Projects

Monitoratge de la Sequera a Diferents Escales Espacials i Mitjançant Diferents Metodologies (MEEMS)
Monitoring Drought at Multiple Spatial Scales and Using Different Methodologies

• Period: 2024-2028
• Type: Doctorat industrial AGAUR (Industrial PhD).
• Reference: 2025 DI 00006
• Link: https://doctoratsindustrials.gencat.cat/doctorats/monitoratge-de-la-sequera-a-diferents-escales-espacials-i-mitjancant-diferents-metodologies-meems/

The MEEMS project is an industrial PhD aimed at developing indicators for the operational monitoring of drought and improving water resource management in a changing climate. It combines remote sensing, in situ data, and machine learning techniques to estimate soil moisture in the root zone and groundwater storage. The results will be validated through real case studies to better understand the interaction between droughts, groundwater, and the impact of human activity.

Digital Twin Earth Hydrology Next - Advanced Water Cycle Modeling

• Period: 2024-2026
• Type: ESA Contract
• Reference: ESA DTE Programme
• Link: https://www.dtehydrology.org/

Digital Twin Earth (DTE) Hydrology Next prototypes a full advanced end-to-end demonstrator of DTE over Europe and targeted regions in Africa and Central America at high resolution (targeting 1 km spatial and 1 hour temporal resolution). Led by an international consortium of twelve institutes, the project builds hydrological twins for Europe with pilot demonstrations in other regions. The project provides advances in flood and landslide prediction, drought monitoring, water resources management, and develops cloud-based infrastructure for visualization and interaction with simulations.

Towards a climate resilient cross-border mountain community in the Pyrenees

• Period: 2023-2031
• Type: LIFE Programme (Strategic Integrated Project)
• Reference: LIFE22-IPC-ES-LIFE-PYRENEUS4CLIMA (101104957)
• Total Budget: €19,829,878 (EU contribution: €11,897,927)
• Ebro Observatory Budget: €245,003 (EU funding: €147,002)

The project implements the Pyrenean Climate Change Strategy 2050 (EPiCC) across the entire Pyrenean territory covering 4 Spanish regions, 2 French regions and Andorra (254,766 km², 23.5 million inhabitants). Led by the Pyrenean Climate Change Observatory (OPCC) with 46 partner entities, it represents one of Europe's most significant transboundary climate adaptation initiatives, focusing on mountain ecosystem resilience through comprehensive territorial cooperation and demonstration actions.

Co-creation of strategic action for climate change adaptation of territories and local economies

• Period: 2023-2030
• Type: LIFE Programme (Integrated Project)
• Reference: LIFE21-IPC-ES-LIFE-eCOadapt50 (101069781)
• Total Budget: €18,657,000 (EU contribution: €11,194,000)
• Ebro Observatory Budget: €551,441 (EU funding: €330,864)

The project increases climate change adaptation resilience in 19 territories of Catalonia covering ~60% of the region's territory (19,400 km²) and involving over 900,000 inhabitants. Implements 76 actions targeting four economic sectors (agriculture/livestock, forestry, fishing, tourism) through local governance models, sectoral tables, and living labs. Coordinates €73.3 million in complementary European Regional Development Fund investments.

Accounting for Climate Change in Water and Agriculture management

• Period: 2019-2024
• Type: Horizon 2020 (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Research and Innovation Staff Exchange)
• Reference: H2020-MSCA-RISE-2018 (823965)
• Budget: €1,518,000
• Link: https://accwa.isardsat.space/

Develops remote sensing based monitoring tools for crop yield monitoring and water management in climate change contexts, focusing on the Mediterranean and Sahel regions. Led by isardSAT, the project addresses critical knowledge gaps in water availability, irrigation scheduling, and crop yield variability. Creates innovative management tools for agriculture using satellite-based technologies, with demonstrated applications including drought monitoring and cereal yield prediction in the Ebro basin.

Mediterranean Terrestrial Water Cycle Reconstruction through High-Resolution Earth Observation

• Period: 2022-2023
• Type: ESA Contract
• Reference: ESA Contract No. 4000136272/21/I-EF
• Consortium: CNR-IRPI (lead), TUWIEN, UGent, CIMA, ESTELLUS, OBSEBRE, KULeuven, VANDERSAT, EURAC, HSM
• Link: https://www.4dmed-hydrology.org/

Developed advanced, high-resolution, and consistent reconstruction of the Mediterranean terrestrial water cycle using latest Earth Observation data from ESA-Copernicus missions. Focused on four representative basins (Po, Ebro, Hérault, Medjerda) to demonstrate synergies among EO data for retrieving water cycle components (precipitation, soil moisture, evaporation, runoff, river discharge). Produced open science datasets available through ESA catalogue for improved water management and decision-making in Mediterranean regions.

Advanced Irrigation Monitoring and Management through Earth Observation

• Period: 2020-2021
• Type: ESA Contract
• Reference: ESA Contract 4000129870/20/I-NB

Earth observation-based project focused on developing advanced tools and methodologies for irrigation monitoring and management through satellite data analysis and modeling applications.

Irrigation and Drainage monitoring by remote sensing for Ecosystems and Water Resources management

• Period: 2020-2023
• Type: PRIMA Programme
• Reference: PRIMA Section 2 - 2019 (PCI2020-112043)
• Total Budget: €645,241
• Ebro Observatory Budget: €95,000

Developed innovative irrigation management tools based on multi-sensor remote sensing data for monitoring water use and drainage at field and basin scales. Implemented interdisciplinary approach using FAO dual crop coefficient (FAO-2Kc) method and SURFEX land surface model. Study areas included Ebro (Spain) and Tensift (Morocco) basins. First project to enable comprehensive drainage monitoring over irrigated areas using remote sensing, addressing sustainable irrigation and downstream ecosystem impacts.

Technical Assistance for Creating the Drought Observatory of the Terres de l'Ebre Biosphere Reserve

• Period: April-December 2019
• Type: Regional Contract
• Reference: 52/2019
• Funding: Consorci de Polítiques Ambientals de les Terres de l'Ebre (COPATE)
• Budget: €20,400

Technical assistance project for establishing a drought observatory in the Terres de l'Ebre Biosphere Reserve, providing expert guidance on drought monitoring systems, indicators, and management strategies for the region.

Hydrological Cycle Assessment in the Pyrenees under Climate Change

• Period: 2018-2021
• Type: INTERREG POCTEFA (65% ERDF co-financed)
• Reference: POCTEFA 2014-2020 Programme
• Link: https://www.opcc-ctp.org/en/piragua

Transboundary project to improve territorial adaptation to climate change through assessment of the Pyrenean hydrological cycle. Unified and homogenized existing information, developed future scenarios, and proposed adaptation strategies. Key findings: rivers in the Pyrenees will have decreasing annual flows (-15% by 2040, -20% by end of century). Created comprehensive datasets (PIRAGUA_resources, PIRAGUA_indicators, PIRAGUA_flood) available through the Pyrenees Climate Change Observatory geoportal. Involved multiple organizations across France, Spain, and Andorra.

Hydrological Understanding and Modeling of Iberian Drought

• Period: 2018-2020
• Type: Plan Estatal (Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades)
• Reference: CGL2017-85687-R
• Budget: €111,078
• Link: https://bitic.github.io/HUMID/

Studied drought processes in Spain using Land Surface Models (LSM) and remote sensing technologies. Improved the SASER model for the Iberian Peninsula by introducing reservoir management rules for main Ebro basin irrigation reservoirs. Developed integrated drought monitoring tools combining observed data, modeling, and satellite-derived soil moisture products. Focused on providing practical drought indices for water managers and stakeholders, addressing the increasing frequency and severity of droughts due to climate change.

Estimation of Continental Surface Water Reserves through Multi-sensor Microwave Remote Sensing

• Period: 2017-2019
• Type: Industrial PhD Programme (Generalitat de Catalunya)
• Reference: 2016 DI 078
• Company: isardSAT S.L.

Industrial PhD project focused on improving estimation of water reserves (free water content and soil moisture) on continental surfaces through multi-sensor microwave remote sensing. The research addressed critical hydrological processes at regional and global scales, particularly in climate change contexts. Developed methodological approaches using Sentinel missions (Sentinel-1, 2, 3) to estimate water resources including surface water levels and soil moisture content, advancing operational remote sensing applications for water cycle monitoring on continental surfaces.

Global Water Resources Re-analysis through Earth Observation Integration

• Period: 2014-2017
• Type: European FP7 Project
• Link: http://earth2observe.eu/

Integrated global earth observations, in-situ datasets and models to construct a comprehensive global water resources re-analysis dataset spanning several decades. The project built upon findings from European FP projects DEWFORA, GLOWASIS, WATCH, and GEOWOW. Conducted case studies across multiple continents including Mediterranean region (Spain-Morocco focus), developing tools for drought prediction and water management. Pere Quintana participated in the Mediterranean case study and collaborated in organizing stakeholder sessions within HyMeX workshops. Results disseminated through open data Water Cycle Integrator portal.

Advanced Modeling for Hydroclimatic Risk Analysis in Regional Climate Change Scenarios

• Period: 2014-2017
• Type: Plan Estatal
• Reference: CGL2013-47261-R

Addressed biases and uncertainties in simulating hydroclimatic extremes with regional climate models, focusing on improving regional climate system models (RCSMs) for climate change scenario generation. Project objectives included generating improved regional climate change scenarios as part of international programs (HyMeX/Med-CORDEX) and advancing understanding of processes leading to hydroclimatic extremes in the Mediterranean region, particularly Spain, to increase confidence in regional climate system model sensitivity to climate change.

Exploring our Resilience to Floods through Citizen Science

• Period: 2014-2015
• Type: FECYT
• Reference: FCT-14-8681

Science communication project promoting citizen knowledge and participation regarding intense rainfall and flood processes. Developed mobile application for citizen scientists to explore their environment by documenting flood effects through photographs and information collection. Included collaborative online platform showing participation results and access to hydrometeorological modeling portal developed within the European DRIHM (Distributed Research Infrastructure for Hydro-Meteorology) e-Infrastructure project. Aimed to empower populations to understand and coexist with flooding phenomena through scientific methodology.

Geophysical Research at Juan Carlos I Antarctic Base

• Period: 2011-2014
• Type: Spanish Plan Nacional de I+D

Collaboration with Ebro Observatory colleagues in ionospheric and geomagnetic observations at the Juan Carlos I Spanish Antarctic Base on Livingston Island. Although not the primary research focus, provided support for geophysical monitoring activities in Antarctica as part of Spain's Antarctic research program.

SMOS Soil Moisture Disaggregation for Catalonia

• Period: 2010-2013
• Type: Catalan Government Project
• Link: http://www.isardsat.cat/en/smoscat.html

Developed methodology to disaggregate SMOS satellite soil moisture data to provide high spatial resolution soil moisture maps (up to 500m) for Catalonia. Used SURFEX land-surface model to simulate soil moisture, conducting comprehensive intercomparison between satellite products, model simulations, and in-situ observations to validate and improve soil moisture estimation accuracy.

Cyclogenesis and Intense Precipitation in the Mediterranean Region

• Period: PhD research period
• Type: French National Project
• Link: http://www.cnrm.meteo.fr/cyprim/

Contributed to PhD thesis research within the CYPRIM project framework, focusing on climate change impacts on French Mediterranean basins. The project investigated cyclogenesis processes and intense precipitation patterns in the Mediterranean region, providing foundational research for understanding extreme weather events and climate change impacts in Mediterranean coastal areas.

HYdrological cycle in the Mediterranean EXperiment

• Type: International Research Programme
• Link: http://www.hymex.org

HyMeX aims at better understanding and quantification of the hydrological cycle and related processes in the Mediterranean, with emphasis on high-impact weather events, inter-annual to decadal variability of the Mediterranean coupled system, and associated trends in the context of global change. Pere Quintana has participated in HyMeX activities through various projects including eartH2Observe stakeholder sessions and MARCO climate modeling initiatives within the Med-CORDEX framework.