EO 4 Water 2020

EARTH OBSERVATION FOR WATER CYCLE SCIENCE 2020, 16-18 November 2020

Especially relevant for everybody working with Earth Observation content, the Earth Observation for Water Cycle Science 2020 Conference takes place on 16-18 November 2020. This Conference aims at reviewing the latest advances in the use of Earth observation (EO) technology for scientific questions related to the water cycle and its applications, exploring the potential offered by the coming EO as well as the main challenges and opportunities for the coming decade.

The ultimate target of the event is to contribute to define a scientific agenda that may drive future scientific activities of ESA and other space agencies and partners in the coming few years. The Conference is open to EO scientists, water researchers and students, modellers, Earth system and climate scientists, industry, operational agencies, policy makers, representatives of local communities and other stakeholders interested in sharing their knowledge and experience and in contributing to drive the scientific agenda for advancing EO water research and applications.

The Earth Observation for Water Cycle Science 2020 Conference will be held On Line on 16-18 November 2020.

Check the website for more information >

PrimeWater

Enhancing Earth Observation data and other Copernicus sectoral services.

The H2020 funded PrimeWater project is adding value to Earth Observation data and other Copernicus sectoral services. This is through cross-cutting research, using state of the art process-based and data-driven modelling for predicting hydrological extremes and water quality issues such as Harmful Algae Bloom events in lakes and reservoirs. The aim of the project is to improve the skill of hydro-ecological forecasts and their related impact at different spatial and temporal scales, by integrating satellite imaging spectrometry into the modelling chain through advanced Data Assimilation techniques and Machine Learning algorithms.

In this interview with the International Water Association, Apostolos Tzimas, Managing Director at EMVIS Consultant Engineers and project lead, presents expected outputs of the PrimeWater project and highlights how PrimeWater plans to bring new knowledges on EO-based technologies closer to end users.

ZERO BRINE

ZERO BRINE Online Trainings: Towards Circularity and Industrial Symbiosis

ZERO BRINE is an H2020 project focusing on innovative technologies to recover high value minerals from industrial wastewater with additional environmental, social and economic benefits, while providing tools to further industrial symbiosis.

For industrial cluster managing authorities, understanding water-related risks and how new business opportunities can improve organisational and international competitiveness is crucial in Europe and beyond. Furthermore, circular business models where high-quality resources are recovered and reused from process water, offer a solution. As an emerging market, reclaimed minerals are interesting for industries that want to reduce their costs and work more sustainably.

For this purpose, two online training sessions will be organised by Institute of Sustainable Process Technologies. On 1 December (9:00-12:00 CET) a training will be held for industrial cluster managing authorities, with an emphasis on six Dutch industry clusters. The second training session on 3 December (9:00-12:00 CET) will be held for company personnel to build symbiotic brine relationships and circular business opportunities.

The main tool used in both training sessions is the Online Brine Platform (OBP). The OBP is an active web service which aims to promote the flow of secondary raw materials by linking brine/salt owners with the mineral/water users and technology and waste heat providers. Thus, industries can be mapped and possible matches among the industries and across the value chain can be identified.

Want to learn more about the upcoming trainings? Contact media@zerobrine.eu.

WATCH OUR VIDEO ON THE BENEFITS OF THE ONLINE BRINE PLATFORM

AfriAlliance

AfriAlliance Webinar Series

AfriAlliance is delighted to announce its webinar series: "Facing climate change: strengthening African stakeholders in water and climate"! This series of interactive webinars will tackle key challenges for African stakeholders relating to climate change and water, as well as the potential of social innovation when confronting these issues. Several of these webinars will also be conducted in French.

Learn and discuss first-hand with the AfriAlliance partners:

• How social innovation can be implemented by Action Groups;
• How AfriAlliance has matched water and climate solutions with key needs of African stakeholders;
• How monitoring and forecasting can be used to assess water and climate trends;
• How you can make the most of the material and tools produced by AfriAlliance;
• And much more!

The third webinar in this series will be held on 21 October 2020:

• How to create sustainable Communities of Practice in Africa on Water and Climate activities at 14:00 CEST

Find out more and register for the webinars here: https://afrialliance.org/events/afrialliance-webinar-series

G3P

Meet the new ICT4Water member project: The Global Gravity-based Groundwater Product (G3P)

Groundwater is one of the most important freshwater resources for mankind and for ecosystems. Due to its fundamental role in the Earth’s water and energy cycles, groundwater has been declared as an Essential Climate Variable (ECV) by GCOS, the Global Climate Observing System. The Copernicus Services, however, do not yet deliver data on this fundamental resource, nor is there any other data source worldwide that operationally provides information on changing groundwater resources in a consistent way, observation-based, and with global coverage. A consortium comprised of twelve partner organisations with outstanding experience in the fields of GRACE data analyses, groundwater research, and data product development and dissemination will work together to close this gap within the framework of G3P, the Global Gravity-based Groundwater Product. This product will show groundwater storage variations with global coverage and monthly resolution from 2002 until present.

Are you curious to read about how exactly we will close the gap? Visit our website: https://www.g3p.eu.

RESCCUE

URCC 2020: “You are climate change”

In the current context of climate change, the effects of each crisis depend on the preparation of cities to respond to these threats. Therefore, cities are taking more and more measures to be more resilient, that is, to anticipate, resist and recover with the least amount of damage in front climate change-related impacts.

In this regard, RESCCUE, the first large-scale European R&D project on urban resilience, led by SUEZ, will organize the Urban Resilience in a context of Climate Change (URCC) conference on October 20 and 21. This online meeting will  bring together over 500 experts from academia, administrations, companies and local communities to exchange knowledge and share challenges and solutions in cities, with a special focus on European urban areas.

The Organizing Committee of the URCC conference is made up of UN-Habitat, Barcelona City Council, SUEZ and Cetaqua, the Water Technology Center, all partners of the RESCCUE project.

SMART-Plant

The circular economy could save our broken water system

Society is consuming water at an ever-increasing rate while water pollution and global warming continue to limit the availability of water, a cluster of problems that could slash future economic development by at least a third.

"Science has been telling us for some time that the water scarcity and security crisis is bad and is set to get worse," said Cate Lamb, water director at CDP, an international not-for-profit working to advance sustainable business. "That's just not a situation that can continue."

The race is on to fix a broken system, and our best bet to transform how we use water could be the circular economy. This is when supply chains are redesigned to reduce, capture and reuse as much as possible, and water is in desperate need of that thinking—currently, 80% of wastewater flows back into the environment without being treated or reused.

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