility of these bacteria.
This project will move along this ecological approach.
Strains characterised in terms of parameters supposed to be important to the strains in order to move in a soil environment, such as biodegradation kinetics, morphology, substrate affinity and specificity, genetic stability, electrostatic properties, hydrophobicity, motility, etc., are selected for further studies. Experimental set-ups for testing mobility as a function of these parameters are prepared, including selection of different well-characterised soil types to be used in the experiments. Furthermore, a model for prediction of bacterial transport is developed.
The mobility of the selected strains is examined as a function of physico-chemical, physiological, biological, and geological/geochemical parameters in controlled laboratory systems.
Based on the findings of the laboratory testing of bacterial mobility, a field scale pilot study will be designed and carried out at pre-selected site in one of the participating countries. In connection with the pilot project, the bacterial transport model will be tested under natural conditions.
The project will eventually provide protocols for procedures to enhance bacterial mobility as part of bioremediation schemes.
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Contract No : ENV4-CT98-0721 Concerted Actions EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 480.000 JÜRGEN BÜSING EC contribution (EURO) : 480.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 July 1998 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 2.2.3 Technologies to protect and rehabilitate the environment
Coordinator Federal Environment Agency representing the Federal Republic of Austria Martin Schamann Department for Contaminated Sites Tel : 43 1 31304 3370 Spittelauer Lände 5 Fax : 43 1 31304 5400 Groupe IV - Environmental Technologies E-mail : [email protected] AT - 1090 Wien
Partners Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières Water Quality Institute Centre Thématique 'Déchets - Friches Industrielles - Sols Department of Solid Waste, Microbiology and Groundwater Pollués' DK - Hørsholm FR - Lezennes B. JENSEN D. DARMENDRAU
Karolinska Institute Laboratório Nacional de Engenharia Civil Institut of Environmental Medicine Departamento Geotecnia SE - Stockholm PT - Lisboa L. DOCK C. JORGE
VITO - Vlaamse Instelling voor Technologisch Onderzoek Universidade de Aveiro NV Departamento de Geociências Expertisecentrum Milieu Diagnostiek PT - Aveiro BE - Mol E. FERREIRA DA SILVA C. CORNELIS
BMG Engineering AG Environmental Protection Agency CH - Schlieren Environmental Management and Planning Division C. MUNZ IE - Ardcavan G. CARTY Agenzia Nazionale per la Protezione dell'Ambiente Technical Soil Protection Committee Dipartimento Stato dell'Ambiente, Prevenzione, Risanamento NL - Den Haag e Sistemi Informativi R. GOUBIER IT - Roma F. QUERCIA
Agence de l'Environnement et de la Maîtrise de l'Energie R3 Environmental Technology Limited Direction of Industry - Environmental Impact and Technology GB - Ware FR - Angers A. LOIBNER R. BARDOS
Interuniversitäres Forschungsinstitut für Agrarbiotechnologie CRBE Ltd. Tulln GB - Nottingham Abteilung Umweltbiotechnologie AT - Tulln
Umweltbundesamt Aquateam - Norwegian Water Technology Centre A/S Sektion Altlasten NO - Oslo DE - Berlin
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Jordforsk - Centre for Soil and Environmental Research Lund University NO - Aas Department of Biotechnology Centre for Chemistry and Chemical Engineering SE - Lund
Finnish Environmental Institute Finnish Environmental Institute Environmental Policy Instruments Division Pollution Prevention Division FI - Helsinki FI - Helsinki
Technische Universität Hamburg-Harburg Institut Scientifique de Service Public Abteilung Abfallwirtschaft Département d'Environnement et Dépollution DE - Hamburg BE - Liège
Università degli Studi di Bologna Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieuhygiëne Dipartimento di Chimica Industriale e dei Materiali Laboratorium voor Bodem en Grondwateronderzoek IT - Bologna NL - Bilthoven
Institute of Geology and Mineral Exploration National Technical University of Athens Environmental Geology Department Department of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering GR - Athens Laboratory of Metallurgy GR - Athens
Instituto Tecnológico GeoMinero de España ES - Madrid
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Title: Contaminated land rehabilitation network for environmental technologies. (CLARNET)
Objectives: To support the development of technical recommendations for the sound decision making for rehabilitation of contaminated sites based on current scientific knowledge and,
To provide an interdisciplinary scientific network to stimulate international co-operation on priority research needs focused on the rehabilitation of contaminated sites, involving major interestgroups on contaminated land issues, including scientists, authorities and industry;
Brief description of the research project: The objectives will be achieved through the following practical steps:
- Provision of a scientific platform on multidisciplinary research, integrating environmental, technical, societal and economic aspects, in order to elaborate integrated approaches and to define scientific priorities for future research needs;
- Provision of a thematic network to link national efforts in the development of decision support systems and to stimulate international cooperation in this field;
- Provide a platform for co-operation between scientists, authorities and problem holders;
- Provide an information network on contaminated land issues to the scientific community in the European Union;
- Taking into consideration comparable reassert activities outside Europe (United States, Australia);
- Establishment of co-operation with relevant international organizations and initiatives on contaminated land (EEA/ETC on soil, NATO/CCMS, Ad Hoc International Working Group on Contaminated Land);
- Provision of recommendations to optimize remediation approaches of contaminated sites in terms of economic and environmental benefits.
- 133 - 1.1.4.-1.4.2 Combating diffuse pollution
Contract No : ENV4-CT95-0070 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.082.279 PANAGIOTIS BALABANIS EC contribution (EURO) : 674.500 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 February 1996 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 28 months Area FP4 : 1.1.4 Impact of climate changes and other environmental factors on natural resources
Coordinator Dansk Hydraulisk Institut Jens Christian REFSGAARD Water Resources Division Tel : +45-45-17-9260 Agern Allé 5 Fax : +45-45-76-2567 DK - 2970 Hørsholm E-mail :
Partners Chalmers University of Technology AB Geographic Information Management SA Department of Geology LU - Luxembourg SE - Göteborg V. SCHREURS G. GUSTAFSON
Den Kongelige Veterinær- og Landbohøjskole Universiteit van Amsterdam Department of Agricultural Sciences Faculty of Environmental Sciences DK - Taastrup Landscape and Environmental Research Group S. HANSEN NL - Amsterdam G. HEUVELINK Dienst Landbouwkundig Onderzoek Winand Staring Centrum - Instituut voor Onderzoek van het Landelijk gebied Department of Environmental Protection NL - Wageningen J. KROS
- 134 - Combating diffuse pollution 1.1.4.-1.4.2.
Title: Assessment of cumulative uncertainty in Spatial Decision Support Systems : Application to examine the contamination of groundwater from diffuse sources. Objectives: To assess the 'cumulative' uncertainty attached to Spatial Decision Support System (SDSS) for managing groundwater quality at European level with special emphasis on nitrates and aluminium contamination as caused by agricultural activities and atmospheric deposition; and to determine the magnitude of error caused by individual sources in order to place the balance of error in a risk assessment perspective. The potential strategic implications on uncertainty linked to SDSS will also be assessed.
Brief description of the research project: Analytical models and Geographic Information System (GIS), the main building blocks of SDSS, carry with them uncertainties which will, in a cumulative process, be propagated and reflected in the system output. Limits of confidence and accuracy of SDSS are, currently, not available in a formalized and comprehensive way. Research is required in order to assess the cumulative uncertainty associated with sampling, analysis, data collections, approximation and constraints in modelling, model calibration and spatial resolution.
The preliminary phase of the research project will be focused on the adaption of the physically based models on the national and European scale. MIKE SHE hydrological modelling system coupled with the crop soil model DAISY will be used for modelling nitrate contamination of groundwater from agricultural sources while SMART 2 acidification model will be used for studying the leaching of aluminium and nitrate from natural systems. A general interface enabling ARC/INFO to be read by the MIKE SHE and SMART2 models and vice versa will be made in order to facilitate an efficient transfer of data from standard data bases available on European level. The preliminary phase will also include the gathering of geo referenced data. The first phase will aim at determining the overall error in the model output. By means of validation procedures in which model predictions are compared with real values, accuracy of the models will be assessed. Effects of scale change on model performance output will also be evaluated. Variability of the spatial attributes as their statistical properties are size dependent has important implications on the accuracy of the model output when used at various scales. Therefore the error linked to input data, mainly the geo referenced data, will be quantified in a further step. Both parametric (kriging method) and non parametric method (Bayesian Markov geostatiscal method) will be used. Uncertainty in the inputs to the environmental models will propagate to the output. A sophisticated MONTE CARLO simulation, which is quite suitable for a parallel computing approach, will be used to analyze this error propagation. The stochastic simulation module will then be built into the interface between GIS and the dynamic models.
During the second phase of the research project particular attention will be paid to the balance of error and the minimization of uncertainty in the light of sampling strategy and risk assessment. The contribution of individual error sources can be obtained by using the partitioning property, which states that the output variance is approximately equal to a sum of contributions, each of which is attributable to the error of an individual output. Minimization of uncertainty will be studied in the light of a cost efficiency analysis.
Finally the focus of the research will be on the analysis of how a better understanding of the distribution of uncertainties linked to SDSS can contribute to the optimization of cost effectiveness in land use planning and other regulatory efforts to protect groundwater resources at national level.
- 135 - 1.1.4.-1.4.2 Combating diffuse pollution
Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0395 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.000.000 HARTMUT BARTH EC contribution (EURO) : 1.000.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 December 1997 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 1.2.2 Biospheric processes
Coordinator Université de Rennes I Gilles Pinay Fonctionnement des Ecosystèmes et Biologie de la Conservation Tel : 33 2 99 28 14 19 Avenue du Général Leclerc Fax : 33 2 99 28 16 17 UMR 6653 E-mail : [email protected] FR - 35042 Rennes
Partners Institute of Ecology - Polish Academy of Sciences University of Bucharest Department of Hydrobiology Department of Ecology and Sustainable Management of PL - Lomianki Natural Capital A. HILLBRICHT-ILKOWSKA Laboratory of Ecological Research RO - Bucharest 5 A. VADINEANU Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique University of Durham Centre de Recherche de Rennes Department of Geography Systèmes Agraires et Développement GB - Durham FR - Rennes T. BURT J. BAUDRY Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht Universidad de Barcelona Vakgroep Botanische Oecologie en Evolutiebiologie - Departamento de Ecología - Facultad de Biologia Faculteit Biologie - Beheercluster Experimentele Botanie ES - Barcelona Section Landscape Ecology S. SABATER NL - Utrecht J. VERHOEVEN Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Département de Génie Civil Laboratoire de Géologie CH - Lausanne
- 136 - Combating diffuse pollution 1.1.4.-1.4.2.
Title: Nitrogen control by landscape structure in agricultural environments. (NICOLAS)
Objectives: To evaluate the natural performance of riparian zones to sustainably buffer water-borne fluxes of diffuse nitrogen pollution from agriculture to aquatic environments and devise a riparian ecosystem management model (REMM) to predict the nitrogen fluxes through these systems applicable to a range of farming and climatic conditions.
Brief description of the research project: The contamination of European surface and groundwaters by nitrate is more prevalent than anywhere else in the world, and is becoming one of the major factors determining the readily-usable quantity of water resources available within Europe. The control of water pollution, in particular nitrate, has become a major focus of recent European Community Directives, in which the emphasis is prevention rather than cure. Hence there is an urgent requirement for action to the development of management strategies designed to reduce the risk of such diffuse pollution impacts upon the aquatic environment. The ability of the riparian zone to act as a nitrogen sink has been demonstrated under temperate climates. This project envisages to delimit the range of conditions (climate, geomorphology and farming system) under which riparian zones offer effective protection to freshwater ecosystems.
The NICOLAS project is structured around four tasks:
The first task seeks to evaluate the nitrogen retention and transformation processes of morphologically similar riparian structures within representative agricultural drainage basins along a climatic gradient ranging from latitude 41 to 55° N and from longitude 2° W to 22° E.
The nitrogen budget obtained from each of the seven study sites will be used to calibrate a European-based riparian ecosystem management model (REMM).
REMM will enable us to evaluate the consequences of different landscape change scenarios on the buffering capacities of riparian zones either by predicting the optimum riparian structure in a given area, or by indicating the best combination of land use and riparian structure.
Finally, the NICOLAS project will follow a series of analytical steps to identify alternative buffering structures within the study catchments. Their nitrogen retention capacity will be assessed and compared to those measured for the riparian zones. This will help identify the landscape structures best suited for mitigating diffuse nitrogen pollution.
- 137 - 1.1.4.-1.5.1 Pollution surveillance and control
Contract No : ENV4-CT95-0016 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.133.000 JÜRGEN BÜSING EC contribution (EURO) : 640.500 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 February 1996 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 2.1.2 Instruments, techniques and methodologies for UV radiation measurements
Coordinator Institut pour le Développement de la Science, l'Education et la Technologie Marie-Claire HENNION Laboratoire de Chimie Analytique Tel : +33-1-40 79 46 51 Rue Vauquelin 10 Fax : +33-1-40 79 44 25 FR - 75231 Paris E-mail :
Partners Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo ERS 0071 - Laboratoire de Bioorganique et Biotechnologies Departamento de Quimica Ambiental FR - Paris ES - Barcelona F. LE GOFFIC D. BARCELÓ Lund University Analytisk Kemi - Matematisk-Naturvetenskapliga Fakulteten SE - Lund J. JÖNSSON
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Title: Analysis of different groups of organic pollutants in industrial effluents and waste waters using selective group extraction procedures. (ORGANIC POLLUANTS IN WASTE WATERS) Objectives: To develop analytical methods for identifying and measuring specific organic chemicals within different groups or classes of pollutants in industrial effluents or waste waters, with detection levels below the mg/l and taking into account the ecotoxicity of the compounds.
Brief description of the research project: The methods to be developed will include a selective extraction and a chromatographic analysis, closely connected one to the other, and on-line if possible. They will be "environmentally friendly" and avoid the use of organic solvent as much as possible.
The development of these analytical procedures should lead to the commercialisation of selective tools, -new specific solid- phase extraction sorbents and new supported liquid membranes- that will be tailored for the extraction and concentration of a whole group of related analytes from waste waters and industrial effluents and that will also allow the individual subsequent identification and quantification of each compound within the group.
The compounds are selected on the basis of their toxicity, accumulation properties and ecotoxicity : PAHs, phenolics, aniline derivatives, nitroaromatics, detergents and dyestuffs. Toxic metabolites or transformation products will be also taken into account. Emphasis will be put on the separation of individual components within each group using the more appropriate chromatographic method and detection modes. The on-line coupling of liquid chromatography with mass spectrometric techniques will be included for confirmation of results.
Two complementary and new emerging methods will be performed for the selective extraction and concentration procedures of various groups of pollutants, depending on the characteristic of the analytes.
The first one will involve the development of selective solid-phase extraction sorbents based on immunoaffinity chromatography and the second one the development of supported liquid membranes techniques (SML).
- 139 - 1.1.4.-1.5.1 Pollution surveillance and control
Contract No : ENV4-CT95-0020 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.342.600 JÜRGEN BÜSING EC contribution (EURO) : 713.300 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 February 1996 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 2.1.2 Instruments, techniques and methodologies for UV radiation measurements
Coordinator Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Angewandten Forschung e.V. Karsten LEVSEN Institut für Toxikologie und Aerosolforschung Tel : +49-511-5350218 Nikolai-Fuchs-Strasse 1 Fax : +49-511-5350155 DE - 30625 Hannover E-mail :
Partners Institut für Chemo- und Biosensorik e.V. Nederlandse Organisatie voor Toegepast Abteilung für Angewandte Atmospektoskopie Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek DE - Münster TNO Milieuwetenschappen en Energietechnologie K. CAMMANN Energie en Procesinnovatie NL - Apeldoorn C. HEEREMANS Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche 'Mario Negri' Biomedical Mass Spectrometry Unit IT - Milano E. BENFENATI
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Title: Development of new instrumental methods for on-site monitoring of industrial waste water. (WASTE WATER MONITOR)
Objectives: To develop on-line analytical methods which allow the continuous or quasi-continuous monitoring of both the influent and effluent of an industrial waste water plant and at the same time give more detailed chemical information on the contaminants than DOC analyzers.
Brief description of the research project: Three different instruments will be developed : a. A new continuously or quasi-continuously operating AOX analyzer which permits the differentiation between total F, Cl, Br and I. b. A continuously operating HPLC instrument which does not identify the individual waste water components, but rather the mass (molecular weight)-resolved total carbon content (HPLC instrument with total carbon detector). c. A gas chromatograph coupled to a new extraction unit, which extracts and enriches quasi-continuously organic compounds from industrial waste water (Gas chromatograph with automatic trace enrichment).
While the first two instruments give a continuous, integrated view of the organic load of waste water, the third instrument allows a quasi-continuous monitoring of individual organic compounds.
These instruments will be operated on-site at the waste water plant monitoring both the influent and the effluent of the contaminants entering and leaving the waste water treatment plant of a chemical company. They will allow the detection of an accidental discharge of toxic compounds into this treatment plant.
In order to establish to which extent both the sum of organic compounds as well as individual components are monitored by these new instruments, the industrial waste water will be analyzed in addition by classical analytical methods to be further developed.
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Contract No : ENV4-CT95-0021 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.060.900 JÜRGEN BÜSING EC contribution (EURO) : 651.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 February 1996 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 2.1.2 Instruments, techniques and methodologies for UV radiation measurements
Coordinator Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche 'Mario Negri' Emilio BENFENATI Biomedical Mass Spectrometry Unit Tel : +39-2-39014420 Via Eritrea 62 Fax : +39-2-39001916 IT - 20157 Milano E-mail :
Partners Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas WRC plc Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo Ecotoxicology and Biodegradability Group Departamento de Quimica Ambiental GB - Marlow - Buckinghamshire ES - Barcelona I. JOHNSON D. BARCELÓ Università degli Studi di Milano Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Angewandten Dipartimento di Biologia Forschung e.V. IT - Milano Institut für Toxikologie und Aerosolforschung S. GALASSI DE - Hannover K. LEVSEN
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Title: Protocol for the evaluation of residues in industrial contaminated liquid effluents. (PERICLES)
Objectives: To perform the chemical analysis of compounds which are present in industrial effluents and important for their persistency, bioaccumulative potential, toxicological and ecotoxicological activity.
Brief description of the research project: The project includes a global analysis on the samples followed by fractionation of the organic compounds into groups of different polarity by extraction at different pH's and with different materials and by further fractionation by HPLC, using for the analysis a series of powerful techniques, including LC-MS, GC-MS and NMR; a simple and cost-effective ecotoxicological characterization of the samples and their fractions, using the most appropriate of a series of rapid screening tests, such as Microtox and the Daphnia Inhibitory Quotient (IQ) will be made.
The project consists of three main tasks :
- A multiple ecotoxicological approach for industrial effluents hazard evaluation; - Characterization of the chemical composition of the effluent, and integration with the data from the first task; - Validation of the developed protocol.
To develop and assess this general protocol and the individual elements of the approach, at least three authentic situations will be considered and liquid effluents of industrial origin will be studied. In particular, industries with different production and leachate from industrial wastes will be considered.
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Contract No : ENV4-CT95-0066 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.800.440 JÜRGEN BÜSING EC contribution (EURO) : 1.313.700 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 May 1996 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 38 months Area FP4 : 2.1.3 Instrumentation for measurements in the troposphere
Coordinator Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen Andreas BRECHT Institut für Physikalische und Theoretische Chemie Tel : +49-7071-294667 Auf der Morgenstelle 8 Fax : +49-7071-296910 DE - 72076 Tübingen E-mail : [email protected]
Partners University of Southampton GIE Anjou-Recherche Optoelectronics Research Centre Laboratoire Central - Le Graal GB - Southampton FR - Maison-Laffitte J. WILKINSON M. GIBERT
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas Bodenseewerk Perkin-Elmer GmbH Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo DE - Überlingen Departamento de Quimica Ambiental M. STEINWAND ES - Barcelona D. BARCELÓ
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Title: River analyser: an analytical system for measuring multiple analytes in river water. (RIANA)
Objectives: The objective of this project is to develop a system for monitoring organic compounds present in polluted river water and in surface water. The core device shall be a multiresidue bioanalytical device, allowing testing in one sample a multitude of simultaneously present agents. In accordance with the objectives of the Environmental Workprogramme the system envisaged is expected to be more cost effective than reference techniques, to allow the detection of a broader range of analytes with a single device than established reference techniques, and to avoid most of the sample pretreatment common in current environmental multiresidue analysis with concomitant advantages in speed.
Brief description of the research project: To achieve the objectives given above, the system envisaged requires a number of well integrated building blocks and methodologies: - Analyte specific elements will be antibodies raised against the analytes of choice. Polyclonal antibodies will be prepared according to established protocols. Specificity will be matched to the environmental problem addressed by appropriate immunisation protocols and/or blending of antibodies. The performance of immunochemistry will be assessed in a conventional ELISA testbed. - For the detection of analytes a competitive test scheme will be implemented. ELISA results will serve as a reference. Competition will occur between the free analyte and compounds of the biochemical immobilisation system conjugated with analyte derivatives. The detection will occur in a heterogeneous format, i.e. at the transducer surface.
- Spatially resolved surface modification strategies (covalent and non-covalent) will be developed for the stable and reproducible patterned modification of the transducer surface to establish spatially resolved multi-reaction areas corresponding to the number of analytes. (Optical) surface analytical techniques and functional testing will be used to characterise surface chemistry.
- An auxiliary immobilising system consisting of highly specific auxiliary bioaffinity compounds (antibodies or bioaffinity ligands) will serve to target the detection compounds to selected areas of the transducer surface. This novel idea is owned by GEC Marconi Ltd and is currently subject to patent applications (Ref. N° 9216450.8/9216683.4/9219743.4/9315995.2 in GB, 93917967.7 in Europe and 08-318,825 in the USA).
- The transducer system will be based on fluorescence detection. A micro-optical/integrated optical transducer element will be used to allow effective excitation and spatially resolved detection of fluorophores bound to the surface. Mathematical modelling and systematic analysis of experimental results will be used to optimise the device.
- The system setup will start with well defined interfaces (soft- and hardware) between compounds. Commercially available building blocks or units from commercially sold systems will be used where available. A system analysis will precede the implementation of an advanced demonstrator.
- Validation will be carried out by two partners with a high degree of experience in analyzing complex environmental samples. The RIANA system will be tested in comparison with established reference techniques and procedures (instrumental analysis). Reference materials that were developed under the Measurement and Testing programme of the EU will be used. Where standardised methods do not exist neither at the national level nor at the European level US-EPA protocols will be adapted.
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Contract No : ENV4-CT95-0141 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 848.210 JÜRGEN BÜSING EC contribution (EURO) : 548.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 February 1996 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 40 months Area FP4 : 2.1.3 Instrumentation for measurements in the troposphere
Coordinator VITO - Vlaamse Instelling voor Technologisch Onderzoek NV Philippe CORBISIER Afdeling Milieu Tel : +32-14-3355116 Boeretang 200 Fax : +32-14-320372 BE - 2400 Mol E-mail : [email protected]
Partners Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas University of Birmingham Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas de Madrid School of Biological Sciences ES - Madrid GB - Birmingham V. DE LORENZO N. BROWN
Lund University Tauw Milieu BV Department of Biotechnology NL - Deventer SE - Lund J. OKX B. MATTIASSON
National Environmental Research Institute - Ministry of Environment and Energy Department of Marine Ecology and Microbiology DK - Roskilde U. KARLSON
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Title: Development of new multisensing biosensors for the detection of bioavailable heavy metals in solid matrices. (BIOMETSENSOR) Objectives: The principal goal is to establish the feasibility of a biosensor technology with enhanced specificity and selectivity for the detection of several bioavailable heavy metals and which works with solid matrices. The particular benefit of this new technology will be the ability to detect multiple parameters simultaneously, such as bioavailable concentrations of several heavy metals present in solid matrices together with their global acute toxicity.
Brief description of the research project: The following research tasks will be carried out during the project:
1) Design of regulatory cascades and funnels for the simultaneous and specific detection of metal ions. 2) Development of bifunctional reporter systems. 3) Cloning of metal responsive DNA sequences in specialised vectors and expression into A. eutrophus. 4) Overexpression, purification, characterisation of specific and non-specific metal binding proteins. 5) Construction and properties of one gene-based (multisensing) and one protein-based prototype. 6) Testing and evaluation of the biosensors properties on chemically pre-analyzed solid wastes (soils, fly-ashes, sludges) in lab and field conditions. 7) Comparison of the chemical data and the data generated by the biosensor devices. Inter-laboratory tests.
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Contract No : ENV4-CT96-0333 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.068.140 JÜRGEN BÜSING EC contribution (EURO) : 754.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 January 1997 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 2.1.3 Instrumentation for measurements in the troposphere
Coordinator Cranfield University Anthony TURNER Biotechnology Centre Tel : +44-01234-754132 GB - Cranfield - Bedford MK43 0AL Fax : +44-01234-752401 E-mail :
Partners Bookham Technology Ltd. Technische Universität München GB - Chilton - Oxfordshire Lehrstuhl für Botanik J. MCKENZIE DE - Freising-Weihenstephan B. HOCK
Universität Stuttgart Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas Zentrum für Bioverfahrenstechnik Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo DE - Stuttgart Departamento de Quimica Ambiental R. SCHMID ES - Barcelona D. BARCELÓ
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Title: Measurement of priority metabolites using integrated optoelectronic biosensors derived from antibody and macrocyclic receptor libraries. (ENVIROSENSE) Objectives: · To produce and validate a multi-analyte prototype biosensor for the measurement of the priority metabolites of atrazine. · Extend current and develop new biosensor component technologies suitable for the prototype biosensor, namely: (i) artificial and recombinant antibody receptors, (ii) multi-sensing transducer platforms, (iii) engineered transducer/receptor interfaces and (iv) automated integration of receptors with the transducer platform.
Brief description of the research project: Environmental legislation and increasing public awareness of environmental issues have heightened interest in generic measurement technologies suitable for the rapid detection of a range of analytes. Of particular interest at present are analytes for which no effective conventional assay is available. These include priority metabolites and transformation products such as CIAT (6-amino-2-chloro-4-isopropylamino-s-triazine), CDET (4-acetamido-2-chloro-6-ethylamino-s-triazine) and CAAT (2-chloro-4,6-diamino-s-triazine). These, and other related compounds are of particular concern because of their high aqueous solubility. This leads to a high level of transport through pore and groundwaters to surface and seawaters. Coupled to the relatively long half lives of these compounds, this has led to their detection in the Mediterranean region due to transport via such rivers as the Ebro (Spain), Po (Italy), Rhone (France) and Axios (Greece). These compounds are currently difficult to analyse using conventional techniques and are environmentally relevant. For these reasons, they have been selected as target analytes for this proposed work programme. The technology that will be developed, however, will be broadly applicable to analytical problems not only in the environment, but also in process monitoring and medical applications.
At present, analysis of pesticide metabolites is achieved largely via sampling and measurement in dedicated analytical laboratories using conventional analysers such as Gas Chromatographs and Mass Spectrometers. These methods are slow, require expensive instrumentation and skilled laboratory staff. Hence there is a clear need for a simpler alternative and preferably a method which allows real time monitoring in the field. The problem of analysing compounds of this type is that many of them may be present simultaneously. Hence an integrated sensor array coupled to multivariate analysis software offers a powerful and flexible tool for use in environmental monitoring.
This proposal outlines an approach to the detection and quantification of compounds such as CIAT, CDET and CAAT using an integrated optical/electrochemical biosensor array. The proposed route involves the creation of an antibody/peptide library followed by the deposition of suitable antibody fragments or molecular receptors onto a transducer structure. The output from the sensor array will then be manipulated using dedicated multivariate analysis software, with the aim of identifying and quantifying the target analytes. This type of approach has proved successful in applications such as the electronic nose and should be amenable to use in an integrated optical biosensor array. Due to the small size of these platforms, we will use silicon manufacturing technology to produce the transducers, and mass manufacturing techniques such as ink-jet printing to deposit the antibody fragments and molecular receptors. It will be possible to produce arrays of devices at low cost, which may allow disposable devices to be constructed. Interferometry will be the primary transduction technique. This has been chosen due to its inherent extremely high sensitivity and accuracy. Furthermore, it is a flexible measurement which will enable generic devices to be produced. This is seen to be important, since it will allow the system to be adapted easily to meet changing technological and market-driven requirements. It is also possible to incorporate electrochemical sensors onto such a platform and these will be used as required.
There are a number of measurable objectives of this proposal: a) To select target analytes (these will be discussed during a meeting of the project partners at the beginning of the project, but it will be assumed that these will be CIAT, CDET and CAAT at this stage). b) To demonstrate the feasibility of constructing suitable generic optical sensing structures. c) To develop suitable sensing layers using recombinant antibody fragment technology and combinatorial synthesis of molecular receptors. d) To develop rapid, automated reagent deposition techniques. e) To produce a working prototype instrument for testing and optimisation.
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Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0474 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 350.000 JEAN-FRANÇOIS JUNGER EC contribution (EURO) : 350.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 December 1997 E-mail : jean-franç[email protected] Duration : 27 months Area FP4 : 2.1.5 Instrumentation for measurements in waste water
Coordinator Università Cà Foscari di Venezia Antonio Marcomini Dipartimento di Scienze Ambientali Tel : 39 41 5298548 Environmental Chemistry Section Fax : 39 41 5298584 Calle Larga Santa Marta 2137 E-mail : [email protected] IT - 30123 Venezia
Partners University of Crete Deutscher Verein des Gas- und Wasserfaches Division of Environmental and Analytical Chemistry Technologiezentrum Wasser Karlsruhe Environmental Chemical Processes Laboratory Department of Microbiology GR - Heraklion Abteilung Analytik E. STEPHANOU DE - Karlsruhe F. LANGE Eidgenössische Anstalt für Wasserversorgung , BMG Engineering AG Abwasserreinigung und Gewässerschutz CH - Schlieren Department of Chemistry M. OCHS CH - Dübendorf W. GIGER
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Title: Analysis and fate of concrete admixtures in wastewaters. (ANACAD)
Objectives: Through construction activities, large quantities of polymeric organic compounds used as concrete admixtures are potentially introduced into the environment. The majority of these chemicals are xenobiotic sulfonated compounds such as sulfonated naphthalene-formaldehyde-condensates (SNFC), sulfonated melamine-formaldehyde-condensates (SMFC) and lignosulfonates (LS). The proposed project aims to provide new and innovative analytical procedures for the determination of SNFC, SMFC, LS, related monomers and degradation products. As sensitive and specific analytical procedures for highly polar organic mircropollutants are still scarce, the procedures developed in the course of this project will have applications beyond the scope of the proposed study. The newly developed analytical tools will be applied to determine the occurrence of the above compounds in different wastewater streams, in receiving waters and in drinking water. Behaviour and fate of SNFC, SMFC, LS, related monomers and degradation products during wastewater treatment will be studied aiming at the identification of the relevant chemodynamic processes.
Brief description of the research project: The project is organised into four interrelated work packages addressing the following areas:
· Development of state-of-the art trace enrichment, separation and detection techniques using solid-phase extraction, high- performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), capillary electrophoresis (CE) and HPLC/mass spectrometry.
· Occurrence of SNFC, SMFC, LS, related monomers and degradation products in wastewaters from different industrial and municipal sources as well as in receiving waters, concrete leachates, ground waters and drinking water.
· Mass balance of SNFC, SMFC, LS, related monomers and degradation products in different wastewater treatment plants, identification of processes relevant for their environmental fate and identification of possible wastewater disinfection by- products.
· Synthesis of the above results in a mass-flux and exposure analysis, leading to a basis for the assessment of environmental and human risks, identification of possible product liabilities and recommendations concerning the establishment of environmental and industrial standards.
This project will contribute to the urgently needed scientifically sound basis for the environmental impact assessment of the most important concrete admixtures which are applied worldwide in vast and steadily increasing amounts.
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Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0475 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 914.000 JÜRGEN BÜSING EC contribution (EURO) : 600.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 December 1997 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 24 months Area FP4 : 2.1.5 Instrumentation for measurements in waste water
Coordinator Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Angewandten Forschung e.V. Maurus Tacke Institut für Physikalische Meßtechnik Tel : +49-761-8857125 Heidenhofstraße 8 Fax : +49-761-8857224 DE - 79110 Freiburg E-mail : [email protected]
Partners Technische Universität Wien Tel Aviv University Institut für Analytische Chemie School of Physics and Astronomy Abteilung für Infrarotspektroskopie und Chemische Analyse IL - Tel Aviv AT - Wien A. KATZIR B. MIZAIKOFF Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo Departamento de Quimica Ambiental ES - Barcelona D. BARCELO
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Title: Hydrocarbon sensor. (EWALD)
Objectives: A novel optical waste water sensor concept for volatile organic compounds is to be investigated and demonstrated.
Brief description of the research project: The project topics are research on, and development of, a highly sensitive sensor for on-line and in-situ monitoring of volatile organic compounds (VOC) in waste water. The sensor is based on a spectroscopic technique.
Analytes like chlorinated and polycyclic hydrocarbons (CHCs, benzene and toluene) are of importance for waste water treatment, as can be taken for instance from the 76/464/EEC list of substances that should be monitored in effluent discharges to the aquatic environment. The proposed research aims at providing a new sensor technique that promises to fulfil the technical and economical needs.
The sensor makes use of Evanescent Wave Attenuation with Laser Diodes (Hence their name EWALD sensors). The analytes are detected sensitively and selectively by their fingerprint absorption in the Mid Infrared. The molecules to be monitored diffuse into a very thin polymer layer, which is part of a waveguide, thus the light path is separated from the waste water itself and the sensor head can be immersed directly into the effluents.
The sensor principle of absorption is elementary and thus leads to simple and reliable technical solutions. It works with different kinds of analytes, hence it can be used quite universally. This has been demonstrated previously with classical multimode fibre optics, where a limit of detection of 50 ppb C2Cl4 in water was obtained in the laboratory. The project aims at increasing the sensitivity of such sensor by novel use of single mode techniques. This will result in a sensitivity enhancement of some two orders of magnitude.
The work programme contains all scientific and technical steps for obtaining such novel EWALD sensors and for validating them for waste water monitoring.
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Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0476 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 835.700 JÜRGEN BÜSING EC contribution (EURO) : 600.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 November 1997 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 2.1.5 Instrumentation for measurements in waste water
Coordinator Lund University Jenny Emnéus Analytisk Kemi - Matematisk-Naturvetenskapliga Fakulteten Tel : +46-2-220104 Getingevägen 60 Fax : +46-2-224544 SE - 221 00 Lund E-mail : [email protected]
Partners Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas Universität Potsdam Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo Institut für Biochemie und Molekulare Physiologie Unitad de Quimica Bio-organica Department of Analytical Biochemistry ES - Barcelona DE - Berlin D. BARCELÓ U. WOLLENBERGER BST Bio Sensor Technologie Gmbh Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas DE - Berlin Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo D. PFEIFFER Departamento de Quimica Ambiental ES - Barcelona M. MARCO Sociedad General Aguas de Barcelona SA Servei Laboratori ES - Barcelona F. VENTURA
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Title: Integrated immuno extraction sampling and portable biosensor prototytpe for in-field monitoring. (IMEXSPORT)
Objectives: The goal of INExSPORT is to develop a portable biosensor prototype coupled on-line to a stand alone sampling unit for the selective in-field analysis of phenols and surfactants. The final goal is to actively interact and compare results with other advanced sampling and measuring techniques and correlate data with toxicity in the co-ordinating WASTE WATER CLUSTER (WWC).
Brief description of the research project: The WWC is focused approach involving three European research projects within the area Environmental technologies. The objective is to improve the understanding of the transformation, fate and toxicity of selected groups of industrial pollutants discharged into the water resources by using complementary sampling and advanced measuring techniques. The expected results should provide better monitoring data for risk assessment of waste waters and should in the long run lead to a cleaner, healthier, and sustainable environment for the European citizen.
Phenols, surfactants an metabolites (e.g. phenolic derivatives) present in surface, waste and ground water are an increasing environmental problem all over Europe. Most of the metabolites as well as their toxic effects are unknown because of the lack of analytical methods. There is thus a strong need for new and selective analytical techniques, permitting the specific and sensitive determination of various phenols and surfactants both in-field as an early warning system, but also in the laboratory for the identification of new metabolites of the latter.
The project will focus on developing an immuno based in-field sampling device based on supported liquid membranes (SLM) coupled on-line to a biosensor prototype, containing disposable and easily exchangeable biological units, by implementing:
1.antibody recognition of target analytes already during sampling,
2.isolation of bound or free labelled antigen/antibody in continuous immuno flow system and,
3.monitoring of eluting labelled target by an enzyme based biosensor. The immuno flow system and enzyme biosensor will be housed in the biosensor prototype which will be designed for simple on-line coupling to the stand alone SLM sampling device. The biosensor prototype will be constructed so that the technology can easily be transferred and applied in other areas than surfactant and phenol monitoring.
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Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0480 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 649.900 JÜRGEN BÜSING EC contribution (EURO) : 649.900 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 November 1997 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 2.1.4 Biosensors
Coordinator University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology Richard Maurice Walmsley Department of Biochemistry and Applied Molecular Biology Tel : +44-161-2004174 Sackville Street Fax : +44-161-2360409 The Mill E-mail : [email protected] GB - Manchester M60 1QD
Partners Universität Bern Hans-Knoll-Institut für Naturstoff-Forschung e.V. Institut für Allgemeine Mikrobiologie Department of Cell and Molecular Biology CH - Bern DE - Jena W. HEYER S. WÖLFL
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Title: Environmental monitoring by fluorescence induction and detection. (EMFID)
Objectives: To develop novel environmental biosensors which detect and report the presence of genotoxic and other stress-inducing chemicals in water.
Brief description of the research project: Waters leached from domestic/industrial landfill as well as accidental or deliberate discharge into rivers can contain genotoxic chemicals. Whilst the presence of such chemicals may not have obvious consequences like fish deaths, their affects can be long term and insidious, leading to cancers and birth defects.
The project is a combined effort by researchers in the fields of Biotechnology, Instrumentation and Analytical science, and builds on collaborations established in the European network for the functional analysis of yeast genes discovered by systematic DNA sequencing (EUROFAN).
At the heart of the biosensors are living yeast cells which have been genetically engineered to produce Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) in response to specified stresses. The prototype yeast reports the activity of the DNA damage induced gene RAD54 by producing GFP under the control of the RAD54 promoter. During the project new reporters for DNA damage, as well as for other types of stress, will be developed for exploitation as biosensors.
Two different formats for batch assays will be developed: a microtitre assay, which will also be used in the calibration of genotoxicity and immobilised cell assay for collection and assessment of field samples.
For continuous monitoring, a sophisticated Multi-channel Microfabricated Fluorescence-Activated Cell Sorter (microFACS) will be developed. This will represent a considerable advance in FACS technology.
The development of these biosensors will provide increased speed and sensitivity in damage-induced repair and anti-repair assay for use in the detection of genotoxicity.
The technology will have applications in high throughput screens in pharmaceutical industries and generic applications in fluorescence induction and detection.
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Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0482 Concerted Actions EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 500.000 JÜRGEN BÜSING EC contribution (EURO) : 500.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 October 1997 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 2.1.4 Biosensors
Coordinator Cranfield University Anthony Peter Francis Turner Biotechnology Centre Tel : +44-1234-754132 GB - Cranfield - Bedford MK43 0AL Fax : +44-1234-752401 E-mail : A.P. [email protected]
Partners Norges Teknisk-Naturvitenskapelige Universitet Universidad de Alcalá de Henares Norges Tekniske Høgskole Departamento de quimica Analítica - Facultad de Farmacia Department of Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering - ES - Alcala de Henares Faculty of Civile Engineering E. DOMINQUEZ NO - Trondheim L. FIKSDAL Technische Universität Berlin Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas Institut für Ökologie und Biologie Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo Fachgebiet Ökotoxikologie Departamento de Quimica Ambiental DE - Berlin ES - Barcelona P. HANSEN D. BARCELO DNU Nowak Umweltanalysen DE - Berlin D. NOWAK
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Title: Biosensors for environmental monitoring/environmental technologies. (BIOSENSORS FOR ENVIRONMENT)
Objectives: To enhance the development of biosensors for practical applications in environmental monitoring.
Brief description of the research project: The universal applicability of biosensors places them clearly at the core of any programme to address future technology for environmental monitoring in real matrices. The technology is capable of measuring both existing and new parameters of relevance to the environment, and of responding to a multiplicity of agents which are simultaneously present.
The Concerted Action concerns biosensors for monitoring environmental pollutants in air, water, soil and waste. Priority will be given to development of existing biosensors for routine application in environmental monitoring; biosensors capable of measuring new parameters of relevance to the environment; extending the range of situations where biosensors may be applied to monitor the environment under extreme conditions, and the development of integrated sensor systems capable of measuring several parameters simultaneously under real operational conditions. The main targets on which biosensor development will be focused are ground water, surface water, effluents, air, improvement of preventive technologies, control of waste disposal sites, and efficiency control of remediation activities.
A forum will be provided for exchange of information, involving universities, research centres, manufacturers, and end users in order to facilitate the transfer of knowledge to industry and others and to identify gaps in knowledge and the respective R&D projects to address them. The performance of market studies for biosensors for environment monitoring will be facilitated in areas where industrial support is evident. Required sensor performance will be defined with regard to environmental limitations. The advantages over alternative assays of monitoring using biosensors will be documented. Standard procedures will be defined for evaluation of results, with particular regard to effects of the environmental matrix.
Industrial producers and users will be involved in addressing problems of mass production and of performance in real conditions, in order to bring to fruition the useful application of existing biosensors. Understanding will be enhanced of new analytical demands, including new parameters to describe environmental phenomena and effects, and the potential of biosensors to satisfy these demands. Specific environmental tasks will be defined as targets for biosensor development. Paths will be identified to resolve the most effective biosensors for use in monitoring integrated industrial waste (including air contaminants) and for use in waste water management in order to promote a clean environment.
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Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0493 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 980.890 JÜRGEN BÜSING EC contribution (EURO) : 746.900 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 December 1997 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 2.1.4 Biosensors
Coordinator Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Anne Lise Etienne URA 1810 - Photoregulation et Dynamique des Membranes Végétales Tel : +33-1-44323519 Rue d'Ulm 46 Fax : +33-1-44323935 Ecole Normale Supérieure E-mail : aetienne wotan.ens.fr FR - 75230 Paris
Partners The Hebrew University of Jerusalem - The Authority for Universität Stuttgart Research and Development Institut für Technische Biochemie School of Applied Sciences and Technology DE - Stuttgart Environmental Science R. SCHMID IL - Jerusalem S. BELKIN The Hebrew University of Jerusalem - The Authority for Research and Development The interuniversity Institut for Marine Science IL - Eilat A. POST
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Title: Water quality monitoring by luminescent cyanobacterial biosensors: a novel early warming system against algal blooms. (AQUA-SENSE) Objectives: The general objective of the proposed research is to develop biosensors for the monitoring of nutrient concentration in water. We aim to apply this novel approach towards an understanding of the factors regulating algal and cyanobacterial proliferation, in order to guard against undesired blooms of these organisms. The prevention of such occurence is of importance for improving the quality of water in general and drinking water in particular which is a top European priority.
Brief description of the research project: We will construct a set of cyanobacterial biosensors, that produce a real-time signal dependent on the bioavailability of specific nutrients. It is believed that these new tools, once developed, will be accurate, sensitive and cheap. The strategy suggested for achieving this aim is to fuse two genetic elements: (a) promoter regions of selected cyanobacterial genes regulated by either N, P or Fe availability, that will serve as the sensing element of the final construct; (b)bacterial (lux) bioluminescence genes, to serve as the reporting/signaling element. Plasmids containing these fusions will be used to transform unicellular cyanobacterial strains; successful transformants will emit light in response to N, P or Fe availability.
In parallel, we will monitor the responses of these recombinant strains to nutrient limitation or availability in synthetic media, and later in water samples collected in different water bodies in order to correlate the observed responses with actual environmental conditions. To increase the practicality of the concept, the luminescent sensor strains will be immobilized and "packaged" into an easy-to-use biosensor format that can partially replace the expensive and lengthy chemical determinations, currently in use.
These genetically engineered tools will serve a double purpose: (1) they will function as an early warning system against the development of conditions allowing cyanobacterial blooms and (2) they will help in providing a partial solution to the still largely unanswered question of what are the roles that specific nutritional factors play in the development of such blooms.
The improvement of the quality of water in general, and drinking water in particular, is one of the top priorities in Europe. The understanding of the factors regulating cyanobacterial and algal blooms are needed to prevent degradation of water quality. To reach this goal, we propose a completely novel approach for the monitoring of aquatic environments and also to give warning of impending algal and cyanobacterial blooms. We will construct a set of cyanobacterial biosensors, that produce a real-time signal dependent on the bioavailability of specific nutrients. It is believed that these new tools, once developed, will be accurate, sensitive and cheap. The strategy suggested for achieving this aim is to fuse two genetic elements: (a) promoter regions of selected cyanobacterial genes regulated by either N, P or Fe availability, that will serve as the sensing element of the final construct; (b)bacterial (lux) bioluminescence genes, to serve as the reporting/signaling element. Plasmids containing these fusions will be used to transform unicellular cyanobacterial strains; successful transformants will emit light in response to N, P or Fe availability. In parallel, we will monitor the responses of these recombinant strains to nutrient limitation or availability in synthetic media, and later in water samples collected in different water bodies in order to correlate the observed responses with actual environmental conditions. To increase the practicality of the concept, the luminescent sensor strains will be immobilized and "packaged" into an easy-to-use biosensor format that can partially replace the expensive and lengthy chemical determinations, currently in use.
These genetically engineered tools will serve a double purpose: (1) they will function as an early warning system against the development of conditions allowing cyanobacterial blooms and (2) they will help in providing a partial solution to the still largely unanswered question of what are the roles that specific nutritional factors play in the development of such blooms. For this purpose, this project brings together four different laboratories with complementary expertise in : a) cyanobacterial physiology and molecular biology, b) recombinant-sensor strain construction, c) biotechnology in biosensors and d) aquatic ecology. This project is feasible. Partner B has significant expertise in the genetic engineering of luminescent bacterial biosensors and their application to various environmental uses. Partner C has 10 years experience with biosensors, microbial sensors and related immobilization techniques and will provide a prototype of a portable luminometer to be adapted in this project. Partner A has been working with unicellular cyanobacteria for more than 10 years and Partner D is already involved in the study of nutrient availability in water bodies and the relationship between nutrient concentration and cyanobacterial blooms.
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Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0608 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 752.100 JÜRGEN BÜSING EC contribution (EURO) : 595.100 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 January 1998 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 2.1.5 Instrumentation for measurements in waste water
Coordinator Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Henk Lingeman Department of Analytical Chemistry - Faculty of Chemistry Tel : 31 20 444 7539 De Boelelaan 1083 Fax : 31 20 444 7543 NL - 1081 HV Amsterdam E-mail : [email protected]
Partners Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas Technische Universität Wien Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo Institut für Analytische Chemie Departamento de Quimica Ambiental AT - Wien ES - Barcelona E. ROSENBERG D. BARCELÓ Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Hyder Consulting Ltd. Laboratory of Pesticides Hyder Environmental Laboratories and Sciences GR - Thessaloniki GB - Runcorn, Cheshire E. PAPDOPOULOU-MOURKIDOU P. WHITTLE
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Title: On line field sampling and monitoring in combination with automated determination of micropolluants in industrial and communal waste water. (ON LINE WASTE WATER ANALYSIS) Objectives: To develop on-line in-field sampling and on-line automated measurement techniques for hazardous (i.e. substituted amines and phenols, and surfactants) compounds to contribute to environmental sustainability, to protect water resources, to reduce environmental risks and perform risk assessment studies.
Brief description of the research project: The five major objectives of the project are:
1. development of on-line measurement techniques based in solid-phase extraction (SPE), solid-phase micro extraction (SPME) or modified membrane procedures (MMP) followed on-line liquid chromatography (LC) or gas chromatography (GC), for a number or relevant compound classes, i.e., selected substituted anilines and phenols, detergents and whitening agents, and a number of their (bio)degradation products.
2. establishment of one or more procedures, based on SPE or MMP, enabling the collection and transportation if samples from remote locations to a central laboratory, followed by on-line analysis. This aspect will in particularly include stability studies of compounds sorbed on the SPE or MMP material.
3. carry out of extensive performance testing ("validation") of the on-line measurement systems and the sampling/sample transport procedures developed.
4. providing proof of performance of the methods developed as standard analytical tools by intracluster (field) testing.
5. providing information about the potential correlation between the collected analytical data and effluent toxicity.
With regard to detection limits, which will be in the 1-100µg/l range in all cases discussed above, with the exact value depending on the target compound and sample type relevant EU and/or international directives will be used as a guideline in all instances.
- 163 - 1.1.4.-1.5.1 Pollution surveillance and control
Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0634 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.018.500 JEAN-FRANÇOIS JUNGER EC contribution (EURO) : 698.500 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 February 1998 E-mail : jean-franç[email protected] Duration : 30 months Area FP4 : 2.2.3 Technologies to protect and rehabilitate the environment
Coordinator Institut de Recherches Hydrologiques Michel Jauzein Service Recherches Tel : 33 3 83 50 36 51 Rue Gabriel Péri 11 BI Fax : 33 3 83 50 36 99 FR - 54515 Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy E-mail : [email protected]
Partners University of Southampton Liverpool John Moores University Thick Film Unit Optical Fibre Sensors Research Group - School of Electrical GB - Southampton Engineering, Electronics and Physics J. ATKINSON GB - Liverpool P. SCULLY
Laborelec - Laboratoire Belge de l'Industrie S.c.r.l. Université Catholique de Louvain Département de Chimie Département de Chimie Appliquée et des Bio-Industries - BE - Linkebeek Faculté des Sciences Agronomiques L. DUVIVIER Unité de Chimie des Interfaces BE - Louvain-la-Neuve P. ROUXHET
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Title: On line measurement for preventing fouling when closing industrial process water circuit. (CLOOPT)
Objectives: To develop on-line instrumentation and measuring techniques, regarding the fouling and scaling properties of aqueous process fluids, for optimising their reuse in closed loops or their high level recycling.
As a matter of facts, aqueous process fluids are environments where reactions take place, they are carriers of solutes, colloids and particules, and physically active systems (cleaning, heat transfer,...). These fluids are modified during their use. Thus, there is a risk of efficiency decrease for its functions and for the entire process itself. Fouling and scaling are examples of occurring problems which can be important factors of material corrosion.
The proposed research and development activities will contribute to the monitoring, understanding and remediation of these problems.
Brief description of the research project: The work programme of the project has been organised on the basis of three main steps: the detailed definitions of specifications for the measuring system to be developed, the development of a specific systems for monitoring fouling and scaling and the testing and demonstration of a precompetitive version on an industrial pilot scale heat-exchanger of the power sector.
1. Specification research:
- identification of the basic key parameters influencing or influenced by fouling or scaling phenomena: physical and biological parameters (surfaces, deposits, fluids) selected through the state-of-the-art and preliminary laboratory completed studies.
- identification of potential on-line monitoring parameters using two types of sensors especially from optic fibre sensors and miniaturised electro-chemical sensors.
- selection of a first set of parameters of interest which can be measured or evaluated with such type of sensors and giving key information related to fouling or scaling phenomena occurring in process water circuit.
2. Developments:
- adaptation of existing sensors with respect to the selected on-line monitoring parameters and related specifications.
- comparative study performed at the laboratory scale using small scale process simulators (for fouling and scaling processes) between conventional key parameters and the selected set of on-line measurement parameters.
- enhancement of specific sensor systems and related data treatment with respect to the objective of monitoring fouling and scaling phenomena.
3. testing and demonstration:
- a real size test of the developed monitoring systems will be performed on a pilot heat-exchanger of the power sector with the following process characteristics: flow rates between 1000 and 4500 l/h, concentration factors between 1.2 and 7, temperature of 15 to 45°C with gradients between 6 and 15°C, reactive conditioning of these process water similar to real installations.
- a feasibility study of the industrialisation step will be discussed by all the partners through a technico-economic assessment of potential products and their identification of the main fields of application.
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Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0638 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.110.600 HARTMUT BARTH EC contribution (EURO) : 900.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 February 1998 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 1.2.2 Biospheric processes
Coordinator Stockholms Universitet Dag BROMAN Department of Zoology Tel : +46 8 164018 Institutet foer Tillaempad Miljoeforskning Fax : +46 8 6747199 SE - 106 91 Stockholm E-mail : [email protected]
Partners Norwegian Institute for Air Research Christian-Albrechts Universität Kiel NO - Kjeller Institut für Meereskunde J. PACYNA Department Meereschemie DE - Kiel D. SCHULZ-BULL University of Lancaster University of Crete Institute of Environmental and Natural Sciences Division of Environmental and Analytical Chemistry GB - Lancaster Environmental Chemical Processes Laboratory K. JONES GR - Heraklion E. STEPHANOU Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo Departamento de Quimica Ambiental ES - Barcelona J. GRIMALT
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Title: Global mass balance of persistent semi-volatile organic compounds: an approach with PCB as an indicator. (GLOBAL-SOC)
Objectives: To complete a global mass balance of persistent semi-volatile organic compounds using PCBs as indicator compounds. The key issues are: where will these compounds end up in a global perspective, and: at what rate are these compounds removed from the global environment?
Brief description of the research project: The fate of persistent semi-volatile organic compounds in the populated areas of the world is relatively well known and decreasing trends have been observed in many formerly highly contaminated areas. However, recent results strongly suggests that the environmental fate of some of these compounds presently is governed by processes taking place in remote areas of the world and that they are recycled at a high rate in the environment. There are also indications of that the rate of removal in a global perspective may be significantly lower than has been observed in or near populated areas.
The project will link processes in the terrestrial environment and the aquatic environment, areas of research that has previously been separated regarding the fate of semi-volatile organic chemicals using PCBs as indicator compounds.
A global mass balance model will be developed where the environment will be divided into different compartments such as the atmosphere, soils, ocean surface and deep-ocean waters, coastal waters and coastal shelf sediments. The inventory of, exchange between, and burial/chemical reaction within these compartments will be assessed with estimates of the degree of uncertainty. The model will be designed to account for climatic aspects of environmental processes relevant to the PCBs’ fate. All processes described in the model will be related to the physico-chemical properties of individual PCB compounds to facilitate extrapolation of the results to the other organic chemicals.
The project will consist of several measurement campaigns where loss processes and inventories of PCBs will be assessed. Inventory/sedimentation in remote ocean areas, inventory in the terrestrial environment, inventory/deposition from the atmosphere and inventory in coastal shelf sediments constitute the base of the field measurements. Laboratory studies of air- soil exchange processes and of atmospheric degradation of PCBs will be supplementing these measurements. Further, a comprehensive emission database will be built.
The project results will be valuable in regulatory decision situations. Environmental fate on a global scale is an important parameter when assessing the risk of using a new chemical to be released on the market. In addition, the results will help optimising environmental monitoring programmes.
- 167 - 1.1.4.-1.5.1 Pollution surveillance and control
Contract No : ENV4-CT98-0740 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.839.800 LUC LEPAN EC contribution (EURO) : 1.050.000 Fax : +32-2-2960588 Starting date : 1 October 1998 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 3.3 Centre for Earth observation
Coordinator Centre National du Machinisme Agricole, du Génie Rural, des Eaux et des Cécile Loumagne Forêts Groupement d'Antony Tel : 33 1 40 96 60 53 Division Qualité et Fonctionnement Hydrologique des Sytèmes Aquatiques Fax : 33 1 40 96 61 99 Parc de Tourvoie E-mail : [email protected] FR - 92163 Antony
Partners Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Universitat de València (Estudi General) Centre d'Etude des Environnements Terrestre et Planétaire Departamento de Termodinámica - Facultad de Fisica FR - Vélizy ES - Burjassot (Valencia) O. TACONET J. MORENO SIDES - Sociedade Independente Desenvolvimento do Ensino Natural Environment Research Council Superior S.A. Institute of Hydrology Departamento de Engenharia de Recursos Naturais GB - Crowmarsh - Gifford PT - Lisboa R. RAGAB M. CORREIA SIMAS
Associação de Regantes e Beneficiários de Silves, Lagoa e Portimão PT - Silves J. CABRITA CORREIA
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Title: Analysis, investigation and monitoring of water resources for management of multi-purpose reservoirs. (AIMWATER)
Objectives: The AIMWATER project seeks to demonstrate how multi-purpose reservoir management could be improved through integration of Earth Observation (EO) data in commonly used decision-support hydrological models. The main measurable objectives of AIMWATER are:
- regionalization of algorithms deriving soil moisture indicators from SAR data; - adaptation of a conceptual hydrological model to take into account EO-derived soil moisture data; - improved modelling of the contribution of the intermediary catchments, to assess the flood mitigating impact of reservoirs; - a methodology to improve the cost-effectiveness of the above-mentioned model when used on a large catchment.
Brief description of the research project: Reservoirs are a key-element of water resource systems in the European Union and World wide. They provide multiple benefits, such as flood control, increased water supplies and maintenance of stream flow levels needed for dilution of pollutants, navigation and recreation.
One of the main objectives of AIMWATER is to improve the performances of the commonly-used hydrological tools in a reservoir operational context. An improved forecasting tool will result in reduced uncertainties in the information available to the reservoir manager, and thus will lead to a more efficient reservoir operation. The other main objective will be to help reservoir managers assess the potential benefits gained through the use of developed models.
The novel aspect of this project lies in its attempts to directly assimilate radar-derived soil moisture information into a hydrological catchment model. The assimilation of these data should provide an efficient tool to minimise the negative social and economic impacts of extreme hydrological events on the communities.
This project will deal with the two most important aspects of multi-purpose reservoir operation: flood control and irrigation water supply, under two contrasting European climates: humid temperate (Northern France) and semi-arid Mediterranean (Southern Portugal).
It is expected that the AIMWATER project will result in real improvement in water resources management. Benefits from the project include: first, from the economic point of view, the mitigation of the detrimental effects of floods or long periods of low flows, which could save billions of ECU worth of damages. Secondly, from scientific point of view, the improvement in model performance gained by assimilating of EO-data should in turn improve the cost-effectiveness of the existing models which will be adapted in this project.
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Contract No : ENV4-CT98-0784 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 800.000 JÜRGEN BÜSING EC contribution (EURO) : 800.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 January 1999 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 2.1.4 Biosensors
Coordinator Cranfield University Anthony Peter Francis Turner Biotechnology Centre Tel : 44 1234 75 41 32 GB - Cranfield - Bedford MK43 0AL Fax : 44 1234 75 24 01 E-mail : A.P.TURNER @CRAINFIELD.AC.UK
Partners King's College London Technische Universität Berlin Life Sciences Division Institut für Ökologie und Biologie GB - London Fachgebiet Ökotoxikologie R. ABUKNESHA DE - Berlin P. HANSEN National University of Ireland, Cork Technische Universität München Department of Chemistry Lehrstuhl fuer Botanik, TUM at Weihenstephan Laboratory of Sensor Development DE - Freising IE - Cork B. HOCK G. GUILBAULT
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Title: The application of integrated biosensors with antibody and macrocyclic receptor libraries in the measurement of algal cells and toxins in water. (ALGAETOX) Objectives: To develop rapid and portable biosensors for monitoring algal cells and toxins and an early warning system based on biotoxin detection by hemocytes of bivalves and their immunotoxic response
Brief description of the research project: Blue-green algae (cyanobacteria are aquatic organisms, which under certain conditions, can form high density blooms. These algae produce a number of potent neurotoxins, which could affect drinking water supplies under extreme conditions. These compounds are currently difficult to analyze using conventional techniques and a simple-to-use rapid method of measurement would be useful for monitoring toxic levels.
This project will focus on the measurement of microcystins, anatoxin A, domoic acid, nodularin and algal cells (Microcystis) using electrochemical and piezoelectric biosensor arrays coupled to dedicated multivariate analysis software. Monoclonal and polyclonal antibody libraries will be used in conjunction with synthetic molecular receptors built up using combinatorial chemistry and modeling procedures. Sensors will be produced by depositing appropriate reagents onto the transducer structures using high speed, automated deposition technologies such as ink-jet printing and Cavro deposition. Several different assay formats will be investigated, including the use of enzyme amplified systems in the case of the electrochemical devices and displacement formats for piezoelectric transduction.
Immunoaffinity chromatography columns will be developed for the separation, concentration and analysis of blue-green algal toxins. As well as for producing quantities of toxins, this will be used for sensor validation purposes.
In addition, an early warning system will be developed based on biotoxin determination by hemocytes of bivalves and their immunotoxic response. The principle of detection will be based on a reduction in bioluminescence as a result of phagocytosis. The assays will be formed into a commercial test kit for blue-green algae toxin detection.
- 171 - 1.1.4.-1.5.1 Pollution surveillance and control
Contract No : ENV4-CT98-0801 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 955.000 JÜRGEN BÜSING EC contribution (EURO) : 815.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 February 1999 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 2.1.4 Biosensors
Coordinator Technische Universität Berlin Peter-Diedrich Hansen Institut für Ökologie und Biologie Tel : 49 30 314 21 463 Keplerstraße 4-6 Fax : 49 30 314 21 675 DE - 10589 Berlin E-mail : [email protected]
Partners Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Institut für Physikalische und Theoretische Chemie Département de Chimie DE - Tübingen Laboratoire de Chimie Physique des Polymères et Membranes G. GAUGLITZ CH - Lausanne H. VOGEL Technische Universität München Cranfield University Lehrstuhl fuer Botanik, TUM at Weihenstephan Biotechnology Centre DE - Freising GB - Cranfield - Bedford B. HOCK D. CULLEN
Technische Universität Dresden Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas Institut für Abfallwirtschaft und Altlasten Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo DE - Pirna Departamento de Quimica Ambiental B. BILITEWSKI ES - Barcelona D. BARCELÓ Sociedad General Aguas de Barcelona SA Servei Laboratori ES - Barcelona F. VENTURA
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Title: Biosensor tracing of endocrine disrupting compounds in surface water, waste water and sludge for water quality assessment. (SANDRINE) Objectives: Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) are a class of potentially dangerous substances, which is not defined by chemical nature but by biological effect. Treatment of waste water and surface water is a critical point for minimising the environmental burden imposed by natural and synthetic EDC, and for the protection of man and environment from adverse effects of EDC. Therefore SANDRINE will:
- study the behaviour of EDCs in waste water treatment plants (WWTPs) and sewage sludge;
- make available and adapt bioanalytical tools (bioassays and biosensors) that respond to a broad range of EDCs by effect, rather that by chemical identification and allow to trace, to quantify, and to detect EDCs in complex samples;
- validate the bioassay and biosensor measurements by comparing their data with established and instrument analytical techniques, using known endoestrogens and xenoestrogens.
Brief description of the research project: The project will address these problems by the development of different biosensors, biomarkers and receptors assay systems that will carry out different experiments like (i) vitellogenin immunoassays. Quantification of biomarker levels for EDCs exposure to aquatic species, (ii) in vitro EDC assays based on natural steroid receptors, (iii) continuous flow receptor assays using EDC detection coupled to liquid chromatography, (iv) functional receptor assays based on cell models and on protein-DNA and protein-protein interactions and (v) validation of different biosensor data for determining EDCs in the WWTP, water works and surface waters will be carried out by novel solid phase and affinity chromatographic methods followed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometric measurements.
The project SANDRINE is part of the waste water cluster. This cluster is a focussed approach involving 5 european research projects within the area Environmental Technologies in the European Community Environment and Climate Programme. The proposers research developments will answer to the increasing demand for more straightforward instrumentation and biochemical effect studies on EDCs. Waste water treatment industry will be specially favoured by the developments achieved through the present project.
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Contract No : ENV4-CT96-0281 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.134.032 KAREN FABBRI EC contribution (EURO) : 800.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 May 1996 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 42 months Area FP4 : 2.3.1 Hydrological and hydrogeological risks
Coordinator Università degli Studi di Ferrara Franco PRODI Dipartimento di Fisica Tel : +39-532-781 841 Via Paradiso 12 Fax : +39-523-781 810 IT - 44100 Ferrara E-mail : [email protected]
Partners Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche Istituto per lo Studio dei Fenomeni Fisici e Chimici della Istituto di Fisica dell'Atmosfera Bassa e Alta Atmosfera IT - Frascati IT - Bologna A. MUGNAI F. PRODI
Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils Joanneum Research, Forschungsgesellschaft mbH Rutherford Appleton Laboratory Institut für Angewandte Systemtechnik GB - Didcot AT - Graz J. GODDARD W. RANDEU
Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. e.V. Hauptabteilung Systemanalyse Raumfahrt Institut für Meteorologie DE - Köln DE - Hamburg P. BAUER S. BAKAN
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Title: Satellite and combined satellite-radar techniques in meteorological forecasting for flood events. (MEFFE)
Objectives: This project aims at improvements in rainfall intensity estimates for mitigating the risk of flood events using nowcasting techniques (meteorological satellites, combined satellite-radar data and numerical models). The specific object is to provide the conceptual models and nowcasting procedures for the needs of flood prevention, in the potentially dangerous meteorological situations.
Brief description of the research project: The risk management process implies a sequence of: a) a long term meteorological forecasting (up to 7-10 days, done by Global Circulation Models), b) a short term forecasting (up to 72 hours, done by Limited Area Models, LAM), c) a very short term forecasting by observational tools (satellites and radar). The outputs of b) and c) enter hydrological river basin models d) in form of rainfall rate intensity, which in turn produce warning e) for final decisions (enforcement of critical dikes, rescue of population, etc.). Recent advances in the nowcasting techniques allow us now to make a major progress in c). Simultaneous cooperative efforts are also under way in Cost 78 and ESA/ESTEC. So correct outputs from b) and c) and input in d) are considered crucial steps.
From the analysis of the past flood cases over Europe it is found that potentially dangerous situations are: mid-latitude deep cyclones, centered at high latitude (floods of over Netherland and northern Germany), around mid Europe-Northern France (floods over southern Spain and France, northern Italy and Tuscany); Mesoscale Convective Complexes during summer (floods over specific areas, e.g. Valtellina case, Italy), Severe storms (floods over narrow mountain valleys (Alps of France, Italy, Austria); Stationary north-south oriented fronts persisting on the same area (floods over southern Italy). In each situation conceptual models will be developed, enlightning some evolutionary characteristics and giving hints for new nowcasting procedures.
The combination of satellite (Meteosat-SSM/I-T2, NOAA-AVHRR), radar observation at the ground (mostly in network) and LAM simulations gives now an unprecedented tool for improving the rainfall intensity estimates. this will be done: - by developing new conceptual models on the evolutionary characteristics of envisaged typical situations (LAS, FISBAT). - opitimization of Meteosat and SSMI capabilities, through fronts investigation (MPI), rainfall estimates over land and sea (DRL), hydrometeor vertical profiles reconstruction and use of mesoscale cloud models (IFA). - for all these operations the best data base in terms of ground data (radar network, reflectivity profiles from research radars, raingauges and conventional meteorological radars) are needed. These will be provided by LAS, UK-Met. Office (Frontiers data) and DRL.
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Contract No : ENV4-CT96-0290 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.558.000 KAREN FABBRI EC contribution (EURO) : 1.100.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 July 1996 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 42 months Area FP4 : 2.3.1 Hydrological and hydrogeological risks
Coordinator University of Bristol Ian CLUCKIE Water Management Research Centre Tel : +44-161-745-5104 Department of Civil Engineering Fax : +44-161-745-5060 Lunsford House E-mail : GB - Bristol BS8 1UP
Partners Regione Veneto Università degli Studi di Padova Dipartimento per l'Agrometeorologia Dipartimento Territorio e Sistemi Agro-Forestali Centro Sperimentale per l'Idrologia e la Meteorologia IT - Padova IT - Padova - Teolo S. FATTORELLI M. CRESPI Fondazione per la Meteorologia Applicata Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble IT - Firenze Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Hydraulique et de Mécanique de V. CAPPELLINI Grenoble - ENSHMG Laboratoire d'Etude des Tranferts en Hydrologie et dans l'Environnement - LTHE FR - Grenoble J. CREUTIN Laboratoire Central des Ponts et Chaussées National Technical University of Athens Division Eau Department of Water Resources, Hydraulic and Maritime FR - Bouguenais Engineering H. ANDRIEU GR - Athens M. MIMIKOU
Universitat Politécnica de Catalunya Universidad de Barcelona Departamento d'Enginyera Hidraulica, Maritima i Ambiental Departamento de Física Fundamental ES - Barcelona ES - Barcelona D. SEMPERE TORRES J. PORRA
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Title: The development of active on-line hydrological and meteorological models to minimise impact of flooding. (HYDROMET)
Objectives: HYDROMET seeks to generate integrated models for forecasting the consequences of severe rainfall over a number of key river basins within Europe. Such models can also be used to assess the consequences of climate change, engineering works and urbanisation on river basins and coastal zones with a particular focus on Mediterranean areas. If these models are to generate reliable results a number of issues associated with the collection and assessment of data from remote sensing systems including radar and satellite must be addressed. A series of models robust to the uncertainties of these inputs will then be generated. Finally the models will be integrated to enable real time modelling and forecasting of runoff in river basins.
Brief description of the research project: The WRRG University of Salford will coordinate overall project management and research activities. At a technical level it will generate flood forecasting models, capable of assimilating results from the other research groups and develop novel methods for the real time updating of model parameters. It is hoped that these models will ultimately be combined with rainfall forecasting techniques to form the basis of a Flood Forecasting system which can be implemented in a number of identified key river catchments.
Three distinct tasks in providing data for and validating the final models generated will be undertaken by CSIM, supported by the University of Padova and FMA. They will develop procedures to mitigate errors inherent in radar data such as ground clutter and variability of the vertical reflectivity profile and formulate general quality control checks including comparisons with raingauge data. Optimum radar data compositions from a number of scan elevations will be derived and spatial variations in measurement accuracy will be investigated. These groups will then go on to validate the overall system through the use of satellite and additional raingauge data.
Access to operational data and expertise in the interfacing of hydrometeorological and meteorological models will be supplied by the French partners, INPG and their associates LCPC. The coarse scale of rainfall forecasts made using mesoscale meteorological models is not suited to hydrological applications. However simple advection and feature tracking methods are known to be defficient under conditions of growth and decay which are particularly characterisitc of the convective activity often associated with important flood producing storms. these defficiencies have led to research into hybrid approaches in which a simple water balance model of a cloud column is advected to provide finer resolution forecasts of rainfall fields. Recent progress has included the use of weather radar and satellite data as inputs to these models.
An independent validation of key results will be undertaken by UPC of Barcelona. They will also support the activities of the other research groups through the provision of specific technical support on the measurement and assessment of key physical parameters related to the accuracy of radar rainfall measurements.
The NTU of Athens will contribute through the acquisition, analysis, preprocessing and merging with raingauge data of remotely sensed measurements as a necessary step towards their use in lumped and distributed flood forecasting models. Furthermore, the research will be extended to the calibration, implementation and testing of models for real time flood forecasting in flood-prone areas in order to evaluate their functionality and uncertainty.
Substantial expertise and experience in the areas of hydrological modelling, real time rainfall forecasting and real time hydrological applications is brought to the project by the University of Ljubljana.
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Contract No : ENV4-CT95-0118 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 2.930.319 PANAGIOTIS BALABANIS EC contribution (EURO) : 2.137.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 January 1996 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 42 months Area FP4 : 1.1.4 Impact of climate changes and other environmental factors on natural resources
Coordinator King's College London John E. THORNES Department of Geography Tel : +44-171-873 2738 Strand Fax : +44-171-873 2287 GB - London WC2R 2LS E-mail :
Partners Katholieke Universiteit Leuven University of Portsmouth Departement Geografie en Geologie - Faculteit der Department of Geography - Faculty of Environmental Studies Wetenschappen GB - Portsmouth Laboratory for Experimental Geomorphology J. HOOKE BE - Leuven J. POESEN Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas Fundacion Universidad Empresa de Murcia Estación Experimental de Zonas Aridas Department of Physical Geography ES - Almeria ES - Murcia J. PUIGAEFABREGAS F. LOPEZ-BERMUDEZ
- 178 - Water resources use and management 1.1.4.-1.6.1.
Title: Mediterranean desertification and land use. Project 4: ephemeral channels and rivers. (MEDALUS-III-P4)
Objectives: To improve the understanding of the impact of desertification on headwater channels and rivers, where desertification is understood to include the effects of both human activities and climatic changes, and to extend these findings to the development of advice to those responsible for managing the environment and environmental change in Europe.
Brief description of the research project: Investigation of the controls on gully development and expansion will allow modelling of these effects using computer simulation to predict the impact through space and time of climatic and socio-economic factors of runoff and sediment yields from headwater channels.
Changes in ephemeral rivers in dry Mediterranean environments will be studied to develop a model to predict changes in channel morphology, sediment and water yield and surface cover use potential of the channels. The model can then be used as a management tool for ephemeral channels.
Project 4 also includes a coordination service for the whole MEDALUS III programme. Coordination includes running plenary sessions and group meetings, and preparing publications of working papers and reports of the project.
- 179 - 1.1.4.-1.6.1 Water resources use and management
Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0553 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 929.400 PANAGIOTIS BALABANIS EC contribution (EURO) : 699.700 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 January 1998 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 1.1.4 Impact of climate changes and other environmental factors on natural resources
Coordinator Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg Siegfried Demuth Institute of Hydrology Tel : 49 761 203 3538 Fahnbergerplatz Fax : 49 761 203 3594 DE - 79098 Freiburg E-mail : [email protected]
Partners University of Oslo Landbouwuniversiteit Wageningen Department of Geophysics Waterhuishouding NO - Oslo NL - Wageningen L. TALLAKSEN H. VAN LANEN
Instituto da Agua Centro de Estudios y Experimentación de Obras Públicas Direcçao de Serviços de Recursos Hídricos Centro de Estudios Hidrograficos PT - Lisboa ES - Madrid M. JANOTA DOS SANTOS P. FERNANDEZ CARRASCO
Natural Environment Research Council Institute of Hydrology GB - Crowmarsh - Gifford A. GUSTARD
- 180 - Water resources use and management 1.1.4.-1.6.1.
Title: Assessment of the regional impact of droughts in Europe. (ARIDE)
Objectives: The objective of the ARIDE project is to improve the understanding of processes which lead to widespread European drought, the ability to predict their duration, magnitude (severity) and extent for a given frequency and the sensitivity of droughts to environmental change.
Brief description of the research project: The project is a joint effort by researchers in the field of low flows and groundwater modelling, and is building upon the collaboration and results obtained during the FRIEND-project.
The work programme will be carried out in six work packages, subdivided into different activities.
The first work package will be the completion of the database. It is estimated that 80% of this task is complete as a result of the establishment of the European Water Archive by the FRIEND project. Outstanding work remains in enhancing the database in Spain and Portugal and in deriving basin properties using GIS techniques and to add hydrogeological data to the database. The activity will be completed by investigating the persistency of drought statistics at a regional scale.
The second work package deals with the probabilities of extreme droughts both in terms of extent (area coverage) and amplitude (frequency) and to compare the temporal and spatial variation in hydrological and meteorological droughts. In addition the effects of weather pattern and evapotranspiration on regional drought statistics will be investigated.
The third work package will develop continuous drought frequency estimation procedures and will develop a visualisation software and techniques for analysing the spatial coherence and temporal characteristics of droughts.
The fourth work package ‘Groundwater droughts’ determines the spatial and temporal probability distribution of direct groundwater recharge and the relation with groundwater droughts in selected drought-prone regions.
The fifth work package will develop regional drought estimation software, and a pilot system for the real time mapping of drought frequency.
- 181 - 1.1.4.-1.6.2 Prevention and mitigation of saline water intrusion
Contract No : ENV4-CT95-0071 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 2.135.000 PANAGIOTIS BALABANIS EC contribution (EURO) : 1.200.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 February 1996 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 1.1.4 Impact of climate changes and other environmental factors on natural resources
Coordinator Water Quality Institute Karsten Hoegh JENSEN Agern Allé 11 Tel : +45-4286-5211 DK - 2970 Hørsholm Fax : +45-4286-7273 E-mail : [email protected]
Partners Dansk Hydraulisk Institut Danmarks Tekniske Universitet Water Resources Division Institute of Environmental Science and Engineering DK - Hørsholm DK - Lyngby J. REFSGAARD P. MIKKELSEN
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven Kiwa NV Departement Landbeheer - Faculteit Landbouwkundige en Research and Consultancy Toegepaste Biologische Wetenschappen NL - Nieuwegein BE - Leuven P. STUYFZAND J. FEYEN
Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan Finnish Environmental Institute Department of Land and Water Resources Pollution Prevention Division SE - Stockholm FI - Helsinki G. JACKS T. HATVA
Universitat Politécnica de Catalunya Institut für Wasserforschung GmbH Departamento de Ingeniería del Terreno y Cartográfica DE - Schwerte ES - Barcelona U. SCHÖTTLER J. CARRERA
- 182 - Prevention and mitigation of saline water intrusion 1.1.4.-1.6.2.
Title: Artificial recharge of groundwater.
Objectives: To expand the scientific knowledge of artificial recharge of groundwater. The project will be accomplished by carrying out joint theoretical and experimental research of the processes occurring during artificial recharge. An important element of the project is to select field sites representing a diversity in terms of hydrogeology, quality of applied water, technical design, and operation practice. These field sites will be monitored in details and as such serve as outdoor joint research facilities for gaining a better insight into the mechanisms of artificial recharge.
Brief description of the research project: Artificial recharge is a method to increase the capacity to extract groundwater by augmenting the natural infiltration of surface water and at the same time utilize the soil as a reactor for improving the quality of the surface water. To fully benefit from artificial recharge it is crucial to have an thorough understanding of physical, chemical and biological processes occurring when augmenting the flow of surface water into underground formations. Of particular concern is the possible adverse effects on the quality of the native groundwater and the health effects from pathogens and toxic substances that may flow with the infiltrating surface water.
The proposed project will specifically focus on the following process studies: (1) clogging and heterogeneity, (2) organic compounds and biodegradation, (3) redox dynamics, (4) water-aquifer material interaction, and (5) fate of pathogens. These processes will be studied at the field sites and in laboratory systems with a view to developing theoretically based mechanistic model formulations of the process relations. The project emphasizes development of an integrated understanding of the physical, geochemical and biological processes occurring during recharge. This is accomplished by incorporating the process descriptions developed in an integrated numerical model for both the unsaturated zone and the groundwater zone. The model will couple the physical transport of solutes, equilibrium-based inorganic geochemistry and kinetically controlled microbiological mediated degradation of organic species. The integrated model will be tested at a few selected field sites.
- 183 - 1.1.4.-1.6.3 Technological development and management tools
Contract No : ENV4-CT96-0213 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 2.574.800 HARTMUT BARTH EC contribution (EURO) : 2.000.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 May 1996 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 39 months Area FP4 : 1.2.2 Biospheric processes
Coordinator Université de Liège Michel, A.J. FRANKIGNOULLE Département d'Océanologie - Faculté des Sciences Tel : +32-41-663-326 Sart Tilman Fax : +32-41-663-325 BE - 4000 Liège E-mail : [email protected]
Partners Université Libre de Bruxelles Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen Laboratoire d'Océanographie Chimique Nederlands Instituut voor Oecologisch Onderzoek BE - Bruxelles Centrum voor Estuariene en Mariene Ecologie R. WOLLAST NL - Yerzeke J. MIDDELBURG Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Natural Environment Research Council UPR 2101 - Centre des Faibles Radioactivités Plymouth Marine Laboratory FR - Gif-sur-Yvette GB - Plymouth B. NGUYEN C. LAW
Universidade de Aveiro Université de Bordeaux I Departamento de Química Département de Géologie et Océanographie PT - Aveiro FR - Talence A. DUARTE H. ETCHEBER Universität Hamburg Ålborg Universitet Institut für Biogeochemie und Meereschemie Institut for Vand, Jord og Miljøteknik DE - Hamburg Laboratoriet for Miljøteknik W. MICHAELIS DK - Ålborg N. IVERSEN Instituto de Investigaçao das Pescas e do Mar Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique PT - Lisboa URA 0348 - Laboratoire de Photophysique et Photochimie M. CABECADAS Moléculaire FR - Talence O. DONARD
Netherlands Institute for Sea Research Department of Marine Chemistry and Geology NL - Den Burg W. HELDER
- 184 - Technological development and management tools 1.1.4.-1.6.3.
Title: Biogases transfers in estuaries. (BIOGEST)
Objectives: 1. To determine the production and distribution of biogases affecting climate and atmospheric chemistry in surface waters of European estuaries. 2. To evaluate the atmospheric biogases fluxes in European estuaries and their impact on the global budgets. 3. To understand major biological processes which are responsible for biogases distributions. 4. To develop a predictive biogeochemical model which can be used to relate biogases emissions to organic matter and nutrients loadings.
Brief description of the research project: Estuaries are obligate pathways for the transfer of dissolved and particulate material from the continent to the marine system through rivers. They are extremely dynamic systems usually characterized by strong physico-chemical gradients, enhanced biological activity and intense sedimentation and resuspension. Furthermore, estuaries are subject to intense anthropogenic disturbance reflected in elevated loadings of detrital organic matter, nutrients and toxic trace elements. All these features increase the potential for biogenic gas production within estuaries. In spite of their potential importance, very little is known about estuaries and their atmospheric coupling. On a global scale, estuaries may act as a significant source of these gases and their importance should be better investigated. Within BIOGEST, we will determine the distribution in surface water of European estuaries of biogases liable to have major environmental consequences: CO2, CH4, CO, non methane hydrocarbons, N2O, NH3, DMS, COS, volatile halogenated organic compounds and biogenic volatile metals. Simultaneously to biogases distribution, we will study related parameters and processes which are linked to biogases distribution: nutrients, organic and inorganic carbon, oxygen, respiration, primary production, atmospheric and sediment exchanges. The investigated estuaries will be the Elbe, the Ems, the Rhine, the Thames, the Scheldt, the Loire, the Gironde, the Douro and the Sado. Among those nine estuaries, the Rhine, the Scheldt and the Gironde have been selected for intensive seasonal studies. Results obtained during this project will serve to develop a biogeochemical model that will be used to i) propose an estimate of the present day biogases emission from European estuaries and, ii) predict future emission versus carbon and nitrogen loadings. This model will provide a decision tool for environmental policy.
- 185 - 1.1.4.-1.6.3 Technological development and management tools
Contract No : ENV4-CT96-0214 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.066.400 HARTMUT BARTH EC contribution (EURO) : 649.400 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 June 1996 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 1.2.2 Biospheric processes
Coordinator Norwegian Institute for Air Research Jozef Marian PACYNA Instituttveien 18 Tel : +47-63898155 NO - 2007 Kjeller Fax : +47-63898050 E-mail : [email protected]
Partners Institute for Ecology of Industrial Areas Università degli Studi di Milano PL - Katowice Laboratorio di Ecologia - Terza Facoltà di Scienze J. FUDALA Mathematiche, Fisiche e Naturali IT - Varese D. CALAMARI
Stockholms Universitet Swedish Environmental Research Institute Ltd. Department of Zoology SE - Stockholm Aquatic Chemical Ecotoxicology E. BRÖRSTRÖM-LUNDEN SE - Stockholm D. BROMAN National Environmental Research Institute - Ministry of University of Jyväskylä Environment and Energy Department of Chemistry Department of Athmospheric Environment FI - Jyväskylä DK - Roskilde J. PAASIVIRTA E. RUNGE
Dornier System Consult GmbH DE - Friedrichshafen J. MÜNCH
- 186 - Technological development and management tools 1.1.4.-1.6.3.
Title: Environmental cycling of selected persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the Baltic region. (POPCYCLING-BALTIC)
Objectives: The goal of the "POPCYCLING-BALTIC" project is to develop and use a multicompartmental, non steady-state model to study the fate and behaviour of POPs in the Baltic environment. Other objectives of the project are to: - review information on present and historical emissions and fluxes of POPs to air, soil and water in the Baltic region and assess the emission input from surrounding regions, - complete and update existing data base of POP levels in the countries around the Baltic Sea and use these data for verification of model results, and - prepare a set of recommendations with respect to the exposure and risk assessment for POPs in the Baltic Sea region.
Brief description of the research project: During the last decade several studies have been carried out aiming at the improvement of our knowledge on the behaviour of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the environment. Evidence has been found that many of these compounds create serious problems due to their toxicity, persistence, and bioaccumulation in various environmental compartments. The Baltic Sea region is of particular interest due to the high degree of environmental and human risk related to the POP exposure. Thus, it is envisaged to: - examine physical, chemical, and biological processes resulting in the migration of POPs through the individual environmental compartments, - describe meteorological, chemical, physical, and biological parameters affecting the mobility of POPs in the environment, - assess the relative importance and absolute magnitude of various chemical inputs to the Baltic Sea, - describe and possibly explain observed spatial patterns and temporal trends in the fluxes, concentrations, and relative compositions of various POPs within the Baltic Sea environment, - evaluate the relative importance of degradation, sediment burial, export in the atmosphere and outflow to the North Sea as loss mechanisms of POPs from the Baltic Sea.
The following POPs have been selected: hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs), selected polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), dichloro-diphenyl-dichloroethane (DDE), benzo(a)pyrene (B(a)P), and selected dibenzodioxins and dibenzofurans.
The project will be carried out within three working groups concentrating on: emissions, compartmental modelling, and environmental data base. Four major aspects related to the POPs fate will be studied: seasonal cycling, environmental gradients, sea-air interactions, and long-term changes of POPs. GIS will be used to tie together the results of the work on emissions: releases of POPs, multimedia model, and environmental data base. This combined information will be used to elaborate a set of recommendations on the exposure and risk assessment of POPs in the Baltic Sea area. Through GIS the collected information will be displayed in an intuitive and easily comprehensible manner.
It is expected that the results of the project will contribute to the improvement of policies and strategies for reduction of environmental contamination by POPs in the member countries of the European Union (EU), particularly in the Northern Europe, as well as in the Eastern European countries.
- 187 - 1.1.4.-1.6.3 Technological development and management tools
Contract No : ENV4-CT96-0215 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 480.000 HARTMUT BARTH EC contribution (EURO) : 480.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 June 1996 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 1.2.2 Biospheric processes
Coordinator Bath College of Higher Education Newton Park Tel : GB - Bath BA2 9BN Fax : E-mail :
Partners Universidade do Algarve Universidad de Sevilla Unidade de Ciencias e Tecnologias dos Recursos Aquaticos Departamento de Biologia Vegetale y Ecologia PT - Faro ES - Sevilla J. ALVEIRINHO DIAS F. GARCIA NOVO
- 188 - Technological development and management tools 1.1.4.-1.6.3.
Title: Integrated management methods: monitoring environmental change in coastal dune ecosystems. (DUNES)
Objectives: The four main objectives are: 1. To develop an integrated management checklist system for characteristic European dune systems. 2. To test new remote-sensing-image processing systems. 3. To examine how human activity affects vegetation and vulnerability in dune ecosystems. 4. To assess the effectiveness of dune management strategies.
Brief description of the research project: Effective decision making depends upon the availability of quality information. Procedures involved in assessing dune vulnerability and protection require monitoring of sporadic processes and information must be collected from many discipline sources. In particular, a significant challenge to strategic management is recognition of subtle discontinuities which could undermine the long term stability of the dune system. These changes may be irregular and/or non linear requiring managers to be aware of existing parameters, patterns and emerging discontinuities. A range of components within the system will be measured on a systematic, temporal and spatial basis. An environmental checklist is a useful management technique which systematises information, so that strategic objectives can be made operational and achievable. Problems can be identified and solved with this methodology particularly if it is incorporated into a problem solving model.
The checklist procedure has been developed for a range of north-west and south European dune systems. Whereas a universal checklist applicable to all systems is utopian in aim, intra- and extra-regional comparisons can be undertaken with only minor modifications of some components. Parameters covering site and dune morphology; beach condition; surface character of the seaward 200m of the dunes; pressure of use and recent protection measures will be used as the basis for calculating vulnerability and protection indices. The balance between these indices will be determined, analysed and will form the foundation for future informed management decisions. High resolution videography and aerial digital photography will be applied to effectively gather information and this can be impacted in order to provide an effective database for dune management.
- 189 - 1.1.4.-1.6.3 Technological development and management tools
Contract No : ENV4-CT96-0216 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.409.000 HARTMUT BARTH EC contribution (EURO) : 1.000.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 May 1996 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 38 months Area FP4 : 1.2.2 Biospheric processes
Coordinator Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen Peter M.J. HERMAN Nederlands Instituut voor Oecologisch Onderzoek Tel : +31-1131571920 Centrum voor Estuariene en Mariene Ecologie Fax : +31-1131.573616 Vierstraat 28 E-mail : [email protected] NL - 4401 EA Yerzeke
Partners Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Natural Environment Research Council UPR 2101 - Centre des Faibles Radioactivités Plymouth Marine Laboratory FR - Gif-sur-Yvette GB - Plymouth S. SCHMIDT J. WIDDOWS
Stichting Waterloopkundig Laboratorium Rijkswaterstaat - Ministerie van Verkeer- en Waterstaat Water Resources and Environment Division Rijksinstituut voor Kust en Zee NL - Delft Afdeling Middelburg M. MARCHAND NL - Middelburg A. SMAAL Universiteit Gent Ministerie van de Vlaamse Gemeenschap Faculteit Wetenschappen Instituut voor Natuurbehoud Vakgroep Morfologie, Systematiek en Ecologie BE - Bruxelles BE - Gent P. MEIRE M. VINCX University of Southampton Department of Oceanography GB - Southampton P. HOLLIGAN
- 190 - Technological development and management tools 1.1.4.-1.6.3.
Title: The eco-metabolism of estuarine intertidal flat. (ECOFLAT)
Objectives: The objectives of the study are: * To study processes important for the carbon and nutrient cycling within a tidal flat ecosystem, and between the tidal flat system and the estuary. * Development of predictive mathematical models describing the processes and relating them to the main forcing factors for the tidal flat system. * Bridging the gap between the scales at which the processes operate and are measured, and the ecological target values for environmental management and prediction of the ecological consequences of global change.
Brief description of the research project: Tidal flats are important components of macro- and mesotidal estuaries all over the world, yet the mechanistic description of carbon and nutrient cycling within tidal flats and between tidal flats and the water column is far from complete. This description requires the multidisciplinary study of physical, chemical and biological processes and fluxes at small spatial and temporal scales. In contrast, environmental management of estuarine and coastal areas requires answers and solutions to problems posed at larger scales (estuarine scale, regional scale). The project aims at bridging the gap between the smaller scales at which processes operate and are measured, and the larger scales relevant for management, by explicitly studying the small scale processes and by integrating them in mathematical models.
The project's work programme is centered around five joint field campaigns by all participants. The first four of these are executed on a tidal flat in the Westerschelde estuary (S.W. Netherlands). Validation of the models and predictions will be done during a final campaign in a different estuary.
The research is subdivided into three work packages.
The first package focuses on the quantification and prediction of benthic-pelagic exchange mechanisms involving carbon and nutrients. Physical and biological processes in this exchange are considered; the processes are framed in the context of a detailed hydrodynamical modelling of the flat. The second package considers the processes of production, mineralization and transformation of organic material and nutrients within the sediments. Attention will be paid to primary production and to grazing processes within the benthic small food web. The sensitivity of the overall system to the dynamics of these internal interactions within the benthic system will be investigated. The third package integrates the measurements performed in the first and second packages into detailed mathematical process models for the biogeochemical processes in tidal flats sediments. The process models will be integrated into a general ecosystem model. Upscaling of the results of the process studies to the scale of the estuary will be considered by defining relationships between ecosystem target variables and key forcing factors in the estuary
- 191 - 1.1.4.-1.6.3 Technological development and management tools
Contract No : ENV4-CT96-0217 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.226.100 HARTMUT BARTH EC contribution (EURO) : 730.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 June 1996 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 1.2.2 Biospheric processes
Coordinator Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Françoise ELBAZ-POULICHET URA 1767 - Géofluides, Bassins, Eau Tel : +33-67.14.39.31 Place Eugène Bataillon Fax : +33-67.14.47.74 FR - 34095 Montpellier E-mail : [email protected]
Partners Universidad de Huelva Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial 'Esteban Terradas' ES - Palos de la Frontera Departamento de Teledetección y Aeronomia A. GONZALEZ MARTINEZ ES - Madrid M. GUTIERREZ DE LA CAMARA
Universidad de Granada University of Southampton Departamento Geodinamica Department of Oceanography Geostatistics, Remote Sensing and Gis Research Group GB - Southampton ES - Granada N. MORLEY M. CHICA-OLMO University of Plymouth Université de Liège Faculty of Science Geohydrodynamics and Environment Research Laboratory Department of Environmental Sciences BE - Liège GB - Plymouth J. BECKERS E. ACHTERBERG Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas Centro de Estudios Avanzados de Blanes ES - Blanes A. CRUZADO
- 192 - Technological development and management tools 1.1.4.-1.6.3.
Title: Biogeochemistry of an acidic and metal-rich river-estuary system, consequences for atlantic shelf waters (Gulf of Cadiz, SW Spain). (TOROS) Objectives: Its objectives are: 1) To quantify fluxes of traces metals discharged by the Rio Tinto and Odiel to the Gulf of Cadiz and assess how this is modified by estuarine processes during the extreme pH (2-8) changes encountered in this system. 2) To determine the fate and fluxes of metals in the Gulf of Cadiz and their relation to hydrodynamics and biological activity. 3) To record effects of human activities through historical times, from ancient mining (Phoenician, Roman) to the next closure of the present mine.
Brief description of the research project: TOROS is a mulstidisciplinary approach which intends to study the inputs of two acidic (pH 2) and metal-rich rivers (Tinto and Odiel rivers) draining one of the most important sulfide mineralization in the world and discharging in the Gulf of Cadiz which provides up to 20% of the Mediterranean inflow waters.
Dissolved trace metal (Cd, Cu, Ni, Co, Pb, Zn, As, Fe, Mn) concentrations and speciation will be determined in the Tinto and Odiel rivers, estuary and in the Gulf of Cadiz. The mobilization of trace metals from the sediment to the overlying waters will also be evaluated using near bottom sampling. The extent of human impact on trace metal mobilization in the Huelva catchment will be assessed on the sedimentary phase, using variations of metal content and ratios and stable Pb isotopes as tracers of mine inputs.
The main characteristics of the hydrology and the sedimentology of the rivers and estuarine system will be studied (i.e. major ion concentrations, water and sediment discharge, sedimentation rates and mineralogy).
A 3D-hydrodynamics of the Gulf of Cadiz will be implemented. This hydrodynamic model, dealing primarily with water circulation, will be modified to incorporate the data obtained for trace metals, nutrient concentrations and primary productivity. Remote sensing techniques will be used to obtain information on the dispersal of the river plume during the sampling periods. Geostatistical analysis of the data will be carried out. A data base will be established, both to facilitate data exchange (and availability) and provide a resource for future work in similar projects.
At a regional scale the problem of the rehabilitation of the Rio Tinto mining area and its surface waters has been projected, after the next closure of the Rio Tinto mine. It is intented that this study will provide valuable information to assist in the rehabilitation project, and in subsequent water pollution management programmes. This aspect of water ressource management is especially important in South European regions and specially in the province of Huelva which suffers from chronic lack of water to cover agricultural and health needs.
This project which is run jointly by 8 institutions (laboratories) belonging to 4 state members from EU: Spain, United- Kingdom, Belgium and France is also intended to give valuable answers to the following questions: - Has mining activity increased the trace metal fluxes? - Did the waters have a near neutral pH before human intervention?
The results of this study should be used for addressing other contamination problems in the Mediterranean basin from mining areas.
- 193 - 1.1.4.-1.6.3 Technological development and management tools
Contract No : ENV4-CT96-0218 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.220.000 HARTMUT BARTH EC contribution (EURO) : 1.220.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 April 1996 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 39 months Area FP4 : 1.2.2 Biospheric processes
Coordinator Université de Bordeaux I Rutger DE WIT Centre d'Océanographie & de Biologie Marine Tel : +33-56 22 39 00 Laboratoire d'Océanographie Biologique Fax : +33-56 83 51 04 Rue du Professeur Jolyet 2 E-mail : [email protected] FR - 33120 Arcachon
Partners Universiteit van Amsterdam Università degli Studi di Parma Amsterdam Research Institute voor Stoffen in Ecosystemen Dipartimento di Scienze Ambientali NL - Amsterdam IT - Parma L. STAL I. FERRARI
Università degli Studi di Ferrara University of Dundee Dipartimento di Biologia Evolutiva Department of Biological Sciences IT - Ferrara GB - Dundee R. ROSSI R. HERBERT
Universidad Miguel Hernandez Århus Universitet Departamento de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnologia Institute of Biological Sciences División de Microbiología Department of Microbial Ecology ES - Elche DK - Århus C F. RODRIGUEZ-VALERA B. LOMSTEIN Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen Nederlands Instituut voor Oecologisch Onderzoek Centrum voor Estuariene en Mariene Ecologie NL - Yerzeke
- 194 - Technological development and management tools 1.1.4.-1.6.3.
Title: The role of buffering capacities in stabilising coastal lagoon ecosystems. (ROBUST)
Objectives: 1. To identify, describe and define the biotic and abiotic components of internal processes and their interrelationships in coastal lagoon systems which act as buffers against environmental change induced by external forcing. 2. Once described and defined, to quantify the "buffering capacity" and, consequently, to determine the threshold levels of external forcing processes, above which have a major impact on community structure and biogeochemical flows. 3. To study the potential and occurrence of mechanisms that represent natural recycling and restoration of "buffering capacities" on different time scale's (including studies of diel and tidal cycles as well as seasonal variations). 4. to perform mechanistic studies to elucidate interactions among organisms, which belong to different taxonomic and ecological functional groups, and their abiotic environment, in order to achieve understanding of buffering capacities that occur at the community level.
Brief description of the research project: The project focuses on identifying, describing and defining the biotic and abiotic processes in coastal lagoons that act as buffers against environmental change induced by external forcing. These mechanisms provide stability and reobustness, but when their capacities are exceeded they give rise to non-linear responses. Non-linear behaviour of coastal ecosystems has been recognised as a major reason why such changes are difficult to predict. Buffering capacities needs to be restored on an appropriate timescale in order to provide the long-term sustainability and economic, social and scientific value of these unique ecosystems.
The project involves mechanistic studies and requires a multi-disciplinary approach involving microbiologists, marine biologists (algologists and zoologists), biogeochemists and system ecologists. It will focus on the following processes that are related to buffering capacities:
1) role of sediment oxygenation in rooted phanerogam communities and microbial processes in the rhizosphere; 2) primary production of plant and algal biomass as a mechanism for countering the effects of nutrient load; 3) the iron redox system in the sediment and its role as trap for toxic hydrogen sulphide and sequestering phosphate; 4) the rates and pathways fo benthic mineralisation of organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus compounds, and how they are regluated by the quality, quantity, availability and sedimentary depth distribution of organic matter inputs as well as how they determine nutrient fluxes across the sediment water-interface.
The work content is organised in four work packages:
1) field measurements on annual time-scales, 2) detailed and intensive field measurements during joint field campaigns in the Bassin d'Archacon to study processes that occur on short time scales, 3) mesocosm experiments to evaluate the effect of forcing factors, and 4) laboratory experimentation to study the ecophysiology of individual microbial species and the interactions occurring amongst physiologically dissimilar populations.
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Contract No : ENV4-CT96-0269 Concerted Actions EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 182.000 MICHEL-HENRI CORNAERT EC contribution (EURO) : 182.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 July 1996 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 4 Human dimensions of environmental change
Coordinator Stockholms Universitet Bengt-Owe JANSSON Department of Systems Ecology Tel : +46-8-154477 SE - 106 91 Stockholm Fax : +46-8-158417 E-mail : [email protected]
Partners Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften Potsdam-Institut für Klimafolgenforschung e.V. e.V. Department of Global Change and Natural Systems Institut für Meteorologie DE - Potsdam DE - Hamburg W. CRAMER L. BENGTSSON
Umeå Universitet Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission - Helsinki Department of Political Science - Faculty of Social Sciences Commission SE - Umeå FI - Helsinki U. EHLIN I. GREN
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieuhygiëne The Beijer International Institute of Ecological Economics Department of Terrestrial Ecology and Global Change SE - Stockholm NL - Bilthoven T. KAASIK T. ZYLICZ
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Title: Baltic basin case study. (BBCS)
Objectives: To review and expand environmental research on the Baltic Basin, with special regard to socio-economic aspects; to develop a framework for sustainability in Baltic Europe, including maintenance of maximum flexibility for alternative future use, long-term economic development and preservation of the environment.
Brief description of the research project: The project is composed of the following : i) synthetise information which describes the essential characteristics of the Baltic Basin and its natural resource use patterns, and provides a basis for subsequent evaluations of their associated sustainable practices and policies; ii) describe alternative practices and policies required for achieving sustainable ecological systems; iii) evaluate current practices and policies from multiple points of view to ascertain their sustainability; iv) recommend mechanisms for promoting the implementation of these practices and policies as appropriate to each region; v) identify research priorities needed to address unanswered questions about sustainable ecological systems.
These activities will be focused on a few selected ecosystems or watersheds, with a prevailing activity, such as forestry, industry, agriculture. A whole array of stakeholder groups will be involved : scientists, resource managers and users, decision makers, citizen groups. Commissioned papers on critical problem areas, seminars, hearings, and workshops create the bases for the final products that include : i) mechanisms for conflict resolution in the field of natural resource conservation, restoration and management; ii) easy accessible information base on how to approach sustainability for decision makers; iii) methods for linking of sustainable practices and policies at different scales and among different stakeholders; iv) recommendations for multinational research projects and centers. v) recommendations for cooperative agreements, financial incentive policies, and land tenure policies.
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Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0435 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 728.400 HARTMUT BARTH EC contribution (EURO) : 450.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 November 1997 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 30 months Area FP4 : 1.2.2 Biospheric processes
Coordinator The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Anders Grimvall Department of Statistics, Data Processing and Agricultural Extension Tel : 46 18 67 18 36 Johan Brauners Väg 3 Fax : 46 18 67 35 02 SE - 750 07 Uppsala E-mail : [email protected]
Partners Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH National Environmental Research Institute - Ministry of Programmgruppe Systemforschung und Technologische Environment and Energy Entwicklung Department of Streams and Riparian Areas DE - Jülich DK - Silkeborg F. WENDLAND B. KRONVANG
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Title: Regional analysis of subsurface retention of nitrogen and the impact of such retention on the export of nitrogen from land to sea. (RANR) Objectives: To develop improved procedures for regional analysis of the export of nitrogen from land to sea and to investigate the controllability of this export.
Brief description of the research project: Source apportionment and trend analysis of nitrogen loads carried by major Western and Eastern European rivers have demonstrated that the reduction goals stipulated by OSPARCOM and HELCOM cannot be reached unless the loss of nitrogen from agricultural land to water is substantially reduced. However, there is a great uncertainty regarding the retention of nitrogen along the water cycle, and it is possible that there are considerable time lags in the water quality response to changes in land-based activities. Therefore, the RANR project is integrating and validating existing models of diffuse emissions to water and subsurface retention of nitrogen on a regional scale. In particular, the following tasks will be addressed:
(i) combining a general hydrogeological residence time model (WEKU) with a more detailed model of nitrogen fluxes in arable soils (SOILN), to form a regional model of the input of nitrogen to the saturated zone;
(ii) combining residence time estimates for the saturated zone with information regarding denitrification conditions to obtain estimates of the retention of nitrogen in the saturated zone on a region scale;
(iii) deriving empirical models of nitrogen deliveries to freshwater in intensively monitored river basins for which land use data are available either on subbasin or field level.
The above models will be validated in six study areas in Sweden, Denmark and Germany, each partitioned into a large number of sub-catchments subjected to different agricultural practices and representing different geological and climate conditions. Furthermore, empirical and theoretical models of subsurface retention of nitrogen shall be incorporated into a GIS-system for regional analysis of the impact that changes in agricultural practices may have on the future export of nitrogen from land to the sea.
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Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0436 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.148.979 HARTMUT BARTH EC contribution (EURO) : 800.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 March 1998 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 24 months Area FP4 : 1.2.2 Biospheric processes
Coordinator Université de Rennes I Jean-Claude Lefeuvre Fonctionnement des Ecosystèmes et Biologie de la Conservation Tel : 33 2 99 28 61 42 Avenue du Général Leclerc Fax : 33 2 99 28 14 58 UMR 6653 E-mail : [email protected] FR - 35042 Rennes
Partners Instituto do Mar Instituto do Mar Faculdade de Ciencias e Tecnologia da Universidade de Faculdade de Ciencias e Tecnologia da Universidade de Coimbra Coimbra Grupo de Biogeoquímica Departamento de Ciências e Engenhiaria do Ambiente - PT - Evora Universidade Nova de Lisboa A. DE BETTENCOURT PT - Monte de Caparica J. FERREIRA Instituto Superior Técnico Fundaçao da Faculdade de Ciencias da Universidade de Centro de Ambiente e Tecnologia Maritimos Lisboa PT - Lisbon Instituto de Oceanografia da Faculdade de Ciências da R. NEVES Universidade de Lisboa PT - Lisboa M. COSTA
Dienst Landbouwkundig Onderzoek LAB Coastal Instituut voor Bos- en Natuuronderzoek GB - Holywell - Cambs Department of Aquatic Ecology L. BORMAN NL - Den Burg W. VAN DUIN IFREMER - Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer Centre de Brest Service des Applications Opérationnelles FR - Plouzane J. SALOMON
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Title: European salt marshes modelling. (EUROSSAM)
Objectives: To improve the understanding of European salt marsh functioning, to predict the likely effects of environmental changes and to develop a policy and management tool for the conservation and restoration of salt marshes.
Brief description of the research project: The project aims to develop models to predict the likely responses of salt marsh ecosystem functioning to environmental changes (i.e. to predict the effects of a predicted rise of the sea level on biomass production, or on nutrient and organic matter fluxes between salt marshes and coastal waters).
Different series of models will be tested and validated applying existing and new data sets:
- models, when possible developed as process based models, describing pioneer zone dynamics, salt marsh genesis, sedimentation-accretion processes, vegetation dynamics, microbial degradation of organic matter in sediment and water, integration of organic matter in marine food webs.
- models describing organic matter production both in salt marshes and in mud flats.
- models relative to the nitrogen metabolism, turnover and cycling.
- models describing fate and integration of organic matter from these ecosystems in food-webs
- hydrodynamic models addressing water movements in salt marshes, in bays and, finally, in estuaries in order to simulate transport of a large range of elements, in solution or suspended, as well as sediment movements.
The performance and sensitivity of the different models will be tested and calibrated on a range of salt marshes typical for the European coastline. Finally, a clear methodology for using and linking the adapted models within a salt marsh will be developed to predict the effects of local, regional or global, environmental change. It will involve the construction of a ‘decision support system/tool’ (DST) which will enable potential end users to call up the most appropriate model for the type of marsh of interest, and to run that model linked with models for other processes in the salt marsh system.
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Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0459 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 906.000 PANAGIOTIS BALABANIS EC contribution (EURO) : 600.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 February 1998 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 30 months Area FP4 : 1.1.4 Impact of climate changes and other environmental factors on natural resources
Coordinator National Observatory of Athens Antonis KOUSSIS Institute of Geodynamics Tel : 30 1 3421137 Lofos Nymfon Fax : 30 1 3421019 GR - 11810 Thissio - Athens E-mail : [email protected]
Partners Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Sección Medio Ambiente Industrial SE - Stockholm ES - Las Palmas de Gran Canaria G. DESTOUNI A. GOMEZ-GOTOR
Universidad de Málaga Tahal Consulting Engineers Ltd. Facultad de Ciencias Tahal - Water Planning for Israel Ltd Consulting Engineers Departamento de Ingeniería Química IL - Tel Aviv ES - Málaga J. SCHWARZ J. RODRIGUEZ JIMENEZ National Centre for Marine Research Ministry of Agricultural and Natural Resources Institute For Inland Waters Water Development Department GR - Athens CY - Nicosia T. KOUSSOURIS C. IOANNOU
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Title: Utilisation of groundwater desalination and wastewater re-use in the water supply of seasonally stressed regions. (WASSER)
Objectives: To develop and field-test a water supply strategy that utilises desalinated brackish groundwater, instead of sea water, with simultaneous control of saltwater intrusion and enhancement of the hydrologic budget through reuse of treated wastewater.
Brief description of the research project: The project objectives shall be achieved through a combination of theoretical study, model software development, laboratory and field work, and model application. This quantitative approach encompasses the physics, the technology and the economics of the system and aims to a) examine the viability of the proposed water supply scheme for demand-stressed locales, and to b) describe the natural system dynamics and feedback, subject to human control.
The outcome shall include a tested methodology for examining the viability of the proposed water-supply alternative and feasibility results and viability estimates for three pilot study cases. The selected test sites include two island coastal aquifers (Cyprus and Rhodes) and a continental coastal aquifer (Israel). The work to be accomplished relates to the following major solution elements: 1) establishment of hydrologic budget and stochastic analysis of groundwater dynamics in terms of quantity and quality, with explicit consideration of recharge augmentation by treated wastewater; model calibration and verification with field data from one continental and two island coastal aquifers; 2) theoretical assessment of desalination technology, experimental determination at the pilot plant scale of the effort required to desalinate moderately saline ground-water, with results translated to cost, scaling up to industrial size installations, and mathematical encapsulation of primary techno-economic plant operation features; 3) incorporation of the information derived from the analyses of surface hydrology, groundwater dynamics (quantity and quality) and desalination in an optimisation shell package, with due consideration of economic and environmental aspects; and 4) application of the decision-making tool (case studies) at the three locales chosen for model development and comparison with traditional alternatives.
Scientific advancements shall be contributed by the stochastic work on the dynamics of the groundwater system, which considers explicitly uncertainty in the estimation of quantities/processes that influence management decisions. It pertains especially to the coupling of surface hydrology to groundwater flow and salinity via the artificial recharge with treated wastewater for control of the salt-fresh water interface location.
The practice-oriented innovation consists in the development of a coherent decision-aid package that shall integrate modules concerned with: a) water demand, b) desalination optimisation, c) hydrological-groundwater dynamics, d) wastewater contribution, e) screening of scenarios, and f) economic evaluation.
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Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0571 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 800.000 HARTMUT BARTH EC contribution (EURO) : 800.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 December 1997 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 25 months Area FP4 : 1.2.2 Biospheric processes
Coordinator Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen Lucas J. Stal Nederlands Instituut voor Oecologisch Onderzoek Tel : 31 113 571920 Centrum voor Estuariene en Mariene Oecologie Fax : 31 113 573616 Korringaweg 7 E-mail : [email protected] NL - 4401 NT Yerseke
Partners University of Bristol University of Wales Swansea School of Biological Sciences School of Biological Sciences GB - Bristol GB - Swansea A. WALSBY J. GALLON
Christian-Albrechts Universität Kiel Stockholms Universitet Institut für Meereskunde Department of Botany Department of Planktology SE - Stockholm DE - Kiel B. BERGMAN K. VON BROECKEL University of Helsinki Università degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata Department of Applied Chemistry and Microbiology - Faculty Dipartimento di Biologia of Agriculture and Forestry Laboratorio di Biologia Vegetale Division of Microbiology IT - Roma FI - Helsinki P. ALBERTANO K. SIVONEN
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Title: Baltic Sea cyanobacteria. (BASIC)
Objectives: The overall objective of BASIC will be to achieve a better understanding of the initiation and the temporal and spatial patchiness of cyanobacterial waterblooms in the Baltic Sea. This would lead to a tool with which predictions can be made regarding the (local) risks caused by toxin production and regarding contributions of new nitrogen and carbon inputs in the basin.
Brief description of the research project: Based on the results of a previous project BASIC will address the following tasks:
1. To develop a method for an integrated computer analysis of photosynthesis, nitrogen fixation and toxin production for cyanobacterial water blooms in the Baltic Sea.
2. To assess the limiting factors for growth, photosynthesis and nitrogen fixation in filamentous and picoplanktonic cyanobacteria in the Baltic Sea.
3. To identify toxin producers and toxins among filamentous and picoplanktonic cyanobacteria and to assess their role in the ecological success of these organisms.
4. To measure the transfer of nitrogen from diazotrophic to non-diazotrophic cyanobacteria and identify factors that control this transfer.
5. To assess the genetic structure of cyanobacterial populations in the Baltic Sea.
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Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0582 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.725.000 HARTMUT BARTH EC contribution (EURO) : 1.550.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 February 1998 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 1.2.2 Biospheric processes
Coordinator Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen Thomas E. Cappenberg Nederlands Instituut voor Oecologisch Onderzoek Tel : 31 113 571920 Centrum voor Estuariene en Mariene Ecologie Fax : 31 113 573616 Vierstraat 28 E-mail : [email protected] NL - 4401 EA Yerzeke
Partners Universiteit Gent University of Southampton Laboratory of Plant Ecology - Faculty of Agricultural and George Deacon Division Applied Biological Sciences Geology department - Southampton Oceanography Centre BE - Gent GB - Southampton R. LEMEUR I. CROUDACE Natural Environment Research Council Odense Universitet The Southampton Oceanography Centre Biologisk Institut GB - Southampton DK - Odense M J. THOMSON E. KRISTENSEN
Université de Rennes I Natural Environment Research Council Fonctionnement des Ecosystèmes et Biologie de la Institute of Terrestrial Ecology Conservation GB - Huntingdon FR - Rennes L. BOORMAN B. LE ROUZIC Fundaçao da Faculdade de Ciencias da Universidade de Lisboa Departamento de Biologia Vegetal Secçao de Ecologia e Sistemática dos Vegetais PT - Lisboa M. MARTINS-LOUÇÃO
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Title: Influence of rising sea level on ecosystem dynamics of salt marshes. (ISLED)
Objectives: The project will focus on identifying, describing and defining the abiotic and biotic processes in salt marsh ecosystems resulting from and counteracting the effect of accelerated sea level rise, i.e. the effect of increased inundation frequencies.
Brief description of the research project: Accelerated sea level rise as a result of the human impact on global climate change, has a dramatic impact on the coastal zone, in particular on ecosystems such as salt marshes, which are in one way or another dependent on the tidal movement of the sea. On the long term, salt marshes will only survive if they are able to maintain their elevation relative to mean sea level, otherwise they will be drowned. Without an adequate understanding of the nature, scale and extent of the counteracts to survive, future management and uses of these areas and resources will be extremely difficult.
The overall aim is to obtain a comprehensive insight into the dynamics of the system counteracting the effects of sea level rise, and will be integrated into mathematical models fit for future management and conservation of salt marshes. The project will determine the historical and current rates of accretion and erosion for predicting the past development and future survival of marshes. It includes the study of ecophysiological processes that lead to changes in competitive abilities of tidal vegetation promoting enhanced trapping of detrital and organic material on the vegetated surface so that long-term changes in the pattern of flooding are counteracted. Besides these long-term effects of accelerated sea level rise there are also short-term effects on the diversity, biomass, distribution and functional behaviour of salt marsh flora and fauna, which will be accounted for.
Accelerated sea level rise as a result of global warming is a relatively slow process and difficult to assess in a reasonable length of time. However, civil engineering activities in estuaries may influence the tidal pattern in estuaries and result in changing flooding frequency within a few years, time. For example the Westerschelde Estuary, the entrance to the Belgian port of Antwerp, will undergo a unique major dredging operation within the next few years. As a result, the vegetation of the higher areas of the salt marshes in the area is expected to become less diverse and approach the community structure as currently found in the lower parts of the marsh. Although interesting in itself, the way by which the vegetation changes may be similar to the response to the expected global accelerated sea level rise and therefore enables with a natural analogue to model the changes caused by long-term global change processes.
The project has the following goals :
1. To determine the influence of increased flooding frequency on the ecophysiology of tidal marsh plant species and to examine its influence on the activity of sediment micro-organisms in view of the availability of nutrients for the plants. 2. To examine the influence of increased flooding frequency on the infaunal invertebrate community and on bioturbation effects. 3. To study important microbial trophic interactions, including carbon mineralization, related to differences in inundation frequencies. 4. To evaluate the influence of increased flooding frequency on the sedimentation patterns, i.e. its accretion rates and to reconstruct the history of anthropogenic inputs in the studied marshes. 5. To develop a management model to conserve marsh ecosystems as a typical unique landscape in view of accelerated sea level rise.
In this project three different experimental levels will be considered:
1. Field experiments. In joint field campaigns, twice a year, three marshes different in expected mean level of the high tide along a transect in the Westerschelde Estuary will be examined, and within one marsh a transect from the low- to high- intertidal zones will be sampled. 2. Large-scale mesocosms experiments, in which the expected inundation frequency can be manipulated to examine ecosystem processes under natural circumstances. 3. Pot- and sediment core experiments in the laboratory to examine individual selected processes.
All data from the field sites and the experimental set-ups will be integrated and extrapolated by the exploitation of remote sensing (Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imager) and a Geographic Information System (GIS). It will allow the integration of processes over space and time, and extrapolation of results to cover the effects of sea level rise on the whole system. Upon publication the modelling results and auxiliary data will be made available to the scientific and public community, as coastal zone planners for predicting the past development and future survival of marshes.
It includes the study of ecophysiological processes that lead to changes in competitive abilities of tidal vegetation promoting enhanced trapping of detrital and organic material on the vegetated surface so that long-term changes in the pattern of - 207 - 1.1.4.-1.6.3 Technological development and management tools flooding are counteracted. Besides these long-term effects of accelerated sea level rise there are also short-term effects on the diversity, biomass, distribution and functional behaviour of salt marsh flora and fauna, which will be accounted for.
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Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0593 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 943.800 HARTMUT BARTH EC contribution (EURO) : 800.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 January 1998 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 24 months Area FP4 : 1.2.2 Biospheric processes
Coordinator Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche Nicolas Pirrone Istituto sull'Inquinamento Atmosferico Tel : 39 984 494680 Via Salaria KM.29 Fax : 39 984 839054 IT - 00016 Roma - Monterotondo Stazione E-mail : [email protected]
Partners National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Norwegian Institute for Air Research Department of Applied Physics NO - Kjeller Laboratory of Meteorology J. PACYNA GR - Athens G. KALLOS Swedish Environmental Research Institute Ltd. Technion - Israel Institute of Technology SE - Stockholm Environmental and Water Resources Engineering Division J. MUNTHE IL - Haïfa Y. MAMANE
Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche Istituto di Biofisica IT - Pisa R. FERRARA
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Title: Mediterranean atmospheric mercurycycl e system. (MAMCS)
Objectives: To improve our understanding of all mechanisms involved in the cycle of atmospheric mercury in the Mediterranean Sea region, including emissions from natural and anthropogenic sources, atmospheric transport and deposition to water and terrestrial receptors, and chemical and physical transformations of Hg0 and other Hg species in the atmosphere with changing meteorological conditions.
MAMCS will allow scientists and policy makers to assess the relative importance and absolute magnitude of the contribution of natural and anthropogenic emission sources of Hg in the Mediterranean Sea region (local sources) in comparison to the regional transport and to the total budget of atmospheric Hg entering to the Mediterranean Sea water by particulate dry deposition and gas exchange at the air-water interface, and aerosol scavenging by precipitation. The project intends to describe and possibly explain spatial patterns in the deposition fluxes and ambient concentrations (i.e. source-receptor relationship) of Hg over the Mediterranean Sea.
Brief description of the research project: The overall of the project is to develop the “Mediterranean Atmospheric Mercury Cycle System” (MAMCS) - a predictive model system - that will be a merger of state-of-the-art mesoscale meteorological and dispersion models, chemical and physical transformation models, dry and wet deposition models and a mercury emission inventory (MEI) database.
The mesoscale meteorological dispersion system will be based on the Eta and RAMS models for simulating and forecasting meteorological phenomena, and on MLPD and HYPACT models for simulating the dispersion of air masses traversing the Mediterranean Sea region.
The chemical-kinetics (C-K) and gas-particle partitioning (G-P) models will be developed to account for chemical and physical transformations of mercury during the over-water transport of air masses, and its influence in the overall budget of atmospheric mercury entering surface waters and terrestrial receptors by particle dry deposition and aerosol scavenging by precipitation.
The dry deposition model for surface water will be based on the HRD model developed in recent years for the Great Lakes waters. The current HRD model will be improved by including a parameterization of hydrodynamic parameters that will account for the effect of water wave dynamics and spray formation in the deposition layer (or quasi-laminar layer) above the water surface. This will reduce the uncertainty in the dry deposition fluxes of particulate mercury to surface waters and exchange rates of gas phase mercury at the air-water interface during the over-water transport of air masses.
Based on up-to-date knowledge, the MAMCS project will develop an improved deposition model to evaluate the removal of gaseous and particulate phase mercury from the atmosphere by precipitation. The wet deposition model will be validated and calibrated by using a long-term record of mercury in rainwater precipitation collected in Europe during the last decade.
In order to calibrate and validate the performance of MAMCS, environmental parameters (e.g. ambient concentrations of atmospheric mercury, deposition fluxes, meteorological parameters) will be measured at four sites during five field campaigns. Three sites will be located in industrial areas of the Mediterranean Sea region linked by air mass transport and one site in a rural area.
MAMCS will contribute to the improvement of policies and strategies for reduction of the risk associated with environmental pollution by mercury in the EU Member States, particularly in Southern Europe, characterized by a geological anomaly (i.e. due to the largest mines of cinnabar in the world which are very rich in mercury)., higher seasonal temperatures and solar irradiations, factors that are believed to be the driving forces of many chemical and physical processes involved in the cycle of atmospheric mercury in the Mediterranean Sea region.
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Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0594 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.049.300 HARTMUT BARTH EC contribution (EURO) : 700.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 February 1998 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 1.2.2 Biospheric processes
Coordinator Nederlandse Organisatie voor Toegepast Natuurwetenschappelijk Gerardus De Leeuw Onderzoek TNO Fysisch en Elektronisch Laboratorium Tel : 31 70 3740462 Oude Waalsdorperweg 63 Fax : 31 70 3280961 NL - 2509 JG Den Haag E-mail : [email protected]
Partners Universität Hamburg Universität Hamburg Meteorologisches Institut Institut für Anorganische und Angewandte Chemie DE - Hamburg DE - Hamburg K. SCHLUENZEN M. SCHULZ National Environmental Research Institute - Ministry of University of East Anglia Environment and Energy School of Environmental Sciences Department of Athmospheric Environment GB - Norwich DK - Roskilde T. JICKELLS G. GEERNAERT
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Title: Atmospheric nitrogen inputs into the coastal ecosystem. (ANICE)
Objectives: To improve the accuracy and performance of model tools that estimate atmospheric nitrogen deposition to the sea.
Brief description of the research project: The productivity of marine planktonic ecosystems are generally considered to be limited by the availability of nitrogen compounds. The atmospheric deposition of nitrogen compounds is a large terrestrial input, although in many near coastal waters riverine inputs, which occur predominantly in the winter, will also be large. The atmospheric nitrogen load is directly available for algae growth, which makes this contribution more significant since a large fraction of the run off contributes nitrogen fixed to biological material.
The coastal zones are the areas of most concern around Europe in terms of problems with algal blooms and other eutrophication phenomena. Increasing input of nutrients to the coastal waters will result in algae blooms in summer/early autumn. These blooms will be followed by oxygen depletion due to decay of the algae when the growth season is over. To understand this danger, the full magnitude and seasonality of nutrient inputs must be described, including the effect of extreme events such as high atmospheric deposition episodes which, while small in overall annual budget terms, may be able to trigger algal blooms under nutrient depleted summer conditions.
ANICE (Atmospheric Nitrogen Inputs into the Coastal Ecosystem) focuses on atmospheric inputs of nitrogen compounds (HNO3, NO3, NH3 and NH4+) into the sea and the governing processes that are specific for coastal areas. The Southern North Sea will be studied as a prototype. Because the processes are described by physical equations and chemical reactions, as opposed to empirical relations, the results can also be applied to other regional seas like the Mediterranean, the North Atlantic continental shelf area and the Baltic.
ANICE is a combination of experimental and modeling work. The experimental work will be carried out during two intensive field experiments involving a research platform, coastal stations and a ship, while long term measurements will be carried out on a ferry. Special emphasis will be on the chemical and physical processes governing the transformation and deposition of nitrogen compounds in coastal waters. An interesting feature of the ANICE project is the use of two models. ACDEP will be used to estimate atmospheric inputs of nitrogen to the total North Sea, METRAS enables detailed studies of the coastal area. The final result will be an estimate of atmospheric inputs into the North Sea, that can be used in effect studies. The impact of atmospheric nitrogen on coastal ecosystems will be assessed.
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Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0595 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.410.000 HARTMUT BARTH EC contribution (EURO) : 800.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 January 1998 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 1.2.2 Biospheric processes
Coordinator Swedish Environmental Research Institute Ltd. Aake Iverfeldt Department of Environmental Monitoring, Fluxes and Synthesis Tel : 46 8 729 1500 SE - 100 31 Stockholm Fax : 46 8 318516 E-mail : [email protected]
Partners Technical Research Centre of Finland University of Göteborg VTT Chemical Technology Department of Inorganic Chemistry - Faculty of Mathematics Environmental Technology and Natural Sciences FI - Espoo SE - Göteborg K. LARJAVA O. LINDQVIST GKSS - Forschungszentrum Geesthacht GmbH Institut für Gewässerphysik DE - Geesthacht G. PETERSEN
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Title: Mercury species over Europe. Relative importance of depositional methylmercury fluxes to various ecosystems. (MOE)
Objectives: To identify and quantify sources of atmospheric mercury species focusing on production and fluxes of methylmercury.
Brief description of the research project: The aim of this project is to find the relative importance of atmospheric emissions and deposition of methylmercury, in comparison to methylation/demethylation processes in terrestrial and limnic ecosystems, in the heavily impacted regions in northern and central Europe.
This project addresses quantification of the mercury pollutant fluxes within and between ecosystems, and includes also analyses of the behaviour and transformation of mercury species, focusing on the most ecosystem effect relevant form, methylmercury. Future efforts of the European Community to reduce the effects of mercury pollution will depend on the possibilities of an adequate description of the main source-receptor relations of mercury and methylmercury in Europe. For northern and central Europe, atmospheric transport is the most important source of mercury and methylmercury found in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. The MOE project will improve the knowledge of the atmospheric behaviour of the different mercury species to be used in formulating EC policies, relevant abatement strategies, and tools for monitoring mercury emission control. The results of MOE will also contribute to the scientific basis of the international negotiations on reduction of transboundary air pollutants within the framework of the CLRTAP under UN-ECE.
New measurement techniques for identifying and quantifying sources of atmospheric methylmercury and other relevant mercury species will be developed and applied. Both point and diffuse sources will be included.
A flue gas simulator will be run for testing of developed speciation methods, for intercomparison experiments and for studies of reaction mechanisms and kinetics in flue gases.
Laboratory studies on possible chemical transformations of atmospheric mercury in combination with model simulations will be used to assess the environmental significance of proposed mercury reaction mechanisms.
A process model for mathematical simulations of complex reactions mixtures and for curve fitting and rate constant evaluation will be developed.
A “nested” model system, based on the European version of ADOM, will be developed and used to simulate long-range transport and atmospheric fluxes of relevant mercury species.
The total strength of European methylmercury sources will be determined by expanding the presently available European mercury emission inventory with emission factors for methylmercury and other mercury species.
Depositional fluxes of atmospheric mercury species to sensitive ecosystems in Central and Northern Europe such as coastal areas, river drainage basins and inland lake catchment areas, will be calculated using a comprehensive numerical simulation model in a three dimensional Eulerian framework covering the entire European continent and adjacent sea areas.
- 214 - Technological development and management tools 1.1.4.-1.6.3.
Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0596 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.010.800 HARTMUT BARTH EC contribution (EURO) : 850.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 April 1998 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 1.2.2 Biospheric processes
Coordinator Alfred-Wegener-Institut für Polar- und Meeresforschung Hans-Otto Pörtner Department of Biological Oceanography Tel : 49 471 4831307 Am Handelshaven Fax : 49 471 4831149 DE - 27570 Bremerhaven E-mail : [email protected]
Partners Universität Bremen Universitair Centrum Antwerpen - Universiteit Antwerpen Fachbereich 2 - Meeresbiologie Departement Biologie - Faculteit van de Wetenschappen DE - Bremen Ecophysiology and Biochemistry W. ARNTZ BE - Antwerpen R. BLUST Universitetet i Bergen Universitetet i Bergen Zoological Institute - Faculty of Mathematics and Exact Department of Fisheries and Marine Biology - Faculty of Sciences Mathematics and Exact Sciences NO - Bergen NO - Bergen O. BRIX G. NAEVDAL
Università degli Studi di Roma 'La Sapienza' Dipartimento di Scienze Biochimiche 'A. Rossi Fanelli' IT - Roma A. COLOSIMO
- 215 - 1.1.4.-1.6.3 Technological development and management tools
Title: Effects of climate induced temperature change on marine coastal fishes. (CLICOFI)
Objectives: To investigate and identify the mechanisms of the possible impact of climate induced temperature changes on the distribution and population dynamics of two fish species by evaluating the effects of the temperature regime on the physiological, genetic and ecological levels.
Brief description of the research project: Two model species were selected with northern and southern distribution limits in the North Atlantic. The different populations of these species have adapted to differing temperature regimes. Cod (Gadus morhua) represents the offshore species whereas the eelpout (Zoarces viviparus) is the near coastal target. The specific objectives of this project are related to the following tasks:
Ecological Studies - To identify effects of past, climate induced temperature changes on the distribution and population dynamics of cod and eelpout populations in North Sea, Baltic Sea, Norwegian Sea and White Sea by retrospective studies and to assess the influence of climate conditions on the population parameters of these species from different climate regions.
Physiological Studies - To determine the critical sublethal temperature limits of these species by identification and monitoring the temperature sensitive physiological key processes and to build up an energy budget for the two species.
Genetic Studies - To determine the adaptational potential of these species.
Modelling - To develop and validate an integrated unitary model of the temperature-sensitive response of these species from the molecular to the population level.
This combination of retrospective studies, field data analysis, physiological experiments, genetical investigations and modelling will further our causal understanding of the mechanisms involved in the past and present impact of climate induced temperature changes on fish populations and thereby allow future predictions of potential changes and the consideration of these mechanisms in marine biodiversity and fisheries management.
- 216 - Technological development and management tools 1.1.4.-1.6.3.
Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0631 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.310.000 HARTMUT BARTH EC contribution (EURO) : 1.100.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 March 1998 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 36 months Area FP4 : 1.2.2 Biospheric processes
Coordinator Christian-Albrechts Universität Kiel Erwin Suess Forschungszentrum für Marine Geowissenschaften Tel : 49 431 6002232 Wischhofstraße 1-3 Fax : 49 431 6002928 DE - 24148 Kiel E-mail : [email protected]
Partners University Wales - Bangor University of Patras School of Ocean Sciences Department of Civil Engineering - School of Engineering GB - Gwynedd Hydraulic Engineering Laboratory P. DANDO GR - Patras V. KALERIS Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland Risø National Laboratory Environmental History and Climate Department of Nuclear Safety Research and Nuclear Facilities DK - København NV DK - Roskilde A. KUIJPERS H. DAHLGAARD
Christian-Albrechts Universität Kiel Institut für Geowissenschaften DE - Kiel A. DAHMKE
- 217 - 1.1.4.-1.6.3 Technological development and management tools
Title: Submarine groundwater-fluxes and transport-processes from methane-rich coastal sedimentary environments. (SUB-GATE)
Objectives: To quantify and model land-sea interaction of groundwater and coastal waters with special emphasis to submarine groundwater fluxes, transport processes, and the methane cycle.
Brief description of the research project: The transfer of solutes and gases across the sediment-water interface through vents and seepages are complementing the inputs of nutrients, methane and xenobiotics through riverine, atmospheric and diffuse loads to the coastal environment, and can be considered as an important aspect in the assessment of the surface water quality in coastal seas. The Sub-G.A.T.E. project will investigate the role of submarine groundwater fluxes, transport processes and the methane cycle in the coastal environment of the western Baltic Sea. To meet these objectives the hydrogeological setting of the groundwater catchment area and its relation to submarine transport processes from active vents will be investigated. By the use of suitable tracers as Ra-226, fluid venting and groundwater seepage across the sediment-water interface will be estimated. The effect of submarine groundwater flow on relevant biogeochemical processes, fluxes of methane, and temporal variations of the depth of the methane saturation zone will be identified by pore water and seismic investigations, acoustic techniques, and determinations of physical properties. By the combination of hydrogeological, geophysical and biogeochemical data acquisition and 2D and 3D groundwater modelling the effect of groundwater discharge for the transfer of nutrients and methane to coastal environments will be assessed.
- 218 - Technological development and management tools 1.1.4.-1.6.3.
Contract No : ENV4-CT97-0637 Shared-cost RTD project EC scientific officer
Total Cost (EURO) : 1.884.000 HARTMUT BARTH EC contribution (EURO) : 1.600.000 Fax : +32-2-2963024 Starting date : 1 January 1998 E-mail : [email protected] Duration : 24 months Area FP4 : 1.2.2 Biospheric processes
Coordinator Westfälische Wilhelms - Universität Münster Manfred A. Lange Institut für Geophysik - Fachbereich 16 Mathematisch- Tel : 49 251 83 33591 Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät Correnstrasse 24 Fax : 49 251 83 38398 DE - 48149 Münster E-mail : [email protected]
Partners Westfälische Wilhelms - Universität Münster University of Lapland Institut für Geoinformatik Arctic Centre DE - Münster FI - Rovaniemi U. STREIT P. KUHRY University of Sheffield Natural Environment Research Council Department of Animal and Plant Sciences Institute of Hydrology Sheffield Centre for Arctic Ecology GB - Crowmarsh - Gifford GB - Sheffield R. HARDING T. CALLAGHAN University of Turku Nordlandsforskning Laboratory of Ecology and Animal Systematics NO - Bodø FI - Turku A. MARIUSSEN M. KOZLOV Umeå Universitet The Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Department of Social and Economic Geography Cambridge SE - Umeå Scott Polar Research Institute U. WIBERG GB - Cambridge W. REES
University of Tromsø Institute of Marine Research Norwegian College of Fishery Science Department of Marine Environment NO - Tromsø NO - Bergen P. WASSMANN H. SKJOLDAL
Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht Vakgroep Fysische Geografie - Faculteit Ruimtelijke Wetenschappen NL - Utrecht E. KOSTER
- 219 - 1.1.4.-1.6.3 Technological development and management tools
Title: Assessing the consequences of global changes for the Barents Sea region : the Barents Sea impact study. (BASIS)
Objectives: As a long-term, overarching goal, the Barents Sea Impact Study (BASIS) aims to assess the impacts of global changes on cultural and socio-economic systems which are dependent on renewable and non-renewable natural resources in the Barents Sea region. The initial project phase aims more specifically at: a) an assessment of the likely magnitude of global changes on regional to sub-regional scales in the Barents Sea region; b) providing insight into the consequences of global changes for terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems; c) the development of an integrated assessment of global change impacts for a number of major economic sectors (fishery, forestry, reindeer herding) in the Barents Sea region; d) the determination of major changes in the socio-economic structure of the Barents Sea region and of conditions for a sustainable development in the region under conditions of global change.
Brief description of the research project: The BASIS project addresses impacts of global changes on both the environmental and societal level within a 20 to 50 years time frame in the Barents Sea region. This will comprise climate change impacts as well as impacts of contaminants on the region. Research activities embrace and combine: extensive base case studies in relevant sectors on both levels, biological and hydrological field work, the modelling of major environmental (marine) and socio-economic processes and the generation of predictive scenarios of development under conditions of global change. An important element of the project will be a dedicated, collectively accessible (via the Internet) database and GIS infrastructure, which will also be open to other interested parties. The information and consultation of local and indigenous stakeholders and their feedback with regard to the implementation and execution of the project will be an essential element of BASIS.
BASIS is organised in four tasks, each comprised of three (four for Task 2) subtasks: Task 1 - Ocean climate and fisheries; Task 2 - Impacts of global change on major terrestrial natural resources, permafrost dynamics and the hydrological regime; Task 3 - The integrated effects of global changes on the socio-economic system of the Barents Sea region and conditions for sustainable development in the region; Task 4 - Integration/synthesis, data collection/dissemination and stakeholder involvement.
Work under Task 1 comprises model investigations which will lead to estimates of primary and secondary production for given climate scenarios. This will be utilised in an analysis of fish stock, which will be based on existing catch data. An assessment of fresh water input into the Barents Sea will rely on satellite data in conjunction with field investigations on small scale hydrological processes, which is part of the work under Task 2. Other activities in Task 2 include the evaluation of ecological impacts of global change on terrestrial ecosystems along a north-south transect and an assessment of cumulative impacts of climate change and pollutant load on the insect-plant interactions on the Kola Peninsula. The impacts of global changes on terrestrial and marine ecosystems as determined in Task 1 and 2 will be utilised for investigating the related impacts for a number of economic sectors in the Barents Sea region as part of the work within Task 3. In addition, the question to which extent changes in vegetation, reindeer population and behaviour, in human employment and culture and in local control of resources are influenced by global, regional or local driving forces will also be investigated. Task 4 comprises activities related to the integration of individual study results and the provision of base case and global change scenarios for the project.
The main benefits to be gained can be summarised as follows: a) BASIS will contribute to the discussion of how to deal with worst case scenarios regarding the cumulative effects of major political and economic transitions and global changes in the Barents Sea- and other arctic regions. b) BASIS will contribute to the process of social integration in relation to the Russian Northwest and to regional development in the case of northern Sweden and northern Finland.
- 220 - Project Reference: ENV4 95-0124 Project Acronym: None Project Title: Climate change and sea level.
Objective: To advance research into the basic processes that contribute to changes in the ocean volume with a changing climate. This involves the atmosphere, the oceans and the continental ice masses.
General Information: The project can be divided into the four main contributors to sea level rise: thermal expansion, glacier and small ice cap melt, the Greenland ice sheet and the Antarctic ice sheet. Global mean temperature change and thermal expansion estimates from different O/AGCM experiments will be compared using a simple energy-balance upwelling-diffusion climate model, which will be modified as necessary. The regional distribution of thermal expansion due to ocean current changes will be estimated using a limited area ocean circulation model of the North Sea. Past and future glacier melt will be modelled using, for the first time, monthly mean regional temperature data as the forcing and incorporating more comprehensive glacier data including results from new field work. The modelling range from 3-D thermomechanical models of the whole ice sheets to more detailed regional studies. The purpose is to assess the ice masses response to climate change. New field work will be undertaken in both Greenland and Antarctica. Part of the project concentrates on North-East Greenland because it appears to be the most active part of the ice sheet and therefore perhaps more sensitive to climate change than judged hitherto: large iceflows feeding the outlet glaciers have been located from the air. The field work will include an investigation of ocean, sea-ice, glacier interactions and the new field data will be incorporated into a detailed 3-D modelling study of a North-East Greenland outlet glacier. In Antarctica, it is intended to document the 20th century behaviour of ice discharge. This information, together with the new field data which will be collected on accumulation, will allow estimates of the mass balance of the Dome Concordia drainage area. Incapsulating the results of the project, we propose to update the user-friendly software MAGICC. MAGICC facilitates the fast generation of global mean temperature and sea level estimates for specified emissions scenarios over the next century. It allows uncertainties to be easily and quickly explored.
Project Status: Completed
Coordinator: School of Environmental Sciences Climatic Research Unit University of East Anglia University PlainNR4 7TJ Norwich UNITED KINGDOM Contact Person: RAPER, Sarah Tel: +44-1603-592089 Fax: +44-1603507784
Other Contractors • Institut für Meteorologie Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften eVBundesstraße 5520146 Hamburg GERMANY Contact Person: VON STORCH, Hans
• Laboratoire de Glaciologie et de Géophysique de l'Environnement (LGGE) (UPR 5151) Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) 54 rue Molière BP 9638402 Saint-Martin-d'Hères FRANCE Contact Person: FILY, Michel • Dansk Polarcenter 100 C Strandgade1401 København DENMARK Contact Person: REEH, Niels
• Task Force Ambiente Globale E Cambiamenti Climatici Ente per le Nuove Tecnologie, l'Energia e l'Ambiente (ENEA) Via Anguillarese 30100060 Roma ITALY Contact Person: FREZZOTTI, Massimo
• Sektion Geophysik und Glaziologie - Fachbereich Geowissenschaften und ChemieAlfred-Wegener-Institut für Polar- und Meeresforschung Postfach 12016127515 Bremerhaven GERMANY Contact Person: OERTER, Hans
• Department of Geography University of Manchester Oxford Road M13 9PL Manchester UNITED KINGDOM Contact Person: BRITHWAITE, Roger James
• Department of Glaciology and Glacial Geology Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland 10 Oester Voldgade1350 København, DENMARK Contact Person: HOEJMARK THOMSEN, Henrik
Project Reference: ENV4 95-0133 Project Acronym: CC HYDRO Project Title: Impact of climatic change on river basin hydrology under different climatic conditions
Objectives: The objective is to develop a methodology to annualise the relationship between the large-scale circulation pattern and local climatic conditions including a Mediterranean, Atlantic and an alpine environment. The emphasis is on the prediction of hydrological changes at a medium time scale referring to several decades.
General Information: For this purpose transient global circulation patterns, for the historic case and different CO2 concentrations will be utilised. The downscaling approach will be based on a combination of physical and stochastic spatio-temporal models. The approach is based on the classification of observed (several decades) large scale historical pressure distribution patterns over Europe; the statistical analysis of temperature and rainfall fields at the catchment scale under different topographic and climatic conditions; the statistical linkage between historic pressure fields and local processes; generation of a digital terrain model of basins located in alpine, and in the Mediterranean region; improvement of the scale relationship by incorporating air flow models under given boundary conditions (pressure distribution and terrain characteristics); quantitative assessment of the water balance in the basins including surface runoff, runoff coefficient, evaporation, groundwater recharge and soil water budget; selection of a GCM for the transient and 2*CO2 case; repetition of the previous steps for the transient and 2*CO2 case assuming that the relationship between large scale and local data will hold The consequences on water resources under different climatic conditions and the implications for water resources management will be analyzed. This information should provide a rational basis for water environment related decision making. The main research tasks are seen in: the development and validation of an improved model linking large grid circulation models with regional hydro-meteorological processes. This model is based on the analysis of classified historic circulation patterns (several decades) and local observations of temperature and rainfall. The prediction of local to regional changes in temperature and rainfall under consideration of different climatic and topographic conditions. The prediction of changes in seasonal characteristics and in the extreme values. The transformation of rainfall and temperature into runoff of catchments reflecting the heterogeneity of European climate and landscape. Catchments in the Mediterranean, the central alpine region and the pre-alpine region dominated by the Atlantic climate will be investigated.
Project Status: Completed
Coordinator: Department: Institut für Wasserwirtschaft, Hydrologie und Konstruktiven Wasserbau Universität für Bodenkultur, Wien 1811 Muthgasse 18111190 Wien AUSTRIA Contact Person: NACHTNEBEL, Hans-Peter Tel: +43-13692924351 Fax: +43- 13692924350
Other Contractors: • Laboratory of Hydraulics and Hydraulic Structures, Department of Civil Engineering - School of Technology Aristotle University of Thessaloniki University Campus 54006 Thessaloniki GREECE Contact Person: GANOULIS, Jacques
• Institut für Wasserbau Universität Stuttgart 61 Pfaffenwaldring 6170550 Stuttgart GERMANY Contact Person: BARDOSSY, Andras
• Centro Internazionale di Studio, Ricerca e Document. di Idraulica Applicata, Idrologia e Ambiente Consorzio Idea Viale Risorgimento 240136 Bologna ITALY Contact Person: TODINI, Ezio
• Agenzia Regionale Prevenzione e Ambiente dell'Emilia-Romagna Viale Silvani 640122 Bologna ITALY Contact Person: BELLADONA, V.
• Hydraulic Engineering Laboratory Department of Civil Engineering - School of Engineering University of Patras 26110 Patras GREECE Contact Person: KALERIS, Vassilios
• Consorzio per lo Studio ed il Monitoraggio dell'Ambiente Padano Adriatico Via Lame 2440122 Bologna ITALY Contact Person: LIPPOLIS, Gabriella
Project Reference: ENV4 97-0452 Project Acronym: WRINCLE Project Title: Water resources: influence of climate change in Europe
Objectives: WRINCLE has the following main objectives: (a) To assess the impacts of climate change on Europe-wide water resources; (b) To use the latest atmospheric model outputs to generate climate change scenarios; (c) To present impact assessments in easily accessible 'digital atlases' for end users.
General Information: There are well recognised shortcomings in the communication of theoretical knowledge from climate and hydrology experts into the field of practical engineering hydrology and water resources planning. WRINCLE addresses these shortcomings by combining understanding of the underlying physical processes with an easily accessible format of 'digital atlases', custom-made for the end-user in water industries, environment agencies and government. WRINCLE aims to close the gap between the theoretical and practical aspects and to provide the sound scientific basis for regional impact assessment which to date has largely been absent. Hydrological impact assessments demand a consistent methodology combining; the latest climate change scenarios, sound downscaling methods for precipitation, validated hydrological models, effective snowmelt modelling and accessible presentation of results. WRINCLE gives each area careful attention, as they are links in a chain. The results will be produced as Europe-wide digital atlases on a 50km grid, for standard future climate projections, and will be published in hard copy, common GIS formats/ and on a World Wide Web site. The following deliverables will be produced as digital atlases; (a) Precipitation: monthly mean and number of rain days, for both regions and sites (b) River discharge and grid square runoff: monthly mean and flow duration curves (c) Water Resource impacts: drought risk, Q95, low flow statistics and HEP yields. These objectives will be achieved by means of 5 work packages : 1.REGIONALISED DOWNSCALING FOR PRECIPITATION. Statistical relations for downscaling local precipitation fields from regional scale atmospheric variables will be applied, based on those developed in a recent EC project, and improved in WP2. 2. IMPROVED PHYSICAL BASIS FOR DOWNSCALING. To make the methods more robust under climate change. Improvements for application in mountainous regions will also be made. 3. REGIONALISED RIVER DISCHARGE ESTIMATION. An analytic method for deriving monthly rive discharge statistics directly from precipitation statistics will be validated for the present climate, and then used for future climate projections. 4. REGIONALISED SNOWMELT ESTIMATION. Changes in timing and quantity of snowmelt will have major effects on flow, so a model will be developed and applied using precipitation data from WP1, and sub-grid scale topographic data with a regional degree-day method. 5. WATER RESOURCE IMPACTS AND END USER STUDIES. Discharge statistics produced in WP3 and 4 will be used to assess the impacts on availability of water resources, flow regimes for water quality, and HEP generation capability. Specific case studies will be performed by end users to validate the control data sets, and demonstrate the use of predictions.
Project Status: Completed
Coordinator DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING WATER RESOURCE SYSTEMS RESEARCH LABORATORY UNIVERSITY OF NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE Cassie Building, Claremont Road NE1 7RU NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE UNITED KINGDOM Contact Person: O'CONNELL, Patrick Enda Tel: +44-1912226405 Fax: +44-191 222 6669 Email: P.E.O'[email protected]
Other Contractors • Climatic Research Unit UNIVERSITY OF EAST ANGLIA University Plain NR4 7TJ NORWICH UNITED KINGDOM Contact Person: JONES, Philip
• Instituto de Ciência Aplicada e TecnologiaUniversidade de Lisboa1 Campo Grande1700 Lisboa PORTUGAL Contact Person: CORTE-REAL, João
• Institut d'Aménagement des Terres et des Eaux: Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne1015 Lausanne SWITZERLAND Contact Person: MUSY, André
• ROYAL NETHERLANDS METEOROLOGICAL INSTITUTE 10 Wilhelminalaan 10 PO Box 2013730 AE DE BILT NETHERLANDS Contact Person: BUISHAND, Tjerk Adriaan
Project Reference: ENV4 95-0002 Project Acronym: CLUE Project Title: Changing land usage enhancement of biodiversity and ecosystem development
Objective: - To study the effects of community complexity (of both vegetation and soil (micro) organisms) on ecosystems processes and vegetation dynamics on former agricultural, set-aside, land. - To examine if the complexity of the community on set-aside agricultural land can be enhanced artificially by increasing plant species diversity. - To examine if, and how, a stepping stone approach may be used to enhance the colonisation of the soil of set-aside land by soil (micro)organisms of expected/desired successional stages. - - To study the effects of community complexity, as well as manipulation of community development by increasing plant species diversity and by applying stepping stones in a north-south and east-west double gradient to get results applicable at a European scale. - - To contribute to the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Initiative (TERI) of the European Union by establishing field sites that may be used for studying effects of changing land use, biodiversity and species interactions on ecosystem processes and ecosystem development.
General Information: Key processes enhancing the transformation of set-aside agricultural land into restored natural ecosystems will be examined by six partners, offering expertise in plants and soil organisms, as well as biogeochemical cycles of nutrients, affecting biodiversity-related interactions and ecosystem processes. The soil biota involved concern bacteria, fungi (incl. endo- and ecyomycorrhizae), nematodes, insects and earth worms. Six countries participate in CLUE: Sweden, the Netherlands, France, Spain (representing a north-south gradient) and the Czech Republic and England (representing the extremes of the east-west gradient) to obtain results applicable at an European scale. The CLUE project team is organized interdisciplinary and each participant supplies specific expertise. At all six participating countries a similar main field experiment is set up where each participant collects both basic and specialised data. During joint field work shops (twice a year) all six field sites will be examined in order to collect a complete set of data from all sites, as well as to exchange approaches, knowledge and expertise. Results of CLUE will provide basic knowledge on key ecosystem processes determining rate and direction of natural vegetation development to extensively managed grassland and forest at former agricultural land. Two main applications of enhancing biodiversity and ecosystem development will be examined: 1. Enhancement of the initial diversity in vegetation. 2. Introduction of later-successional organisms via 'Stepping stones'.
Project Status: Completed
Coordinator Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen Nederlands Instituut voor Oecologisch Onderzoek Centrum voor Terrestrische Oecologie 22 Boterhoeksestraat 22 PO Box 40 6666 ZG Heteren: OOST-NEDERLAND GELDERLAND Arnhem/NijmegenCountry: NETHERLANDS Contact Person: VAN DER PUTTEN, Wilhelmus Henricus Tel: +31-26-4791203 Fax: +31-26-4723227 Email: [email protected]
Other Contractors • Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Contact Person: ROY, Jacques
• Centre d'Écologie Fonctionnelle et Évolutive "Louis Emberger" (CEFE) (UPR 8481) 1919 route de Mende BP 5051City: Montpellier Hérault FRANCE 34033
• Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas Contact Person: RODRIGUEZ-BARRUECO, Claudino
• Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiologia de Salamanca 40 Calle Cordel de Merinas 40 Salamanca CENTRO (E) CASTILLA Y LEÓN Salamanca SPAIN 37008
• University of South Bohemia Department: Department of Ecology and Systematics- Faculty of Biological Sciences 31 Branisovska City: Ceské Budejovice CZECH REPUBLIC 370 05 Contact Person: LEPS, Jan
• SuspaLund UniversityDepartment: Department of Animal Ecology Lund SYDSVERIGE Malmöhus län WEDEN 223 62 Contact Person: RUNDGREN, Sten
• CAB International International Institute of EntomologyAddress: Queen's Gate London Contact Person: BROWN, Valerie K Project Reference: ENV4 95-0051 Project Acronym: TERI Project Title: Concerted action for coordination of TERI-Terrestrial ecosystems research initiative
Objective: To ensure synergy between the European ecosystems research projects - to organize thematic meetings and workshops for the participants of ecosystems to improve interaction between projects - to provide a forum for discussing ecological theory and experimental research in order to provide the scientific framework for future research and environmental monitoring activities - to stimulate the development of environmental models - and in particular models suited to assist in the difficult question of generalising from limited experiments (scaling-up).
General Information: The research on global change in terrestrial ecosystems is organized as a special part of the Environment and Climate programme and is described in the TERI document. It is proposed to establish a concerted action creating a framework for promoting cooperation between the projects on terrestrial ecosystems funded by the programme. It is the aim of the TERI coordination to ensure the optimal synergy between the terrestrial ecosystem research projects. This is organized by bringing the groups working on each theme together to discuss different approaches, to plan joint experiments and for utilising the transects in the most efficient way. Promoting the integration of results into models and scenarios of future changes is also part of the concerted action. The TERI coordination contains an organizational structure at three levels that will keep the project coordinators informed about other projects and show how far the TERI objectives are fulfilled. The activities of the concerted action include contact and progress meetings on the projects level for each theme. Some council meetings are planned at selected sites for the development of methodology and joint experiments. TERI coordination is also planned to organize, towards the end of the project periods, an internal review process conducted by the council composed of all TERI project coordinators. It is envisaged that TERI, in liaison with other global research programmes and with ENRICH, may function as a contact on global change studies with scientists from Eastern Europe and other parts of the world. Global change, terrestrial ecosystems, transects, ecosystem models, global change scenarios, land use change, SOM dynamics, biogeochemical cycles, biodiversity The research on global change in terrestrial ecosystems is organized as a special part of the Environment and Climate programme and is described in the TERI document. It is proposed to establish a concerted action creating a framework for promoting cooperation between the projects on terrestrial ecosystems funded by the programme. The TERI coordination contains an organizational structure at three levels that will keep the project coordinators informed about other projects and show how far the TERI objectives are fulfilled. The activities of the concerted action include contact and progress meetings on the projects level for each theme. Some council meetings are planned at selected sites for the development of methodology and joint experiments. TERI coordination is also planned to organize, towards the end of the project periods, an internal review process conducted by the council composed of all TERI project coordinators. It is envisaged that TERI, in liaison with other global research programmes and with ENRICH, may function as a contact on global change studies with scientists from Eastern Europe.
Project Status: Complete Coordinator Organisation: Københavns Universitet Institute of Molecular Biology - Faculty of Science83 H Sølvgade1307København DENMARK Contact Person:STRUWE, Sten (Prof) Tel: +45-35322044 Fax: +45-35322040 Email: [email protected] Project Reference: ENV4 95-0052 Project Acronym: ETEMA Project Title: European terrestrial ecosystem modelling activity
Objective: The goal of the project is to develop a comprehensive, process-oriented, modular modelling framework for the coupled dynamics of structure and function in natural and semi-natural ecosystems. This framework will allow simulation of ecosystems either at "patch" (<0.1 km) scale or "regional" (10-100 km) scale, based either on species or on broad functional categories. It will link the following subsystems: - ecosystem-planetary boundary layer (PBL) interactions - ecosystem CO2 and H2O fluxes - vegetation physiology and phenology - biogeography and vegetation dynamics - detritus and soil organic matter (SOM) dynamics human impact of natural
General Information: We propose to develop a comprehensive modular modelling framework for the coupled dynamics of structure and function in natural and semi-natural ecosystems. The framework will link the following subsystems with widely varying time constants: ecosystem-planetary boundary layer ( PBL) interactions, ecosystem C02 and H20 fluxes, vegetation physiology and phenology, biogeography and vegetation dynamics, detritus and soil organic matter dynamics, and human impact and natural disturbance. The framework will allow simulation at "patch" scale, or at "regional" (10-100 km) scale including linkage of patches through the PBL. Comparative trials of modelling approaches to each subsystem will use the full range of available 0 observational and experimental data sources as evaluation tools. The coupled system dynamics will be tested with data from long-term field measurements and experimental programmes. A pilot study will show how the model can be generalised spatially, using gridded environmental data sets. The project is proposed as an integral component of TERI with close links to other TERI projects, in order to make best use of new data and modelling activities in Europe as well as adding value to field-based projects. The research will contribute to the long-term IGBP-GCTE goal of developing a dynamic global vegetation model with state-of-the art representation of physical, physiological and ecological processes and their linkages. Potential applications of such a model include Europe-wide assessment of the potential impacts of long-term (decades to centuries) changes in land use, C02 and climate on ecosystem functions such as carbon sequestration and fresh water supply. The coupled system dynamics will be tested with data from long-term field measurements and experimental programmes. A pilot study will show how the model can be generalised spatially, using gridded environmental data sets. The project is proposed as an integral component of TERI with close links to other TERI projects, in order to make best use of new data and modelling activities in Europe as well as adding value to field-based projects. The research will contribute to the long-term IGBP-GCTE goal of developing a dynamic global vegetation model with state-of-the- art representation of physical, physiological and ecological processes and their linkages. Potential applications of such a model include Europe-wide assessment of the potential impacts of long-term (decades to centuries) changes in land use, C02 and climate on ecosystem functions such as carbon sequestration and fresh water supply.
Project Status: Completed
Coordinator Lund University Department: Department of Ecology - Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences Section of Biology and Earth Sciences - Global Systems 223 62 Lund SWEDEN Contact Person: PRENTICE, Iain Colin Tel: +46-462224176 Fax: +46-462223742 Email: [email protected]
Other Contractors: • UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD DEPARTMENT OF ANIMAL AND PLANT SCIENCES Western Bank SHEFFIELD SOUTH YORKSHIRE UNITED KINGDOM S10 2TN Contact Person: WOODWARD, Frank Ian
• NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL INSTITUTE OF TERRESTRIAL ECOLOGY EDINBURGH RESEARCH STATION BUSH ESTATE PENICUIK Lothian UNITED KINGDOM EH26 0QB Contact Person: FRIEND, Andrew David
• King's College London Department: School of Life Sciences Campden Hill Road London UNITED KINGDOM Postcode: W8 7AH
• Commission of the European Communities Joint Research Centre Department: Advanced Techniques Unit Institute for Remote Sensing Applications Via E. Fermi 1 Ispra LOMBARDIA Varese ITALY 21020 Contact Person: MARTIN, Philippe Henri
• Potsdam-Institut für Klimafolgenforschung e.V. Department of Global Change and Natural Systems Telegrafenberg Postfach 601203 Potsdam BRANDENBURG GERMANY 14412 Contact Person: CRAMER, Wolfgang
• Ecole Normale Supérieur Laboratoire d'Ecologie - CNRS URA 258 46 Rue d'Ulm, Paris FRANCE 75230 Contact Person: ABBADIE, Luc Project Reference: ENV4 98-0802 Project Acronym: CYANOTOX Project Title: Cyanobacterial Toxins
Project Status: Execution: Completion Date: Jan 02
Coordinator: Universiteit van Amsterdam, Amsterdam Research Institute voor Stoffen in Ecosystemen 127 Nieuwe Achtergracht 166,1018 WS Amsterdam NETHERLANDS Contact Person: MUR, Luuc R. Tel: +31-205257072 Fax: +31-20 525 70 64 Email: [email protected]
Other Contractors • UNIVERSITY OF DUNDEE DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES MILLER'S WYND DUNDEE SCOTLAND DD1 4HN Contact Person: CODD, Geoffrey Telephone: +44-1382344272 Fax: +44-1382 34 42 75 E-mail: [email protected]
• Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin Institut für Biologie Invalidenstrasse 43 Berlin 10115 Contact Person: BöRNER, Thomas Telephone: +49-3020938142 Fax: +49-30 20 93 81 41 E-mail: [email protected]
• Institute of Botany - Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic Department: Department of Experimental Phycology and Ecotoxicology Kvetna 8 Brno CZECH REPUBLIC 303 65 Contact Person: MARSALEK, Blahoslav Telephone: +42 5 33 18 11 Fax: +42 5 33 18 11 E-mail: [email protected]
• Universidade do Porto Instituto de Zoologia e Antopologia -Faculdade de Ciencias Praça Gomez Teixeira Porto PORTUGAL 4050 Contact Person: VASCONCELOS, Victor Manuel Telephone: +351-2310290 Fax: +351 2 2004777 E-mail: [email protected]
• BRAINTEC GMH Frankenfeider Chaussee 2 Im Biotechnologiepark Luckenwalde Teltow-Fläming GERMANY 14943
• Technische Universität Berlin Fachgebiet Biochemie und Molukulare Biologie Max Volmer Institut für Biophysikalische Chemie und Biochemie Franklinstrasse 29 Berlin GERMANY 10587 Contact Person: VON DöHREN, Hans Telephone: +49-3031422697 Fax: +49-30 314 27 695 E-mail: [email protected] J.
• Fodor National Public Health Centre - National Institute of Environmental Health Laboratory of Water Biology Department of Water Hygiene Gyali út 2-6 PO Box 64 Budapest HUNGARY 1966 Contact Person: TöRöKNé, Kozma Telephone: +36-12170658 Fax: +36-1 215 72 79 E-mail: toroka okil.joboki.hu
• University of Helsinki Division of Microbiology, Department of Applied Chemistry and Microbiology - Faculty of Agriculture & Forestry 9 Viikinkaari 9 PO Box 56 Helsinki UUSIMAA FINLAND 14 Contact Person: SIVONEN, Kaarina Telephone: +358-9-70859270 Fax: +358-9-70859322 E-mail: [email protected] Project Reference: ENV4 96-0170 Project Acronym: None Project Title: Assessment of human risk for adverse effects of endocrine-active environmental organo-halogen contaminants.
Objective: The objective of this project is to provide a scientific basis for assessment of risks for adverse health effects, with special emphasis on developmental effects in human infants, following environmental exposure to endocrine active organic- halogenated substances. The efforts will be concentrated on hydroxylated PCB and related phenolic organohalogens with a high fetal accumulation potential.
General Information: We will develop a two-tired method for identification of potential endocrine disruptors in human samples. The method will involve bioassays, for analysis of endocrine activity, and sophisticated chemical analysis, for structural identification of "unknown" compounds that elicit endocrine activity in the bioassays. We will synthesise and chemically characterise "unknown" OHS with structural resemblance to thyroid and/or sex hormones that will be indicated by the bioassays as potential endocrine disruptors. These synthesised compounds will be used as standards for analytical purposes and as model compounds in the bioassays, X-ray crystallography and toxicological studies. We will provide detailed information on structural requirements for endocrine disrupting effects; structure activity relationships. This will be achieved by organohalogen-binding competition studies using hormone binding proteins (transthyretin (TTR), nuclear thyroxine (T3) receptor and oestrogenic receptor (ER) in combination with X-ray crystallography studies for structural refinement of the OHS - protein interactions. In addition, the functionality of the "putative" endocrine disruptors will be measured in thyroid- and estrogen- linked reporter gene expression systems. We will study the toxicological impact of identified endocrine disrupting OHS, such as 4-hydroxy-2,3,5,3',4'- pentachlorobiphenyl and its parent compound PCB 105. The effects of perinatal exposure to these compounds on hormone metabolism, neurodevelopment, reproduction and immunological functions will be studied in rat offspring. In addition, toxicokinetic studies will be performed on these compounds. The in vivo toxicological data obtained will serve as a base for risk assessment and extrapolation from animal to man. We will measure in humans the presence of endocrine active OHS and their metabolites in maternal and cord blood plasma from high and low exposure groups and in adult males with high or with no consumption of contaminated Baltic fish in conjunction with analyses on hormonal levels. The blood analyses will be correlated to epidemiological and clinical data on growth, physical landmarks, neurobehavioural, reproduction and immunological parameters in human infants and to some extent in adults. We will assess human perinatal risk for endocrine-related adverse effects of background exposure to OHS and to provide a scientific basis for the assessment of risk for adverse developmental and health effects in human infants, after perinatal exposure to back ground levels of endocrine disrupting contaminants, focusing mainly on phenolic organohalogens.
Project Status: Completed
Coordinator: Department of Environment and Chemistry Stockholm Universitet 106 91 Stockholm SWEDEN Contact Person: BERGMAN, Aake Tel: +46-8163997 Fax: +46-8152561 Email: [email protected]
Other Contractors • Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics University of Oxford South Parks Road OX1 3QU Oxford UNITED KINGDOM Contact Person: BLAKE, Colin C.F.
• Department of Toxicology Landbouwuniversiteit Wageningen 5 Tuinlaan 6703 HE Wageningen NETHERLANDS Contact Person: BROUWER, Abraham
• Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine Lund University PO Box 117221 85 Lund SWEDEN Contact Person: HAGMAR, Lars
• Department of Pediatrics Sophia Kinderziekenhuis Organisation: Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam 60 Dr. Molewaterplein 3015 GJ Rotterdam NETHERLANDS Contact Person: SAUER, Pieter J.J. Project Reference: ENV4 97-0509 Project Acronym: IDEA Project Title: Identification of Endocrine Disrupting Effects in Aquatic Organisms
General Information: The aim of the present project is to develop cost-effective methodology for the assessment of ecotoxicological hazard arising from chronic exposure of aquatic organisms to sublethal concentrations of endocrine-disrupting chemicals or chemical mixtures. To achieve this objective, the project does not invent new assays or new endpoints, but it will identify what modifications of elements from existing tests on developmental or reproductive toxicity, combined with elements from existing in vitro screening assays or biomarkers of endocrine toxicity, could form a practical battery for prospective testing of the population-level effects of endocrine disruptors. Current ecotoxicological test methodology can not delineate the contribution of endocrine disruptors to observed adverse effects on development and reproduction of organisms. The present project goes significantly beyond that state- of-the-art - by investigating the predictability of endocrine-disrupting effects: The ability of inexpensive short-term assays and endpoints for predicting the lasting, chronic effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals will be assessed by comparative evaluation of in vitro screening tests, suborganismic biomarkers, short-term in vivo tests, and multigeneration in vivo tests. - by investigating transgeneration effects of endocrine disruptors and different sensitivities of specific life stages: The project examines these questions that are of particular importance for the population level, by performing a series of life stage tests, chronic one generation tests and chronic multigeneration tests. - by investigating the extrapolation problem: The specificity of endocrine systems both in terms of function and species differences is critical with respect to the extrapolation of test results. The project addresses this problem by concentrating on the steroid hormone system that is involved in the regulation of development and reproduction across all animal phyla, and by comparing the responses of seven species of invertebrates and vertebrates. The experiments are performed with a set of reference chemicals (diethylstil-bestrol, Bisphenol A, PCBs or phthalates) and mixtures of these compounds. The comparative evaluation of the experimental results will reveal what type of information can be obtained from the various approaches, to what degree short-term tests can substitute for chronic tests, and by what simple and cost-effective modifications of current test procedures adequate assessment of the ecotoxicological effects of endocrine disruptors will be possible. The groups cooperating in this proposal have long-lasting experience in the development and implementation of ecotoxicity tests, and, therefore, are convinced of their ability to successfully fulfill the ambitious aim of the project.
Project Status: Completed
Coordinator: DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ECOTOXICOLOGY UMWELTFORSCHUNGSZENTRUM LEIPZIG-HALLE GMBH15 Permoserstraße 154318 LEIPZIG GERMANY Contact Person: SEGNER, Helmut Tel: +49-341-2352329 Fax: +49-341-2352401 Email: [email protected]
Other Contractors • School of Pure and Applied Biology, University of Wales Cardiff PO Box 91 5CF1 3TL Cardiff UNITED KINGDOM Contact Person: PASCOE, David
• Institut für Umweltchemie und ÖkotoxikologieFraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Angewandten Forschung eV (FhG) Postfach 12 6057377 Schmallenberg GERMANY Contact Person: SCHMITZ, Achim
• Laboratory for Biological Research in Aquatic Pollution Universiteit Gent 222 J.Plateaustraat 9000 Gent BELGIUM Contact Person: JANSSEN, Colin
• Außenstelle für Biochemische Oekotoxikologie Institut für Umweltchemie und Ökotoxikologie Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderungder Angewandten Forschung e.V. 114-116 Arthur-Scheunert-Allee14558 Bergholz - Rehbrücke GERMANY
Project Reference: ENV4 97-0567 Project Acronym: EEs-FISH REPRODUCTION Project Title: Environmental estrogens (EEs) and the neuro-endocrine regulation of reproduction in fish
General Information: Environmental estrogens (EEs) are a heterogenous group of chemicals containing natural and synthetic estrogens and xenoestrogens. EEs are pollutants of the freshwater environment and exert the biological activity of estrogenic hormones. Concern has been expressed over the possibility that EEs disrupt the endocrine regulation of reproduction in wildlife and/or humans, and the information available at present suggests that it is very plausible that EEs have such effects. However, the evidence that EEs constitute a real problem is meagre. Only when serious effects of EEs are recorded will it then be necessary to unravel the molecular mechanisms that govern these effects, and to develop strategies to manage EE-related risks. Therefore, the present proposal aims to evaluate EFFECTS of four relevant and representative EEs on the neuro-endocrine regulation of reproduction in freshwater fish. Reproduction in all vertebrates from fish to mammals is regulated by a neuro-endocrine system, the brain-pituitary-gonad (BGP) axis. Estrogens play a pivotal role in this regulatory system in both males and females. Previous work demonstrated that EEs induced, in male fish, the otherwise female-specific production of yolk proteins or inhibited testicular growth. However, also the brain-pituitary part of the BPG axis may be affected by EEs. After all, endogenous estrogens regulate the (i) amount of brain neurohormones involved in reproduction (e.g. gonadotropin releasing hormone - GnRH); (ii) expression and/or release of GnRH receptors and of gonadotropic hormone (GTH) by pituitary gonadotropin cells; (iii) testicular sex hormone synthesis. Effects of EEs on the core-components of the BPG axis are suspected to have a significant impact on reproduction because of possible consequences for sexual maturation and reproductive behaviour. We propose to investigate in male of three freshwater fishes the effects of exposure to EEs via the water on (i) GnRH amounts in brain and pituitary, (ii) pituitary GnRH receptors and GTH synthesis and release, and (iii) pituitary GnRH and testicular GTH responsiveness, thus covering core-components of the BPG axis. Finally, an immortalized fish gonadotropin cell line will be developed to provide an alternative to the use of experimental animals. Such a cell line is expected to serve well in future studies to test the endocrine-disrupting risks of EEs (and other pollutants) in a physiologically more meaningful context than is possible now with non-gonadotroph cell lines. The study can be carried out in a relatively short period (two years) as all expertise needed is available in the participating research groups.
Project Status: Completed
Coordinator Vakgroep Experimentele Dierkunde - Faculteit Biologie - Beheercluster Organismale Zoölogie Onderzoekgroep voor Vergelijkende Endocrinologie Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht 8 Padualaan 3584 CH Utrecht NETHERLANDS Contact Person: SCHULZ, Rüdiger Winfried Tel: +31-30-2533046 Fax: +31-30- 2532837 Email: r.w.schulz biol.ruu.nl
Other Contractors • Department of Zoology - The George S.Wise Faculty of Life Sciences Tel Aviv University Ramat Aviv 69978 Tel Aviv ISRAEL Contact Person: YARON, ZVI Project Reference: ENV4 98-0798 Project Acronym: COMPREHEND Project Title: Community programme of research on environmental hormones and endocrine disrupters
General Information: The development by man of an increasing array of new chemicals and their inevitable release into the environment poses a major threat to ecosystem health. This is particularly true of the aquatic environment, which receives direct discharges of industrial and domestic wastewaters as part of man's normal waste disposal system. Recent evidence shows that some of these chemical and effluents can affect wildlife at concentrations much lower than their measured acute toxicity range by specifically interfering with the endocrine system. This can occur by a variety of mechanisms which include mimicry of natural hormones (agonism), blocking hormone receptors (antagonism) and interference with hormone synthesis or metabolism. Evidence of effects at the level of individual organism suggest that these phenomena may be widespread in the aquatic environment but demonstrations of impacts at the level of population, community or ecosystem are rare. Thus, our present state of knowledge implies that endocrine disruption of wildlife may be a widespread and potentially serious environmental problem which will require future management but our knowledge of its true extent and severity is very limited. COMPREHEND is a programme of research to assess the extent of the problem on a Europe-wide basis, to identify the principle components of waste water effluents responsible for endocrine disruption, to search for hard evidence of impacts at the population level and to develop new tools for the early warning of endocrine disrupting activity in effluents and chemicals. It concentrates on the impacts on sexual reproduction in aquatic animals (freshwater, estuarine and coastal) with particular, but not exclusive, reference to fish because the consortium of scientists involved believe that this is the most serious endocrine-disrupting threat to wildlife. Estrogenic mimicry is likely to be an important mechanism in this process and, therefore, a significant proportion of the work programme will be centred around the detection and measurement of estrogenicity of effluents. From recent developments in our understanding of the complexity of estrogen activity within the target tissues, it is argued that reliance on a single screening procedure to detect estrogenicity will not be a reliable predictor of impacts on aquatic ecosystems. Consequently, it is proposed to develop a framework for integrating a range of techniques (chemical, in vitro, in vivo/physiological, life cycle studies, field observations) to assess, with reliability, the potential of an effluent or chemical to impact adversely on aquatic wildlife by interfering with the hormonal control of reproduction. This framework will also act as a generic model for the assessment and management of other forms of endocrine disruption and will include the development of procedures based on the principles of Toxicity Identification Evaluation (TIE). The consortium is based on the existing EurAqua network of research laboratories and the programme has widespread support from the user community. All the key scientists involved are already very active in this important area of environmental research and the specific objectives are all achievable within the lifetime of the work programme.
Project Status: Execution End Date: Dec 2001 URL: http://www.ife.ac.uk/
Coordinator: Department: Institute of Freshwater Ecology Windermere Laboratory Natural Environment Research Council Far Sawrey LA22 OLP Ambleside - Cumbria UNITED KINGDOM Contact Person: PICKERING, Alan Durward Tel: +44-15394-42468 Fax: +44- 15394-46914 Email: [email protected]
Other Contractors: • NORWEGIAN INSTITUTE FOR WATER RESEARCH 19 Brekkeveien 19 PO Box 1730411 OSLO NORWAY Contact Person: BENGTSSON, Bengt-Erik
• INSTITUTE OF HYDROLOGY NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL Benson Lane Maclean Building OX10 8BB Crowmarsh – Gifford UNITED KINGDOM Contact Person: JOHNSON, Andrew
• Department of Biology and Biochemistry Brunel University Kingston Lane UB8 3PH Uxbridge UNITED KINGDOM Contact Person: SUMPTER, John
• SWEDISH ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE LTD. 43 Haelsingegatan 43 PO Box 21060100 31 STOCKHOLM SWEDEN Contact Person: NAKARI, Tarja
• Rijksinstituut voor Zuivering van Afvalwater Maerlant 16 PO Box 178200 AA Lelystad NETHERLANDS Contact Person: VAN DE GUCHTE,
• Cees Environment, Quality and Nutrition Rijksinstituut voor Visserijonderzoek Dienst Landbouwkundig Onderzoek PO Box 681970 AB Ijmuiden NETHERLANDS Contact Person: FENT, Karl
• Department: Department of Chemistry Eidgenössische Anstalt für Wasserversorgung Abwasserreinigung und Gewässerschutz 133 Überlandstraße 1338600 Dübendorf SWITZERLAND Contact Person: SVENSON, Anders
• Department of Environmental Toxicology TNO Voeding Organisation: Nederlandse Organisatie voor Toegepast Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek PO Box 60112600 JA Delft NETHERLANDS Contact Person: HYLLAND, Ketil
• Direction Recherche et Développement Organisation: Companie Générale des Eaux Rue d'Anjou 5275008 Paris FRANCE Contact Person: NORRGREN, Leif Project Reference: ENV4 95-0083 Project Acronym: UPCYCLE Project Title: Strategies for rehabilitation of metal polluted soils: in situ phytoremediation, immobilization and revegetation. A comparative study
Objectives: In this project work programme an evaluation/comparison will be made of two "soft" strategies which can be used for rehabilitation of metal polluted soils. Both strategies are based on phytoremediation :1.Metal/metalloid immobilization by means of metal/metalloid binding soil additives, either with or without 2. revegetation and 3. metal bioextraction by means of accumulator plants. For moderately polluted soils a comparison will be made of metal immobilization and bioextraction by metal accumulating plants. For highly polluted, bare and/or scarcely vegetated areas a combination of pollutant immobilization and revegetation (using plant ecotypes with increased metal tolerance) is proposed to limit the environmental impact of these areas.
General Information: The following research tasks will be carried out during the project : - Study of the mechanism and molecular genetics and metal tolerance, metal uptake and plant internal metal transport, in order to develop plant material with more valuable characteristics for bioextraction. - Laboratory trials on immobilization and bioextraction : physico-chemical characterization of the substrates, evaluation of efficiency of substrate treatments or immobilizing heavy metals, study of effects of revegetation on percolation of pollutants and study of efficiency and feasibility of bio- exportation of metals from polluted substrates, study of metal accumulation capacity of transgenic plants used for bioextraction, study of stress-tolerance of plants which can be used for revegetation. - Field experiments : revegetation experiments, bioextraction experiments and evaluation of possibilities of recuperation of extracted metals. The field trials will take place in 4 countries : Portugal, France, Belgium (near the border with the Netherlands) and Finland.
Project Status: Completed
Coordinator: Faculteit der Biologie Vakgroep Ecologie en Oecotoxicologie Organisation: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam 1087 De Boelelaan1081 HV Amsterdam NETHERLANDS Contact Person:Name: VERKLEIJ, Jos A.C. Tel: +31-20-4447054 Fax: +31-20- 4447123 Email: [email protected]
Other Contractors: • Laboratorium voor Plantkunde: Limburgs Universitaire Centrum Universitaire Campus3590 Diepenbeek BELGIUM Contact Person: VANGRONSVELD, J.C.H.M.
• Laboratoire d'Agronomie Centre de Recherche de Bordeaux – Aquitaine Organisation: Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique71 Avenue Edouard Bourleaux 71 BP 8133883, Villenave-d'Ornon FRANCE Contact Person: MENCH, Michel
• Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology.University of Kuopio 9 Savilahdentie PO Box 162770211 Kuopio FINLAND Contact Person: KÄRENLAMPI, Sirpa Orvokki
• Laboratory of Plant Ecology and Ecotoxicology Seccao de Engenharia de Biologica e Ambiental Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e AltoDouroQuinta de Prados5001 Vila Real PORTUGAL Contact Person: DE KOE, T. Project Reference: ENV4 95-0085 Project Acronym: UPCYCLE Project Title: Treatment of fly ash for sound material utilisation
General Information The research project consists of the following tasks: (1) Analysis of the current literature (VUB-CTW):on volatilisation and condensation of heavy metals; on methods to characterize fly ash particles. Carrying out computer based thermodynamic studies (VUB). (2) Comparison of different thermal separation techniques for heavy metals. Making of kinetic studies: -chloridising volatilisation of fly ash (MHW-TUC); equilibrium experiments, real and synthetic ashes (MHW- TUC); kinetic investigations (MHW-TUC); -laboratory experiments using pyrohydrolysis (TNO); -segregation technique (CTW); reductive evaporation (CTW). (3) Carrying out pyrohydrolysis experiments in fluidized bed (TNO, CTRV).(4) Carrying out evaporation/segregation experiments on small pilot scale (CTW). (5) Design of a pilot plant (CTRV). (6) Investigation on heavy metals condensation, especially on fly ash carrying out experiments on sequential condensation (VUB). (7) Investigation on processing and utilisation of metal condensate (MHW-TUC). (8) Investigation on assessment and utilisation of mineral product: -utilisation as a civil construction material (CTW); investigation on ecological properties (TNO).
Project Status: Completed
Coordinator Fluidbed Technology Organisation: CT Umwelttechnik GmbH 25 Escher-Wyss- Strasse 88212 Ravensburg GERMANY Contact Person: KRÖHL, Paul B.
Other Contractors • Dienst Chemische Ingenieurstechniek en Industriele Scheikunde - Faculteit van de Toegepaste Wetenschappen Organisation: Vrije Universiteit Brussel 2 Pleinlaan 1050 Bruxelles BELGIUM Contact Person: BUEKENS, Alfons Georges
• Institut für Metalhüttenwesen und Elektrometallurgie - Fakultät für Bergbau,Hüttenwesen und Maschinenwesen, Technische Universität Clausthal 42 Robert-Koch-Strasse Postfach 1253 38678 Clausthal - Zellerfeld GERMANY Contact Person: SCHWERDTFEGER, K.
• Chemtech Umwelttechnik AG 8404 Winterthur SWITZERLAND Contact Person: SCHAUB, M.
• Department of Environmental Quality -Energy Research and Process Innovation TNO Milieuwetenschappen
• Nederlandse Organisatie voor Toegepast Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek PO Box 342 7300 AH Apeldoorn NETHERLANDS Contact Person: STEMMINK, H.M.RCN: Project Reference: ENV4 96-0197 Project Acronym: INASUD Project Title: Integrated assessment modelling of global environment policies and decision patterns.
Objectives: To analyze critical decision-making issues related to climate change policies, particularly the timing of decisions vs the costs of alternative greenhouse gases' abatement trajectories; this work is intended to help to meet specific targets, and to derive policy relevant conclusions from Integrated Assessments on climate change.
Description: The project carries out a set of parallel simulation exercises to clarify some of the following issues: cost-efficiency of an earlier phasing out of CFC, costs and benefits of postponing action in the case of greenhouse effect, variations in patterns of development and costs of inertia, trade-offs between abating CO2, CH4 and SO2 emissions. The exercises are carried out using both existing Integrated Assessment Models and models still in phase of development. The URGENCE model is utilised as a simulation tool for analysing the cost of climate surprises. This model is coupled with DIAM, a theoretically simple optimal control integrated model. An integrated climate change assessment model, the Climate Framework for Uncertainty, Negotiation and Distribution, is utilised in order to assess the value of no-regret potential and the value of carbon-free technical progress. Such model is complemented by a Negishi welfare optimisation integrated climate assessment model, ALICE, and by the Holistic Optimal Growth (HOG) model to examine distributional issues. The MESSAGE and RAIN models are used to analyse the trade-offs between abating CO2, CH4 and SO2 emissions. They help to calibrate reference scenarios on the basis of the baseline scenarios of the World Energy Council On the basis of the above-mentioned analysis, the project intends to illuminate the most efficient and effective options available to address climate change.
Project Status: Completed
Coordinator: URA 0940 - Centre International en Recherche sur l'Environnement et le Développement - CIRED Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique 45BIS Avenue de la Belle Gabrielle 45BIS, 94736 Nogent-sur-Marne, FRANCE Contact Person: HOURCADE, Jean-Charles , Tel: +33-143947373, Fax: +33-143947370 E-mail: [email protected]
Other Contractors • Instituut voor Milieuvraagstukken - IVM Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam 1115 De Boelelaan 1115, PO Box 7161, 1081 HV Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS Contact Person: TOL, Richard Simon Josef
• INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR APPLIED SYSTEM ANALYSIS 1 Schlossplatz 1, 2361 Laxenburg, AUSTRIA Contact Person: GRUEBLER, Arnulf
• SOCIÉTÉ DE MATHÉMATIQUES APPLIQUÉES ET DE SCIENCES HUMAINES 20 Rue Rosenwald 20, 75015 PARIS, FRANCE
• Energy and Environmental Programme Royal Institute of International Affairs 10 St James's Square, SW1Y 4LE, London, UNITED KINGDOM Contact Person: GRUBB, Michael
Project Reference: ENV4 96-0231 Project Title: Green Taxes: Environment, Employment and Growth
Objectives: To establish whether and how "green taxes" can support improved environmental conditions, reduce unemployment and lead to higher net welfare and economic growth.
Description: The research focuses on four issues : i) the potential impact on environment, unemployment, and growth of different types of green taxes; ii) the sensitivity of the environmental tax base to different levels of the tax rate; iii) the nature of the differences between various green tax systems with respect to their impacts on the environment, unemployment, and growth; iv) the effect of non-compliance in respect of green taxes. Analysis is through a combination of partial sector studies and computable general equilibrium (CGE) models in 3 countries, Denmark, Italy and Sweden. Starting with an investigation of environmental problems and potential green tax bases in each country, equilibrium models are subsequently constructed which allow the simulation of the impacts of various green taxes and the role of enforcement.
The results for Denmark, Italy and Sweden are compared with information available from a number of other EU countries, including Austria, Germany, and Netherlands.
Project Status: Completed
Coordinator: The Beijer International Institute of Ecological Economics Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences PO Box 50005, 104 05 Stockholm, SWEDEN Contact Person: MAELER, Karl-Goeran, Tel: +46-8-150630, Fax: +46-8-152464 E-mail: [email protected]
Other Contractors: • Fondazione Eni - Enrico Mattei Via S. Sofia 27, 30122 Venice, ITALY Contact Person: SINISCALCO, Domenico
• Økonomisk Institute, Københavns Universitet 6 Studiestræde, 1455 København K, DENMARK Contact Person: MORTENSEN, Joergen Birk
Project Reference: ENV4 96 0232 Project Acronym: None Project Title: The Ecological State - Towards a new generation of environmental policies and institutions
Objectives: To formulate strategies for a new generation of environmental policies and institutions able to secure the transition towards sustainable development; to develop an interdisciplinary European network able to foster policy relevant research on environmental governance. : Description: The concerted action proceeds through the establishment of working groups, the organization of a series of sectoral workshops and the preparation of review essays about the debate on the "Ecological State". The initial network will be enlarged to include other research institutions and to establish contacts both with scholars working on the future of the State and with practitioners at the political and administrative level involved in the formulation and implementation of environmental policies. Three main topics are examined by the working groups and at the workshops : institutions (ministries, departments, agencies, etc.), substantial policy instruments (regulation, taxation, financial incentive, education, etc.), procedural rules (Environmental Impact Assessment, mediation, dispute settlements, etc.). The working groups are responsible for analyzing the existing debate and the ongoing research carried out by the participant organisations as well as by other groups and individuals with regard to three different levels: the level of constitutional choice, the level of decision making (e.g. law-making) and the level of administrative and technical implementation.
Additional activities include the preparation of a bibliography of the most important research about future environmental governance from the various disciplines involved, the creation of a permanent network, possibly through a BBS on Internet/WWW, linking together the institutions (scientific institutions, public policy bodies, non governmental organizations, etc.) interested in this topic, and the organization of an international conference. These activities should facilitate the development of blue prints for more effective environmental governance.
Project Status: Completed
Coordinator Organisation: Istituto per la Ricerca Sociale Soc. Coop. Via XX Settembre 24 20123 Milano ITALY Contact Person: DENTE, Bruno, Tel: +39-2-4815653, Fax: +39-2-48008495
Other Contractors • ECOTEC Research and Consulting Ltd, Priesley House, 28-34 Albert Street, B4 7UD Birmingham, UNITED KINGDOM Contact Person: WILLIAMS, Hugh
• DEPARTAMENTO DE CIENCIA POLÍTICA I DE DRET PUBLIC UKRAINIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES Campus Bellaterra, Edifici B, 08193 Barcelona, SPAIN Contact Person: SUBIRATS I HUMET, Joan
• Organisation: Université de Tours (Université François Rabelais) rue des Tanneurs, 37041 Tours, FRANCE Contact Person: LARRUE, Corinne
• CENTRE FOR CLEAN TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY FACULTY OF MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES UNIVERSITY OF TWENTE Drienerlolaan 5, PO Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede NETHERLANDS Contact Person: BRESSERS, Hans Th.A.
• Department of Environment Technology and Social Studies Roskilde Universitets Center PO Box 260, 4000 Roskilde DENMARK Contact Person: HOLM, Jesper
• UNITÉ D'ENSEIGNEMENT ET DE RECHERCHE - INSTITUT DE HAUTES ETUDES EN ADMINISTRATION PUBLIQUE 21 Route de la Maladière, 1022 Chavannes-près-Renens SWITZERLAND Contact Person: KNOEPFEL, Peter
• Foundation for International Environmental Law and Development 46-47 Russell Square, WC21B 4JP London, UNITED KINGDOM Contact Person: CAMERON, James
• University of Göteborg 19 Sprangkullsgatan, 411 23 Göteborg SWEDEN Contact Person: LUNDQVIST, Lennart J.
• Forschungsabteilung Normbildung und Umwelt Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung GmbH, 50 Reichpietschufer, 10785 Berlin, GERMANY Contact Person: WEIDNER, Helmut
Project Reference: ENV4 96-0233 Project Acronym: SUSTAINWASTE Project Title: Towards a sustainable municipal waste policy in Europe
General Project Information: Not Available
Project Status: Completed
Coordinator: URA 0940 - Centre International en Recherche sur l'Environnement et le Développement - CIRED Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Avenue de la Belle Gabrielle 45BIS 94736 Nogent-sur-Marne, FRANCE Contact Person: GODARD, Olivier, Tel: +33-143947373, Fax: +33-1-4394737 E-mail: [email protected]
Other Contractors: • Erasmus Centre for Environmental Studies - Faculty of Social Sciences Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam, 50 Burg. Oudlaan 50, PO Box 1738 3000 DR, Rotterdam, NETHERLANDS Contact Person: HAFKAMP, Wim
• SOCIÉTÉ DE MATHÉMATIQUES APPLIQUÉES ET DE SCIENCES HUMAINES 20 Rue Rosenwald 20, 75015 PARIS, FRANCE
• Sanitary Engineering Laboratory Department of Water Resources, Hydraulic and Maritime Engineering National Technical University of Athens 5 Heroon Polytechniou 5, 15780 Athens, GREECE Contact Person: CHRISTOULAS, Demetrius
• Department Environmental Economics and Policy Organisation: Institut für Ökologische Wirtschaftsforschung GmbH Giesebrechstraße 13, 10629 Berlin, GERMANY Contact Person: PETSCHOW, Ulrich
• ISTITUTO DI ECONOMIA DELLE FONTI DI ENERGIA - FACOLTÀ DI ECONOMIA UNIVERSITÀ COMMERCIALE 'LUIGI BOCCONI' Viale Filippetti 9, 20122 Milano, ITALY Contact Person: GAMBA, Giusepppe
Project Reference: ENV4 96-0236 Project Acronym: None Project Title: Impact assessment and authorisation procedure for installations with major environmental risks
Objectives: The goal is to illuminate the process by which controversial installations with major environmental risks are presented to the public and appraised.
Description: The project contains an analysis of the process by which the health hazards due to air and water pollution are quantified and communicated. Six case studies set at an early stage in the authorization procedure are selected. Contingent valuation and other surveys of the decision makers and of the public allow an assessment of the valuations and preferences of the various stakeholders in the proposed development. One feature of the approach is that a real time input into the decision process can take place.
The work seeks to link an "objective" quantification of impacts and risks, with their "subjective" valuation by the population. The focus is on communication: communication of the fears and concerns of the public to the scientists undertaking impact assessments, and the communication of the estimated impacts and risks to the population.
The results should lead to improved methods for the quantification of environmental damages and costs. These are key inputs to any authorization procedure and allow the improved communication and management of environmental risks, particularly where no safe threshold for emissions beyond background levels currently exists. Progress in this field will enable a more rational and efficient allocation of societal resources for protection from such risks.
Project Status: Completed
Coordinator: Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Paris, Centre d'Energétique - Etablissement de Paris Association pour la Recherche et le Développement des Méthodes et Processus Industriels, ARMINES, Boulevard Saint-Michel, 6075272, Paris, FRANCE Contact Person:RABL, Ari Tel: +33-1-50519152 Fax: +33-1-46342491 Email: [email protected]
Other Contractors: • Institut de Hautes Etudes en Administration Publique, 31 Route de la Maladière 1022 Chavannes-près-Renens, SWITZERLAND Contact Person: SOGUEL, Jean Renaud
• Department of Studies in Mathematics and Physics and their Functions in Education, Research and Applications, Roskilde Universitets Center, PO Box 260 4000 Roskilde, DENMARK Contact Person: SOERENSEN, Bent • Instituto Universitario de Estudios Europeos, 08193 Bellaterra, SPAIN Contact Person: RIERA, Pere
• Groupe d'Etude Habitat/Territoire, Université Libre de Bruxelles 44 Avenue Jeanne , PO Box 124, 1050 Bruxelles, BELGIUM Contact Person: MILLER, Jacqueline
• Laboratoire de Stratégie Industrielle Université de Paris I - Sorbonne – Panthéon, 17 Rue de la Sorbonne 75231 Paris, FRANCE Contact Person: DESAIGUES, Brigitte Project Reference: ENV4 96-0238 Project Acronym: None Project Title: Environmental protection, subsidiarity principle and spatial related policies
Objectives: To identify the conditions under which the application of the subsidiarity principle can improve environmental protection in cases of spatial related policies;to test the hypothesis that better mobilisation of those concerned locally brings about a more careful and informed management of local environmental problems.
Description: The project analyses the implementation of subsidiarity through two case studies in each of the four countries (France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland) under examination. In each country, two contrasting cases are selected: a case concerning the building of a transport infrastructure, i.e. where a spatial related policy causes important environmental pressure locally, but diffuse economic benefit for the whole community; and a case of wetland site protection i.e. where environmental protection policy induces some important economic and property constraints at the local level, but an environmental advantage for the whole community. Each of the eight case studies is conducted through an analysis of the decision making process, comprising three phases: the reconstruction of the chronology, an analysis of the actors involved and the interpretation of the results. International comparisons are developed to identify similarities and variations between the conditions of implementation of similar policies in different contexts of decentralisation. In this regard the countries selected represent a wide range of institutional settings: France is comparatively "centralised", Italy is moving towards regionalisation, Spain represents a mixed regime, and Switzerland has a federal system. A comparison between three countries within the European Community and one outside the EU (Switzerland) is used to better understand the specific effects of European policies in the areas under analysis and hence to make policy recommendations on the strategies for improving the implementation of European environmental policies.
Project Status: Completed
Coordinator Observatoire de l'Economie et des Institutions Locales, Avenue du Général de Gaulle, 94010, Créteil, FRANCE Contact Person: LARRUE, Corinne ,Tel: +33-2-47367054, Fax: +33-2-47367060 E-mail: [email protected]
Other Contractors • Organisation: Istituto per la Ricerca Sociale Soc. Coop., Via XX Settembre 24 20123 Milano, ITALY Contact Person: DENTE, Bruno
• INSTITUT DE HAUTES ETUDES EN ADMINISTRATION PUBLIQUE 21 Route de la Maladière 21, 1022 Chavannes-près-Renens, SWITZERLAND Contact Person: KNOEPFEL, Peter
• DEPARTAMENTO DE CIENCIA POLÍTICA I DE DRET PUBLIC UKRAINIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, Campus Bellaterra, Edifici B, 08193 Barcelona, SPAIN Contact Person: SUBIRATS, Joan
Project Reference: ENV4 96-0257 Project Acronym: TELEFLOOD Project Title: Forecasting floods in urban areas downstream of steep catchment
Objectives: To develop and evaluate the components of a modelling system to forecast floods in rivers draining steep mountainous catchments into flat plains where they flood large urban areas. Traditional flood warning systems are inadequate because of the fast response time of the catchments. Accurate forecasts of precipitation are essential for successful flood warnings. The proposed system will consist of a high-resolution limited area meteorological model together with a hydrological catchment model and an hydraulic channel network model. All of these models exist separately and are available to the proposers. However the refinement and integration of all of them into a flood forecasting system has not yet been done for steep mountainous catchments. To investigate the factors affecting the accuracy and reliability of flooding forecasts from such a system and to determine the nature of the trade-off between forecast lead-time, spatial resolution and forecast accuracy.
General Information: The project will: develop adequate parametrisation schemes in limited area high resolution atmosphere models for clouds and precipitation, which are as independent as possible from grid resolution. investigate the sensitivity of the resulting high resolution limited area meteorological models to (i) orography steepness, and (ii) the formulation of the horizontal diffusion. determine the spatial resolution required in a meteorological model for precipitation forecasts accuracy of the precipitation forecasts. determine the most appropriate type and complexity of catchment model and channel network model required for (i) adequate discharge forecasts and (ii) for adequate flood warnings? establish the effect of backwater from a tidal estuary on water levels where appropriate. choose the most appropriate algorithm for triggering high resolution modelling? The work will progress European modelling and forecasting abilities to the point where floods in steep catchments can be forecast and will quantify the performance to be expected from these methods.
Project Status: Completed
Coordinator: Department of Civil Engineering Centre for Water Resources Research University College, Dublin, Earlsfort Terrace 2, Dublin IRELAND Contact Person: BRUEN, Michael Tel: +353-17067302 Fax: +353-14754568 Email: [email protected]
Other Contractors: • SWEDISH METEOROLOGICAL AND HYDROLOGICAL INSTITUTE Folkborgsvägen 1 PO Box 60101601 76 NOORKOEPING SWEDEN Contact Person: GUSTAFSSON, Nils
• DEPARTMENT OF EARTH AND GEO-ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES UNIVERSITY OF BOLOGNA, Via Zamboni 6740127, BOLOGNA ITALY Contact Person: TODINI, Ezio
• Research & Applications Division, MET EIREANN - The Irish Meteorological Service Glasnevin Hill 9, Dublin, IRELAND Contact Person: LYNCH, Peter
• Gruppo Dinamica Atmosferica Dipartimento di Fisica Università degli Studi di Bologna, Via Irnerio 4640126, Bologna, ITALY Contact Person: TIBALDI, Stefano Project Reference: ENV4 96-0261 Project Acronym: None Project Title: Develoment of advanced radar technology for application to hydrometeorology
Objectives: The overall objective is to develop the understanding of advanced weather radars so as to allow improved operational monitoring of severe storms and flood warning systems. A wide range of weather conditions from North-Eastern to South-Western Europe will be studied.
General Information: Both Doppler and Polarisation techniques will be studied. Radar data will be collected at five different sites, and selected events recorded in a central data archive. Operational Networking of two Doppler radars will be attempted to enable fuller wind information in severe storms, and transmission of visual images across the World Wide Web will be investigated. Data analysis will concentrate on identifying the optimal polarisation scheme for operational use, and on the use of Doppler data to classify the radar image, and to aid both meteorological and hydrological forecasting. Data Analysis and Modelling will continue the work begun under the PADRE project. In polarisation analysis, it is expected that fuller polarisation information will be available, allowing a final choice to be made for recommendation for operational use in Europe. A wider range of anomalous propagation conditions will be studied using Doppler radars, and data analysis will concentrate on methods to nullify anaprop. This will be supplemented by modelling studies. Under PADRE the use of two neighbouring operational radars for dual Doppler wind-field analysis of severe storms was shown to be possible. Operational implementation will be attempted. Three dimensional images of storms and terrain, developed under PADRE will be further developed, with emphasis being given to communicating such images across the Web. The use of Doppler and Polarisation data to provide added benefit to hydrometeorolical users of radar products will be investigated through simulation and analysis of error characteristics of radar estimates of precipitation. The use of such data as input to a mesoscale model will be investigated with the aim of improving the forecasting of likely severe weather.
Project Status: Completed
Coordinator: Department of Mathematics, University of Essex Wivenhoe Park, CO4 3SQ, Colchester UNITED KINGDOM Contact Person: HOLT, Anthony Roy (Professor) Tel: +44-1206-873034 Fax: +44- 1206-873043 Email: [email protected]
Other Contractors: • SWEDISH METEOROLOGICAL AND HYDROLOGICAL INSTITUTE Folkborgsvägen 1 PO Box 60101601 76 NOORKOEPING SWEDEN Contact Person: ANDERSSON, Tage • Departamento de Astronomia y Meteorologia - Facultad de Fisica. Universitat de Barcelona 647 Avenida Diagonal 08028, Barcelona SPAIN Contact Person: LORENTE, Jeronimo
• Centro Sperimentale per l'Idrologia e la Meteorologia Dipartimento per l'Agrometeorologia Regione Veneto Via G. Marconi 5535037, Teolo Padova ITALY Contact Person: MONAI, Marco
• Department: Advanced Radar Systems Observations Division Meteorological Office, London Road, Bracknell RG12 2SZ, UNITED KINGDOM Contact Person: COLLIER, Christopher George
• Institut für Hochfrequenztechnik Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.20 Münchener Straße 20 Postfach 11 1682230 Wessling - Oberpfaffenhofen, GERMANY Contact Person: CHANDRA, Madhukar
• Servizio Meteorologico Regionale Agenzia Regionale Prevenzione e Ambiente dell'Emilia-Romagna Viale Silvani 640122, Bologna ITALY Contact Person: NANNI, S. Project Reference: ENV4 96-0263 Project Reference: RIBAMOD Project Title: River basin modelling, management and flood mitigation.
General Information: The research programme aims to develop and enhance the accuracy with which precipitation can be measured by weather radars at a range of temporal and spatial resolutions. To facilitate this, a number of fundamental, inter- related issues including radar reflectivity rainfall intensity relationship, drop-size distributions, vertical reflectivity profiles and rain gauge adjustment techniques will be investigated. In parallel with this, work will be conducted on the development of improved techniques for quantitative precipitation forecasts as a means of increasing the lead times of urban and rural flow forecasts. The work will focus on the development of a dynamic time series approach to precipitation modelling, a detailed analysis convective rainfall systems and the application of adaptive neural network models to complex, dynamic precipitation systems. The work described above will be integrated in order to provide input data for global climate change models. In addition, the future frequency of severe weather systems in Europe will be addressed. Finally, the research programme aims to bridge the divide between the meteorological and hydrological domains by interfacing quantitative precipitation forecasts with hydrological models - both rural and urban - and to report on the spatial and temporal resolutions required. By combining the expertise of two National Meteorological Institutes with two European Centres of Excellence in radar hydrology, that considerable progress can be made in the field of high resolution precipitation estimation and forecasting using remotely sensed data for meteorological and hydrological applications.
Project Status: Completed
Coordinator: H R Wallingford Group Ltd, Howberry Park, OX10 8BA, Wallingford UNITED KINGDOM Contact Person:SAMUELS, P.G. Tel: +44-1491-835381 Fax: +44-1491-825916
Other Contractors: • Sezione di Economia e Politica Agraria e Forestale Dipartimento Territorio e Sistemi Agro-Forestali, Università degli Studi di Padova Via Romea 35020, Padova ITALY Contact Person: BORGA, M.
• Department of Water Resources, Hydraulic and Maritime Engineering National Technical University of Athens5 Heroon Polytechniou 515780,Athens GREECE Contact Person: BALTAS, E.
• Department of Global Change and Natural Systems Potsdam-Institut für Klimafolgenforschung e.V.Telegrafenberg Postfach 60120314412, Potsdam GERMANY Contact Person: BRONSTERT, A.
• River Hydraulics Division Organisation: Dansk Hydraulisk Institut 5 Agern Allé 2970, Hørsholm, DENMARK Contact Person: HAVNOE, K.
• Rivers, Navigation and Structures Division Stichting Waterloopkundig Laboratorium PO Box 1528300 AD, Emmeloord NETHERLANDS Contact Person: MOLL, J.R Project Reference: ENV4 96-0293 Project Acronym: FLOODAWARE Project Title: Flood awareness and mitigation; decision and negotiation processes
Objectives: To implement into models and tools new synthetic approaches developed in water sciences and management. The environmental policies have to evolve from the qualitative and weak present state, to a more objective and transferable one, taking into account the importance of the relationships between climates, hydrological regimes, land uses, etc.
General Information: The perspective is to build, for flood management and damage mitigation, a European methodology with accepted standards, especially on vulnerabilities and risk maps implementations (risk = vulnerability x hazard), which are key issues. In addition, the flood management policy must be treated with carefulness towards the water resources and generally speaking, ecological aspects. Also because these knowledges have deep implications in social and economic behaviour, a structured effort is made to present these new knowledges under a "negotiable" form: negotiations for water volumes, and/or for land uses, between the different communities and owners living all along a river. The inondabilite methodology deals with synthetic models in hydrology, hydraulic modelling, hazards parameters, vulnerabilities, crossed maps..., all devoted to a dynamic slowing down producing simultaneously hazard mitigation and resources improvement with socio- economic interfaces. A synthetic Heuristic approach will be developed, for prevention and forecasting. This methodology will be confronted to Inondabilite, as an alternative procedure for data management, more adapted to tumbling rivers with unstable beds. Research will be done in the field of regionalisation in hydrology, in the field of rainfalls, extreme rainfalls and discharges evaluations, including reservoir management rules devoted to hazard mitigation, when water resources are critical. Because floods are the main structural process in water bodies, they have to be treated in priority by the concepts set out here. To implement these concepts into models and tools, applied tests are needed.
Project Status: Completed
Coordinator: Groupement de Lyon Division Hydrologie - Hydraulique. Centre National du Machinisme Agricole, du Génie Rural, des Eaux et des Forêts3 BIS Quai Chauveau BP 22069336 Lyon FRANCE Contact Person:GENDREAU, Nicolas Tel: +33-472208777 Fax: +33-478-477875 Email: [email protected]
Other Contractors: • DEPARTMENT OF HYDRAULIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF VALENCIA Etsi Caminos, canales y puertos, Camino de Vera S/N46022 VALENCIA SPAIN Contact Person: MARCO SEGURA, Juan
• Departamento de Astronomia y Meteorologia - Facultad de FisicaOrganisation: Universitat de Barcelona 647 Avenida Diagona, l08028, Barcelona SPAIN Contact Person: LLASAT, Maria Del Carmen
• Laboratoire d'Analyse et de Techniques Economiques Organisation: Université de Bourgogne - Dijon6 Boulevard Gabriel BP 13821000, Dijon FRANCE Contact Person: COMBE, Pierre-Marie
• Risorse IdricheVia Pomba 2310123 Torino ITALY Contact Person: ANSELMO, V.
• Centro de Estudios Hidrograficos Centro de Estudios y Experimentación de Obras Públicas 3 Paseo Bajo Virgen del Puerto 28005, Madrid SPAIN Contact Person: MENENDEZ, Manuel
• Génie Rural Unité d'Enseignement et de Recherche Hydraulique AgricoleOrganisation: Faculté Universitaire des Sciences Agronomiques de Gembloux 2 Rue des Déportés5030, Gembloux BELGIUM Contact Person: DAUTREBANDE, Sylvia
• Settore Prevenzione del Rischio Geologico, Meteorologico e SismicoOrganisation: Regione Piemonte Piazza San Giovanni 410122, Torino, ITALY Contact Person: COCCOLO, Vincenzo
• Office of Public Works, 51 St Stephens Green 2, Dublin IRELAND Contact Person: SMYTH, T.
• Hydraulic Division, National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology 97 Sos Bucuresti-Ploiesti 71552, Bucuresti ROMANIA Contact Person: STANESOU, V.
• Chair of Hydraulic Engineering - Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geodesy University of Ljubljana, 28 Hajdrihova 281000, Ljubljana, SLOVENIA Contact Person: BRILLY, Mitja Project Reference: ENV4 96-0334 Project Acronym: CLEAN SEAS Project Title: European marginal seas - a study of pollution monitoring from space.
General Information: This is a proposal to co-ordinate the work of a number of major European research centres in a programme designed to evaluate the contribution that present and future satellite surveillance systems can make to the monitoring of marine pollution. The approach is to make systematic measurements over 3 coastal zones - one in the Mediterranean, one in the southern North Sea and one in the Baltic. Previous experience has shown that oil slicks, effluent discharges and algal blooms can be detected by satellite-borne synthetic aperture radar, by infra- red and by colour sensors. The objective of this programme is to quantify the effectiveness of these sensors, acting singly or in concert, by repeating the observations at least every 35 days (the present repeat pattern of ERS 1 & 2) over a period of 2 years and possibly longer. Every effort will be made to gather all relevant meteorological and oceanographic data over the selected sites so that a much greater understanding of the conditions under which surface features can be imaged will be built up. Contact is being made with the responsible national authorities who presently maintain a programme of coastal surveillance largely through aircraft patrols, and we will seek to co-ordinate our programme with their activities. This proposal, to bring together major remote sensing centres in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the UK, is being made in direct response to the Ministerial decision of the Council of Europe to award high priority to evaluating the potential usefulness of current EO technology to the monitoring and reduction of environmental risks such as floods, fire, earthquake - and marine pollution.
Coordinator: Satellite Observing Systems Ltd 15 Church Street GU17 1EL Camberley UNITED KINGDOM. Contact Person: JOLLY, Gordon Tel: +44-1483-421213 Fax: +44-1483-428691 Email: [email protected]
Other Contractors: • ACRI SA - Mécanique Appliquée et Sciences de l'Environnement 260 Route Du Pin Montard BP 23406904 Sophia AntipolisFRANCE Contact Person: BARDEY, Philippe
• Institut für Meereskunde Universität Hamburg Troplowitzstraße 722529 Hamburg GERMANY Contact Person: GADE, M.Organisation
• Departamento de Fisica AplicadaOrganisation: Universitat Politécnica de Catalunya 1-3 Calle Jordi Girona Salgado 1-308034 Barcelona SPAIN Contact Person: REDONDO, Jose Manuel
• Remote Sensing Laboratory Naturgeografisk Institut Organisation: Stockholms Universitet 106 91 Stockholm SWEDEN Contact Person: RUD, O.
• Groupe de Télédetection et Modelisation Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Paris Association pour la Recherche et le Développement des Méthodes et ProcessusI ndustriels - ARMINES 60 Boulevard Saint-Miche l75272 Paris FRANCE Contact Person: CAUNEAU, François
• NERC James Rennell Centre for Ocean Circulation European Way SO14 3ZH Southampton UNITED KINGDOM Contact Person: CHALLENOR, Peter Graham
• Marine Environment Unit Institute for Remote Sensing Applications Ispra Organisation: Commission of the European Communities Via Enrico Fermi 21020 Ispra – Varese ITALY Contact Person: BARALE, Vittorio Project Reference: ENV4 96-0355 Project Acronym: ABDMAP Project Title: Concerted action on algal bloom detection, monitoring and prediction
Objectives: The objectives of the Concerted Action are:- * to advance the ability to detect and monitor algal blooms from EO data, and in so doing gain a greater understanding of the contributing factors to the initiation of algal blooms, * to use this knowledge to formulate the requirements of future research programmes targeted to address specific problems identified through the Concerted Action, * to increase the knowledge base and dissemination of research results through sharing advances and breakthroughs made in a series of workshops, * to make recommendations to policy makers such as the European Environmental Agency and the European Commission concerned with water quality matters, and * to ensure their directives and recommendations recognise the European perspective. The Concerted Action will take the form of a series of 8 workshops, with each focusing on a topic from the themes of algal bloom detection and algal bloom participants will benefit through the sharing of advances made by other research through the contributions made by visiting scientists and end users.
General Information: The proposal is for a Concerted Action into the detection, monitoring and prediction of a algal blooms from Earth Observation (EO) data. The proposal is submitted under Theme 3.1.1: Methodological Research. It aims to bring together leading scientists and researchers is this field with end-users drawn from government departments and authorities responsible for water quality issues, from throughout Europe. Within Europe, and globally, the problem of algal blooms in coastal waters is common to many nations and is currently the subject of much research. Many, but not all, of these blooms are toxic. The toxic blooms have an impact on local economies through their effects on shellfish production, fisheries manage and tourism. In particular, toxic cyanobacterial blooms are a health hazard, affecting livestock, pets and humans. Recent observations suggest an increasing frequency of algal blooms. In Europe, blooms routinely occur off the coasts of Norway, in the Baltic Sea, the Adriatic Sea and the Black Sea. The proposed Concerted Action responds to one of the major recommendations of OCTOPUS study programme undertaken for the European Commission that investigate operational uses of ocean colour data and recognised the potential use of satellite based data for monitoring algal blooms.
Project Status: Completed
Coordinator: Department of Applied Physics, Electronics and Mechanical Engineering University of Dundee DD1 4HN, Dundee UNITED KINGDOM Contact Person; CRACKNELL, Arthur Tel: +44-1382-344549 Fax: +44-1382- 202830 Email: [email protected]
Other Contractors: • SCHOOL OF OCEAN SCIENCES UNIVERSITY WALES – BANGOR Askew Street Menai BridgeLL59 5EY GWYNEDD UNITED KINGDOM Contact Person:GEORGAKARACOS, Stratis
• Laboratorio di Igiene Ambientale. Istituto Superiore della Sanità Viale Regina Elena 29900161 Roma ITALY Contact Person:SANTER, Richard
• Department of Planktology Institut für Meereskunde, Christian-Albrechts Universität Kiel 20 Düsternbrooker Weg 24105 Kiel GERMANY Contact Person: HORSTMANN, Ulrich
• Sonar and Remote Sensing Sector, Institute of Marine Biology of Crete PO Box 221471003 Heraklion GREECE Contact Person:BOWERS, David
• Groupe de Télédetection et Modelisation Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Paris Association pour la Recherche et le Développement des Méthodes et Processus Industriels - ARMINES60 Boulevard Saint-Michel 75272 ,Paris FRANCE Contact Person: FUNARI, Enzo
• Remote Sensing Laboratory Naturgeografisk Institut , Stockholms Universitet 106 91 Stockholm SWEDEN Contact Person: RUD, Ove
• Département Physique Appliquée aux Milieux Océanique et CôtierOrganisation: Université du Littoral, 80 Avenue Foch 62930 Wimereux FRANCE Contact Person: WALD, Project Reference: ENV4 96-0368 Project Acronym: FLOODGEN Project Title: Flood risk reduction by space borne recognition of indicators of excess runoff generating areas
General Information: Floods are among the major natural hazards affecting landscapes, agriculture and human activity. They cause recurrent losses of yields, of revenue and sometimes of human life. They also contribute to the erosion and destruction of soils, to loss of fertilisers and to the spreading of pollutants. Although hydrological models can help to forecast runoff and flood behaviour, generation of floods, especially the strong ones, is highly dependent on the physical characteristics of the upstream drainage basin. These characteristics are usually governed by physiography, permeability, crusting and saturation of soils and surface materials, as well as by vegetation cover and human intervention on the landscape such as agricultural practices and urbanisation. Several regional authorities as the Regional Council of the Upper Normandy Region or ERSAL, the regional board for agricultural development in Lombardia have adopted similar strategy for the regional management of excess surface-water runoff, with the aim of reducing its consequences. This strategy involves the regional actors and, among them, those representing the Ministry of Agriculture, whose mission is to bring into play agricultural policies on the regional level and to see that there is a greater consideration of agro-environmental components in policy making. The main objectives of this strategy is to restrict or control the risks associated with surface runoff, erosion and deterioration of the quality of agricultural waters that supply aquifers and to work towards the joint management of catchment basins. A regional approach is one of the prerequisites for concerted actions at various scale of investigation, from individual plots, through catchment basins, to an entire agricultural unit and an administrative region. The Commission, namely DG6, is also deeply concerned by the impact of the Common Agricultural Policy on the environment, it hopes to see a reduction in intensive agricultural practices. Therefore, DG6 wishes to encourage the increased consideration of agro-environmental components, and to become intimately involved in the policy to reduce natural risks, more specifically, drought, forest fires and flooding. Existing remote sensing and GIS techniques have the capability to identify some of the key indicators in the hydrological behaviour such as vegetation cover affecting erosive power of rainfall, and sub-basin shapes and morphometry affecting flood concentration time. The FLOODGEN project is drawn for answering to the requirements of those two kinds of customers: (1) regional authorities (in France and Italy), which represent potential users of information extracted from remote sensing data for their main concern of regional assessment (2) The second customer, DG6-A2, has previous experience with the products of remote sensing but their request is new and no systematic information have been distributed until now on this topic. The first aim of FLOODGEN is to use remote sensing for mapping the upstream contributing agricultural areas in the form of risk categories for the floodzones located downstream. The second aim is to design and test a remote sensing based decision support tool that can be used to modulate the set-aside policy in order to reduce flood risks in the downstream areas. Thanks to this tool high risk sub-basins could then be identified as priority areas for corrective interventions such as reforestation or setting aside agricultural land if the model shows a possible improvement from such actions. Besides this central activity the consortium proposes a methodological research targeted on the potcntial interest of new sensors for the same purpose (radar, high spatial resolution with optical sensors, new index using the middle infra-red range). The consortium involves partners from Member States and from foreign States and will take advantage of the specific skill of every partner: two regional users (DRAF from France and ERSAL from Italy), four Universities or educational organisms (CARTEL From Canada, Univ. Lyon2 from France, Univ. of Trier from Germany, EPFL from Switzerland), a research organisation (It\lRA from France) and a semi-public Company (BRGM) as coordinator of the project. This project also associates private company (viasat from Canada) as sub-contractor involved in the module dedicated to the preparation of new sensors (i.e radar). As customers or final end-users, the DRAF, ERSAL and the DG6- A2 have pronounced their agreement for a high involvment in the definition of requirement and the assessment of results
Project Status: Completed
Coordinator: Département Géophysique et Imagerie Géologique - Direction de la Recherche Direction de la Recherche Organisation: Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Miniâres Avenue Claude Guillemin 3 BP 6009 45060 Orléans FRANCE Contact Person: KING, Christine Tel: +33-238643392 Fax: +33-238 64 33 61 Email:[email protected]
Other Contractors: • Service d'Etudes des Sols et de La Carte Pédologique de France (SESCPF) Centre de Recherche d'Orléans. Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA) Ardon 45160 Olivet, FRANCE Contact Person: LE BISSONNAIS, Yves
• Ente Regionale di Sviluppo Agricolo della Lombardia Milano 2 20090 Segrate Milano ITALY Contact Person: RASIO, Romano
• Abteilung Fernerkundung Fachbereich VI - Geographie/Geowissenschaften Universität Trier Behringstrasse 54286 Trier GERMANY Contact Person: HILL, Joachim
• Centre d'Applications et de Recherches en Télédétection Organisation: University of Sherbrooke 2500 Boulevard de l'Université 2500 J1K 2RI Sherbrooke CANADA Contact Person: BONN, Ferdinand
• Viasat Geotechnologies Inc. 419 Bd. Rosemont 419 H2S 1Z2 Montreal CANADA
• Laboratoire Rhodanien de Géomorphologie Départment de Géographie Organisation: Université Lumière Lyon 25 Avenue Pierre Mendes-France 5 69676 Lyon, FRANCE Contact Person: CLEMENT, Pierre
• Système d'Information à Référence Spatiale Institut de Géomatique Organisation: Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne 1015 Lausanne, SWITZERLAND Contact Person: CALOZ, Régis Project Reference: ENV4 96-0369 Project Acronym: RESSAC Project Title: Remote sensing support for analysis of coasts
General Information: The project aims at demonstrating the usefulness and cost- effectiveness of multi-satellite data in the assessment and monitoring of coastal erosion phenomena, by developing a prototype information system, containing enhanced earth observation products to be integrated in the decision-making process of Israel (customer) for coastal planning. The contents of the project are in full accordance with the EU policies including the CEO concept; moreover, the priority requirements of the Mediterranean countries expressed in the framework of the Mediterranean Action Plan, as well as the specific Israeli plans for the coast preservation and protection, are closely met. As a matter of fact, the coastal region is an area of intense interchange among physical, biological, social, cultural and economic processes, and is composed of manifold, interacting systems: maritime, terrestrial and riverine. Changes in any part of the system can generate chain reactions far from their point of origin and possibly in a totally different system, whose environmental conditions will be subsequently altered. The project applies to different satellites, as SPOT, Landsat, NOAA, ERS 1-2, GEOSAT, TOPEX-POSEIDON, which have to lead to a real integrated improvement of environmental information, in particular concerning the meteo-ocean parameters and morphological characteristics of sea platform and land. The integration of data from different satellites - optical and microwave ones - is expected to prove particularly powerful and consequently to introduce new customers to the usage of remotely sensed data. The project is focused on the monitoring and study of the following aspects, all of them relevant to a better understanding of the coastal erosion processes in the test-area:- Shoreline changes- Coastal land cover- Bathymetry assessment - Suspended sediments analysis - Sand inventory- Sea-state and wind. The setting up of a proper GIS will allow the organization, integration and management of all these environmental information. Furthermore, in order to make easier communication and exchange of data among the partners and towards the customer, an advanced network system will be implemented. The finalisation of the proposed project will generate benefits for the customer/user that will discover new supports for a better environmental knowledge; for the cooperating partners that will further develop their expertise increasing so the European competitiveness; for data providers and Space Agencies that will find encouragement for better addressing their investments and widening the use of remote sensing. The project management will be coordinated by CTM - Centro di Telerilevamento Mediterraneo, Italy, and the other partners are the Planning Department of the Ministry of the Envlronment of Israel; ARGOSS and NLR - National Aerospace Laboratory, The Netherlands; MétéoMer, France; Nuova Telespazio, Italy.
Project Status: Completed
Coordinator: Centro di Telerilevamento Mediterraneo Via G. Giusti 2 90144 Palermo ITALY Contact Person: Name: RAIMONDI, Michele Tel: +39-091-342368 Fax: +39-091- 308512 Email: [email protected]
Other Contractors • Argoss BV Voorsterweg 28, PO Box 61 8325 ZH, Vollenhove NETHERLANDS Contact Person: WENSINK, Geert Johan
• Osserrvazione della Terra, Nuova Telespazio SpA Via Tiburtina 965 00156 Roma ITALY Contact Person: LIGI, Roberto
• Planning Department - Ministry of Environment Government of the State of Israel PO Box 34033 95464 Jerusalem ISRAEL Contact Person: GINOTT, Yari
• Department of Marine Geology, Israel Oceanographic & Limnological Research PO Box 8030 31080 Haïfa ISRAEL Contact Person: GOLIK, Abraham
• Marine Geology Division Organisation: Geological Survey of Israel 30 Malchei Israel Street 30 95501 Jerusalem ISRAEL Contact Person: ALAMGOR, Gideon
• Scop Meteomer SARL Route Nationale 7 83480 Puget-sur-Argens, FRANCE Contact Person: BONICEL, D.
• Remote Sensing Space Division Nationaal Lucht- en Ruimtevaart Laboratorium Voorsterweg 31 PO Box 153 8300 AD Emmerloord NETHERLANDS Contact Person: WISSE, Project Reference: ENV4 96-0371 Project Acronym: NOAH Project Title: New opportunities for altimetry in hydrology
Objectives: The objective of N.O.A.H. is to demonstrate that the use of Earth Observation (EO) data provides a significant improvement in the field of hydrology and hydraulics, and particularly for flood prevention.
General Information: Earth observation techniques enable us to measure terrain relief from space. These techniques include interferometry, which is based on ERS SAR data, and-optical stereoscopy, which uses SPOT imagery. Data obtained through such processing techniques give access to precise and comprehensive information on the terrain characteristics, on a regional level (5 to 10 meters precision): relief, catchment basins, and slopes. Earth observation also provides adequate information on land use. EO data and derived high-level product information will be integrated into hydrological and hydraulic models over a pilot area (The Moselle Basin) to better understand the issues involved in the management of land use with respect to the risk of flooding, and to better serve user needs in this domain. The first year of the project will be devoted to the collection and the analysis of user requirements, the generation of suitable high-level products derived from EO data, and the development of tools to integrate this data into hydrological and hydraulic models. The second year will involve the implementation of the models with the full integration of the EO data gathered, the generation of the flood-related outputs (e.g. risk maps), and a final assessment of the results from a commercial, technical and scientific viewpoint. Finally, N.O.A.H. will include communication activities in interaction with the CEO services, to develop awareness of the contribution of EO data in the domain of flood prevention. The N.O.A.H. project responds to an urgent need in Europe concerning the prevention of flood events which cause considerable damage every year. From a scientific and operational point of view, N.O.A.H. represents a new tool for hydrological studies and a focal point for European hydrology institutes. From a technological and industrial point of view, N.O.A.H. valorizes the ERSl/ERS2 tandem mission as well as the SPOT programme, and the production of DEMs. Thus, it provides a good leverage for the development of the use of EO data in such important application domains. The proposal for N.O.A.H. is presesnted by a team lead by Cemagref, and consisting of other major hydrology institutes (Delft Hydraulics, BfG), major EO data providers (Spot Image, ISTAR) as well as scientific and technical entities which will act as interfaces to operational end-user communities (ICHR, EGERIE).
Project Status: Completed
Coordinator: Groupement de Lyon Division Hydrologie - Hydraulique: Organisation:Centre National du Machinisme Agricole, du Génie Rural, des Eaux et des Forêts 3 BIS Quai Chauveau BP 22069336 Lyon FRANCE Contact Person: GIVONE, Pierrick Tel: +33-72-208769 Fax: +33-78-477875 Email: [email protected]
Other Contractors • REFARAT WASSERHAUSHALT, VORHERSAGEVERFAHREN, GLOBAL RUNOFF DATA CENTRE Organisation: BUNDESANSTALT FÜR GEWÄSSERKUNDE 15-17 Kaiserin-Augusta-Anlagen 15-1756002 KOBLENZ GERMANY Contact Person: MENDEL, Hermann-Gregor
• River Basin Management WL/Delft Hydraulics, 185 Rotterdamseweg PO Box 1772600 MH Delft, NETHERLANDS Contact Person: PASSCHIER, Ronald H.
• International Commission for the Hydrology of the Rhine Basin 16 Maerlant 8200 AA, Lelystad NETHERLANDS Contact Person: SPROKKEREEF, Eric
• Imagerie Stereo Appliquée au Relief SA80 Route des Lucioles 06560, Sophia Antipolis FRANCE Contact Person: RENOUARD, Laurent
• Spot Image SA5 Rue des Satellites 5 BP 435931030 Toulouse FRANCE Contact Person: GUERRE, Louis-François
• Egerie SA2A Place de Paris 2314 Luxembourg LUXEMBOURG Contact Person: RAHBA, Tabet Project Reference: ENV4 97-0516 Project Acronym: SHYLOC Project Title: System for Hydrology using Land Observation for Model Calibration
General Information: The primary objective of this project is to construct and test a software package, SHYLOC, that allows users to combine a satellite image with digitised stream positions in order to determine the amount of surface water stored in a network of natural or man made (drainage or irrigation) channels over a certain area, at a certain time. The package will, in principle, be usable for calibrating hydrological models for a wide range of applications but it will be targetted especially at wetland areas that are protected by national, European and international environmental legislation. The European legislation that is of primary interest is the Habitats Directive (92/43) and the target international treaty is the 1971 Ramsar Convention on the Conservation of Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat. The accuracy of the package will be tested on four wetland sites of scientific importance - the North Kent marshes and the Pevensey Levels in the UK - and Lakes Karla and Mavrouda in Greece. SHYLOC will be compared to water level measurements made during the project and water balance calculations made for the preceding years. The total number of checks for each site will be eleven. In order to ensure that the project meets the needs of end-users? a.n end-user board has been set up wllo will attend the meetings, comment on the quality and relevance of the work and guide future developments. The end-users are drawn from those who decide on the environmental impact of water resource changes in areas of ecological interest.
Project Status: Completed
Coordinator: INSTITUTE FOR SYSTEMS, INFORMATICS AND SAFETY Commission of the European Communites Via Enrico Fermi 1 Casella Postale 25021020 ISPRA ITALY Contact Person: SHEPHERD, IAIN MAXWELL Tel: +39-0332789489 Fax: +39- 0332785815 Email: [email protected]
Other Contractors: • Laboratory of Soil Science School of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki University Campus 54006 Thessaloniki GREECE Contact Person: ZALIDIS, George
• Hydrological Modelling Department, Dansk Hydraulisk Institut 5 Agern Allé 2970 Hørsholm, DENMARK Contact Person: REFSGAARD, Anders
• DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON Bedford Way 26WC1H 0AP LONDON UNITED KINGDOM Contact Person: THOMPSON, Julian Richard Project Reference: ENV4 97-0529 Project Acronym: FRAMEWORK Project Title: Flash-flood risk assessment under the impact of land use changes and river engineering works
General Information: Large uncertainties affect the policies for mitigation of flood hazard in flashy streams. These descend from complexity of physical processes, including scale problems in both observation and modelling, and from the lacking knowledge on the effects of man-induced changes on flood frequency regime. The present proposal is aimed at reducing the above uncertainties, also searching for a unified approach to risk assessment in Europe. This requires a deeper insight of the unsolved complexity, jointly with an appropriate framework to include the river basin system in the analysis of extreme events. Accordingly, the major objectives of the project are (a)an insight of complex mechanisms producing extreme flash-floods with (apparently) high return periods; (b)the production of physically-based methods for flood risk assessment, accounting for land use changes, and river engineering works; (c) the substantiation of criteria to evaluate regional sensitivity of flood risk to climate, land use changes, and river engineering works. These objectives are achieved through (l) the development of physically-based methods for regionalization of flood frequency estimates, because of the major role of spatial homogeneity; (2) the development of spatially-distributed methods for flood risk analysis based on derived distribution techniques, towards a unified approach to dynamics of flood frequency, including climate and the river basin system; (3) the development of spatially- distributed methods for flood risk analysis based on simulation techniques, in order to investigate flood mechanisms and compare flood hydrographs under different scenarios; and (4)the development of, and demonstration with spatially-distributed models for regional and basin cases studies as a paradigm for different climate, land use, river basin exploitment and flood regime in different countries of Europe (AT, DE, IT, ES, CH and UK). This is to assess the sensitivity of study areas to climate and land use variability. In addition, it will provide flood risk assessments under control and modified climate, land use and river regulation scenarios. Also, criteria are provided to integrate hydrological risk with historical data on land use, river regulation rules, river and catchment training works, as an essential issue to work out historical, present and modified scenarios, and to predict the response of a basin to future actions. Project benefits are user-friendly, integrated, spatially-distributed technologies at regional and basin scales; an improved, unified European framework for flood risk assessment; and objective criteria to substantiate the policies for mitigaton of flood hazard in Europe. Economic and social impacts include guidelines to merge flood risk assessments into land and urban planning strategies within a sustainable development perspective; increased awareness of flood risk through its distributed assessment and historical drawbacks; and better allocation of economic resources for mitigation of flood hazard.
Project Status: Completed Coordinator: Centro Interdipartimentale di Ricerca in Informatica Territoriale e Ambientale. Politecnico di MilanoVia Ponzio 34/520133 Milano ITALY Contact Person: ROSSO, Renzo Tel: +39-2-23996295 Fax: +39-2-23996207 Email: [email protected]
Other Contractors: • DEPARTMENT OF HYDRAULIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF VALENCIAS/N Etsi Caminos, canales y puertos, Camino de Vera S/N46022 VALENCIASPAIN Contact Person: MARCO SEGURA, Juan
• Dipartimento di Ingegneria delle Strutture, dei Trasporti, delle Acque, del Rilevamento, del Territorio Università degli Studi di Bologna Viale del Risorgimento 240136 Bologna ITALY Contact Person: BRATH, Armando
• Institut für Hydraulik, Gewaesserkunde & Wasserwirtschaft Technische Universität Wien 13/223 Karlsplatz 13/2231040 Wien AUSTRIA Contact Person: BLOESCHL, Guenter
• Section for Hydraulics and Water Management Institute for Hydraulics and Water Resources Engineering Technische Hochschule Darmstadt 13 Petersenstrasse 1364287,Darmstadt GERMANY Contact Person: OSTROWSKI, Manfred W.
• Institut für Hydromechanik und WasserwirtschaftOrganisation: Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule - ETH Zürich Höngerberg 8093 Zürich SWITZERLAND Contact Person: BURLANDO, Paolo
• Water Resource Systems Research Unit, Department of Civil Engineering University of Newcastle upon Tyne 6 Kensington Terrace NE1 7RU Newcastle upon Tyne, UNITED KINGDOM Contact Person: O'CONNELL, Patrick Enda
Project Reference: ENV4 97-0535 Project Acronym: EUROTAS Project Title: European river flood occurrence and total risk assessment system
General Information: The EUROTAS proposal for research and technological development is directed at the development and demonstration of integrated catchment models for the assessment and mitigation of flood risk, and at the development of both appropriate modelling and management procedures. The proposed research has three main components: - the development of an integrated framework for whole catchment modelling based upon an "open-systems" approach, - the demonstration of the feasibility and benefits of integrated modelling to answer real scientific and practical issues on the changing nature of flood risk in five river catchments, and - the development of procedures to determine the impact of river engineering works and environmental change on flooding and the assessment of flood risk. The proposed research builds upon existing research advances from EU and nationally funded research programmes. The river catchment studies will address issues at the heart of sustainable development of river basins by exploring the impacts of human intervention in the basin, flood mitigation measures and the impacts on flood risk of past and future climatic and land use changes. The principal output of the research will be a prototype integrated catchment modelling system which will include decision support for the procedures developed in the course of the research. The framework will not be tied to any particular modelling system but will set protocols for communication between different modelling components. Thus, the framework will enable nationally or regionally preferred models to be incorporated in any future practical implementation of the system and so conform to the principle of subsidiarity. The Partners are particularly concerned that the research will meet the needs of river management authorities and will provide real benefit in the future mitigation of flood losses in the EU . The involvement of river authorities in the research is seen as a crucial pathway to future implementation of the research advances. The research results will be disseminated through scientific papers, an end- of-project conference as well as implementation of the prototype integrated modelling framework.
Project Status: Completed
Coordinator: HR Wallingford Ltd Howbery Park OX10 8BA Wallingford - Oxfordshire UNITED KINGDOM Contact Person: SAMUELS, Paul Graham Tel: +44-1491-835381 Fax: +44-1491- 825916 Email: [email protected]
Other Contractors: • CENTRE FOR ECOLOGY AND HYDROLOGY NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL Benson Lane, Maclean Building OX10 8BB WALLINGFORD UNITED KINGDOM
• DEPARTMENT OF HYDRAULIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF VALENCIA S/N Camino de Vera S/N46022 VALENCIA SPAIN
• Department of Water Resources, Hydraulic and Maritime Engineering National Technical University of Athens, 5 Heroon Polytechniou 515780 Athens GREECE Contact Person: MIMIKOU, Maria
• Hydrodata SpAVia Pomba 2310123 Torino ITALY Contact Person: DA ROS, Diego
• Dienst Arnhem Rijksinstituut voor Zuivering van Afvalwater 1 Gildemeestersplein PO Box 90726800 ED Arnhem NETHERLANDS
• Autorità di Bacino Nazionale dei Fiumi Liri Gargliano e Volturno Centro Direzionale Isola B/380143 Napoli ITALY Contact Person: BORGA, Marco
• BETA Studio Srl Via Monte Sabotino 2A35020 Ponte San Nicolò ITALY Contact Person: VILLANI, Paolo
• Laboratorio di IdraulicaOrganisation: Centro Universitario per la Previsione e Prevenzione dei Grandi RischiVia Ponte Don Melillo 84084 Fisciano Salerno ITALY
• Flood Management Department; Dansk Hydraulisk Institut 5 Agern Allé2970 Hørsholm DENMARK Contact Person: HOST-MADSEN, Jacob
• DEPARTMENT OF GLOBAL CHANGE AND NATURAL SYSTEMS POTSDAM INSTITUTE FOR CLIMATE IMPACT RESEARCH Telegrafenberg C4 Postfach 6012031441 POTSDAM GERMANY Contact Person: BRONSTERT, Axel
• DIVISION HYDROLOGIE - HYDRAULIQUE GROUPEMENT DE LYON CENTRE NATIONAL DU MACHINISME AGRICOLE, DU GÉNIE URAL, DES EAUX ET DES FORÊTS 3 BIS Quai Chauveau 3 BIS BP 22069336 Lyon FRANCE Contact Person: GENDREAU, Nicolas
• REFARAT WASSERHAUSHALT, VORHERSAGEVERFAHREN, GLOBAL RUNOFF DATA CENTRE BUNDESANSTALT FÜR GEWÄSSERKUNDE 15-17 Kaiserin-Augusta-Anlagen 15-1756002 KOBLENZ GERMANY Contact Person: KRAHE, Peter
• Research Department: River Basin Management WL/Delft Hydraulics 185 Rotterdamseweg PO Box 1772600 MH Delft NETHERLANDS Contact Person: HEYNERT, K.
Project Reference: ENV4 97-0589 Project Acronym: TEMRAP Project Title: The European multi-hazard risk assessment project
Objectives: The aim of the project TEMRAP is to develop an integrated methodology on multi-hazard and global risk assessment, on the basis of different experiences carried out in several European countries on natural disasters. The project will be mainly focused on the identification of natural hazards, profile hazards, evaluate their potential consequences, and mapping/zoning data on a GIS based system. The approach will be undertaken at regional scale in Western Italy (macrozoning) and refined in the urban area of Genoa (microzoning).
General Information: These objectives will be achieved by the following steps: - investigating scale of hazard representation for different typologies of natural events and defining a common standard of presentation in order to avoid connection conflicts; - investigating physical and physiographic characters of the territory (e.g.lithology, topography); developing inventory and susceptibility maps and defining possible triggering factors of the several natural hazards affecting the test areas; - investigating the relationship among different natural hazards (induced hazards) (inventory maps and susceptibility maps and defining possible triggering factors); - developing historical catalogues of natural disasters of the test area; - analysing and modelling climate change effects on frequency and distribution of natural hazards; application will be developed, if possible to susceptibility maps and natural hazard maps; - developing a macro-zoning multi-hazard map (expected events in defined return periods at regional scale) by using GIS technology; - developing a micro-zoning multi-hazard map (site response) by using GIS technology, for selected element of the case study; - investigating and mapping the environmental consequences of industrial accidents caused by natural hazards (Na-Techs); - identifying and mapping socio-economic exposed elements (e.g. industry; utilities; work force; population; cultural heritage); - identifying and mapping socio- economic/vulnerability factors and severity/vulnerability relationship; - to assess risk in terms of social and economic factors by using GIS technology (at regional scale and at site scale); - developing strategies and options for a sustainable development of the territory reducing the effects of natural disasters (mitigation). With respect to the current state of-the-art above mentioned, this project represents the first European case study considering exhaustively the process of sustainable development of the territory under the light of integrated approach to natural hazards. Understanding natural hazard trends with respect to climate change will also highly contribute to the definition of policies and strategies for mitigating the impact by national, regional and local authorities; similarly, also private sectors will benefit from the result of the project, like insurance and re-insurance companies that are afraid of a concentration of natural hazards in a narrow range of time.
Project Status: Completed
Coordinator: Department Ambiente Divisone Catratterizzazione Ambiente e Territorio - Sezione Dinamiche Geologiche del Territorio Ente per le Nuove Tecnologie l'Energia e l'Ambiente (ENEA) Via Anguillarese 30100060 Santa Maria di Galeria Roma ITALY Contact Person: SERAFINI, Sandro Tel: +39-6-30486425 Fax: +39-6-30484029 Email: [email protected]
Other Contractors: • Consorzio CivitaPiazza Venezia 1100187 Roma ITALY Contact Person: MARGOTTINI, Claudio
• Istituto di Ricerca per la Protezione Idrogeologica nel Bacino Padano Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR) Strada delle Cacce 7310135 Torino ITALY Contact Person: DUTTO, Furio Roberto Rugger
• NORWEGIAN GEOTECHNICAL INSTITUTE Ullevaal Hageby PO Box 39300806 Oslo NORWAY Contact Person: LIED, Karstein
• Ismes SpAVia Pastrengo 924068 Seriate Bergamo ITALY
• Laboratoire de Géomorphologie et Télédétection Département de Géographie Physique Université de Liège 2 Allée du 6 Août 4000 Liège BELGIUM
• Geoscience Research Group Munich Reinsurance Company 107 Köninginstrasse 80791 München GERMANY Contact Person: LOSTER, Thomas
• Equipe G.V.E. - Gestion et Valorisation de l'Environment Laboratoire d'Analyse Spatiale Université de Nice - Sophia Antipolis, 98 Boulevard E. Herriot BP 20906204 Nice FRANCE Contact Person: CARREGA, Pierre
• Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra Facoltà di Scienze Matematiche Fisiche e Naturali Università degli Studi di Genova Corso Europa 2616132 Genova ITALY Contact Person: FIERRO, Giuliano
• Laboratory of Engineering Geology Department of Civil Engineering - School of Technology Aristotle University of Thessaloniki University Campus 54006 Thessaloniki GREECE Contact Person: BANDIS, Stavros
• Aera de Ingeniería Geoambiental Organisation: Instituto Tecnológico Geominero de España, 23 Ríos Rosas28003 Madrid SPAIN Contact Person: FERRER Project Reference: ENV4 97-0598 Project Acronym: PHYTOREM Project Title: In situ remediation of contaminated soils by plants
Objectives: Our specific objectives are: (1) to increase understanding of the process of hyperaccumulation, (2) to increase mobilisation and uptake of metals in the rihizosphere of hyperaccumulators or high biomass crops, (3) to give an improved understanding of the agronomy, and management of metal harvesting crops, (4) measure the changes in total and bioavailable metals in treated soils and (5) provide some information on: the harvesting and recycling of the metal-enriched biomass, economics and risk assessment of phytoextraction of metals from soils. A series of field investigations in three European countries will be performed using hyperaccumulating species and a high biomass crop plants. These will cover a range of climate, types of pollution and soils. Experience on the performance of plants under these conditions will be combined in the final outcome of the project.
General Information: Well over 4 million hectares of land in Europe are contaminated with heavy metals. These areas are not only unfit for food production and potentially hazardous to human health, but may also be unsuitable for other forms of sustainable economic development. The remediation of these soils by currently available physico-chemical methods is either very costly or impossible. It has become clear that biological approaches to cleaning up these soils would be more effective, more economic. and more environmentally desirable. To overcome this problem, this proposal will help develop the use of either a special class of pants known as metal hyperaccumulators which can contain very high (up to percent ) concentrations of metals in their small above ground biomass, or non-hyperaccumulating high biomass crop species, and to increase the metal extraction by each. The scientific community agrees that the prerequisites for developing phytoextraction are (a) basic information about the mechanisms by which particularly hyperaccumulator plants access metals in soil and accumulate them in the above ground material, and (b) knowledge of how manage hyperaccumulators or high biomass crops to maximise uptake and-decrease the bioavailable fraction of metals in soils. To achieve this, we have assembled a group of specialists who will use a fully integrated approach to both the intrinsic plant properties and management factors required.
Project Status: Execution
Coordinator: Department of Soil Science IACR - Rothamsted Experimental Station Ltd. West Common, Harpenden, AL5 2JQ, UNITED KINGDOM Contact Person: MCGRATH, Steve Paul Tel: +44-1582-763133 Fax: +44-1582- 760981 Email: [email protected]
Other Contractors: • Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Agronomie et des Industries Alimentaires Institut National Polytechnique de Lorraine Avenue de la Forêt de Haye 2 BP 17254500 Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy, FRANCE Contact Person: MOREL, Jean-Louis
• Adelaide Laboratory: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation PO Box 25064, Glen Osmond AUSTRALIA Contact Person: MCLAUGHLIN, Michael John
Project Reference: ENV4 97-0615 Project Acronym: SUPERHYDROX Project Title: Cost effective destruction of toxic organic wastes by supercritical hydrothermal oxidation
General Information: None Available (For information contact Coordinator)
Project Status: Completed
Coordinator Institut für Technische Chemie Chemisch-Physikalische Verfahren Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe GmbH - Technik und Umwelt, Postfach 3640, 76021 Karlsruhe GERMANY Contact Person: GOLDACKER, Hubert, Tel: +49-7247822875, Fax: +49-72 47822244 Email: [email protected]
Other Contractors • RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY CENTRE - BRUSSELS CENTRE SOLVAY S.A. 310 Rue de Ransbeek 310, 1120 BRUXELLES BELGIUM Contact Person: BIVER, Christian
• Direction du Cycle du Combustible - Département de Technologie de l'Enrichissement Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique Ctr Etudes Vallée du Rhône - CE-VALRHO, 30205 Bagnols-sur-Cèze FRANCE Contact Person: CARLES, Maurice Jean
• Stora Corporate Research AB 18 Soedra Marieg 18, 791 80 Falun SWEDEN Contact Person: WIGSTEN, A.
Project Reference: ENV4 96-0235 Project Acronym: ERGOPATC Project Title: Environmental regulation, globalisation of production and technological change.
Objectives: To analyze the impact of environmental regulation within the European Union on the competitive position of industry and on trade, foreign investment and employment, particularly in relation to newly industrialising and developing countries where such regulation may be less stringent.
Description: The research focuses on the following issues: i) The change in the competitive position of a dozen highly polluting industries in the EU with significant environmental impacts. Associated trends in international trade and investment are analyzed. Technological developments in response to environmental regulation and firm strategies are also investigated. ii) A more detailed study of three polluting industries which are significant in trade terms, with particular emphasis on the nature of technological change within each branch, the diffusion of "clean technologies" and the strategies of individual firms. iii) Country level studies are undertaken in the case of a number of newly industrialising and less developed countries which are significant exporters to the EU of relevant "pollution intensive" products. The environmental regulation in the countries selected, the nature of the technology utilised and the competitiveness of production vis-a-vis the EU are analyzed. The research concludes with a synthesis of the various case studies, to highlight the determinants of the impact of environmental regulation on technology and competitiveness, and the ways in which these are reflected in the pattern of trade, investment and employment.
Project Status: Completed
Coordinator Department: School of Development Studies, University of East Anglia University Plain, NR4 7TJ Norwich, UNITED KINGDOM Contact Person: JENKINS, Rhys Owen, Tel: 1603-593371, Fax: 1603-505262 Email: [email protected]
Other Contractors: • Department of Human Geography, University of Oslo PO Box 1146, 0317 Oslo, NORWAY Contact Person: HESSELBERG, Jan
• Institute for New Technologies, United Nations University 23 Kapoenstraat 23, 6211 KV Maastricht NETHERLANDS Contact Person: COOPER, Charles Morrison