The Kyoto Protocol as a substantial extension to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) contains quantified, legally binding commitments to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and allows emissions to be balanced by terrestrial biological carbon sinks. The Austrian target for the first commitment period (2008 2012) is a reduction of GHG emissions of 13% below those of 1990, the EU aims at a reduction of 8%. Due to further increased GHG emissions since 1990, an actual reduction target of 22% can be expected for Austria. The KP and its implementation rules provide for human induced net changes of domestic sinks in the land-use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector to be counted in the emission balance of Annex 1 countries (developed countries and economies in transition). With the so called flexible mechanisms the Kyoto Protocol designated three international mechanisms, including sink projects abroad and GHG emission trading, to increase flexibility and costeffectiveness in achieving GHG emission reductions in the first commitment period 2008-2012. Under the UNFCCC and the KP, parties must follow clearly defined GHG inventory and reporting obligations including the verifiable and transparent documentation of the LULUCF sector. The latter is very precisely specified by the recently published IPCC Good Practice Guidance (GPG) for LULUCF, which suspects that in most countries the existing land use and inventory systems are inadequate to meet all the land reporting requirements of the Kyoto Protocol. Remote Sensing is attributed a significant role for LULUCF reporting and verification by the IPCC GPG. Remote sensing can be applied to supplement missing elements of existing land use and forest inventory systems, or to deliver the basic LULUCF information and to estimate (via models) above ground biomass changes on the one hand, and/or as an independent verification/validation tool for land use/forest area changes and above ground biomass. The development of RS as an independent verification tool as done in NEOS-QUICK, based on a multi-sensor approach, integrating GIS and ground observations, nevertheless leaves room for flexible applications of the elaborated RS techniques in either of the above mentioned ways.
Die Flussperlmuschel (Margaritifera margaritifera) ist als vom Aussterben bedrohte Art einzustufen. Die Nachzucht der Muschel gelang in den letzten Jahren mittels einer eigens errichteten Nachzuchtstation jedoch durchaus sehr erfolgreich. Um für die Wiederansiedelung der Flussperlmuschel in Fließgewässern zu gewährleisten gilt es vorab geeignete Lebensraumbedingungen zu finden. Dabei ist die Habitatmodellierung als geeignetes Instrument für eine Bewertung bzw. eine Vorauswahl anzusehen. Diese Modellierung beruht auf Eingangsparametern, die in intakten Flussperlmuschelgewässern erhoben werden müssen. Solche intakten Gewässer mit reproduktiven Flussperlmuschelpopulationen existieren aktuell nur noch in Nordeuropa (z. B. Schweden, Finnland, Norwegen) und in einem deutschen Heidebach, der Lutter, in der ein umfangreiches, das gesamte Einzugsgebiet umfassendes Sanierungs- und Wiederansiedelungsprojekt sehr erfolgreich umgesetzt wurde. Ziel des Projektes ist es, in verschiedenen österreichischen Gewässern jene (Lebensraum-)Parameter zu erfassen, welche von der Flussperlmuschel genutzt bzw. auch nicht genutzt werden, um funktionale Zusammenhänge für ein zukünftiges Management zu erkennen, bzw. auch jene Nutzungskurven abzuleiten, die für mögliche hydraulische Modellanwendungen zur Habitatevaluierung benötigt werden. Um dieses Ziel zu Erreichen wird eine Charakterisierung der Gewässermorphologie mittels tachymetrischer Vermessung von genutzten und nicht genutzten Gewässerprofilen durchgeführt als Grundlage für die eindimensionale numerische Modellierung (HEC-RAS). Weiters werden Kornverteilungskurven mittels volumetrischer Beprobung aus Deck- und Unterschicht erstellt mit einer Bestimmung der Feinsedimentanteile (kleiner als 0,063 mm, kleiner als 0,125 mm, kleiner als 0,250 mm) durchgeführt.
Meteorological satellites operated by EUMETSAT can provide information on a wide range of environmental processes taking place in the atmosphere and on the Earth's surface. For development and production of higher-level geophysical products, EUMETSAT has established a network of so-called Satellite Application Facilities (SAFs) which undertake, on a distributed basis, the necessary research, development and operational services and products aimed at enhancing the value and use of meteorological satellite data for applications. The objective of the H-SAF is to support operational hydrology and water management in Europe by providing remotely sensed information about rainfall, soil moisture and snow cover in near-real-time. The task of TU Wien is to develop, together with the Austrian Weather Service (ZAMG) and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), soil moisture products based on data acquired by the Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT) on-board METOP. The role of TU Wien is to develop algorithms for retrieval of surface soil moisture information for European watersheds, which will later be operated by ZAMG. The task of ECMWF is to assimilate the ASCAT surface soil moisture data into their models to estimate the root-zone soil moisture content which is also of high interest for hydrological models. The H-SAF is hosted by the Italian Weather Service (Officio Generale per la Meteorologia). The H-SAF is now in its first Continuous Development and Operations Phase (CDOP1).
In this project energy scenarios up to the year 2030 representing economic trends and impacts of climate and energy policies are developed. These provide a basis for the reporting duties 'monitoring mechanism' of the Federal Environmental Agency regarding the UNFCCC. For this purpose the dynamic econometric Input-Output (DEIO) model of the WIFO is used. lt represents energy demands of 59 NACE 2-digit sectors, and the household sector in relations to energy prices, technical and socio-demographic variables such as stock of dwellings and energy efficiency explaining economic developments. The DEIQ model is linked to three partial bottom-up models of other research groups, which describe the heating system, electricity demand and power generation and the transport sector. Scenario results are presented according to the template of the aggregated energy balance of Statistics Austria with regard to 1. the reference, with-measures (WM) scenario, 2. a sensitivity analysis to the reference scenario, and 3. a climate and energy policy scenario (with additional-measures, WAM) with 4. a sensitivity analysis 10 the WAM scenario. The WM scenario is based on recent WIFO economic forecasts and focuses on the impacts of the economic crisis on energy demand. The WAM scenario is based on the Austrian Energy Strategy, reflecting the targets of the final energy consumption (1,100 PJ p.a.), the share of renewable energy according to the definition of the EU climate and energy package (34 percent) and the reduction of greenhouse gases by 16 percent within the EU 'effort sharing.
Soil moisture - the water stored in soil within reach of the plants - is a crucial parameter for a large number of applications. Consequently, the field of microwave remote sensing of soil moisture has been an important research topic since the 1970s. But only in the last few years significant progress towards operational soil moisture services has been made. This progress became possible due to advances in sensor technology and new algorithmic approaches. With the improved algorithms it has been possible to derive soil moisture from existing operational microwave sensors. The first global soil moisture dataset derived from ERS-1/2 scatterometer measurements was released in 2002. The first near-real-time operational soil moisture service was started by EUMETSAT in May 2008 based on METOP ASCAT, which is the successor instrument of the ERS-1/2 scatterometer. Austria has made important contributions to these developments. The algorithms for retrieving soil moisture from the C-band scatterometers on board of ERS-1/2 and METOP have been developed by the Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien). Within EUMETSAT's Satellite Application Facility in Support to Operational Hydrology and Water Management (Hydrology SAF) the Austrian meteorological service (ZAMG) coordinates the soil moisture activities and is responsible for building up operational services for value-added METOP ASCAT soil moisture products. The overall goal of the proposed project is to advance the use of soil moisture services based on METOP ASCAT and complementary satellite systems, most importantly SMOS and ENVISAT ASAR, by extending the Hydrology SAF products to Africa and Australia, carrying out extensive calibration and validation (Cal/Val) activities and by developing novel water hazards applications. The considered applications are weather forecasting, drought and yield monitoring, hydrologic prediction, epidemiological modelling, climate change, desertification monitoring and societal risks assessment. A project of comparable thematic focus and breath has not been proposed before. It is expected that the interdisciplinary cooperation of specialists from different fields will lead to important scientific innovations that will promote a wide use of satellite technology in water hazards applications.
Hauptziel des MATSIM-Projektes (Phase A und B) ist die vollständige mathematische Simulation des Matroshka-Phantoms unter Verwendung von Monte-Carlo-Transportcodes. Das Projekt wird im Rahmen des bereits laufenden ESA-ELIPS-Projektes Matroshka, einer internationalen Zusammenarbeit von mehr als 18 Forschungsinstituten aus der ganzen Welt unter der Koordination des Deutschen Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) durchgeführt. Die Matroshka-Einrichtung wurde entwickelt, um die Strahlenexposition eines Astronauten während einer extravehikularen Aktivität (EVA) auf der internationalen Raumstation (ISS) festzustellen. Zu diesem Zweck wurde in dem Experiment die Dosisverteilung innerhalb eines anthropomorphen, an der Außenseite der ISS exponierten Phantoms durch einige tausend Thermolumineszenzdosimeter (TLD) gemessen. Im Rahmen von MATSIM-A wurde ein numerisches Modell des MATROSHKA-Phantoms entwickelt, welches in Bezug auf Geometrie, Material und Dichteverteilung dem realen Phantom entspricht. Die übertragene Energie und die Verteilung der absorbierten Dosis innerhalb des Phantomkörpers wurden für Photonen- und Neutronenfelder simuliert, die zur Validierung des numerischen Modells herangezogen werden. Im Rahmen von MATSIM-B wird die simulierte Dosisverteilung innerhalb des Phantoms mit den TLD-Messdaten bei Bestrahlung in Photonen- und Neutronenfeldern verglichen, die in österreichischen Referenzlaboratorien verfügbar sind. Weitere Bestrahlungen in Ionenfeldern werden geplant. Die Validierung des numerischen Modells durch TLD-Referenzmessungen bildet die Grundlage, um die Dosisverteilung im Phantom unter den für den Orbit der ISS erwarteten Strahlungsbedingungen zu untersuchen. Zusätzlich wird das Ansprechvermögen eines gewebeäquivalenten Proportionalzählers (TEPC) in der Strahlungsumgebung der ISS simuliert. Die resultierende mikrodosimetrische Verteilung soll zusätzliche Information über die Strahlenqualität geben. Diese Informationen sind für eine umfassende Risikobeurteilung der Strahlengefahr für den Menschen im Weltraum durch ionisierende, hochenergetische Teilchenstrahlung erforderlich und sollen in die Planung der zukünftigen Phase 3 des Matroshka-Projektes einfließen.
Remote sensing has been used more and more for environmental mapping applications. Main focus so far was on the use of optical sensors having a strong drawback due to their dependency on cloud coverage. With upcoming commercial radar sensors, research activities revealed a strong potential of radar data for environmental mapping activities. Nevertheless, their use has been restricted due to low resolution. With the launch of TerraSAR-X in 2007, new SAR data will become available, offering high resolution (up to 1 m) and fully polarimetric data for sophisticated mapping applications. Nevertheless, little is yet known about the information content and application potential in environmental land applications. Therefore, the goals of this project are the improvement of existing X-band scattering models and the development of environmental mapping applications for TerraSAR X data in Austria and in potential export markets. As reference data for the development of X-band backscatter models airborne laser scanner measurements from different Austrian test sites will be used.
Narrative description of Project: SPLASH has been the name of the European Union Water Initiative European Research Area Network (EUWI Era-Net). This network project has been developed and implemented by a consortium of 15 ministries, funding agencies and national research and technological development authorities from 11 European countries. Objective: The overall aim of SPLASH has been to improve water research for poverty reduction and thus to contribute to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). SPLASH objective has been to improve the effectiveness of European funded research on water for development and to develop the capacity of local organizations to coordinate and communicate their research activities. The project focus was Africa and the Mekong region. SPLASH focussed on the following specific objectives: - To coordinate existing national and regional research programmes to minimise duplication and identify gaps; - To design collaborative research programmes which address identified needs; - To speed up knowledge sharing between researchers and practitioners; - To map good research management to maximise use of resources; - To support the transfer of research into practice. Description of actual services provided by your staff within the assignment: In close collaboration with the Austrian Development Agency HYDROPHIL experts worked with other European agencies on the implementation of several Work Packages (WP) and specifically was responsible for the fulfilment of WP4 - Engagement of Main Actors (i.e., from Africa and the Mekong region). HYDROPHIL conducted regional stakeholder consultations in Western Africa (Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso), Eastern Africa (Kisumu, Kenya) and in the Mekong Basin (Phnom Penh, Cambodia).
The application of renewable energy systems and the relevant supply-chains are characterized by constant innovation, as the products are usually non-standard systems and the technology providers involved typically are young businesses with a close relation to research institutions. In Austria the diffusion of renewable energy systems in many cases has been driven by collaborations of visionary public research institutions, start-ups and suppliers - applied research still plays a strong role in the implementation of these systems especially when it comes to entering new markets.For the REGENER project TU Graz Technology Transfer Office has identified 4 Austrian SMEs which have developed outstanding solutions in solar heating and cooling, photovoltaic, biomass and biogas and have won several innovation awards. These SMEs are eager to enter new CEE markets by preparing pilot projects in regional key sectors but need regional suppliers for their systems. The two CEE regions addressed in REGENER (Northern Bulgaria, West Croatia) are characterized by the emergence of new technology transfer institutions which try to build on the experiences in Western Europe and act as regional innovation managers and catalysts esp. in the field of sustainable technologies. For REGENER these CEE intermediaries have identified 3 pilot end-users each and will use their good knowledge of the regional business and research environment to assist feasibility studies, identify and approach supply chain partners and act as dissemination partners. REGENER will start with 6 technical feasibility studies to assess the potential for renewable energy use (lead by Prof. Schnitzer and supported by local researchers), which will be reviewed by the 4 Austrian SMEs in terms of cost and benefits of implementation. The latter will also specify requirements for potential partners in the CEE regions which should support production and assembling, deliver services for installation and act as multipliers to raise awareness among potential regional end-users. The two CEE intermediaries then will identify and approach businesses by technology oriented supply- and demand-side market analyses and dissemination events with direct business-to-business contacts, in order to lay ground for sustainable production and service networks across the involved regions; furthermore some of the businesses identified could become RTD project partners eg. in the EU 7th framework programme. For the CEE region SMEs involved in REGENER will lead to increased innovative capacity by learning state-of-the-art technological and organizational standards in the fast growing field of renewable energy use. The Austrian SMEs will learn to adapt their solutions to these markets, technological requirements and cultural specifics of the regional suppliers and partners. Furthermore the intermediaries will learn about ways and methods to address SMEs and thus will strengthen their role in the individual innovative milieu.
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