From Research to Operations: Empowering a Climate-Resilient Transport System in Germany - Illustrating the Function and Interaction Between the Federal Research Program BMDV Network of Experts, and the DAS Core Service 'Climate and Water'

Abstract

In the recent years, numerous extreme weather events caused significant disruptions and constraints of the transport along federal roads, railways, and waterways. The climate impacts range from extreme high or low water levels, windthrow events, storm surges, mass movements to embankment fires. With the projected further warming of the globe such extremes and related impacts will become more frequent, which challenges the goal of a reliable transport system and potentially limits many economic activities depending on the transportation of goods. To support the transport sector's climate resilience and investigate future changes in the frequency, duration, and magnitude of adverse climate impacts, the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport in Germany (BMDV) established the BMDV Network of Experts in 2016. This research program combines the expertise of seven departmental research institutes and specialized authorities. Using consistent climate scenarios and the same climate model database, the program explores atmospheric, hydrospheric, and oceanographic changes and their direct and indirect impacts on traffic infrastructure. The research outcomes include new methods, datasets, maps, and prototypes of practitioner-oriented tools to assess future changes in the exposure and sensitivity of transport infrastructure and traffic streams on different spatial scales. The products are made available to infrastructure planers and operators, and their feedback and suggestions are integrated to generate new research questions. Infrastructure operators, such as the Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration or Deutsche Bahn AG, require continuously updated climate (impact) data linked with a consultation service to plan, evaluate, implement, and monitor adaptation measures. Such requirements cannot be met by a research program. Therefore, the DAS core service 'Climate and Water' was established in 2020 to translate research outcomes into products that are tailored to users and are constantly available. The service combines the knowledge of four federal authorities. It includes results from research programs such as the BDMV Network of Experts, and makes them permanently available while keeping them up-to-date. It also integrates them into the specific work processes and data structures of the respective authorities. An exemplary demonstration of the benefits for infrastructure operators resulting from the interaction between the research program and the service is shown through the use of gridded climate products (observational and projection data). These data were developed in the BDMV network of experts, consolidated, and made routinely available through the DAS core service 'Climate and Water' for practical use by infrastructure operators and other users.