The launch ceremony of the EPOS - ERIC European consortium was held at the MIUR. The research infrastructure will allow scientists from all over Europe to have access to data and research tools related to Earth sciences, useful for the study of earthquakes, volcanoes and tidal waves
The ceremony for the establishment of the European consortium EPOS - ERIC (The European Plate Observing System - European Research Infrastructure Consortium) took place in Rome, in the Sala Aldo Moro of the Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR). , whose headquarters will be hosted in Rome at the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV). EPOS Coordinator Massimo Cocco, EPOS Coordinator Massimo Cocco, the President of INGV Carlo Doglioni and the General Manager of INGV Maria Siclari. The presidents of the Experimental Geophysical Observatory of Trieste (OGS), of the National Research Council (CNR) and the representatives of European governments, universities and foundations participating in the EPOS consortium also participated.
"EPOS", explains Massimo Cocco, Director of INGV, "was created to facilitate the integrated use of high-quality multidisciplinary data produced by national and transnational monitoring networks, with the aim of developing new tools capable of providing scholars of the dynamics of the Earth the fundamental answers to questions regarding geo-hazards and geo-resources. Through the analysis of these data, in fact, it will be possible to better understand our planet and the processes that control tectonics and surface dynamics such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis”.
The European Plate Observing System is the twentieth ERIC established in Europe and the fifth dedicated to the study of environmental sciences. Founding members of the infrastructure are Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia and the United Kingdom, while Greece, Iceland and Switzerland are currently participating as observers. EPOS integrates the research infrastructures of 25 European countries and will provide the first operational services from 2020.
“EPOS is a fundamental research infrastructure for the development of Earth Sciences in Europe and will contribute to greater scientific collaboration”, adds INGV President Carlo Doglioni. “After the decision to launch EPOS - ERIC, adopted by the European Commission last 30 October, the official launch ceremony is a new departure towards the operational phase of this European research platform. Italy has played a fundamental role in achieving this result, coordinating the various phases of infrastructure design and development since 2006. INGV has coordinated the Italian and European participation with the work of Massimo Cocco and Carmela Freda ( INGV). The EPOS implementation phase represents a success and a great development opportunity for the entire international scientific community involved in the infrastructure”, concludes the President of INGV.
Photo 1 - From left to right, EPOS coordinator and INGV research manager Massimo Cocco, INGV President Carlo Doglioni, Director General of the Directorate General for Research and Innovation of the European Commission Jean-Eric Paquet, Salvatore La Rosa of the Ministry of Education University and Research, the Deputy Minister of Education Lorenzo Fioramonti, Hrafnhildur Valdimarsdóttir of the Icelandic Meteorological Agency, Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources.
Photo 2 – From left to right, the President of INGV Carlo Doglioni, the Director General of the Directorate General for Research and Innovation of the European Commission Jean-Eric Paquet, the Director General of INGV Maria Siclari, the EPOS coordinator Massimo Cocco, the Deputy Minister of Education Lorenzo Fioramonti, the INGV researcher Carmela Freda.