Lídia Quental

The Lower Tagus Valley (LTV) region has the highest population density in Portugal, with over 3.7 million people living in the region. It has been struck in the past by several historical earthquakes, which caused significant economic and human losses. For a proper seismic hazard evaluation, the area needs detailed V_s30 and soil classification maps. Previously available maps are based on proxies, or an insufficient number of velocity measurements followed by coarse geological generalizations. The focus of this work is to significantly improve the available maps. For this purpose, more than 90 new S-wave seismic velocities measurements obtained from seismic refraction and seismic noise measurements, doubling the number used in previously available maps, are used to update available V_s30 and soil classification maps. The data points are also generalized to the available geological maps using local lithostratigraphic studies and, for the first time, satellite images of this area. The results indicate that lithological and thickness changes within each geological formation prevent a simple generalization of geophysical data interpretation based solely on geological mapping. The maps presented here are the first attempt to produce maps at a scale larger than 1:1,000,000 in Portugal, with direct shear wave velocity measurements. A tentative approach to produce more detailed maps using machine learning was also carried out, presenting promising results. This approach may be used in the future to reduce the number of shear wave measurements necessary to produce detailed maps at a finer scale.

With the AGEO Project focused on the assessment and management of geohazards, particular attention was paid to Copernicus EMS, as it supports all phases of the emergency management cycle: preparedness, prevention, disaster risk reduction, emergency response and recovery. The uptake of the Copernicus EMS in the EU Atlantic Region from 2012–2022 is reviewed. Surveys undertaken during the AGEO project highlighting the perception and awareness of stakeholders, as well as their suggestions for improvements or new requirements, are summarised. Uptake of Copernicus and Earth Observation (EO) products in the frame of the citizen observatories on geohazards is also addressed. Finally, strategic recommendations for strengthening the use of Copernicus products and services, and for new Copernicus products for the Atlantic Region are given.

This work was developed by the Earth Observation and Geohazards Expert Group from EGS and provides an overview of landslide monitoring techniques from 2005 to 2021. Based on the questionnaire, the following objectives were set: (1) to identify the type of monitored landslides, (2) to identify the landslide monitoring techniques, (3) to identify the spatial resolution, temporal resolution, and status of the technique (operational, non-operational), time of using (before the event, during the event, after the event), and applicability of the technique to the early warning system. The main contribution of this paper is to show the involvement of EGS in landslide monitoring and discuss the importance of geological data, which is often underestimated because of the use of relatively traditional, time-consuming methods. The collaborative work of 17 Geological Survey members of the Earth Observation and Geohazards Expert Group (EOEG) provided the landslide monitoring information and made this review possible. This review builds on landslide monitoring techniques at Geological Surveys, not only providing the review of the most often used techniques but also serving to highlight the importance of geological data in landslide monitoring. In addition, it provides new insights into the role of Geological Surveys in landslide monitoring.Reference: Jemec Auflič, M., Herrera, G., Mateos, R.M. et al. Landslide monitoring techniques in the Geological Surveys of Europe. Landslides (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-022-02007-

Landslide monitoring is a mandatory step in landslide risk assessment. It requires collecting data on landslide conditions (e.g., areal extent, landslide kinematics, surface topography, hydrogeometeorological parameters, and failure surfaces) from different time periods and at different scales, from site-specific to local, regional, and national, to assess landslide activity. In this analysis, we collected information on landslide monitoring techniques from 17 members of the Earth Observation and Geohazards Expert Group (from EuroGeoSurveys) deployed between 2005 and 2021. We examined the types of the 75 recorded landslides, the landslide techniques, spatial resolution, temporal resolution, status of the technique (operational, non-operational), time of using (before the event, during the event, after the event), and the applicability of the technique in early warning systems. The research does not indicate the accuracy of each technique but, rather, the extent to which Geological Surveys conduct landslide monitoring and the predominant techniques used. Among the types of landslides, earth slides predominate and are mostly monitored by geological and engineering geological mapping. The results showed that Geological Surveys mostly utilized more traditional monitoring techniques since they have a broad mandate to collect geological data. In addition, this paper provides new insights into the role of the Geological Surveys on landslide monitoring in Europe and contributes to landslide risk reduction initiatives and commitments (e.g., the Kyoto Landslide Commitment 2020).

Landsliding is the downslope movement of surface material under the force of gravity, initiated when gravitational and other types of shear stresses within the slope exceed the shear strength of the material that forms the slope. Often, landslides pose a physical and environmental threat to communities living in landslide-prone areas. While much landslide research focuses on monitoring techniques to define the background of the landslide (extent, volume, velocity, magnitude) one of the main goals of the Geological Surveys (GS) are to support and understand the regional and local geology to identify areas susceptible to landslides. With this perspective, a questionnaire on landslides monitoring techniques was distributed among GS of Europe to define which techniques are most widly used at GS and to distinguish those that can be considered as powerful tool for landslide mapping, monitoring, hazard analysis, and early warning, according to the type of geological settings. The initial results of the questionnaire showed that the most commonly used monitoring techniques are geotehnical and mapping, followed by remote sensing and hydrological techniques. Among the 849,543 landslide records evidenced by the Geological Surveys of Europe in the paper of Herrera et al. (2017), we found only 47 landslides that have been monitored. However, only landslides that directly threatning the population and infrastructure or landslides with a volume greater than 10,000 m3 have been monitored. Compared to other research (Hague et al., 2016; Froude and Petley, 2018) the questionnaire showed that the fundamental basis for any geologically-related study is geological field mapping. The results of this traditional method are commonly compiled and interpreted together with boreholes, other advanced geodetic (UAV photogrammetry, TLS, GNSS, GBInSAR), and geophysical techniques (electrical resistivity, seismic refraction, GPR). One of the critical survey findings shows on starting landslide monitoring after the failure, only 3% of observed landslides have been monitored before the occurrence. Considering these results, we evaluate the landslide-monitoring techniques and reveal different monitoring strategies between the GS of Europe. Froude, M.J. and Petley, D. (2018) Global fatal landslide occurrence from 2004 to 2016. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, 18. pp. 2161-2181Haque U, Blum P, da Silva PF, Andersen P, Pilz J, Chalov SR, Malet J-P, Auflič MJ, Andres N, Poyiadji E, Lamas PC, Zhang W, Peshevski I, Pétursson HG, Kurt T, Dobrev N, García-Davalillo JC, Halkia M, Ferri S, Gaprindashvili G, Engström J, Keellings D (2016) Fatal landslides in Europe. Landslides 13:1–10Herrera, G., Mateos, R. M., García-Davalillo, J. C., Grandjean, G., Poyiadji, E., Maftei, R., Filipciuc, T.C., Jemec Auflič, M., Jež, J., Podolszki, L., Trigila, A., Iadanza, C., Raetzo, H., Kociu, A., Przyłucka, M., 446 Kułak, M., Sheehy, M., Pellicer, X. M., McKeown, C., Ryan, G., Kopačková, V., Frei, M., Kuhn, D., 447 Hermanns, R. L., Koulermou, N., Smith, C. A., Engdahl, M., Buxó, P., Gonzalez, M., Dashwood, C., 448 Reeves, H., Cigna, F., Liščák, P., Pauditš, P., Mikulėnas, V., Demir, V., Raha, M., Quental, L., Sandić, C., and Jensen, O. A. (2018) Landslide databases in the Geological Surveys of Europe, Landslides, 15, 450: 359-379.

The Platform for Atlantic Geohazard Risk Management (AGEO) is a new project co-financed under the Interreg Programme for the Atlantic Area which aims to launch five Citizens’ Observatory pilots on geohazards according to regional priorities:Citizens’ observatory on rockfalls and rockfall-triggers in the Canary Islands, Spain Peat-slides and peat massmovement monitoring and control in Cuilcagh Mountain, Northern Ireland Multihazard Citizens’ Observatory in Lisbon, Portugal Citizens’ observatory of slope instability monitoring along the Cliffs of Moher, Ireland Citizens’ observatory of vulnerability to coastal Risks in Brittany, france These will demonstrate how citizens’ involvement in geohazard risks prevention can strengthen regional and national risk management systems. Instituto Superior Técnico (Portugal) leads the consortium of AGEO that also counts with several other partners from Portugal, Spain, France, Ireland and the United Kingdom.AGEO will engage with local communities to actively participate in risk preparedness and monitoring and incorporate local capacities into risk management systems. Experiences gained during the implementation of the Citizens’ Observatory pilots will be used to formulate recommendations for the creation of future observatories in response to the widest range of hazards (both natural and human-induced) faced in the Atlantic region.The Observatories are part of the phenomenon of citizen science.  As defined by the EC, “Citizens' Observatories are community-based environmental monitoring and information systems. They build on innovative and novel Earth observation applications embedded in portable or mobile personal devices.  This means that citizens can help and be engaged in observing our environment.”There are many other definitions, as it is still a novel concept, but for this project the one above will be used. It is an observatory in a sense that we need careful monitoring of the risks that will be defined per region in line with a set of parameters to be defined through engaging with participating citizens to be filled in by the participating citizens. This approach lends the opportunity of collecting large amounts of data for very little to no money with the added bonus of the territorial coverage such approach can grant. Additionally, spatial data infrastructures and services already in place, e.g. Copernicus, will support the assessment and monitoring of geohazards and risk management systems.AGEO is also organizing workshops in each participating region to ensure the citizens understand the role they play in preventing and mitigating natural risks by being part of the observatories and hopefully encouraging new members to join. These workshops will be held in the national language of the region and are to be tailored to the different audiences and will democratize the use of the observatories by listening to the people using them and taking into account their needs.   

It is widely accepted that non-energy minerals underpin modern economies since they are essential for manufacturing and renewable energy supply. Europe shows an inevitably growing and accelerated consumption of mineral commodities. The critical question is whether supply to meet these demands is adequate. However, no one can answer this with any certainty because secure supply of mineral RM is a matter of knowing the resources and the ability to exploit them sustainably.Europe’s strive to be become the world’s first climate-neutral continent by 2050 means implementing the “European Green Deal” by the EU Commission. Measures accompanied with an initial roadmap of key policies range from ambitiously cutting emissions, to investing in cutting-edge research and innovation, to preserving Europe’s natural environment.This green transition is a giant societal leap. However, of the clean and carbon-reducing technologies (e.g. wind turbines, photovoltaic panels, electric and hybrid vehicles), which allow energy production from renewable resources, use significant quantities of metals [e.g. REE, PGE, Nb, Li, Co, In, Ga, V, Te, Se] that are derived or refined from minerals, and of which Europe is strongly import dependent on. The high import dependence of strategic (SRM) and critical raw materials (CRM) has a serious impact on the sustainability of the EU manufacturing industry value chains and key enabling technologies (e.g. renewable energy industry, mobility sector and AI) and significant release of CO2 emissions due to foreign ore transport. Effectively knowing Europe’s subsurface and the potential mineral supplies that can be used in these manufacturing industries can achieve this. We need to calculate the volumes of CRM and SRM metals (e.g. Co, Nb, V, Sb, PGE and REE) and minerals currently not extracted in Europe. We further need to understand how high-tech elements are mobilised, where they occur and why some are associated with specific major industrial metals. This means a renewed and robust focus on advanced exploration for new mineral deposits on land and sea.FRAME(*)[1] addresses most of these concerns by focusing on at least four of the current objectives of the EU Commission: 1- CRM; 2- battery critical elements [graphite, Co, Li]; 3- The circular economy and; 4- the responsible sourcing of metals by combating conflict minerals.With focused work packages, FRAME aims to broadly deliver, 1- a new assessment of the SRM and CRM in Europe; 2- an innovative predictability of where the sourcing of some of these SRM and CRM may come from to reduce dependance on external supply sources, which in some specific metals such as Nb and Ta, fosters the sustainable and responsible supply and; 3- look at case specific sites for the reuse of mineral RM. Data will be made available through a structured data platform. Hence, FRAME is making a significant contribution to aid in the “European Green Deal”, activities such as the Battery Alliance and support legal actions like the new EU "conflict minerals" regulation effective from 1/01/2021. [1] (*) This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement Nº 731166  

The main objective of the Portuguese project “CONVERTE-Biomass Potential for Energy” is to support the transition to a low-carbon economy, identifying biomass typologies in mainland Portugal, namely agri-forest waste, energy crops and microalgae. Therefore, the aim was to design and construct a georeferenced (mapping) database for mainland Portugal, to identify land availability for the implementation of energy crops and microalgae cultures, and to locate agricultural and forestry production areas (including their residues) with potential for sustainable exploitation for energy. The ArcGIS software was used as a Geographic Information System (GIS) tool, introducing the data corresponding to the type of soil, water needs and edaphoclimatic conditions in shapefile and raster data type, to assess the areas for the implantation of the biomass of interest. After analysing the data of interest in each map in ArcGIS, the intersection of all maps is presented, suggesting adequate areas and predicting biomass productions for the implementation of each culture in mainland Portugal. Under the conditions of the study, cardoon (72 kha, 1085 kt), paulownia (81 kha, 26 kt) and microalgae (29 kha, 1616 kt) presented the greater viability to be exploited as biomass to energy in degraded and marginal soils.