WATERMARK - a multi-disciplinary research initiative for the EU Water Framework Directive

Description

WATERMARK is a multi-disciplinary research initiative at the Austrian Research Centers which aims at developing intelligent knowledge-based services and solutions to support the implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive. One of the basic requirements for realising the requested integrated water management approach is to develop advanced information and data management tools and applications. WATERMARK combines the research expertise in water management, information technologies and environmental planning in order to develop innovative tools for comprehensive information management in the field of water resource management. The initiative focuses on several ground water management case studies, ranging from the transport and distribution of pollutants in groundwater bodies to the exploration and sustainable management of groundwater resources. The research centres on the integration of spatial web services, based on OGC and ISO standards, with different ground water models to generate information in support of decision making processes. Reliable data from a variety of disciplines and sources provide the basis for dependable analyses.. Through a loosely coupled system of data-stores, modelling components and information retrieval interfaces, information can be generated from the most recent data. The first stage of implementation is a web-based decision support tool for tracing point-source ground water pollutants. Where sufficient data and models are available, queries are answered in real-time and are provided on a web-interface or forwarded to experts for further processing. An additional research component will deal with assessing the impact of anthropogenic activities on the environment through selected criteria and indicators that can be visualised for decision-makers. Future integration of standards based sensors (Sensorweb) and web based geoprocessing services will support the development of a real time environment to handle requests also in emergency cases and inform decision-makers and the public via web alert services. Incorporating additional modules on demand is also foreseen to develop a variety of groundwater management scenarios.

Period	17 Nov 2005
Event title	Watermark - A multi-disciplinary research initiative for the EU Water Framework Directive, International Workshop
Event type	Other
Degree of Recognition	International