Global research programmes

Many of today’s scientific questions are too large and complex to be undertaken by one institution or even one country, alone. Modern scientific research often requires international collaboration to obtain the necessary resources in order to address these scientific challenges. CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, and the European Space Agency, are well-known examples of such collaborations. To build and operate these facilities requires funding from national and European agencies and efficient collaboration between scientists.

European and world-wide collaboration is prominent in the EGU sciences. Example projects include ocean and continental drilling initiatives, climate change model inter-comparisons, ‘European Plate Observing System’ (EPOS) and ‘Water challenges for a changing world’. Without international cooperation these projects would not be possible.

Current EU research and innovation policy encourages open science sharing and collaborative procedures. The European Research Area promotes free circulation of scientific knowledge, technology and researchers around the EU. These policies help to support international collaborative projects and forward scientific discovery.

Joint Programming Initiatives aim ‘to make better use of Europe's precious public research and development (R&D) resources and to tackle common European challenges more effectively’ [1]. These R&D areas include Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change (FACCE), Connecting Climate Knowledge for Europe (CliK'EU), Water Challenges for a Changing World, and Healthy and Productive Seas and Oceans, which are all research areas within the EGU.

The largest challenge to the future of international research programmes is economically based. This is particularly prevalent during times of economic crisis. Horizon 2020 provides substantial funding to many projects within the scientific community. However, funding is highly competitive, and many robust research projects are not funded. As scientific funding becomes more competitive, the European scientific community must endeavour to remain at the forefront of research discovery. Global scientific programmes that tackle fundamental, blue-sky research as well as applied research must continue if Europe is to remain competitive on the global scale.

• Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment (AGAGE): continuously measuring the composition of the global atmosphere
• Climate Change Coupled model inter-comparison project (CMIP): designing standard experimental protocols for climate analysis
• Earth Science Europe: community-driven initiative for developing solid-Earth science within Europe
• European Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage Laboratory Infrastructure (ECCSEL): European research infrastructure devoted to carbon capture and storage technologies to enable low or zero CO2 emissions from industry and power generation
• European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling (ECORD): Drilling and coring of the seafloor provide scientists with essential materials for studying of climate/environmental changes, deep biosphere, geophysics and geodynamics of the Earth
• European Geological Data Infrastructure (EGDI): Developing a pan-European geological data infrastructure
• European Institute for Innovation and Technology: Knowledge Innovation Community (KIC InnoEnergy): The European company for innovation, business creation and education in sustainable energy
• European Institute for Innovation and Technology: Raw Materials (EIT RawMaterials): Developing Europe’s raw materials resources
• European Plate Observing System (EPOS): integrates data and Observatories on Earthquakes, Volcanoes, Surface Dynamics and Tectonics
• European Space Agency (ESA) Programmes: e.g. Rosetta, Asteroid Impact Mission
• European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF): provides experimental and analytical tools for European and international scientists
• International Continental Drilling Program (ICDP): an infrastructure for scientific drilling that facilitates outstanding science
• International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP): international collaboration to recover geological data and samples from beneath the ocean floor to study the history and dynamics of Planet Earth
• Seismic Hazard Harmonization in Europe (SHARE): community-based seismic hazard model for the Euro-Mediterranean region with update mechanisms
• The carbon dioxide storage testing project (TRUST): conducting CO2 injection experiments at scales large enough so that the output can be extrapolated at industrial scales
• TOPO-EUROPE: promotes, co-ordinates and integrates national research programs on geological surface processes and their implications for continental topography and natural hazards
• Water challenges for a changing world: “Achieving sustainable water systems for a sustainable economy in Europe and abroad”

The General Assembly always hosts hundreds of sessions on the latest Earth, planetary and space sciences, many of which cover various global research programmes. These include:

• IODP/ICDP
• EPOS
• NASA / ESA
• CMIP

Additionally, recent EGU academic papers are shown below.

• Stratospheric ozone change and related climate impacts over 1850–2100 as modelled by the ACCMIP ensemble (ACP, 2016)
• Using the Nordic Geodetic Observing System for land uplift studies (SE, 2014)

1. http://ec.europa.eu/research/era/joint-programming-initiatives_en.html
2. http://ec.europa.eu/research/era/index_en.htm

With special thanks to Nick Arndt, Professor of Professor Geology at the Université Joseph Fourier, for drafting this webpage.

If you have a comment or suggestion, or if you would like more information please email policy@egu.eu.

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