- Project with Institute of River and Coastal Engineering of Hamburg University of Technology
- European Economic Area (EEA) Financial Mechanism 2014–2021 Baltic Research Programme project “Solutions to current and future problems on natural and constructed shorelines, eastern Baltic Sea – Läänemere idaranniku looduslike randade ja rannikuehitiste jätkusuutlik tulevik” (SolidShore), grant no. EMP480 (2020-2023). See the section EMP480 SOLIDSHORE in the main menu.
- Institute of Cybernetics at Tallinn University of Technology is a partner in the project Infotechnological Mobility Observatory (IMO), measure 2014-2020.4.01.16-0274. The beneficiary (leading partner) is University of Tartu with a rate of support of 95% (project total 773 660 eur). The project is nationwide with a period of 01.01.2017 – 31.08.2022, supporting science infrastructure of national importance on the basis of a road map. The project is supported by the Archimedes Foundation Structural Funds Agency and the European Regional Development Fund.
- Growing spatial mobility is one of the major changes in modern society, which is linked to foreign and internal migration, urbanization, entrepreneurship, inequality and regional development. Spatial mobility requires up-to-date and high-quality data. The aim of the IMO is to develop an innovative data infrastructure supporting mobility research that integrates geographically and longitudinally different national statistics and innovative IT data sources.
- Wave dynamics for coastal engineering and management (institutional research support from Estonian Ministry of Education and Science via Estonian Research Council IUT33-3, 2015–2020)
- In spite of huge progress in the science of ocean waves, there are numerous gaps in our knowledge of their physics, dynamics, extremes and impact on coastal and offshore engineering structures. Our aims are: (i) the improvement of our knowledge of the properties of waves of different kinds (wind, internal, surge, ship, long waves etc) in all phases of their life-cycle, from generation, interactions, transformation and propagation until their breaking in the nearshore, (ii) reaching progress in fundamental aspects of wave science (rogue waves, run-up, set-up, overtopping, nonlinear interactions, applied wave mathematics), with a particular target to quantify more exactly the role of surface waves among marine-induced coastal hazards; (iii) better understanding and forecast of processes affecting the common types of the Baltic Sea coasts, with a target to develop preventive coastal protection methods using features of Lagrangian transport and site-specific applications for management.Our results during six years of intense research indicate that climate change in the Baltic Sea region involves extensive changes in the directional structure of strong winds. The wave climate is non-stationary and hosts both gradual and abrupt changes. Several relatively sheltered areas of the eastern Baltic Sea may still be suitable for wave energy production.
The largest changes have a strong meridional pattern. The geostrophic air-flow over the southern Baltic Sea has turned by ~40° around 1987. A turn of wind directions occurred in the Gulf of Finland from 2012. These changes may drive undesired effects such as coastal erosion.
We mapped the “climate” of internal solitary waves (seasonal variation and spatial distribution of their main properties) in several shelf seas. Much of the energy of certain internal motions is concentrated in the eastern part of the Baltic Sea.
We developed spectrogram technique to retrieve the main properties of ship’s motion from one-point measurements of her wake and revealed the nature of strongly nonlinear Riemann waves of ship-driven depressions in the Venice Lagoon.
Wave set-up heights usually follow an exponential distribution but in certain locations an inverse Gaussian distribution.
The climate of water level Latvian in waters and its changes were quantified using 58 years of data. The fastest increase (6–9 mm/yr) in annual water level maxima occurs in Estonian and Latvian waters.
We have implemented laser scanning measurements of the dry beach, developed an index of coastal vulnerability for Lithuanian waters, and analysed several issues of with coastal management for several regions of Vietnam and Australia.
Using surface drifters, we showed that an upwelling may supersede the classic Ekman-type drift and slow down the surface currents. The impact of wind drag coupled with current-driven transport can dramatically increase the patch growth rate at the sea surface and lead to large pollution patches via collisions of realistic (sticky) patches of plastic or oil pollution.
- In spite of huge progress in the science of ocean waves, there are numerous gaps in our knowledge of their physics, dynamics, extremes and impact on coastal and offshore engineering structures. Our aims are: (i) the improvement of our knowledge of the properties of waves of different kinds (wind, internal, surge, ship, long waves etc) in all phases of their life-cycle, from generation, interactions, transformation and propagation until their breaking in the nearshore, (ii) reaching progress in fundamental aspects of wave science (rogue waves, run-up, set-up, overtopping, nonlinear interactions, applied wave mathematics), with a particular target to quantify more exactly the role of surface waves among marine-induced coastal hazards; (iii) better understanding and forecast of processes affecting the common types of the Baltic Sea coasts, with a target to develop preventive coastal protection methods using features of Lagrangian transport and site-specific applications for management.Our results during six years of intense research indicate that climate change in the Baltic Sea region involves extensive changes in the directional structure of strong winds. The wave climate is non-stationary and hosts both gradual and abrupt changes. Several relatively sheltered areas of the eastern Baltic Sea may still be suitable for wave energy production.
Completed
- Large scale experiments and simulations for the second generation of FuturICT (FuturICT 2.0), ERA-NET FLAG-ERA project, 01.01.2017–31.12.2019)
- The impact of EXtreme events of future climates on the marine ecOSYSTEM in the Baltic and Barents Sea (ERA.Net RUS Plus project EXOSYSTEM, 2016–2018)
- Growth and innovation in the ocean economy: Baltic Sea Checkpoint. Sebastian Checkpoints – Lot 3 Baltic” of the call MARE/2014/09 (2015–2018)
- Strengthening education in space-based remote sensing for monitoring of ecosystems in Israel, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan (Tempus SESREMO, 2014–2018)
- Estimates of sediment transport and modelling of propagation of suspended matter near Merirahu Harbour (industrial contract, 2016)
- Extreme water levels and their return periods on the Estonian coast (industrial contract, 2015-2016)
- Measurements, modelling and parameterization of joint wind- and current-driven transport in marine surface layers (personal research funding from Estonian Ministry of Education and Science via Estonian Research Council PUT1266, originally designed for 2016–2019; closed in 2017 after relocation of the PI)
- Wave dynamics for coastal engineering (Lainetuse dünaamika ja rannikutehnika), SF0140007s11, 2011–2016; from 2015 merged with IUT33-3)
- Climate change impact on biodiversity of Baltic Sea coastal reefs (EEA grant No. 2/EEZLV02/14/GS/022, Latvia/Estonia, 2015–2016)
- Mobilitas Top Scientist’s grant MTT63 (2011-2015)
- Wave induced hazards in Estonian coastal waters
- Läänemere idaranniku reaktsioon lainekliima muutustele
- Statistics of extreme wave conditions and events for Estonian coastal waters, MJD270 (2012-2014)
- Science-based forecast and quantification of risks to properly and timely react to hazards impacting Estonian mainland, air space, water bodies and coasts, KESTA-TERIKVANT, 2012–2014
- BalticWay (2009-2011)
- Spatial and temporal variability of the Baltic Sea wave fields in changing climatic conditions (2008-2011)
- Lainetusest tingitud põhjasetete resuspensiooni hindamine reaalajas
- Shoaling and runup of long waves generated by high-speed ferries (2008-2010)
- 3D Visualisation and Parallel Processing
- SEAMOCS (2006-2009)
- NordPlus (2005-2008)
- Wave current interaction in Coastal Environment (2006-2007)
- GSD – Global System Dynamics and Policies: simulation and visualisation technologies, Coordination Action under FP7, Grant Agreement Number 221955, Future and Emerging Technologies (FET), 2008–2010
Coordinator: Prof. Dr. Steven Bishop, University College London (UCL), United Kingdom
Partners: Utrecht University (Netherlands), Max Planck Institute of Meteorology (Germany), European Climate Forum e.V. (Germany), Chalmers Tekniska Hoegskola AB (Sweden), Unit for Research into Changing Institutions (United Kingdom), IMCS Intercollege Ltd. (Cyprus), Universidad de Alcala (Spain), Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (France), Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (Germany)Society currently faces a set of new challenges that are both global in scale and highly dynamic. Some of the most critical are: climate change, energy, security and the spread of new diseases such as HIV and the continued devastating effects of old diseases, such as malaria. These issues involve resources and impacts which no single in society controls, but which affect all people worldwide. They require the allocation of significant resources to the preservation or development of ‘public goods’, such as the earth‘s climate, security or public health.
The purpose of GSD is to create a new set of links between scientists and stakeholders to develop new simulation and visualisation methods analyse these issues and to seek new ways in which science can support policy and decision making. The project will organise a series of workshops and conferences to bring together the scientists specialising in the analysis of these global challenges, including experts in the application of ICT FETs for the analysis of complex, dynamic systems. In parallel, a series of dialogues will be carried out between scientists, stakeholders and decision makers to explore new mechanisms of interaction between these groups exploiting the application if modern ICT FET simulation tools for rapid analysis of complex dynamic systems, including the analysis of very large, dispersed data sets.