JRC, USGS conclude co-operation agreement
The Joint Research Centre (JRC) and the US Geological Survey (USGS) have concluded a comprehensive agreement to advanced scientific and technical exchange and increase the knowledge and capabilities of the two bodies in the field of Earth sciences.
New areas of co-operation include ecosystem science; climate variability and land-use changes; energy, soil, minerals, and environmental health; natural hazards, risk, and resilience assessments; disaster alert-related applications; water resources and information technologies; and geo-spatial data management.
The implementing arrangement is in support of the agreement for scientific and technological co-operation between the US Government and the European Commission.
The agreement builds on more than ten years of co-operation between the JRC and USGS in a number of areas, including: global land cover mapping (as part of Copernicus and in collaboration with the Group on Earth Observations); the Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System; and the security of supply of critical raw materials to advance the Kimberley Process, an international certification scheme which aims to prevent the flow of conflict diamonds.
