Favoring curiosity-driven research of the solid earth

A diver installing a junction box for seafloor cables at the European Multidisciplinary Seafloor and water column Observatory (EMSO) near the Ligurian coast.
A diver installing a junction box for seafloor cables at the European Multidisciplinary Seafloor and water column Observatory (EMSO) near the Ligurian coast. (© Ifremer/ Olivier Dugornay)

Geo-INQUIRE started on 1 October 2022. It will provide and enhance access to selected key data, products, and services, enabling the dynamic processes within the geosphere to be monitored and modelled at new levels of spatial and temporal detail and precision. 

The project aims to overcome cross-domain barriers, especially the land-sea-atmosphere environments, and will exploit innovative data management techniques, modelling and simulations methods, developments in AI and big data, and extend existing data infrastructures to disseminate these resources to the wider scientific community, including the EOSC landscape.

Geo-INQUIRE benefits from a unique partnership of 51 partners consisting of major national research institutes, universities, national geological surveys, and European consortia. Geo-INQUIRE will enhance and make interoperable the activities of the involved partners and conduct dedicated training programs for their optimal use. A portfolio of 150 Virtual Access (VA) and Transnational Access (TA, both virtual and on-site) installations will be offered to the scientific community.

While many such resources are already available at a high level of maturity, Geo-INQUIRE will ensure that they not only reach the highest level of scientific excellence through targeted actions on availability, quality, and spatial and temporal resolution, but also that they follow FAIR principles, adopt proper standards and open licenses, and aim at cross-disciplinary interoperability.

Furthermore, the integration of different data, including new observables, products, and services will be optimized through TA activities via 7 test beds, which will also host workshops and summer schools dealing with the available resources. Ultimately, Geo-INQUIRE, with its enhanced data, product, and service portfolio, will enable the next generation of scientists to carry out leading-edge research addressing societal challenges from a multidisciplinary perspective, making intelligent use of these resources.

Contact:

Project Management Office
geo-i_pmogfz-potsdam.de