European Plate Observing System: A Long-Term Integration Plan for Solid Earth Sciences

The European Plate Observing System (EPOS) is a long-term integrated research infrastructure plan to promote innovative approaches for a better understanding of the physical processes controlling earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, unrest episodes and tsunamis as well as those driving tectonics and Earth surface dynamics.

EPOS aims to integrate data from permanent national and regional geophysical monitoring networks (seismological, GPS), with the observations from in-situ observatories (volcano observatories, in-situ fault zone test sites) and temporary-monitoring and laboratory experiments through a cyber-infrastructure for data mining and processing, and facilities for data integration, archiving and exchange. The vision is to integrate these existing research infrastructures in order to increase the accessibility and usability of multidisciplinary data from monitoring networks, laboratory experiments and computational simulations enhancing worldwide interoperability in Earth Science by establishing a leading integrated European infrastructure and services. This is the EPOS observing strategy.

Making observations of solid Earth dynamic processes controlling natural phenomena immediately available and promoting their comparison with experimental observations from cutting-edge laboratory experiments and their interpretation through theoretical analyses and numerical simulations will represent a multidisciplinary platform for discoveries which will foster scientific excellence in solid Earth research. EPOS will be an open access infrastructure aimed at a broad user community including European and Mediterranean countries.

EPOS has been included in the European ESFRI roadmap for research infrastructures in December 2008. The European Commission (FP7 Capacities work program), has recently funded a preparatory phase (PP) project (2010-2014). The EPOS PP implementation plan will rely on existing commitments to maintain and in some cases enhance the national observational and experimental multidisciplinary infrastructures. The main objective of the EPOS PP will be to establish the legal and governance framework for the infrastructure serving scientists and other stakeholders in Europe and outside Europe for long-term solid Earth observations. This framework will enable the development of an innovative integrated e-infrastructure component. Here we present the EPOS concept, the strategic plans for its preparatory phase and the enhanced integrated contribution to society, focusing on the implementation plan and vision to create an effective service to users.