Europe’s critical infrastructure (CI) is at risk of failure due to natural hazards and rapid climate change, which can lead to major physical and economic damages. Existing methods for climate risk analysis are not tailored to the complexities of CI: they do not properly account for systems interdependencies, while also still containing key data gaps. Public authorities urgently need tools to pinpoint the risk-prone areas and to develop affordable adaptation strategies to enhance CI resilience. The mission of the Multi-hazard Infrastructure Risk Assessment for Climate Adaptation (MIRACA) project is to catalyse and empower the implementation of adaptation measures for CI throughout Europe. The MIRACA Consortium will develop an evidence-based decision-support toolkit, consisting of (i) a guidance on technical and economic appraisal of adaptation strategies, (ii) a technical decision-support workbench and (iii) an online interactive viewer. These will be based on a multi-hazard climate risk assessment framework that employs advanced new methods of data acquisition, which will fill critical gaps in knowledge of the vulnerability and costs of CI. New model capabilities will be developed to fully appraise the benefits for people and businesses of climate-resilient infrastructure systems. We will demonstrate, validate, and promote the uptake of MIRACA’s research and innovation through five use cases. They cover a variety of locations, infrastructure types and natural hazards, and will allow public authorities and CI managers to test the effectiveness of adaptation solutions and to identify robust adaptation strategies. To propel transformative change, our methodologies will be made available through open-access datasets, model codes and online interactive visualisations. The toolkit will be implemented across Europe, most notably in regions and communities that are currently not well-prepared against future climate change and still confronted with data scarcity.

Background: High-resolution monitoring of rivers is important because rivers are severely affected by climate change and frequency/magnitude of extreme events are changing fast. Advanced in-situ monitoring technologies have to be combined with satellite earth observation (EO) to obtain accurate, reliable and spatio-temporally resolved information for effective decision support, risk assessment, climate change adaptation investment analysis, and operational forecasting/surveillance. Problem being addressed: Traditional hydrometric monitoring of rivers is in-situ and station-based. In-situ monitoring networks lack spatial resolution, have been declining in many regions, and data accessibility is increasingly restricted because of growing conflicts between countries over water resources allocation. In order to solve this problem, hydrometric monitoring using satellite earth observation has to be combined with drone-borne hydrometric monitoring technology for validation, deployment in remote and inaccessible regions, and to enable reliable and accurate river discharge estimation. Our solution: UAWOS develops a drone-borne water observation system providing key hydrometric variables (bathymetry, velocimetry, water surface elevation) at high spatial resolution/coverage, and data-based products/services supporting management and decision making. UAWOS integrates airborne data streams with Copernicus water bodies and water level services for cross validation and to estimate river discharge from satellite EO data. Impact: We expect that UAWOS hydrometric monitoring solutions will be factor 2-3 cheaper compared to traditional in-situ surveying. UAWOS technology will provide very high spatial resolution with accuracy on par with traditional in-situ monitoring. The technology will support smart governance/regulation in the context of the Green Deal, and create new opportunities for European business, both as a stand-alone solution and in combination with satellite EO.

The main objective of GreenEO is to provide improved satellite-based environmental information to support sustainable nature protection practices across four competing land-use areas: cities, agricultural areas, forests, and ecosystems. Through combined exploitation of new Earth Observation products, digital infrastructure, and atmospheric and land surface models using machine learning and data assimilation, GreenEO will provide environmental information and stakeholder engagement practices to support the implementation of the Zero Pollution (ZP) and Biodiversity aspects of the European Green Deal (EGD). The project will serve as a proof-of-concept to enhance specific services provided by Copernicus and EUMETSAT in support of the EGD implementation. GreenEO aims to support the transition towards more sustainable land use practices in Europe and proposes a transformative governance system, relying on a data value chain enhanced with active stakeholder engagement and co-creation. The value chain proposes the uptake of satellite data, integrated in a modelling development chain and followed by value creation modelling applications. In cities, GreenEO will develop three satellite-based approaches of high-resolution urban-scale air quality maps to engage relevant stakeholders to support the ZP strategies. For agriculture, GreenEO will address impacts on nitrogen emissions, deposition, and biodiversity. It will create satellite-based high-resolution emission inventories, deposition, critical load exceedance maps, and identify areas with high recovery potential. GreenEO will develop a forest fire service that will revolutionize the monitoring of wildfires over Europe. GreenEO will create novel ecosystem monitoring indicators such as city greening indicators, ecosystem area and condition indicators. GreenEO will advance seamless climate-weather and environmental services in Europe, by proactive links to EUMETSAT, WMO, the Copernicus Services, EEA and EU Missions.

Changes and variability in ocean biogeochemistry are poorly observed despite its profound impacts on ocean ecosystems and associated services, and sensitivity to and for climate. The overall aim of BioGeoSea is to significantly close the research and knowledge gaps on biogeochemical Essential Ocean Variables (BGC EOVs), validate them in-situ and in models, and use them to feed ocean metrics in the form of indicators and data products that reflect their relevance to the society. This aim includes updating EOVs requirements and specifications to enhance their usefulness in providing ocean biogeochemistry indicators, which BioGeoSea will develop and deliver. These indicators will reflect different spatial and temporal scales, and be focused around: 1) ocean acidification; 2) ocean deoxygenation 3) the biological carbon pump; and 4) greenhouse gas fluxes. BioGeoSea will: 1) improve the requirement setting of BGC EOVs; 2) Improve the observational capability of BGC EOVs over a large range of temporal and spatial scales; 3) Provide better representation of biogeochemical processes in models and more accurate predictions; 4) Improve ocean BGC data products that are invaluable to understand complex ocean phenomena; 5) Deliver ocean BGC indicators and engage actively with stakeholders. Key results will be communicated to international networks and entities for endorsement, approval and efficient dissemination of the outcomes. This project will help to better observe and deliver biogeochemical ocean data and information, and ultimately advance our understanding about ocean health and its role in climate regulation. BioGeoSea will demonstrate the importance of long-term observations of the ocean, focusing on BGC EOVs. The quality of information from all BGC EOVs will be improved, and four innovative BGC indicators will be delivered, at a technological readiness level that responds to the needs of an economically viable and healthy society.

The ocean’s biodiversity supports the livelihoods of over three billion people, providing vital services, including food and nutrient cycling. However marine policy and resource management do not yet consider the latest scientific advances, even when the state-of-the-art operational models of the European Copernicus Marine Service (CMEMS) are used. Our objective is to enable CMEMS to deliver novel products that inform marine biodiversity conservation and food resources management, by fusing new data into innovative ecosystem models that integrate biological and abiotic components, habitats, and stressors of marine ecosystems. NECCTON will inter-link new models in the CMEMS systems, thus building novel capacities to simulate higher-trophic-levels, benthic habitats, pollutants, and deliver projections of climate change impacts. We will develop and exploit new data-processing chains, supporting CMEMS' use of novel ecosystem observations, including new hyperspectral data from satellites, as well as available acoustic, pollution and omics data. We will fuse these new data and models by using innovative machine-learning algorithms to improve models and data assimilation methods. These developments will be applied in thirteen case studies, co-designed with fisheries and conservation managers as part of our pathway-to-impact, resulting in the demonstration of Technological Readiness Level 6 of NECCTON products. The project objectives will be achieved by a team of twenty-three world-class organizations with track records for all the key project components. It includes the CMEMS Entrusted Entity and core developers, who will promote the final uptake of NECCTON by CMEMS. On project completion, NECCTON will provide CMEMS with the scientific and technical capabilities to sustain twenty-five new products in their operational portfolio, ultimately enabling users to make informed decisions on the exploitation of marine services, enhancing sustainability and conservation.