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Network of Leading Ecosystem Scale Experimental AQUAtic MesoCOSM Facilities Connecting Rivers, Lakes, Estuaries and Oceans in Europe and beyond

Project description

Promoting groundbreaking developments in mesocosm technology

Large enough to allow experiments on whole ecosystems in close to natural conditions, mesocosms are controlled and replicated experimental water enclosures. These facilities are useful in predicting effects of future environmental and anthropogenic pressures on the complex aquatic ecosystems. In this context, the EU-funded AQUACOSM-plus project represents a European network of aquatic experimental mesocosm facilities, with the mission to address the dramatic challenges aquatic ecosystems are facing. The project will work to increase competence in mesocosm science in Hungary and Romania. It will develop near-real-time open data flows and improved metadata, developing new technological capabilities for mesocosm research. Scenario testing will also be carried out for climate change-related pressures on aquatic systems from upstream fresh waters to the sea.

Objective

AQUACOSM-plus advances European mesocosm-based aquatic RI by integrating the leading mesocosm infrastructures into a coherent, interdisciplinary, and interoperable network covering all ecoregions of Europe. AQUACOSM-plus widens the user base by extending TA provision (> 13000 person-days), and strengthening the offered services, with 10 new partners, including a NGO and doubling of SMEs. We initiate actions to increase competence in mesocosm science in new EU member states (Hungary and Romania), and emphasize training of young scientists through summer schools covering various disciplines including effective science communication. AQUACOSM-plus develops near-real-time Open Data flows and improved metadata, thus promoting Open Mesocosm Science in collaboration with leading EU-supported initiatives in the EOSC and fosters wider sharing of information, knowledge, and technologies across fields and between academia, industry, and policy makers/advisers.
AQUACOSM-plus develops new technological capabilities for mesocosm research, to effectively execute scenario-testing for Climate Change -related pressures on aquatic systems from upstream fresh waters to the sea. These developments include mobile large-scale mesocosm approaches, leading-edge imaging technologies, and affordable methods to obtain high-frequency data on community change and greenhouse gas fluxes in mesocosm settings.
AQUACOSM-plus will progress beyond current achievements by actively pursuing RI-RI collaboration with European environmental RIs (LTER, ICOS, DANUBIUS, JERICO) at all project activity levels (NA, JRA, TA). Multidisciplinary joint research, combining observational data and modelling approaches with targeted mesocosm experiments, is a key step towards successfully tackling current and future Grand Challenges. This involves shared capacity building via symposia, expert summits, and open workshops, with the aim of co-designing future aquatic research actions and their RI demands.

Call for proposal

H2020-INFRAIA-2018-2020

See other projects for this call

Sub call

H2020-INFRAIA-2019-1

Coordinator

FORSCHUNGSVERBUND BERLIN EV
Net EU contribution
€ 963 601,21
Address
RUDOWER CHAUSSEE 17
12489 Berlin
Germany

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Region
Berlin Berlin Berlin
Activity type
Research Organisations
Links
Total cost
€ 963 603,09

Participants (34)