The European Plate Observing System, EPOS, is a long-term plan to facilitate integrated use of data, data products, and facilities from distributed research infrastructures for solid Earth science in Europe. EPOS is integrating a set of diverse European Earth Science National Research Infrastructures into one single intereroperable platform. The architecture for this has four complementary elements :
At European level the Finnish national node of EPOS is called EPOS-FI, but nationaly the name of the consortium is FIN-EPOS. FIN-EPOS is a joint community of universities and research institutes with a task of maintaining geophysical observatories and laboratories in Finland. FIN-EPOS partners own and operate Earth science observatories, laboratories and data centers in Finland that will be delivering data to eight out of ten EPOS Thematic core services - TCSs: Seismology, GNSS Data and Products, Geomagnetic Observations, Anthropogenic Hazards, Multi-scale Laboratories, Geological Information and Modelling, Satellite Data, and Geo-Energy Test Beds for Low Carbon Energy.
FIN-EPOS is in many ways like a mini-EPOS and, thus, it has components at planning, implementation and operational phases. The first stage in the FIN-EPOS project is to help in making the available research material and data EPOS compatible. One of the goal is to provide a webite and a portal that enables the community – scientists, students, authorities and regular citizens – to search and access multidisciplinary solid Earth research material and data. Most of the available material will be open and free to access.
FIN-EPOS has a coordination office at the Institute of Seismology, University of Helsinki and a council that is responsible for setting the long-term national Solid Earth Sciences research infrastructure plan, monitoring of the data delivery to EPOS TCSs, and transnational access. Council is overseeing the Finnish participation in European and Nordic level initiatives related to EPOS and increasing of the user base of EPOS data. National govermental process for Finland to join EPOS ERIC as a member is ongoing (foreseen 2022).
A Flexible instrument network for enhanced geophysical observations and multi-disciplinary research (FLEX-EPOS) is a project under the FIN-EPOS umbrella Funded by the Academy of Finland. The aim of the project is to create a national research infrastructure of geophysical instruments and multi-disciplinary geophysical superstations to be further utilized in separately funded research projects aiming at solving fundamental scientific questions in seismology, geomagnetism and geodesy.
As part of FLEX-EPOS, a Seismic Instrument Pool is created, maintained and operated in a national co-operation. The greatly expanded observational capability will contribute to science by providing massive new datasets, observations and results, and strengthen and extend the role of FInland in the European Plate Observing System (EPOS).