Region
The tri-city area of Trier, Saarbrücken and Kaiserslautern is located in the heart of Europe – a beautiful landscape and culturally interesting. The proximity to France, Luxembourg and Belgium is reflected in strong international networking in the working and research worlds. Many innovative companies are based here – and are open to cooperation with universities.
Our Universities of Applied Sciences are deeply rooted in this area. Under the heading of “Research for the Region", the htw saar is presenting a project for protection against heavy rain and flooding. Its goal is to prevent flood disasters
Hello Professor Yörük. How does the university work together with regional stakeholders?
As a University of Applied Sciences, we believe that conducting research rooted in the region and tailored to the needs of municipalities, industries and citizens is highly important. And with regional research, we mean solving the problems of the locals. One example of this is the development of a guide for heavy rain hazard plans in Saarland. This was a major pilot project where we helped develop recommendations for action that are now available to all municipalities. To be more specific, we modeled heavy rain processes using different approaches and translated these results into practical solutions. Ultimately, tools and results like these can be used to support structural measures, including the adaptation of land use. I am especially happy to see that our work has also attracted national attention. This means it can have a greater impact.
Do you have another example?
Yes, we actually have a lot of them. One particular issue is soil erosion. Heavy rainfall can cause the loss of valuable soil, which can also cause damage in town and village centers. This is a serious problem. We are talking about very fertile soil, which farmers later lack to achieve high yields, and which often ends up in cellars or on the streets of communities. So, we have to take countermeasures. Agroforestry systems are a promising approach. For example, planting rows of trees along slopes in agricultural areas in a targeted manner and with little loss of land can stabilize the soil, control runoff and improve water infiltration. These systems also provide protection against wind erosion and reduce evaporation through the shade provided by the trees. We take a detailed look at the physical processes to quantify effectiveness. To do this, we monitor selected areas that have been fitted with measuring systems. In these pilot areas, we measure, for example, how agroforestry affects water infiltration and incorporate these findings into our simulation models. The ultimate goal of these improved simulation models is to develop optimized agroforestry systems for other planned areas. It is very important however, that these solutions remain practical. Farmers must be able to continue to cultivate their land, so we can't cause unnecessary land loss.
Floods are no longer isolated events. What role do early warning systems play here?
The development of early warning systems that can predict the risk of flooding at an early stage is another focus of our research. The reason for this is that there will never be 100% protection against flooding. We have to be realistic and look at all the protective measures from an economic point of view. There is always a residual risk of possible flooding. What we can and must do, therefore, is to warn people in time to prevent personal injury. That’s why we are currently developing an early warning system for heavy rain and river flooding. Our early warning systems combine weather data from the German Weather Service and from our own measuring stations with precise models to show the consequences of, for example, predicted heavy rain in floodplains. This means we don’t just say it will rain 50 millimeters tomorrow, but we also show municipalities and citizens: Look, the water will be this high in this town and this high in another town tomorrow. Modular systems like this are already in use in communities like Eppelborn, where weather data is continuously analyzed and integrated into models. In the future, these warnings could also be supplemented by visible measures. Imagine, for example, if we had LED displays at vulnerable points that provide real-time warnings, or an app that informs everyone individually. This way, everyone could take precautions well in advance.
Scientific forecasts are not always convenient. How do you get people to accept your findings?
Communicating research results is a challenge, especially when scientific models are met with skepticism. As scientists, we often have the problem of being perceived as living in an ivory tower. That's why it's important to me to involve people directly and to address topics that interest citizens. In projects such as flood protection measures, there are citizens' forums and working groups in which various interest groups – from farmers to authorities – are involved. The current state of planning is presented, models and their results are explained, and we discuss which solutions are best suited for the respective region. The key is to communicate respectfully and eye-to-eye: We have to take everyone seriously and show them that their perspectives are important. No matter who you are dealing with. The university's independence also plays an important role. We aren't doing this to win the next contract, but because we want to develop sustainable solutions in the long term. This ensures widespread acceptance of our results.
Picture: Florian Diener, htw saar
