TOPO-EUROPE - 4. Design of the science programme

4. Design of the TOPO-EUROPE science programme

TOPO-EUROPE is geared for a 10-year multi-disciplinary, fully European Science Programme. The general objectives of this programme are:

To advance the understanding of continental topography development and its societal implications in terms of dynamic processes inherent to the Solid-Earth, processes operating at the Earth’s surface and their interaction
To promote national programmes on topography research and to integrate them into a Europe-wide collaborative network
To promote Europe internationally as scientific leader in the field of continental topography research
To provide an interdisciplinary forum for sharing technology, know-how and information in the field of European topography evolution
To promote the mobility and training of young researchers in the field of topography evolution and its societal relevance

The TOPO-EUROPE science programme will focus on natural laboratories in the Alpine-Mediterranean-Carpathian region, the Iberian microcontinent, the West and Central European Platform, the rifted Arctic-North Atlantic continental margins, the East-European Platform and the Africa-Arabia - Eurasian collision zone, including the Apennines-Aegean-Anatolia region and the Caucasus and Levant areas. Each of these natural laboratories addresses a specific tectonic setting under which topography dynamics are of great societal relevance (natural hazards, resources, impact on environment and climate). Each natural laboratory requires an integrated approach encompassing all 4 components of the TOPO-EUROPE Programme in order to assess these societal issues. Furthermore, these natural laboratories cover large parts of Europe and much of its population and industrial concentrations that, depending on the respective lithospheric domain, are exposed to a variety of natural hazards.

The TOPO-EUROPE Science Programme is organized as a matrix structure under which its 4 scientific approach components interface with the natural laboratories. This fosters close interaction between currently fragmented expertise and an effective knowledge transfer, both between different disciplines and at regional scales.