Hydrological research infrastructure (HYDRO-RI-Platform)

Objectives

HYDRO-RI-Platform is one of the main parts of the Finnish Freshwater Competence Centre. It aims to Boost Science, Education, and Business with Key Technologies Freshwater Competence Centre.

HYDRO-RI-Platform (action plan at hand) helps to fill identified gaps in national and the European Research Infrastructure roadmap by providing a dense, highly instrumented super-sites for freshwater monitoring.

We aim to integrate and renew national water related research by establishing a hydrological research infrastructure, and the long-term goal is to become part of international RI clusters (e.g. ESFRI DANUBIUS-RI, EurAqua, eLTER).

t innovative science by interpreting multilevel high-resolution sensor data to understand, predict and communicate the role and response of freshwater systems in a changing hydrological regime, and by open access sharing at national, EU and global level.

Mission

Conduct innovative science by interpreting multilevel high-resolution sensor data to understand, predict and communicate the role and response of freshwater systems in a changing hydrological regime, and by open access sharing at national, EU and global level.

Research goals

1. Provide advanced techniques to analyze interactions and responses in the hydrosphere by using novel integrated spatially and temporally covered monitoring approaches linked to modelling, management and decision making;
2. Integrate these improved monitoring and modelling techniques and data management across disciplines to develop better information products which guide sustainable management of our waters under pressure of climate change and various land-use activities.
3. Support training of new hydrology specialists and existing company employees with the newest instruments and measuring approaches in hydrology.
4. Support education in Finnish companies and universities and execute knowledge exchange between academia and private water sector. HYDRO-RI-Platform will also enhance hydro power plant industry and water sector consultancy of water quality and flow monitoring, as well as boost the usage of cost-efficient methodologies in environmental consultancy. Thus, it will serve public-private partnerships even beyond the funding period.

Schedule

• 2022 Planning phase: Defining consortium membership model, instrument pools and service policy; recognising potential user groups outside the core group; planning revenue logic; marketing plan; ensuring technician resources for the next stage; and planning overall budget with specific instrument costs.
• 2022-23 Preparatory phase: Purchasing and testing instruments and constructing mobile instruments (autonomous mini-boat+ADCP/sonar/water quality sensors, drones with various sensors (still and video cameras, laser scanners), autonomous UAS platform, laser-scanner-AUV system, shallow-water-AUV systems with photogrammetric sensors and echo sounding) and in situ instruments (in situ water quality sensors, isotope analyser, autonomous lake reflectance measurement device and related electricity supply and data transfer instruments, temperature and water surface elevation loggers and flow velocity instrumentation
• 2024-2027 Implementation phase: Securing operational budgeting from various sources; implementing fully all in situ instruments in all test sites; implementing fully mobile instruments and mobile laboratory facilities; planning and executing update scheme; recognizing key personnel for HYDRO-RI-Platform management and recruitment.
• 2028-2030 Operational phase: The HYDRO-RI-Platform instrumentations have become established and standardised measurement procedures for monitoring the river and catchment systems in Finland. The developed infrastructure will at any instance remain for national usage, and will support research, business, teaching and public sectors related to water resources management.

Projects 

• Freshwater Competence Centre - Freshwater Competence Centre
• Digital Waters Flagship (DIWA) & Doctoral education pilot
• Water security for the planet (Water4All)
• Hydro-RDI-Network main home pages & SYKE's page of Hydro-RDI-Network
• Green and digital transition in river basin management (Green-Digi-Basin)
• Integrated and scalable water quality data and services (Pro Quality Data)
• Artificial intelligence and IoT in water risk and water resources management (AlyVesi)
• AI services water sector / Tekoälypalvelut vesisektorilla (AI Vesi360)

Literature

• Alho, P.; Vaaja, M.; Kukko, A.; Kasvi, E.; Kurkela, M.; Hyyppa, J.; Hyyppa, H.; Kaartinen, H.A. (2011) Mobile laser scanning in fluvial geomorphology: Mapping and change detection of point bars. Z. für Geomorphol, 55, 31–50.
• Kahiluoto, J., Hirvonen, J. & Näykki, T.(2019). Automatic real-time uncertainty estimation for online measurements: a case study on water turbidity. Environ Monit Assess 191, 259 .
• Kotamäki, N., Järvinen, M., Kauppila, P. et al. (2019) A practical approach to improve the statistical performance of surface water monitoring networks. Environ Monit Assess 191, 318 (2019).
• Lotsari, E.; Vaaja, M.; Flener, C.; Kaartinen, H.; Kukko, A.; Kasvi, E.; Hyyppä, H.; Hyyppä, J.; Alho, P. (2014) Annual bank and point bar morphodynamics of a meandering river determined by high-accuracy multitemporal laser scanning and flow data. Water Resour. Res., 50, 5532–5559.
• Mäkinen, V., Oksanen J., & Sarjakoski, T. (2019) Automatic determination of stream networks from DEMs by using road network data to locate culverts, International Journal of Geographical Information Science, 33:2, 291-313, DOI: 10.1080/13658816.2018.1530353

More information

Leading expert Jari Silander, p. +358 295 251 638, firstname.surname@syke.fi

Senior Research Scientist Maria Kämäri, p. +358 295 251 334, firstname.surname@syke.fi