Series of events under the title Geophysical and Geological Data for Smart City Solutions: Building Safer, More Resilient Communities & Infrastructure, within GeoAlliance project, at the University of Bucharest

 On Friday, 28 February 2025, at the University House of Bucharest, a series of activities consisting of scientific communications and knowledge transfer sessions on topics in the field of energy transition, concepts and strategies based on geophysical technologies for smart cities were held, under the aegis of the GeoAlliance project.

The event, held under the name Geophysical and Geological Data for Smart City Solutions: Building Safer, More Resilient Communities & Infrastructure, opened with the presentation of the project activities and project partners (The University of Bucharest and PSS-GEO, Norway).

Florina Țuluca, director of the GeoAlliance project, mentioned that GeoAlliance managed to increase in a short time the interest for the thematic “Geophysics for Smart Cities”, “a topic that attracted the attention of both the general public and representatives from the academic, institutional and private sectors. Through the activities carried out, the project promoted the importance of applying geophysical technologies in sustainable urban development, offering consultancy on innovative solutions for infrastructure monitoring, resource management and increasing the resilience of cities to hazards”.

In this regard, she explains, “we are glad to have opened this path in Romania, facilitating a framework for dialogue and collaboration between specialists from different fields and countries. This progress would not have been possible without the support of grants awarded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the financial mechanism EEA Grants Romania 2014-2021 through Innovation Norway program and the vision of “working together for a green, competitive and inclusive Europe”. The support provided to this project has allowed the development and implementation of impact initiatives, which will contribute to the modernization and efficiency of urban processes by integrating advanced geophysical technologies”.

The Dean of the Faculty of Geology and Geophysics of UB, Lucian Petrescu, a member of the project team, stated during the event that “Romanian specialists are working on the issue of smart cities by approaching the problem from a geophysical perspective, and this is extremely gratifying. The problem under discussion is very exciting and we are delighted with the collaboration generated within the GeoAlliance project, started between Romanian and Norwegian specialists and, in a short period of time, extended through collaborations on the project’s topics in other European countries and even beyond the European continent.”

At the opening of the event, the director of the National Institute of Earth Physics, Constantin Ionescu, gave a presentation on the topic of “Seismic Rapid Early Warning for Smart Cities”, emphasizing the importance of developing early warning systems to reduce seismic risks in urban areas. He appreciated the organization of the conference within the project, highlighting the relevance of such an initiative for strengthening cooperation between specialists in the field of geophysics. “The event brought together experts from the private and public sectors, facilitating the exchange of knowledge and good practices in this very promising field.”

At the same time, Iren-Adelina Moldovan, head of the Seismology and Lithosphere Structure Laboratory of the INCDFP, mentioned her appreciation for “the information presented during the conference on Romania’s thermal water resources and their unexploited potential”. Moreover, she noted “the professionalism of the invited specialists, the excellent organization of the event and the challenge represented by the integration of geophysical and geological data into urban development strategies, essential for building safer and more resilient cities”. Through the scientific presentation held during this event, she highlighted how difficult it is for the population to access essential information on the seismic safety of buildings, providing solid examples from Bucharest, the European capital most vulnerable to seismic risk”.

Like other events organized under the aegis of GeoAlliance, the event held on February 28 aimed both to strengthen cooperation between experts from donor states (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) and experts from beneficiary countries of EEA and Norwegian grants, as well as the efficient exchange of know-how in the field, without physical or conceptual limits or borders, promoting an open transfer of knowledge and good practices, addressing both experts in the field, public authorities and the general public with interests in the aforementioned fields.

“We greatly appreciated the insightful presentations by various researchers on geohazards, geothermal resource exploitation, CO₂ storage and urban resilience enhancement. The conference was very informative and well organized, providing valuable perspectives on how geophysical and geological data can contribute to building safer and more adaptive cities, particularly in the context of sustainable urban development and risk reduction. We look forward to future discussions and potential collaborations to further advance these important initiatives”, declared Dr. Benzid Yacine, Head of the Scientific and Technical Support Department at the Territory Planning Research Center in Algeria.

The event also included a “knowledge transfer session” on decarbonization through carbon capture and storage. These technologies could support Romanian cities in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, especially the ones which considers implementing “waste-to-energy” solutions such as waste incineration – a practice already successfully adopted in smart cities such as Oslo, Norway.

Sonia López Kovács, SPE Geothermal Technical Section for Europe and member of CCS EAGE Technical Commitee, guest speaker within this session explained that “today, we are facing challenges regarding how society will address the energy transition to a low-carbon future. This event was a great example of innovation, collaboration, and the exchange of know-how for a sustainable and better future. Excellent speakers, technical presentations, and working sessions that covered a range of topics, focusing on addressing emerging challenges and integrating aspects of geothermal energy, geohazards, and subsurface geotechnical and geophysical technologies for smart cities”.

The session also had a very new component at the national level, namely the topic of using salt caverns resulting from mining activity, a topic developed within the Faculty of Geology and Geophysics of UB and presented during the event by lect. dr. engineer Iulian Popa, head of the Department of Geological and Geophysical Engineering.

“The communications at the GeoAlliance Meetings had extremely relevant topics, bringing together various fields of Earth studies to find an integrated response to the problems related to life in the urban environments. The need to train transdisciplinary specialists was outlined and represents one of the main concerns of the teaching staff from the master’s program in Renewable and Alternative Energy Sources at the Faculty of Physics of the University of Bucharest”, stated lect. dr. Sanda Voinea, from the Faculty of Physics of UB.

 “I found the conference program to be highly engaging and relevant to my research interests. The sessions provided valuable insights into geophysical applications for smart city solutions, seismic risk assessment, and urban resilience strategies. The discussions and knowledge exchange throughout the conference were insightful and fostered constructive dialogue on integrating geophysical and geological data for risk mitigation and urban planning. I appreciate the efforts of the organizing committee to facilitate a platform that promotes interdisciplinary collaboration and innovative research”, stated dr. Dinar Haythem, senior researcher (Class B), CRAT, within the Territory Planning Research Centre.

“Beyond my participation, I appreciate the immense effort, dedication, and expertise that went into organizing such an outstanding event. The discussions and findings presented were highly insightful and reinforced the importance of integrating geoscientific data into sustainable urban planning and risk management strategies. I sincerely look forward to further engaging with the research community presented at the event, fostering meaningful collaborations, and contributing to future projects that align with these important initiatives. Once again, thank you for this opportunity”, declared Dr. Nouh Rebouh, geologist and scientific researcher at the Centre de Recherche en Aménagement de Territoire – Constantine.

“I am pleased to mention a first major project at country level that will leverage geophysical and geological data for smart urban solutions and for creating safer and more resilient communities and infrastructures, namely the project Integrated monitoring solution for natural and anthropogenic phenomena triggering societal risks, for the safety of the population in the affected area – Slănic City, Prahova County” (GEOMONITOR), funded by the Ministry of Education and Research, through the The Executive Agency for Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation Funding (UEFISCDI). Members of the GeoAlliance project from the Faculty of Geology and Geophysics of the University of Bucharest will continue their mission, alongside key actors from public and private institutions, such as the Geological Institute of Romania (IGR), the National Institute for Aerospace Research and Development “Elie Carafoli” (INCAS) and Software Imagination & Vision SRL, under the coordination of the National Institute for Research and Development for Earth Physics (INCDFP)”, also stated Florina Țuluca.

In conclusion, Florina Țuluca, project director, thanked the audience present and expressed her joy that, “from a small working group, formed by members of the University of Bucharest and PSS-GEO, Norway, we managed to expand this community of professionals involved in informing, educating and applying geophysics for the development of smart cities in Romania. Although the project is coming to an end, I am convinced that the legacy of GeoAlliance will continue to grow beyond the limits of a single project. The extraordinary energy of the speakers and the audience reconfirms the strong force taking this initiative forward. Moreover, the presence of public authorities, engineers from geophysical prospecting companies in Romania or international companies that also operate in Romania, makes me believe that many concrete actions will follow to improve urban management in Romania, by integrating geophysical services and data into smart city strategies.”

The “Driving Sustainable Urban Futures: A Romanian-Norwegian Innovation Geophysical Alliance for Green Transition and SMART City Development” (GeoAlliance) project is a bilateral Romanian-Norwegian initiative which focuses on research activities and information dissemination on topics such as:

• Geophysics for energy transition, emphasizing advanced geophysical data processing and the use of synthetic modelling to reduce risks in geothermal drilling and ensure a comprehensive evaluation of geothermal potential;
• Concepts and strategies for using geophysical data in SMART city development, with an emphasis on leveraging local resources to achieve a diversified energy mix with a reduced climate footprint and improving urban management in response to natural or anthropogenic hazards, identifiable through geophysical measurement and monitoring systems.

We would like to point out that the GeoAlliance project event was included in the international agenda of events promoted by the European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers.

The full schedule of events for February 28th is available here.

The project “Driving Sustainable Urban Futures: A Romanian-Norwegian Innovation Geophysical Alliance for Green Transition and SMART City Development” is co-financed by a grant from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA Grants Romania 2014-2021, in the frame of the SME Growth Programme Romania. Grant number: 2024/395080. The project is a collaborative initiative between the University of Bucharest’s Faculty of Geology and Geophysics and Pre Stack Solutions – Geo AS (PSS-GEO AS) (www.pss-geo.com).