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Abstract

Earth science monitoring systems are distributed across Europe and the globe and measure the physicochemical characteristics of the planet under different geological regimes. The European Plate Observing System (EPOS) aims at creating a multidisciplinary pan-European data infrastructure for solid earth science to support a safe and sustainable society. In accordance with this scientific vision, the mission of EPOS is to integrate the diverse and advanced European Research Infrastructures for solid earth science relying on new e-science opportunities to monitor and unravel the dynamic and complex earth system. EPOS aims to enable innovative multidisciplinary research for a better understanding of the earth’s physical and chemical processes that control earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, ground instability and tsunami as well as the processes driving tectonics and earth’s surface dynamics. EPOS will improve our ability to better manage the use of the subsurface of the Earth. Through integration of data, models and facilities EPOS will allow the earth science community to make a step change in developing new concepts and tools for key answers to scientific and socio-economic questions concerning geo-hazards and geo-resources as well as earth sciences applications to the environment and to human welfare. EPOS brings together 24 European nations and combines national earth science facilities, the associated data and models together with the scientific expertise into a single e-infrastructure covering the whole geoscience domain and connects ten classes of geo-infrastructures, which have until now been handled separately, thus enabling an unprecedented level of scientific integration. This infrastructure will allow the earth sciences to achieve a step change in our understanding of the planet; it aims to enable us to prepare for geo-hazards and to responsibly manage the subsurface for infrastructure development, waste storage and the use of earth’s resources. With a European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) to be located in Rome (Italy), EPOS will provide an opportunity to maintain world-leading European earth sciences and represent a model for pan-European federated infrastructure currently being developed as ‘FAIR Principles’ for research data: Data should be Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Re-usable (FORCE11, Wilkinson et al. 2016).