Brussels, 25/01/2011 (Agence Europe) - Analysing sea ice in the Arctic and improving information for citizens about air quality - these are the objectives of two important European Commission funded projects launched in January 2011. The two projects follow the recent signing of two contracts worth €2 million each. The projects aim to put in place the Europe's Global Monitoring system for Environment and Security, (GMES). The Icemar project paves the way, for example, for a shortened safe shipping line between Europe and China by bringing better iceberg forecasts to ships in the Arctic Ocean and the Baltic seas. The obsAIRve project will provide real time air quality information and alerts on levels of pollutant emissions and will be delivered directly to the user online, via smart phone platforms and SMS messages. Icemar and obsAIRve services will be available to citizens by the end of 2012.
The commissioner for industry and entrepreneurship explained: “GMES helps us make informed choices in areas concerning our environment, health, safety and security. The signature of these contracts is another important step in moving GMES from a research initiative to an information service to the benefit of citizens, businesses and public institutions.”
Icemar will improve access to the sea ice information in the Arctic region, including the Arctic Ocean and the Baltic Sea. It will provide continuous and accurate real time information on the ice conditions in these regions, the location and movements of icebergs as well as forecasts. In particular, safe passage through the Arctic Ocean in the summer months would drastically shorten the shipping line between Europe and China - by some 6000 km - leading to substantial savings in time, fuel and CO2 emissions. The contract for the Icemar project has been signed with a consortium bringing together companies from Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
The obsAIRve project will observe air quality and provide services for European citizens by disseminating processed air quality information directly to people via the internet, smart phones and SMS messages. The project will reach out to European citizens via existing European, national and local air quality platforms such as the European Environmental Agency's (EEA) Eye on Earth, and major national weather information platforms across Europe that have hundreds of thousands of visitors daily. Citizens will be able to sign up to receiving information and alerts on the levels of pollutant emissions in their area, primarily sulphur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxide (NOx), ozone (O3), carbon monoxide (CO), and particulate matter (PM), in real time. The contract has been signed with a consortium of businesses from Austria, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain. (O.L./transl.fl)