European Plate Observing System

The European Plate Observing System (EPOS) is a long-term initiative aimed at integrating research infrastructures for solid Earth science in Europe. EPOS provides a sustainable, multidisciplinary user-oriented platform - the EPOS Data Portal - that facilitates data integration, access, use, and re-use, while adhering to the FAIR principles. The paper describes the key governance, community building, and technical aspects for achieving multidisciplinary data integration through the portal. It also outlines the key portal features for aggregating approximately 250 data sources from more than ten different scientific communities. The main architectural concepts underpinning the portal, namely the rich-metadata, the service-driven data provision, and the usage of semantics, are outlined. The paper discusses the challenges encountered during the creation of the portal, describes the community engagement process, and highlights the benefits to the scientific community and society. Future work includes expanding portal functionalities to include data analysis, processing, and visualization and releasing the portal as an open-source software package.

Abstract Large igneous provinces (LIPs) whose magma plumbing systems intersect sedimentary basins are linked to upheavals of Earth’s carbon and sulfur cycles and thus climate and life history. However, the underlying mechanistic links between these phenomena are elusive. We address this knowledge gap through short time-scale petrological experiments (1200°C and 150 MPa) that explore interaction between basaltic melt and carbonaceous shale (mudstone) using starting materials from the Canadian High Arctic LIP and the Sverdrup Basin in which it intrudes. Here we show that entrainment of shale xenoliths in basaltic melt causes shale to shatter due to incipient thermal stress and devolatilization, which accelerates assimilation by increasing reactive surface area. Shale assimilation therefore facilitates transfer of sediment-derived volatile elements to LIP magma plumbing systems, whereupon carbon dominates the vapor phase while sulfur is partitioned into sulfide melt droplets. This study reveals that although carbon and sulfur are efficiently mobilized as a consequence of shale assimilation, sulfides can sequester sulfur—an important climate cooling agent—thus enhancing net emissions of climate warming greenhouse gases by shale-intersecting LIPs.

The path from the conception of a disruptive and innovative Research Data Infrastructure (RDI) to a successful operational RDI, is influenced almost entirely by the ability to engage at equal levels, researchers, IT experts, practitioners and data providers in its usage and adoption. This is particularly true for distributed RDI.In this work, we present the lessons learnt in EPOS (European Plate Observing System), the unique, distributed pan-European Research Infrastructure in the solid Earth domain. In EPOS a series of challenges were faced, in terms of consensus-driven choices along the technical, governance, sustainability, and scientific dimensions.EPOS is built for promoting collaboration, and harmonization of heterogeneous datasets, practices, and methods from ten different solid Earth communities. The final goal is to foster innovation and facilitate novel scientific discoveries. EPOS is a large research infrastructure including more than 60 data and service providers from 25 European Countries, providing 250 data services, delivering more than 30 different data formats, and covering more than 800 TB of data in total, described by more than 20 different metadata standards. It was conceived back in 2002, included in the ESFRI (European Strategic Forum on Research Infrastructures) Roadmap in 2008, then implemented through three European Projects (EPOS-PP Preparatory Phase (2010-2014), EPOS-IP Implementation Phase (2015-2019), EPOS-SP Sustainability Phase (2020-2023). EPOS was granted the status of ERIC (European Research Infrastructure Consortium) in 2018 and is in its Operational Phase since January 2023.The first lesson learned in this journey is related to the need for procedures and boards for community building and consensus establishment; this was achieved through clear governance where all key stakeholders interact and are informed through appropriate boards and committees. The second one is technical: to integrate such heterogenous datasets into a single platform (the EPOS Data Portal) a flexible architecture based on the microservices approach was adopted. The third lesson is related to the description of the datasets and services provided by the various thematic communities in EPOS, achieved through a rich metadata model that maps enough information to drive the integration occurring at the central system underpinning the EPOS Data portal. The fourth lesson is related to the legal and governance aspects: to keep communities committed, legal agreements for governance and coordination and for the thematic data provision were established; this ensures community engagement and the adoption of common criteria and principles.Finally, the fifth lesson is related to the co-development approach. For managing decisions and consensus on key technical and scientific aspects within a community of more than 80 individuals with different roles, responsibilities and expertise, a clear process was set up. It is inspired to the shape-up methodology but reviewed for the research context, and it proved to be effective in the EPOS RI where international collaboration is needed to manage integrated data provision.Many challenges remain open, for instance how to recognize and to encourage the careers within RDI. These indeed require specific skills, and the assumption of responsibilities within the RDI should be recognized by setting up dedicated career paths.

Data management is a key activity when Open Data stewardship through services complying with the FAIR principles is required, as it happens in many National and European initiatives. Existing guidelines and tools facilitate the drafting of Data Management Plans by focusing on a set of common parameters or questions. In this paper we describe how data management is carried out in EPOS, the European Research Infrastructure for providing access to integrated data and services in the solid Earth domain. EPOS relies on a federated model and is committed to remain operational in the long term. In EPOS, five key dimensions were identified for the Federated Data Management, namely the management of: thematic data; e-infrastructure for data integration; community of data providers committed to data provision processes; sustainability; and policies. On the basis of the EPOS experience, which is to some extent applicable to other research infrastructures, we propose additional components that may extend the EU Horizon 2020 Data Management Guidelines template, thus comprehensively addressing the Federated Data Management in the context of distributed Research Infrastructures.

Destination Earth initiative pursues the implementation of a digital model of the Earth. With the aim to help understand and simulate the evolution and behavior of the Earth system components, to aid in better forecasting the impacts on human system processes, ecosystem processes and their interaction. The current state of the art technologies in numerical computations (HPC), data infrastructures (involving data storage, data access, data analysis), enable the possibility of developing numerical clones mimicking Earth’s geophysical extreme phenomena.A Digital Twin for GEOphysical extremes (DT-GEO),is a new EU project funded under the Horizon Europe programme (2022-2025), with the objective of developing a prototype for a digital twin on geophysical extremes including earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, and anthropogenic-induced extreme events. It will enable analyses, forecasts, and responses to “what if” scenarios for natural hazards from their genesis phases and across their temporal and spatial scales. The project consortium brings together world-class computational and data Research Infrastructures (RIs), operational monitoring networks, and leading-edge research and academia partnerships in various fields of geophysics. It mergesthe latest outcomes from other European projects and, Centers of Excellence. DT-GEO will deploy and test 12 Digital Twin Components (DTCs). These will be self-contained entities embedding flagship simulation codes, Artificial Intelligence layers, large volumes of (real-time) data streams from and into data-lakes, data assimilation methodologies, and overarching workflows for deployment and execution of single or coupled DTCs in centralized HPC and virtual cloud computing Ris. (DT-GEO: A Digital Twin for GEOphysical extremes, project ID 101058129)

Achieving gender equality and building inclusive organisational cultures remain key challenges across the geosciences. EPOS ERIC — the European Plate Observing System European Research Infrastructure Consortium, established in 2018 with the mission to provide long-term, sustainable and open access to multidisciplinary solid Earth science data and services — has addressed these challenges through a rapid and structured implementation of its Gender Equality Plan (GEP) fully embedded within a strong institutional commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). The EPOS ERIC GEP is structured around the five priority areas recommended by the European Commission: i) work–life balance; ii) gender-balanced leadership; iii) fair and inclusive recruitment and career progression; iv) integration of gender and DEI considerations into research activities; and v) measures addressing gender-based violence, harassment and discrimination. Implementation is supported by clear objectives, indicators, responsibilities and annual monitoring processes. Several measures are now consolidated, including inclusive language guidelines, DEI-compliant job calls and contracts, gender-balanced recruitment committees, equitable training opportunities, and gender-aware event organisation. In a relatively short time span (2022–2025), EPOS ERIC has developed, approved and operationalised a comprehensive set of DEI-oriented policies and documents that complement and reinforce the GEP (December 2023), including: EPOS Inclusive Language Guidelines (2025); EPOS ERIC Code of Ethics (May 2025) and Code of Conduct (December 2025), introducing clear behavioural expectations, guidelines for reporting channels and protective measures to ensure safe and inclusive working and event environments. Two internal DEI surveys conducted in 2022 and 2025 show clear, consistent progress across all assessed dimensions. Staff report a sense of trust in EPOS ERIC’s DEI commitment, a marked improvement in organisational climate, and a more inclusive and participatory leadership culture. Work–life balance is perceived as significantly better supported, and respondents highlight more balanced participation in meetings, and higher awareness of rights, responsibilities and procedures. Improvements are especially evident in perceptions of respect, collaboration and psychological safety. Furthermore, a reporting mechanism that guarantees anonymous reporting, confidentiality, and the prevention of retaliation will be established in 2026.Remaining challenges include strengthening gender integration within research content. EPOS ERIC’s experience demonstrates how an international organisation in solid Earth science research can translate DEI and gender-equality commitments into effective institutional practice within a short timeframe, offering a scalable and replicable model.

Magma-limestone interaction is thought to be an important source of carbon in volcanic arc emissions (1). To better understand the production of volatiles and their behaviour in silicate melts during magma-limestone interaction, we performed Raman and FTIR spectroscopic analysis of bubbles and glasses in the products of a time-series of high pressure-temperature experiments (2). The experiments were designed to simulate entrainment and assimilation of limestone (CaCO3) xenoliths in mafic magma using starting materials from an iconic example of a limestone-hosted arc volcano (Mt. Merapi, Sunda arc, Indonesia) (3). The experimental conditions were T = 1200 °C and P = 0.5 GPa, with run-times ranging from t = 0 s to t = 300 s. Our shortest run-time experiment (t = 0 s) reveals formation of CO2-rich bubbles (± C, CO, N2, H2, H2O, CH4) in and around the magma-limestone reaction site and fast diffusion of CO32- and CO2 molecules throughout the host melt (qualitatively faster than Ca diffusion). Longer run-time experiments (up to t = 300 s) show that bubbles evolved to become larger and richer in CO2 close to the reaction site and that they grew by extracting CO2 from the surrounding melt. Magma-limestone interaction thus rapidly mobilizes CO32- andCO2 and promotes formation of compositionally evolving CO2-rich fluids, which could migrate along fractures, faults, or other fluid escape pathways to contribute to atmospheric fluxes of CO2 at volcanic arcs. References(1) Mason E., Edmonds M., Turchyn AV (2017) Remobilization of crustal carbon may dominate volcanic arc emissions. Science 357, 290-294, doi: 10.1126/science.aan5049(2) Deegan FM, Troll VR, Freda C, Misiti V, Chadwick JP, McLeod CL, Davidson JP (2010) Magma-carbonate interaction processes and associated CO2 release at Merapi volcano, Indonesia: Insights from experimental petrology. Journal of Petrology 51, 1027-1051, doi:10.1093/petrology/egq010(3) Deegan FM, Troll VR, Gertisser R, Freda C (2023) Magma-carbonate interaction at Merapi volcano. In: Gertisser R., Troll VR, Walter T, Agung Nandaka IGM, Ratdomopurbo A (Eds.) Merapi volcano: Geology, eruptive activity, and monitoring of a high-risk volcano (Volcanoes of the World Book Series). Springer Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg, New York. Chapter 10, 291-321, doi:10.1007/978-3-031-15040-1_

Reworking of limestone (CaCO 3 ) by magma is an important source of carbon in volcanic arc emissions. However, while it is broadly understood that CO 2 is liberated during magma–limestone interaction, the degassing behaviour of calcite in silicate melts is less well constrained. In this study, we carried out microspectroscopic analysis of volatiles within fluid inclusions and glass (former melt) in the products of short-term experiments simulating limestone assimilation in mafic arc melt ( T = 1200 °C, P = 0.5 GPa, runtimes of 0 to 300 s). The experimental products consist of partly to wholly assimilated limestone xenoliths enveloped by CaO-rich silicate glass (reacting melt) that grades into mafic glass (host melt). Micro- to milli-metric sized fluid-filled bubbles permeate the experimental products. This study reveals that limestone assimilation induces extremely fast apparent diffusivity of CO 2 (D CO2 ≳ 10 −7 m 2 /s) through both the reacting melt and the host melt. Volatile saturation is thus quickly reached, triggering nucleation of bubbles mainly containing CO 2 ± CO, CH 4 , N 2 , H 2 , and H 2 O. Crucially, we find that the host melt contains dissolved CO 2 from limestone, despite showing no other compositional evidence for limestone assimilation. Mafic melts in volcanic regions underlain by limestone may therefore mobilise and transport more carbon than previously thought, with implications for eruptive behaviour, volcanic CO 2 inventories, and long-term climate warming.

The geophysical research community has developed a relatively large amount of numerical codes and scientific methodologies which are able to numerically simulate through physics the extreme behavior of the Earth systems (for example: volcanoes, tsunamis earthquakes, etc). Furthermore,nowadays, large volumes of data have been acquired and, even near real-time data streams are accessible. Therefore, Earth scientist currently have on their hands the possibility of monitoring these events through sophisticated approaches using the current leading edge computational capabilities provided by pre-exascale computing infrastructures. The implementation and deployments of 12 Digital Twin Components (DTCs), addressing different aspects of geophysical extreme events is being carried out by DT-GEO, a project funded under the Horizon Europe programme (2022-2025). Each DTC is intended as self-contained entity embedding flagship simulation codes, Artificial Intelligence layers, large volumes of (real-time) data streams from and into data-lakes, data assimilation methodologies, and overarching workflows which will are executed independently or coupled DTCs in a centralized HPC and/or virtual cloud computing research infrastructure.