Expected Outcome:

Project results are expected to contribute to at least three of the following expected outcomes:

• automated characterisation of building height and building use (e.g. residential, industrial, commercial, public, population density, vulnerability) through integration of different sensor types (e.g. optical, radar, night-time lights) and/or open source non-EO data,
• integration of new sensors (incl. 3D data derived from multi sensor platforms) for early warning and active global fire detection and fire monitoring (delineation, grading, damage assessment, plume dispersion) from geosynchronous and Geostationary sensors, including refined post-processing for active-fire detection confidence and false alarm removals,
• integration of high and very-high spatial resolution data and sensors for continuous multi-scale mapping and assessment of fuel structure and condition at pan-European level, including active (SAR, Lidar) and passive remote (multispectral and hyperspectral) sensing data,
• improvements of the hydrological predictions for the flood (including flash floods) and drought early warning and monitoring component through data assimilation and/or multi-objective parameter calibration and regionalization using satellite based and/or in-situ data linking where relevant to the European and Global Flood Awareness Systems (EFAS & GloFAS),
• improvements of the hydrologic process representation in the continental and/or global scale hydrologic model of the flood and drought early warning and monitoring component,
• methods for addressing limitations of Synthetic Aperture radar (SAR) based flood monitoring in Urban areas or under dense vegetation, smooth or sandy surfaces, snow and/or adverse meteorological conditions. The proposed solution needs to be applicable in an operational near-real-time context and for on-demand mode as well as continuous mapping mode,
• enhanced seamless sub-seasonal to seasonal predictions of severe-to-extreme hydrometeo events as droughts and associated multi-sectoral impacts,
• optimised integration of different data sources (e.g. reanalysis + observations from rain gauges + remote sensing) and different indexes characterising extreme meteorological events and related hazards, droughts. Possible use of the new datasets to improve also the floods and forest fire components is encouraged (e.g. merged precipitation datasets for hydrologic model initial conditions or improved fire danger risk calculations),
• integration of UAV along the full value-added chain (i.e. data planning, flight, data acquisitions and processing) in the current emergency response operations for improving the thematic accuracy of the damage assessment,
• advanced drought methods tracking severe to extreme events and associated hazards as the hydrometeo one and droughts.

Scope:

The R&I area is:

Innovative methods and technologies for emergency related applications to derive advanced products and open new opportunities for an operational deployment addressing the needs of the Copernicus Emergency Management Service

Different aspects should be considered for the service evolution:

• enhancement of an existing element or component through e.g.: technology improvements such as optimal automation of existing processes encompassing innovative artificial intelligent procedures and High Performance Computing (HPC) or adding new data streams in core services; methodological improvements such as optimised modelling tools and multi-platform, multi sensor AI techniques for automatic recognition of severe to extreme events and production of early warning indicators;
• new elements or components to the existing (core) service;
• new services complementing the core services and providing added functionality as required by users; e.g. in a national or regional context.

Actions aimed at service evolution should be developed in response to specific policy and user requirements while seizing the opportunities provided by the evolution in technology.

Although there is no guarantee that developments will be integrated into the operational CEMS, proposals should duly take into consideration practical aspects related to the integration of results into Copernicus services, including feasibility and cost/benefit analysis as well as timeline for technology maturity of the solutions proposed and their deployment in operational environments. Proposals should aim at reaching technology readiness level TRL6 and should include either a proof-of-concept or prototype demonstrating the feasibility of the integration in the existing core service or the added-value of new elements in new application areas.

Additionally, the transfer of research results to possible operations should receive active attention during the course of the project to strengthen the readiness for an operational deployment in the future. Appropriate interaction with the relevant Entrusted Entity of the Copernicus services, the conditions for making available, for re-using and exploiting the results (including IPR) by the said entities must be addressed during the project implementation.

Proposals should build, where possible and relevant, on free and open-source models, tools and datasets already used or produced by CEMS and the software developed should be open licensed.

The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the consortium selected for funding. The possible participation of the JRC may consist in (1) ensuring access to relevant models, tools and datasets of the operational CEMS, (2) providing a good understanding of existing operational workflows and advice regarding the operational feasibility of new developments and (3) testing of new developments/prototypes in a pre-operational setting.

On data fusion, vast amounts of EO-data are now being available for applications in the disaster domains. Identification of complementary data sets, development and testing of new and innovative ways (if applicable also in the context of social innovation) to efficiently integrate them in emergency applications will be used to generate added value and new intelligence. Besides satellite data, additional ones include in-situ and ground-based observations and measurements, meteorological data from ground weather stations and radar, data from aerial platforms, social media or crowdsourcing, as well as information generated from other sources and other Copernicus services. Whenever appropriate, the project should take advantage from Copernicus and EGNSS synergy. Potential security threats (e.g. cybersecurity) in the data flow and sensitivity of data and service products should be duly taken into account.

Proposals are expected to provide tangible results (new or improved products or service elements) for the Copernicus service within the period 2021-2027. The proposed research and development should be modular and scalable and should support the automatization of different processes orchestration. The activities of the project should also contribute to the objectives set by the Group on Earth Observation and outcomes and relevant results of the project should be promoted also at international level through the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS).

Applicants are advised to consult information on the Copernicus programme in general at https://www.copernicus.eu/en and further details on the topic in the Guidance document.

In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.

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