Partner 3: JRC

The European Commission Directorate Generale Joint Research Centre (DG JRC) is a research based policy support organisation and an integral part of the European Commission. In seven Institutes located at different locations across Europe, extensive research of direct concern to European citizens and industry is carried out. Its guideline is that of ‘adding value’ where appropriate, rather than competing directly with establishments in the EU Member States. Our structure is based on seven specialised Institutes. We employ about 2700 staff (Dec 2006) and use a budget of over 300 million Euro per year stemming from the European Commission’s research budget and from competitive income.
The JRC FLOODS action (http://natural-hazards.jrc.it) is part of the Land Management and Natural Hazards Unit (http://lmnh.ies.jrc.it) of the Institute for Environment and Sustainability. It aims at developing EU-wide methodologies and information systems for the prevention of impacts, prediction and assessment of weather driven floods to complement Member State activities in this sector in current and changing climate conditions. The main topics are flood forecasting, flood hazard and risk mapping, climate change and adaption studies related to floods, and flood damage assessment. In our group expertise exists in hydrology, meteorology, soil science, hydraulics, simulation modelling, GIS and remote sensing.
Particularly relevant for this project is the development of the European Flood Alert System (EFAS) which is based on meteorological ensemble prediction systems which is carried out in close collaboration with national water authorities across Europe. Furthermore, the expertise of the FLOODS group on the impact of climate change on floods and land use change modelling will be very valuable for the project. During FP5 the floods group developed the LISFLOOD flood simulation and forecasting system, which will be further developed and tested during FP6 and FP7. JRC participates(d) in several previous projects such as PREVIEW, FloodSite, EFFS, DAUFIN and NOAH.

Jutta Thielen-del Pozo (PhD) is a senior scientist in the field of hydro-meteorology. She joined the JRC in 2000 is now leading the development and testing of the European Flood Alert System (EFAS) within the IES/LMNH FLOODS action. Within the FloodSite projects she also worked on a feasibility study on early warning for flashflood applications. Jutta is currently co-chair the Hydrological Ensemble Experiment (HEPEX) initiative together with John Schaake from NOAA.

Dr. Ad de Roo is a geographer with experience in spatial analysis, GIS and cellular automata applied to urban and regional planning and natural hazards. Currently his research focuses on the study of flood disasters’ damage and mapping at continental level, flood risk and vulnerability assessment, and the development and application of cellular automata-based models for land-use scenario simulation.

Selected Publications
2007.    Barredo, J. I., 2007: Major Flood Disasters in Europe: 1950-2005. Natural Hazards, 42, 124-148.
2003.    Barredo, J. I., M. Kasanko, N. McCormick, and C. Lavalle, 2003: Modelling dynamic spatial processes: simulation of urban future scenarios through cellular automata. Landscape and Urban Planning, 64, 145-160.
2008.    Thielen, J., J. Bartholmes, M.-H. Ramos, and A. de Roo, 2008: The European Flood Alert System - Part 1: Concept and development. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Discuss. J1  - HESSD, 5, 257-287.
2008.    Bartholmes, J. C., J. Thielen, M. H. Ramos, and S. Gentilini, 2008: The European Flood Alert System EFAS - Part 2: Statistical skill assessment of probabilistic and deterministic operational forecasts. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Discuss. J1  - HESSD, 5, 289-322.