Tomorrow’s Cities aims to catalyse a transition from crisis management to multi-hazard risk-informed planning and decision-making that strengthens the voice and capacity of the urban poor. The project is funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) through the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) – which is a key component in delivering the UK AID strategy and puts UK-led research at the heart of efforts to tackle the United Nations sustainable development goals.

Earthquakes without Frontiers, led by Cambridge University, is an international partnership bringing together Earth scientists, social scientists working on community vulnerability in disaster-prone regions, and experts in communicating scientific knowledge to policy makers.   It aims to increase knowledge of earthquake hazards in affected regions and improve resilience.

FutureVolc, led by the University of Iceland and Icelandic Meteorological Office, is a long-term monitoring experiment looking at geologically active regions of Europe that are prone to natural hazards.  It is developing the “supersite” concept, integrating space- and ground-based observations to improve monitoring and evaluation of volcanic hazards.

Looking inside the Continents from Space (LiCS) is using data from the Sentinel-1 constellation to revolutionize our knowledge of how continents deform, how strain accumulates during the earthquake cycle, and how seismic hazard is distributed.  The project is combining satellite data with ground-based observations to map tectonic strain at high spatial resolution throughout the Alpine-Himalayan Belt and East African Rift, and using the results to inform new models of seismic hazard.  The data products will be made available via the EU Infrastructure project EPOS.

 RiftVolc, led by the Universities of Edinburgh and Bristol, focuses on volcanoes and volcanic plumbing systems in the East African Rift Valley.   It is investigating what drives eruptions over geological timescales; what controls the active magmatic system and volcanic unrest; and what the potential threats from future volcanic activity.  The research will help to develop new methods to assess and forecast volcanic hazards from high risk central volcanoes, active rift segments and volcanic fields.

  Spectrally High resolution Infrared measurements for the characterisation of Volcanic Ash (SHIVA) is studying the properties of volcanic ash using ground- and space-based high resolution infrared spectrometer measurements.

By studying changes in ash composition during an eruption, it will help to understand volcanic processes, particularly magma ascent and fragmentation in volcanic eruptions.

  Strengthening Resilience in Volcanic Areas (STREVA) is aiming to develop and apply a practical and adaptable volcanic risk assessment framework.  The results will be used to develop plans to reduce the negative consequences of volcanic activity on people and assets.  Led by the University of East Anglia, the project brings together researchers from universities and research institutes from across the UK with areas affected directly by volcanic activity.