Launch of the European EPOS infrastructure : an opportunity for the Grenoble site

On 7 November 2018, the European Plate Observing System (EPOS) European infrastructure was officially launched, the aim of which is to share and decompartmentalise all types of data and services concerning the study of the planet Earth. The Observatoire des Sciences de l’Univers de Grenoble (OSUG) and ISTerre are involved in this initiative, which should help to better understand the dynamics of the earth, the mechanisms that cause earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

Built according to open science standards, the infrastructure has just acquired a legal entity under European law by becoming an ERIC (European Research Infrastructure Consortium). The founding members of EPOS, based in Rome, are Belgium, Denmark, France (represented by the Ministry of lʼEnseignement Superior, Research and lʼInnovation), Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia and the United Kingdom, joined by three observer members, Greece, Iceland and Switzerland. The consortium is expected to expand in the future to about 30 members. The first services should be operational by the end of 2019.

By their very nature, geological and geophysical phenomena transcend national boundaries. In addition, the data they generate are diverse and heterogeneous across our planet. EPOS’ ambition is to provide, in an open way, a single portal for access to all types of data, which offers calculation tools for cross-referencing and products and services derived from these analyses. In this way, researchers from various scientific communities will be able to easily capture data that they are not used to manipulating. EPOS, dedicated primarily to all scientists interested in the dynamics of the Earth, will be a source of services for our societies. By integrating data and observations produced by national research infrastructures in various disciplines, it will make it possible to decompartmentalize knowledge and better understand all the physical and chemical mechanisms at work in the planet Earth, from its nucleus to its surface, which control in particular all associated telluric hazards (earthquakes, eruptions, etc.).

The data and services offered by EPOS will cover seismology, observation of faults and volcanoes, ground deformation, measured via satellite positioning of ground stations and satellite imagery, spatial and temporal variations in the Earth’s magnetic field, telluric risks induced by human activities, geological information (e. g. from drilling), laboratory data and test platforms for geothermics and CO2 storage. The implementation project, EPOS-IP, has 47 partners from 25 European countries. It is funded by the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 programme. More than 20 research organisations and higher education institutions in France will contribute to EPOS by providing data or services.

This news was also relayed by
> the French Seismological and Geodetic Network (RESIF)
> the Observatoire des Sciences de l’Univers de Grenoble (OSUG)

Various EPOS services, some of which are carried out within the French Seismological and Geodetic Network (RESIF), have a strong contribution from OSUG and ISTerre :

  • Seismological data centre
  • GNSS data (RENAG) from the Alps, integrated via the pan-European portal in Nice
  • Access to satellite data (InSAR)
  • Calculation and access to deformation maps of the European plate
  • Access to site characterization in seismology
  • Access to induced seismicity data

These services in Grenoble contribute in particular to the visibility of OSUG and ISTerre at the international level.