Research

Analysing and assessing existing avalanche-relevant geocommunicative implementations. This process aims to identify the strengths and weaknesses of current implementations in order to gain valuable insights for further development. The objectives in the areas of geo-communication, usability, geodata basis and practical relevance are narrowed down and defined. The results of the evaluation form the basis for the design of optimised methods and workflows as part of an overall project yet to be defined.

In this project, procedures for the development of digital twins for the implementation of efficient sustainability analyses will be developed and tested, taking into account the national requirements of the DACH countries. A specific implementation of digital twins and selected sustainability-related indicators for the evaluation and optimisation of the operation and dismantling of civil engineering structures with regard to a cycle-oriented resource management will be carried out. The focus is on decision support for the operators of engineering structures with regard to planning, construction, operation and dismantling. On the basis of open source developments, an implementation guide is also being created to enable the transfer and further development of the results. For the demonstration, digital twins of up to three engineering structures will be created, enriched with data and used for the calculation of relevant indicators for sustainability analysis. In addition, advice will be given on which data should be collected in the future and integrated into sustainability analyses so that data gaps can be closed and transparent decisions can be made.

Due to the accelerating hydro-climatic extreme events, there is high demand on adjusting water resources management so that water quantity and quality are secured through a combination of different techniques integrating land-use, surface water, groundwater, and ecosystem management. The Project Interlayer focuses on how water retention technologies can contribute to improve resilience, adaptation and mitigation to hydroclimatic extreme events while increasing water availability and quality by balancing groundwater and surface water management practices. It is related to shared interdisciplinary knowledge in the complex interlink of flood protection, safeguarding water availability and quality to mitigate and adapt to hydroclimatic extreme events. Interlayer will develop and demonstrate novel water retention technologies that favor slow hydrology entrance in the system for adaptation of European river basins to hydro-climatic extreme events and simultaneously obtain resilience in agricultural productive land, the adjacent ecosystems, and downstream cities. Farmland can stay productive despite hydro-climatic extreme events through smart water harvesting methods, adapted soil and cropping management, improved ecosystem management, temperature buffering by means of appropriate riparian vegetation management and establishment of adequate refugia system for biodiversity (including definition of appropriate protected pools). Risk of urban flooding is reduced by parking of water not only in the river valleys upstream from the city, but also in the highlands of the catchments, reducing runoff from uphill as part of the water harvesting to address drought. Hydro-climatic water balance models will be demonstrated to describe the exchange of water within the river basins between highland and lowland and between shallow and deep groundwater, in response to suggested changes in land-use management.