Insight201101_eng

Insight } Exchange: Workshop Germany – Brazil

Issue 01/11

} Media: Geological research attractive

} Design: The first impression counts

} Outlook: Open Access in science

Geotechmarket – A successful funding measure of the BMBF

For the first time, special funds have been made available by the BMBF for adjusting outstanding monitoring and early warning systems to the requirements and demands of the end user and for product presentations at specialized trade fairs. In the course of the three-year funding period in the key research area »Early warning systems against natural hazards“, several projects designed promising technologies and received additional funds from the BMBF in order to be able to develop marketable prototypes together with industry partners. Good results and fieldwork with the different technologies on the Philippines, in Istanbul and in the Alps demonstrate the efficiency and integration capacity of these systems in practice.

SLEWS, a sensor system for landslides of the Technical University of Aachen, has improved energy supply to the sensor nodes against external physical influences (temperature, moisture). The aim was to provide an inexpensive, certified, wireless sensor system, which can be quickly and easily installed, for monitoring slope movements and rockfalls with a simple data output. An easyto-use system is now available, and was presented to interested companies, environmental agencies and associations for the first time at the terratec 01/2001 environmental fair.

The SOSEWIN system (GFZ, HU Berlin), has aimed at the development of cheaper, more efficient and more intelligent sensor nodes (more compact design, special architecture) with a new industry partner (DResearch, Berlin) in order to improve the measurement of seismic activities and seismic early warning. A prototype sensor network with more than 40 sensor nodes will soon be available; a smaller network has already been successfully tested in Istanbul.

The system will mainly be used to monitor critical infrastructures such as bridges and high-rise buildings so as to warn the population at an early stage with real-time capable data transmission and alarms.

The alpEWAS system (Technical University of Munich) has together with new partners from the environmental sector (Hess & Partner, Dr. Plinninger Geotechnik) implemented the joint technology development in the form of a marketable measuring system for continuous 3D monitoring of unstable slopes using the Time Domain Reflectrometry (TDR) system, Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and geotechnical standard sensors. With the aid of the funding, resistance to environmental impacts under extreme weather conditions (snowfall, driving rain) has been considerably improved. ¢

Dear GEOTECHNOLOGIEN programme partners,

Bilateral scientific exchange with Brazil

The joint geoscientific programme of the Federal Ministry for Education and Research and the German Research Foundation has been funding both basic and applied geological research for more than ten years. For this reason the programme and the scientific findings achieved were reviewed by an international expert commission in Autumn 2010 and received a very positive overall assessment. The interaction between both funding organizations and the long-term design of the programme was particularly appreciated. Through GEOTECHNOLOGIEN all important geological topics relevant to society have been and are addressed; at the same time, however, niche topics are also covered.

Besides this, the large number of diploma theses and doctorates originating from within GEOTECHNOLOGIEN has been impressive. It is therefore intended that special attention should continue to be paid to promoting young researchers. Also, international and in particular European cooperation should be intensified in the future and exchange between the respective key areas improved.

Sincerely, Ute Münch

Publisher credits: GEOTECHNOLOGIEN Coordination Office, Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam, Germany, Tel.: +49 (0)331 288 1071, www.geotechnologien.de, Dr. Ute Münch (responsible) The GEOTECHNOLOGIEN research and development programme is funded by the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (German Federal Ministry for Education and Research - BMBF) and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation - DFG).

In May last year, agreement was reached between Brazil and Germany on strengthening scientific and technological cooperation.

In the course of the German-Brazilian Year of Science, Technology and Innovation 2010/11 it is therefore intended that future-oriented topics should be discussed and new cooperations begun.

A number of joint geoscientific research projects and exchange programmes involving both countries are indeed already in progress, but in view of the great challenges faced by Brazil in the area of raw materials research and recovery there is great interest on both sides in jointly addressing geoscientific topics and technical developments even more intensively in future.

A workshop will first be held in Santos, Brazil, from February 13 to 17, 2011 so that new research and project ideas can be developed together with Brazilian colleagues. Invited speakers from both countries will discuss topics on »Marine Geosciences and Technologies«, »Geophysics«, »Geodesy« and »Scientific Drilling« with the aim of establishing the future need for research and the possibility of cooperation.

A second workshop will be held in the course of the Latin America Colloquium, which will be conducted at the end of March 2011 in, among other places, Heidelberg in order to deepen specific project ideas. Visits to a number of German marine research institutes are also planned.

The International Office of the BMBF will be lending financial support to the workshops. An application for this has been prepared

by Prof. Glasmacher from the University of Heidelberg in cooperation with the German Science and Innovation Centre, GEOTECHNOLOGIEN and the UNESP, Brazil.

The newsletter is published twice a year. If you do not wish to receive the newsletter, please send us an e-mail at: info@geotechnologien.de Picture credits, header (left to right): MARUM, GEOTECHNOLOGIEN, GEOTECHNOLOGIEN, Heather Morrison Issue: 1/2011

www.geotechnologien.de/portal/cms/Geotechnologien/Oeffentlichkeit/Special+Events ¢

NACCHO

Dr. Daria Morozova

Who is Who – Women in research In this issue we would like to introduce a young scientist who very successfully lives the motto of interdisciplinary research in her work!

Dr. Daria Morozova studied biology, specializing in microbiology, biochemistry and ecology, at the State University of St. Petersburg, Russia, and the Carl von-Ossietzky University of Oldenburg. In 2007 she obtained her doctor’s degree at the University of Potsdam and the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, a major part of her dissertation being devoted to the analysis of microbial life in extreme habitats.

She has been working at the GFZ Potsdam and the University of Potsdam as a PostDoc since 2007 and is participating in several national and international projects (CO2SINK, GRASP, GeoEn I and II, CLEAN, CO2 MAN). Her research is concentrated on the characterization and quantification of microbial communities of the deep biosphere and their influence on CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage) and ERG (Enhanced Gas Recovery). Dr. Morozova’s particular area of interest is the complex interactions between CO2, biocenosis, fluids and rocks and their effects on mineral formation and mineral dissolution in the deep biosphere. ¢

Creating international visibility To futher publicize the findings of German geoscientific research on an international scale and thus also strengthen international cooperation is an important task of the GEOTECHNOLOGIEN R&D programme. Information stands at national and international conferences and fairs, own conference sessions and close cooperation with international professional associations and organizations, for example with the American Geophysical Union (AGU), are

carried out for this purpose by the Coordination Office and are continuously extended. Particular focus is alsoput the on a closer networking of geosciences within Europe. A GEOTECHNOLOGIEN Keynote Lecture was held for the first time in April 2010 in the course of the annual meeting of the European Geosciences Union (EGU) – a concept which will be continued at this year’s EGU meetings (see Diary). ¢

Colin Schultz, AGU

Bilateral scientific exchange between Germany and the USA The Embassy Lecture panel (right to left): Wolfgang Rolland (Vattenfall Europe), Frank Schilling (Karlsruher Institut für Tech¬nologie), Dale Medearis (moderator), Juerg Matter (Columbia University), Herbert Wheary (Dominion Resources The ›Embassy Lecture‹ on the subject of »Carbon Capture and Storage in the Subsoil« was an ideal opportunity to present one of the key technologies against climate change to a wide international public, decision-makers and journalists. The event was organized by the American Geophysical Union (AGU) and the GEOTECHNOLOGIEN Coordination Office together with the German Embassy in Washington, the BMBF and the scientific department of the EU delegation in Washington. Representatives of politics, embassy advisers, delegates of various ministries and research associations together with scientists and industry representatives from several countries took part. All the guests were convinced by the idea of holding short keynote addresses with a subsequent panel discussion and were very interested in establishing a scien-

tific exchange of this kind and repeating it at regular intervals.

As representatives of the National Science Foundation (NSF) – the counterpart to the German Research Foundation – were also present, further or new possibilities of cooperation between Germany and the USA were discussed during the subsequent reception. Not only projects dealing with the subject of carbon dioxide storage were mentioned, but also general geoscientific and energy policy issues as well as climate protection projects.

Furthermore, the representatives of African embassies indicated their interest in the storage of carbon dioxide. European CO2 certificate trade and the economic aspects of carbon dioxide storage were also discussed. ¢

The first impression counts – The business card of scientific results

New in the team

Guest contribution by Grit Schwalbe, graphic designer at the GFZ Potsdam

Today it is part of everyday life of every active scientist to present his or her research findings: not only at meetings and conferences in the form of posters and presentations, but also as contributions in journals and books.

One frequently asked question is why illustrations are shown in good quality on posters, but only in poor quality in journals and books. The designer must realise that a resolution of 150-200 dpi (dots per inch) is sufficient for an illustration for a poster, but the same illustration should have a resolution of at least 300 dpi when printed in a journal or a book. On the other hand, 72 dpi already suffices for use in the Internet or on charts (PowerPoint).

Basically, the following applies: the higher the resolution of the printing system, the more details can be displayed. With high-quality offset or digital printing, a high-resolution print file has real quality advantages. The colours are also important: the colour mode is determined by the use to which the illustration is put.

As a general rule: data viewed on the screen should be in RGB mode, but printed data must always be in CMYK mode. This is due to the fact that the printer has a CMYK colour cartridge, and therefore the printer software converts the RGB colours accordingly. Considerable colour deviations can result during printing. In everyday use colour deviations of this kind are usually unimportant, but in the printer’s shop they can lead to difficulties or considerable quality losses. Before professional printing, the colour mode of the images should be switched to CMYK in the graphics program, for example in Photoshop under: »Edit/Convert to Profile/CMYK Workspace«.

Stefanie Lenz was born in Potsdam and, after obtaining her school-leaving certificate in 2007, began her apprenticeship as an administrative assistant at the GFZ, which she completed in June 2010.

She has been working with us as a clerk and secretary in the GEOTECHNOLOGIEN Coordination Office since January 1st, 2011.

She is looks forward to the interesting work and amongst the colleagues in the department and the project partners. ¢

You will find more tippsfor designing posters in the download area of the GEOTECHNOLOGIEN website www.geotechnologien.de ¢

Diary }

February 10 - August 28, 2011 Exhibition »Die Erde im Visier« (Sights on the Earth) at the Naturkundemuseum in Karlsruhe

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March 27- 31 German-Brazilian Workshop in Heidelberg, Germany

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April 4-8 Annual meeting of the EGU in Vienna, Keynote Lecture on April 5, Prof. J. Gutzmer, GEOTECHNOLOGIEN information stand

February 13-17 German-Brazilian Workshop Santos-SP, Brazil

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February 21-24 Annual meeting of the Deutsche Geophysikalische Gesellschaft in Cologne GEOTECHNOLOGIEN information stand

May 2 Kick-Off Meeting »Tomographies«, Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum, Potsdam

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June 8 and 9 Status seminar »Mineral Surfaces«, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie

Corinna Kallich has been working with us since January as a graphic designer. She has twenty years of experience in screen and print design, as among other things Art Director for FX Factory, SAT.1, the ZDF graphics studio and various publishing houses. Her study of Visual Communication at the Berlin University of Arts and Animation at the »Konrad Wolf« Film and Television Academy brought her to multimedia work in the areas of print and screen design. She will be able to make excellent use of her experience at GEOTECHNOLOGIEN. ¢

GEOTECHNOLOGIEN talks … to Karl Wollin (BMBF) 2010 which specifies the guidelines for an environmentally friendly, reliable and affordable energy supply in the decades to come. The tasks of the new energy research programme can be derived from this. Also the expertise of the geosciences will be in demand. The BMBF has only been funding the Brandenburg research alliance GeoEn in the second phase as of January 1, 2011. I am expecting from this project innovative contributions from the areas of geothermal energy, shale gas and CCS for an eco-friendly and climatefriendly energy supply.

The senior Government official Karl Wollin is a graduate electrical engineer specializing in energy and control technology and studied at the Technical University of Braunschweig. He then worked as an electronics engineer for scientific and nautical equipment at the Reedereigemeinschaft Forschungsschifffahrt (shipping company association for research vessels) in Bremen and a test engineer for electrical equipment in the area of offshore and marine technology at Germanischer Lloyd in Hamburg.

In 1984 he transferred to the Federal Ministry of Education and Research in Bonn, where his wide range of activities encompassed »Marine Raw Materials and Marine Technology «, »Renewable Energies« and »Sustainability in Production and Service«.

As section head he was responsible for »Basic Energy Research« from 2006 to 2010 before taking over the leadership of the »System Earth« section in October last year.

GEOTECH: Mr. Wollin, you transferred from the energy sector to geosciences?

The sustainable use of georesources and geoenergy will become more and more important in future. Where do you see the role of geosciences?

Wollin: Secure energy supply and the attaining of climate protection targets will remain important topics for politics, economics and science in the coming decades.

For this reason the Federal Government adopted an energy concept in September

GEOTECH: Which geoscientific topics do you see as being particularly relevant for the future not only for Germany, but also for Europe and in the global environment? And which of these topics can be handled within the framework of the GEOTECHNOLOGIEN R&D programme?

Wollin: The new framework programme of the BMBF is entitled »Research for Sustainable Developments«. Due to their knowledge of the Earth system the geosciences have a central task of making contributions here. An improved understanding of the Earth system is urgently required in order to be able to control sustainable developments. The competence which we are acquiring in Germany is in my view also relevant for European and global developments. For the perspective on the Earth system is required a global view at the same time. With »Safeguarding the Future for People and the Earth«, science has presented to the BMBF a concept for further development of the geoscientific R&D programme GEOTECHNOLOGIEN, which tackles important topics for this area.

GEOTECH: The GEOTECHNOLOGIEN R&D programme was evaluated in Autumn 2010 by an international expert committee. Will there be any changes in the variety of tasks in or the weighting of the programme as a result of the experts’ remarks?

Wollin: The overall result of the assessment was very positive. In particular, the group of experts emphasized the excellence of the research and development work in the various geoscientific topic areas. The research findings and technology develop-

ments are rated as very innovative. The selection of topics has initiated central research fields of international interest. In particular, those recommendations should be taken up which relate to the international exchange of the research groups with other EU countries. I would very much like to put up further recommendations for discussion within the Coordination Committee. In my view, more attention should be brought to bear on the weighting of technological aspects in the individual research fields in future.

GEOTECH: Does the BMBF have any new strategies or possibilities to continue to push ahead with technology transfer in geosciences?

Wollin: Technology transfer is a task which various research institutions in Germany are actively pursuing. A close networking should also take place with GEOTECHNOLOGIEN. GEOTECH: Although geoscientific topics are also present in everyday life, only little attention is given to the variety of topics in schools. Is the Ministry interested in introducing such topics into school curricula in Germany in future?

Wollin: You are right that geosciences do not always play the important role in school education which is their due in view of their responsibility for safeguarding the future for people and the Earth. However, the design of curricula is a classical task of the individual Federal States, not the Federal Government. For this reason I suggest that the research institutions carry out an exchange with schools, as is already done in many places by way of student laboratories, for example that of the Helmholtz Association. ¢

Access for everyone – publishing with Open Access as a real alternative Guest contribution by Roland Bertelmann, Director of the Library of the Albert Einstein Science Park, Potsdam Developments in scientific publishing have in the past increasingly resulted in a »closed access « situation. Published articles were and are accessible to ever fewer scientists, which calls into question the very meaning of scientific communication and publication. Fortunately, however, a new »Open Access« publication concept has now beendeveloped, so that scientific findings are once again available to everyone. »The beauty of Open Access is that it is not against anybody. It is for the free movement of knowledge… »Open Access« is a legal and technical reality today.« - according to Neelie Kroes, the Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for the Digital Agenda.

Open Access embraces a variety of activities, all of which aim to disseminate scientific information and knowledge without financial, legal and technical barriers as widely as possible in the Internet and thus to make them accessible and usable on the basis of trustworthy infrastructures. Two implementation strategies have developed in recent years. The »Green Road« of Open Access enables the second publication of articles from subscription-based journals in so-called institutional repositories. These full text databases, supported by the research institution or university at which the

author is working, open up free access to the publications. Effectively, this means: first publication in a selected journal, but with the possibility of second publication in a further medium. About eighty per cent of the publishers relevant from the geoscientific point of view allow -under certain conditions- this openly accessible publication of such a postprint as a moratorium, in other words at a later stage.

The »Golden Road« of Open Access is dedicated to the first publication of scientific works in a freely accessible specialist journal. In recent years various business models have become established which enable access to scientific information regardless of the financial possibilities of the reader. The printing costs are no longer recouped from the purchaser of the journal, but from the author of the respective article.

The publishing house Copernicus Publishers, which works closely with the EGU, is considered worldwide to be a good example with respect this development. However, other publishers previously oriented towards the subscription model are now also experimenting in this area. One of the two market-dominating scientific publishers, Springer, has adapted this business model and established the SpringerOpen business

unit in summer 2010. A current investigation has shown for the journals listed in the Journal Citation Report that 20 per cent of the articles which appeared therein in 2009 are already openly accessible. Some 25 million freely accessible documents are currently reachable worldwide via a search engine such as the Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (BASE).

In the meantime there is a stronger focus on (more) open access to research data as a counterpart to scientific publication. The Alliance of German Science Organizations is taking this into account with the »Principles for the Handling of Research Data« adopted in 2010 (more on www.allianzinitiative.de).

Presenty the Alliance is backing the demand for an unconditional second publication right (within the meaning of the Green Road) as part of the upcoming amendment to copyright law. As to what extent science and research will be taken into consideration in the amended version this time will certainly also depend on whether science is perceived as a voice in the legislative process scheduled for the spring. You will find detailed, comprehensive information on Open Access at the »Open Access Information Platform« www.open-access.net. ¢

Geological research attractive – GEOTECHNOLOGIEN in the media The GEOTECHNOLOGIEN R&D programme or individual programme projects have been covered in more than 500 reports in the media, including such respected newspapers as »Die Zeit«, the »Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung« or the »Süddeutsche Zeitung«. Research carried out by German geoscentists in the R&D programme has also been a topic abroad, for example in the finnish »Tiede« or the dutch »Reformatorisch Dagblad«. The total circulation of these articles and reports is in excess of 80 million. Besides daily newspapers, reports on GEOTECHNOLOGIEN have ap-

peared in magazines such as National Geographic Deutschland or Der Spiegel, and on the radio on »D-Radio«, »Westdeutscher Rundfunk« and »Hessischer Rundfunk« amongst others. Television has also been present at some research projects »ARD« reported on gas hydrate research and earthquake early warning systems.

tact partner for the press, we rely on your assistance. Please get in touch with us if you need our support with press releases or media contacts. In order not to compete with the press offices of your institution, we always harmonize press releases and media contacts with the appropriate departments.

The Coordination Office will in the coming years continue its successful press work and further refine the network between science and the media. So that we can continue to be an agenda setter and con-

Your contact in the Coordination Office is Simon Schneider Tel.: (+49) (0)331 288 1073 E-mail: schneider@geotechnologien.de. ¢