Hydrosphere
FROM FRESHWATERS TO MARINE WATERS
The hydrosphere is essential for human life and nature and plays a critical role in most natural processes. Water continues to be of huge global geopolitical importance, and it is central to many environmental challenges including climate change, usage, biodiversity, natural hazards, pollution, ecosystem services and desertification.
Approximately 97% of the hydrosphere is saline and found mostly in oceans and seas, with the remaining ca. 3% of freshwater in icecaps and glaciers, groundwater, rivers, lakes and swamps. Land use, including changing human occupation, agriculture, economic activities such as energy production and industry, greatly impact the status of water. While there are policies in place, the quality and the ecological status of waters, from mountain springs through to coastal zones and Europe’s regional seas, are still threatened. Water availability is also becoming an increasing issue as the risk of water scarcity increases. With changing climate patterns, water ecosystems become more exposed to extreme hydrological events. These challenges require improved scientific understanding of all relevant processes to inform policy and to increase Europe’s resilience to the impacts from climate change. Within the future-oriented EU policy agenda, more systemic policy solutions are being formulated. For example, The EU is launching a Mission on Ocean, Seas and Waters under Horizon EuropeMission on Healthy oceans, seas, coastal and inland waters. Horizon Europe
https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes-and-open-calls/horizon-europe/missions-horizon-europe/healthyoceans-seas-coastal-and-inland-waters_en#latestMission on Healthy oceans, seas, coastal and inland waters. Horizon Europe
https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes-and-open-calls/horizon-europe/missions-horizon-europe/healthyoceans-seas-coastal-and-inland-waters_en#latest. This opens new opportunities for the RI community.
Freshwater
ICE, GROUNDWATER, LAKES, RIVERS, ESTUARIES
Environmental agencies across Europe collect vast amount of data on freshwater. Linking routine monitoring with high-resolution data from freshwater supersites and remote sensing data would benefit society directly as well as by supporting research in the area. Long time series, collected by research facilities, have been instrumental in understanding the coupling between the water cycle, the changing climate, environmental pollution, and ecosystems. It is of vital importance to ensure that such data series are continued. Experimental facilities for studying complex water-related phenomena – e.g. physical modifications of estuaries, behaviour of substances and energy in mesocosms, etc. – allow physical models to underpin better systemic understanding, often in conjunction with mathematical models. The multi-faceted water research in Europe is well captured by the overarching visions and agendas outlined by the upcoming Horizon Europe Water4All Partnership that builds on the research and innovation agendas of Water JPIWater JPI
http://www.waterjpi.eu/ and, at higher Technology Readiness Levels (TRL), of Water EuropeWater Europe
https://watereurope.eu/. Large scale integrated systemic innovation pilots play a key role to enable successful innovationWater JPI - Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda 2025
http://www.waterjpi.eu/mapping-agenda/strategicresearch-and-innovation-agenda-sria/waterjpi_sria2025_web.pdfWater Europe - Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda
https://watereurope.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Water-Europe-SIRA.pdfWater Europe - Atlas of the European Water Oriented Living Labs
https://watereurope.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Atlas-of-the-EU-Water-Oriented-Living-Labs.pdf.
Current Status
Much of the current science is done relying on access to existing water bodies, i.e. without specific and dedicated large-scale Research Infrastructures. The ESFRI Project DANUBIUS-RI supports interdisciplinary research in river-sea systems (Figure 1). It is the only physical pan-European Research Infrastructure devoted to support research on transitional zones between coastal marine and freshwater areas. The development of DANUBIUS-RI as a distributed environmental RI builds on existing expertise to support interdisciplinary research on River-Sea Systems, covering whole river basins and the coastal waters that they influence. Addressing the conflicts between sustainable development, environmental change and environmental conservation in River-Sea Systems, DANUBIUS-RI’s mission is to achieve healthy River-Sea Systems and advance their sustainable useDANUBIUS-RI Science and Innovation Agenda 2019
https://danubius-pp.eu/www/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/DANUBIUS-RI_Science_Agenda_web_version_Dec2019.pdf.
The ESFRI Landmark LifeWatch ERIC as the only e-RI, extends its area of interest to the whole freshwater environments (see section Biosphere).
There are European networks of basins for hydrological monitoring and research, such as the European Network of Hydrological Observatories (ENOHA). The HYDRALAB+ network supports the use of environmental hydraulic facilities. The ESFRI Landmark AnaEE (H&F); also offers access to experimental facilities in freshwater environments, applying an ecosystem services approach to key sectors including food security, human welfare and the wider bio-economy.
Gaps, challenges and future needs
Europe needs a dense, highly instrumented network of freshwater monitoring, as well as simulation and experimental platforms. Lake, river and ground water monitoring and experimental super-sites should serve as calibration, validation and development services for remote sensing applications as well as for ecosystem service modelling. For the comprehensive analysis of the changes in the aquatic ecosystems, an integrated basin approach is necessary to understand the impact of different drivers and to find measures for sustainable water resources management. The ESFRI Project DANUBIUS-RI, with its structure consisting of the four Nodes (Observation/Measurements – Analysis – Modelling – Impact), is aiming to bridge the before mentioned gaps, at a basin-wide, river-to-sea approach. The Horizon Europe Water4All Partnership considers RIs as important enablers to support the implementation of its ambitious agenda.
Marine
from coast to deep oceans and ice caps
Approximately 10% (680 million) of the World’s population currently lives on the coast and this number is expected to rise to one billion people by 2050IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (2019)
https://www.ipcc.ch/srocc/. Seas and oceans provide food, energy, and many other resources on which mankind depends and oceans have a fundamental influence on climate and are being significantly impacted by climate change (e.g. sea level, ocean acidification). Cumulative pressures from human activities has resulted in loss of habitat, biodiversity and ecosystem functioning and servicesClimate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. IPCC (2013)
http://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg1.
Economic activity in the ocean continues to expand and in the EU in 2018 had a turnover of € 750 billion with 5 million people directly employed in the Blue EconomyThe EU Blue Economy Report (2020)
https://blueindicators.ec.europa.eu/sites/default/files/2020_06_BlueEconomy-2020-LD_FINAL-corrected-web-acrobat-pro.pdf. The OECD confirms that the Blue Economy will continue to expand but noted that ocean health, and its continuing deterioration due to climate change, pollution and over-exploitation, was an important constraintThe Ocean Economy in 2030, OECD (2016)
http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264251724-en. The UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021-2030UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021-2030
https://www.oceandecade.org/ has commenced, led by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC). This will see scientists work with policy makers, managers and service users to demonstrate how ocean science can deliver greater benefits for both the ocean ecosystem and for society. In tandem, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) launched the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030
https://www.decadeonrestoration.org/. As such significant input from the marine science community is required if it is to succeed with its goals of halting and reversing the decline in the health and productivity of our ocean and its ecosystems and to protecting and restoring its resilience and ecological integrityGlobal Ocean Science Report – The current status of ocean science around the world. UNESCO (2017)
https://en.unesco.org/gosr.
Ocean observation is currently a key component of the EU Strategy for Marine and Maritime Research and has become a high priority on the worldwide environmental political agenda.
Current Status
Marine RIs are diverse and range from fixed observatories, data centres to research vessels and autonomous vehicles that generate, analyse and apply in situ, remote sensed and modelled data and provide an array of services that aim to inform science, policy and society. These data and associated services are essential for ocean and coastal sea monitoring, biological and ecological research and for numerous established, and emerging, industries in the Blue EconomyThe United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021-2030– IOC (2018)
https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000261962. Key RIs for water-related research are fostered in ESFRI, as illustrated in Figure 1, while there are also other EU projects and initiatives supporting networks that are directly relevant for research:
- River-sea interaction, freshwater, water- ice: the ESFRI Project DANUBIUS-RI, the ESFRI Landmark LifeWatch ERIC – as e-RI, HYDRALAB+, AQUACOSM (mesocosms).
- Open ocean mobile platforms: the ESFRI Landmark EURO-ARGO ERIC, EuMarineRobots.
- Open ocean fixed point observatories: the ESFRI Landmark EMSO ERIC, Coastal/shelf seas observatories like JERICO.
- Research vessels and underwater vehicles: ARICE, EUROFLEETS.
- Coastal/shelf seas observatories: JERICO-NEXT.
- Data storage and standards, access: EMODnet and linked Copernicus Marine Service (CMEMS) for operational oceanographic services; EuroGOOS, SeaDataNet/ SeaDataCloud
- Marine biology, omics and bio-informatics: the ESFRI Landmark ELIXIR (H&F), the ESFRI Landmark EMBRC ERIC (H&F), the ESFRI Landmark LifeWatch ERIC – as e-RI – and the ESFRI Project AnaEE (H&F).
- Marine Renewable Energy: the ESFRI Project MARINERG-i (ENE).
- Carbon cycle: the ESFRI Landmark ICOS ERIC and the ESFRI Landmark LifeWatch ERIC, as e-RI.
Gaps, challenges and future needs
The range of services offered by RI will have to evolve, will need to be tailored and will have to increase scientific knowledge and understanding not just in the scientific community but across society, policy and industry. This will enable individual citizens, society at large, policy makers and the business community to identify the impact they have had, and are currently having, on coasts, ocean and ice caps. Importantly these services should inform and demonstrate how these end-users can remedy and reduce their impact. This will require a paradigm shift and collaboration across research communities with disciplines that traditionally would not have worked together to play a bigger part in meeting future challenges. RIs will have to work synergistically if they are to meet their end-user needs and enable the sustainable management of environmental resourcesNavigating the Future V: Marine Science for a Sustainable Future. Position Paper 24 - European Marine Board (2019)
https://zenodo.org/record/2809392#.YDFdWS9aZ0sJPI Oceans Strategy framework 2021-2025
https://jpi-oceans.eu/en/publications?id=431.
As the coastal ocean is currently a key component of the UN Decade for Sustainable Development and has become a high priority on the worldwide environmental political agenda, Europe needs dense enough, well instrumented sites and regions to study, observe and monitor water of the coastal shelf. The comprehensive analysis of the changes in the coastal ecosystems requires an integrated basin approach to understand the impact of different drivers and to find measures for coastal preservation, management and planning. The long-term observation is needed to address transversal scientific and societal challenges acting at various spatio-temporal scales , and to understand large-scale processes that can significantly impact coastal and littoral areas. This could only be achieved at the pan-European level.
