Launch of the European Plate Observing System (EPOS) : Earth System Science enters the Big Data era

Wednesday 7 November 2018 officially launches the European Plate Observing System (EPOS) for the pooling and streamlining of data and services of all kinds for the study of our planet. This initiative, for which the CNRS and BRGM are working together with the French Ministry for Higher Education, Research and Innovation, in part aims to better understand the mechanisms behind earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Developed in line with the principles of open science, EPOS infrastructure will henceforth be a legal entity, in the form of a European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC). Earth is an active system, the internal dynamics of which generate a continuous series of surface morphological changes in interaction with the atmosphere and hydrosphere (e.g. oceans, water tables). Shifts in tectonic plates are the most evident example of this process, along with the earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides and volcanic eruptions which occasionally accompany them. Understanding how the “Earth System” works is critical in order to protect ourselves from these natural risks and mobilise geological resources in a sustainable manner.