Objetivo Problems to be solvedThe protection of Europe's precious freshwater resources and the implementation of measures that promote their sustainable use are complex tasks that demand improvements in our scientific understanding of the fundamental hydrological processes that act at the catchments scale. At such large scales there is not yet a modelling approach that unifies, in a rigorous physically based sense, the stream channel, land surface, soil, and groundwater components of the hydrologic cycle. Nor has there been much progress in applying theoretical methods, as they have been developed and successfully used in ocean and meteorological sciences, for combining data and simulation models in an optimal way to provide an effective tool for rational water resources management. Developing, implementing, and testing such a unifying and integrative framework is the focus of the research being proposed. The formal approach to be used in the proposed project combines data assimilation methodologies with state-of-the-art basin scale modelling.Scientific objectives and approachThe main objectives of the proposed research are:· To develop a unifying modelling framework applicable at the catchments scale and based on rigorous conservation equations for mass, momentum, energy, and entropy, in order to study the important hydrological processes operating at and interacting across the stream channel, land surface, soil, and groundwater components of a river basin;· To implement data assimilation methodologies within this unifying hydrological modelling framework that will enable the optimal use of remote sensing, ground-truth, and simulation data for more reliable forecasting (floods, water distribution for agricultural planning, etc) and a better incorporation of information about data and model uncertainty in hydrological simulations;· To rigorously test these new and unifying modelling and data management tools, with due consideration of efficiency, accuracy, and complexity aspects, on a subcatchment of the Meuse river basin. This evaluation requires the establishment and involvement of a user-group, composed of the end-user partners of the consortium and interested water resources managers.Expected impactsThe objectives of the proposed research are directly linked with the Water Framework Directives COM(96) 49, COM(97) 614, and COM(98) 76. This Framework builds upon previous Directives related to Community water policy. The Framework Directive requires integrated management of surface water and groundwater in terms of quality and quantity through Management Plans covering the whole of a river basin.On the technological level, this project addresses two of the most important challenges in hydrology and water resources management, namely(i) how to use and incorporate various types of data, including in-site measurements and remote sensing, into models in order to improve our understanding of the hydrological cycle at various scales and to make water resources management more efficient;(ii) the need for a general purpose physically based modelling framework applicable to catchments across various scales and capable of treating in a unified way channel, surface, and subsurface (saturated and unsaturated zone) processes.This project represents a first large scale attempt on truly European river basins to integrate commonly available data sources, using predominantly existing data sets, within an rigorous systems approach for the study of hydrological processes. Ámbito científico social sciencespolitical sciencespolitical policiespublic policiesengineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringremote sensingnatural sciencesearth and related environmental scienceshydrologydrainage basinsengineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringnatural resources managementwater management Programa(s) FP5-EESD - Programme for research, technological development and demonstration on "Energy, environment and sustainable development, 1998-2002" Tema(s) 1.1.4.-1. - Key action Sustainable Management and Quality of Water Convocatoria de propuestas Data not available Régimen de financiación CSC - Cost-sharing contracts Coordinador WAGENINGEN UNIVERSITY Aportación de la UE Sin datos Dirección 11,Nieuwe Kanaal 11 De Nieuwelanden 6709 PA WAGENINGEN Países Bajos Ver en el mapa Coste total Sin datos Participantes (7) Ordenar alfabéticamente Ordenar por aportación de la UE Ampliar todo Contraer todo CENTRO DI RICERCA SVILUPPO E STUDI SUPERIORI IN SARDEGNA Italia Aportación de la UE Sin datos Dirección VI Strada Ovest Z.I. Macchiareddu 09010 UTA (CAGLIARI) Ver en el mapa Coste total Sin datos COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES Italia Aportación de la UE Sin datos Dirección 1,Via E. Fermi 1 21020 BARASSO Ver en el mapa Coste total Sin datos ENTE AUTONOMO DEL FLUMENDOSA Italia Aportación de la UE Sin datos Dirección Via Mameli 88 09123 CAGLIARI Ver en el mapa Coste total Sin datos REGIONAL WATER DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY IN WROCLAW Polonia Aportación de la UE Sin datos Dirección Wybrzeze wyspianskiego 39 50-370 WROCLAW Ver en el mapa Coste total Sin datos ROYAL METEOROLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF BELGIUM Bélgica Aportación de la UE Sin datos Dirección Avenue Circulaire 3 1180 BRUXELLES Ver en el mapa Coste total Sin datos Technische Universiteit Delft Países Bajos Aportación de la UE Sin datos Dirección 1,Stevinweg 1 2628 BL DELFT Ver en el mapa Coste total Sin datos UNIVERSITE DE LIEGE Bélgica Aportación de la UE Sin datos Dirección Boulevard du Rectorat - Sart Tilman B19 4000 LIEGE Ver en el mapa Coste total Sin datos