RCEIS

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Project title: Helmholtz – CAS Research Centre for Environmental Information Science

Short project description:
The Research Centre for Environmental Information Sciences became a Sino-German/international competence centre and research platform of environmental information science for Earth system observation and prediction by combining expertise in the fields of natural and computer sciences using modern information technology.

The scientific goal of RCEIS was the development of novel concepts and infrastructures for Earth system observation and analysis in order to better understand the evolution and dynamics of environmental systems under global change and globalisation (anthropogenic pressure). An important prerequisite was the further development and combination of different infrastructures for Earth system observation, e. g. combining information from remote sensing (satellites and airborne) and “ground-truth” measurements. Moreover, monitoring (remote sensing and “ground-truth”) and modelling platforms (multi-sphere/compartment, cycle-oriented) were combined.

A large variety of tools for data processing and environmental modelling is available from different sources as commercial, scientific or open source software. For optimal and efficient use of acquired data provided by novel observation and exploration strategies, linking those tools is a challenging task. For this purpose, the next generation of data and modelling tools – Environmental Information Systems (EIS) - must be embedded into entire continuous workflows, incorporating data acquisition, data management, integrative modelling and visualisation instruments to prevent bottlenecks for data streams. In order to achieve this objective, common purpose interface protocols and new methods for heterogeneous data integration have been developed.

Project duration: 03/14 – 06/17

Funding organisation: Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers

Project partners:

• Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Institute for Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research (IGSNRR)
• Forschungszentrum Jülich (FZJ)
• German Aerospace Center (DLR)
• Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ – coordinator
• Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)

At the Department of Environmental Informatics, research for this project was being conducted at the work group Complex Groundwater Systems.

Project website: https://www.ufz.de/rceis

This research was also part of the OpenGeoSys initiative (www.opengeosys.org).

Final report: see project webpage