Cofunded by the European Union

Maturity Level : 
A.3. RIs within National Roadmaps
RI Acronym : 
KKobs
Institution/Coordinating Institution : 
University of Tartu
Other partners : 
Estonian University of Life Sciences - Tallinn University of Technology - Estonian Environment Agency
Country : 
Estonia
Current Status : 
Active
Location : 
Baltic Sea, Estonia
RI Type : 
Distributed RI (Central Hub and interlinked National Nodes RI)
Level of Access : 
Transnational
Cost of Access : 
Free
Water4All Keywords : 
Ecosystem services - Ecohydrology - Climate changes - Resource management - Resilience and sustainability
Domains and thematic area : 
Ecosystems - Sustainable Water Management
Services provided : 
Access monitoring sites - Access data and metadata - Multi-scale analysis - Data management - Logistic and technical support
Equipment : 
Observation networks and tools - Environmental analysis infrastructures - Cloud/Data Storage
Type of variables provided : 
Hydrological variables - Water quality variables - Biological and ecological variables - Meteorological and climatic variables - Geochemical variables - Sediment and Geomorphological variables
Frequency of Measurements : 
Continuous Monitoring (Real-time, 10-min. period, hourly, every few hours, daily etc.) - Periodic Sampling (weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, etc.)
Sustainability of funding : 
Yes
Type of funding : 
European;National
Source : 
Website

The marine component of the Estonian Environmental Observatory is part of the Gulf of Finland Pilot Supersite in JERICO. The observatory is composed of fixed coastal sensors (sea level), Tallinn-Helsinki ferrybox system, Keri cabled profiling system, portable profiling systems, wave buoy, research vessel surveys. The observatory addresses the main environmental challenges in the area, such as eutrophication and its consequences, climate change effects, microplastic pollution etc. Likewise, observations provide data to the physical oceanographers dealing with the water column dynamics, coastal-offshore exchange, etc. and marine ecologists studying water column and benthic habitats. Observatory collects long-term time-series for the climate and marine system change studies and high-resolution data for the process studies.

Part A: Research Infrastructures / Observatories

The Water4All Partnership - Water Security for the Planet - is a funding programme for scientific research in freshwater. It aims to tackle water challenges to face climate change, help to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and boost the EU’s competitiveness and growth.

It is co-funded by the European Union within the frame of the Horizon Europe programme (a key funding programme for research and innovation). The Partnership duration is for seven years from 2022.

The Water4All objective is to enable water security at a large scale and in the long term. Its goal is also to tackle water issues in a holistic frame. 

All forms of life on earth need water. All human activities operate with this resource. Water is part of our everyday life. It is also integrated within urban and countryside landscapes. It is one of the most valuable elements we share with plants and animals.

These simple facts must be kept in mind to understand the Water4All ambition.

This resource is weakened in many places due to climate changes, and human habits. We know that we can improve the way we use water. Everyone has a role to play and especially the scientific research community.

Scientific research is the heart of the Partnership as It is a powerful tool to improve knowledge on preserving, restoring, and managing this essential resource. 

International cooperation is also needed as water has no borders on Earth and runs from one country to another.

Water4All brings together a broad and cohesive group of 90 partners from 33 countries in the European Union and beyond. This consortium gathers partners from the whole water Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) chain.