A Smart Decision Support System for the Mitigation of Climate Change Effects on Cultural Heritage

Nowadays Cultural Heritage (CH) monuments face increasing effects of climate change (CC) that vitally impact their sustainability. The TRIQUETRA project, recognising the cruciality of the identification, quantification and mitigation of those CC-driven effects, aims to develop a novel Decision Support System (DSS) that leverages the existing knowledge, to efficiently provide a holistic approach for the conservation of the CH monuments.

More specifically, the TRIQUETRA project focuses on developing a comprehensive, evidence-based DSS for the identification and mitigation of the impacts of climate change on CH sites. TRIQUETRA is based on three key components i.e., Risk Identification, Risk Quantification, and Risk Mitigation. The basis for the DSS is the TRIQUETRA Knowledge Base Platform (KBP), which serves as a dynamic electronic repository equipped with advanced search functionalities and visualisation tools. The KBP concentrates a wide array of validated data regarding a wide variety of CH sites around the world, which climatic, geological and historical records, site-specific attributes, risk assessment, and mitigation strategies are provided through verified research publications.

The DSS features two distinctive modules: the a) Risk Severity Quantification module and b) the Mitigation Measure Selection and Optimisation module. The latter utilises the catalogued information of KBP to provide tailored mitigation measures for each pilot site and verify them based on project outcomes. By incorporating dynamic user stories that consistently reflect the stakeholders' needs, this module facilitates the selection of the most appropriate preservation and mitigation strategies for each site.

Moreover, to enhance functionality, the DSS integrates a search mechanism that allows users to filter results based on a series of criteria such as cost, implementation timeframe, topological effect, etc. The algorithm is adaptable to diverse user inputs and constitutes a scalable solution, leveraging the database of the KBP to identify optimal mitigation solutions, by cross-referencing the characteristics of a given CH site with those of similar sites documented in the relevant literature, providing users with a ranked list of applicable measures.

This adaptive module and the TRIQUETRA DSS as a whole aim to complement research contributing to the protection of cultural heritage against climate change, enabling tailored monitoring and preservation strategies for each pilot CH site.