PanGeo: A Free Geohazard Information Service for Europe
Capes, Ren
Fugro NPA Ltd, UNITED KINGDOM

Seventh Framework Programme
Theme [SPA.2010.1.1-01] Stimulating Development of Downstream GMES Services

PanGeo: Enabling Access to Geological Information in Support of GMES

PanGeo is a 3-year Collaborative project that started 1st February 2011 with the objective of enabling free and open access to geohazard information in support of GMES. This will be achieved by providing an INSPIRE-compliant, free, online geohazard information service for 52 of the largest towns in Europe covering approximately 13% of the population.

The geohazard information will be made accessible in a standard format by the 27 EU national Geological Surveys via a modified version of the 'shared access' infrastructure devised for One-Geology Europe, as well as via Google™ Earth. The information to be served (a new ground stability data-layer and accompanying interpretation) will be made by each Survey, and compiled from integrations of:

  • Satellite Persistent Scatterer InSAR processing, providing measurements of terrain-motion. Half of these are existing datasets coming from the ESA GMES Service Element project Terrafirma.
  • Geological and geohazard information already held by national Geological Surveys, together with their expertise.
  • The exposure data contained within the GMES Land Theme's Urban Atlas (1:10,000, 20-class, landcover data).
    Upon user enquiry, a PanGeo web-portal will automatically integrate the ground stability layer with the Urban Atlas to highlight landcover polygons influenced. Clicking on polygons will hyperlink to interpretative reports. User input to design is facilitated by the 27 national Geological Surveys contracted into the project and a core group of Local Authority representatives.

    It is trusted that sustainability of PanGeo will be achieved by attracting a proportion of the remaining 253 Urban Atlas towns to procure the PanGeo service for their towns. The service that will already be provided in their country will form the basis of the required promotional activity.

    The key users of PanGeo are anticipated as:

  • Local Authority planners and regulators concerned with managing development risk,
  • Civil Protection Agencies concerned with disaster preparedness and mitigation,
  • National geological surveys and geoscience institutes who collect and disseminate geohazard data for public benefit,
  • Policy-makers concerned with assessing and comparing European geological risk, much as the Urban Atlas data is used to compare the landcover/use status of European towns.
  • Commercial business, e.g. (re)insurers, property conveyancing, environmental reporting,
  • The public.