Cross-fertilization across research infrastructures within Geo-INQUIRE: plans, ongoing activities and future perspectives

The Geo-INQUIRE (Geosphere INfrastructures for QUestions into Integrated REsearch) project, launched in October 2022, fosters collaboration between several European research infrastructures, including three key ESFRI European Research Infrastructure Consortia (ERICs), to enhance geoscientific research and innovation. We highlight here those activities within the project that promote synergies between EPOS ERIC (European Plate Observing System), EMSO ERIC (European Multidisciplinary Seafloor and Water Column Observatory), ECCSEL ERIC (European Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage Laboratory Infrastructure), ChEESE (Centre of Excellence for Exascale in Solid Earth) and the ARISE (Atmospheric Dynamics Research Infrastructure in Europe) infrasound community. 

The cross-fertilization approach makes use of EPOS's extensive geophysical and geological data, EMSO's ocean and seafloor observation capabilities, ECCSEL's expertise in carbon capture and storage technologies, ChEESE's advanced pre-exascale computing capabilities for hazard and risk assessment, and ARISE's atmospheric monitoring technologies. Through shared data platforms, interoperable tools and collaborative research workflows, Geo-INQUIRE advances the understanding of Earth processes in both terrestrial and marine domains. Key developments include improved assessments of selected geohazards, insights into marine ecosystems, responses to carbon sequestration, and the integration of innovative deep-sea and subsurface monitoring technologies.

These advances will be made possible by providing users with enhanced services integrating new multidisciplinary FAIR data, integrated workflows, training modules, transnational access at key testbed sites, and management policies and KPIs essential for infrastructure governance. This collaborative framework demonstrates how coordinated efforts between research infrastructures (ERICs) can strengthen the European geoscience research landscape and foster multidisciplinary approaches to address critical global challenges. The project highlights the importance of open data sharing and interoperability standards to maximise the societal and scientific impact of research infrastructures.

The presentation will describe the envisaged approach during the proposal preparation phase, the current state of play, and finally, highlight the challenges with the evolving landscape of the project, with use cases shifting from an early emphasis on FAIR data only to a growing focus on AI-driven applications. In addition, the project addresses the rapid updates of data management policies in different communities, while providing a common framework of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for data providers, infrastructure operators and other stakeholders. The scientific focus is also evolving during implementation, from an initial focus only on the land/sea interface to also preparing for future climate and biological applications through AI-ready geoscientific data and services, which are becoming a critical asset for understanding the drivers of climate change.