HydroDataCube4EU project launched!

The Horizon Europe HydroDataCube4EU project (Soil-hydrology data cube for EU: A soil-water-climate modeling platform to support mitigating flood, drought, wildfire events and help raise awareness of soil biodiversity's relevance) has been launched on 10th of September at the University of Coimbra, Portugal. HydroDataCube4EU project aims at developing a holistic soil-hydrology-climate modeling system for pan-EU based on EO data and state-of-the-art datasets and models, which will be used to produce a high spatial resolution (10 m) soil-water-climate modeling platform to support mitigating flood, drought, wildfire events and help raise awareness of soil biodiversity's relevance for managing European landscapes. Subscribe to our channels listed on https://HydroDataCube.eu to receive updates.

🎯 Main Expected Outcomes & Key Deliverables

Key project deliverables include: SoilSuite+, SoilHydro10m, EUDTM10m, High-res soil moisture images, soil biodiversity indices, High-res climate data, python libraries for hydrologic modeling and back-end, front-end (data portal) HydroDataCube.eu.

1. Next-Generation Pan-European Geospatial Layers (10 m Resolution)

• SoilHydro10m: High-resolution 10-meter maps of critical topsoil and subsoil hydraulic properties, including:
  • Topsoil Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity (Ksat)
  • Soil Water Holding Capacity / Available Water Capacity (AWC)
  • Bulk Density (topsoil & subsoil)
  • Air Capacity (air-filled porosity) & Soil Texture (sand, silt, clay)
• EUDTM10m: Hydrologically corrected 10-meter Digital Terrain Model for Europe with multi-scale surface flow variables.
• SoilSuite+: Pan-European gap-filled bare soil reflectance composites, bare soil dates, and tillage frequencies derived from Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-1 SAR archives.
• High-Resolution Biophysical & Climate Data: Daily 1-km reanalysis climate layers (precipitation, evapotranspiration) and high-resolution Surface Soil Moisture (SSM) / Soil Water Index (SWI) products.

2. Open-Source Holistic Modeling System & Toolbox

• Dynamic 3D+T Risk Forecasting: Process-based, machine-learning-enhanced modeling chains for:
  • Flood Risk & Discharge Forecasting (enhancing algorithms like MISDc v3.0 and LISFLOOD).
  • Drought & Wildfire Risk Mapping (integrating 20+ year climate normals and post-fire soil hydraulic alterations).
  • Land Degradation & Crop Yield Modeling under various climate change scenarios.
• Soil Biodiversity Integration: Explicit quantification of how soil organisms (macro- and micro-fauna: earthworms, nematodes, microbes) alter macropore formation, infiltration, and water retention capacity.

3. Open FAIR Data Platform & Web-GIS Infrastructure

• Over 50 TB of novel high-resolution geospatial datasets published as open FAIR data (CC-BY 4.0) with SpatioTemporal Asset Catalog (STAC) metadata.
• Cloud back-end API services for on-the-fly spatial aggregation, scenario testing, and interactive web-GIS dashboarding.
• Long-term transfer of datasets and tools to the European Soil Observatory (EUSO), European Soil Data Centre (ESDC), and registration in SoilWise.

4. European Pilot Catchment Network

The project will use six pilots (2 in UK, 1 in Croatia, Portugal, Netherlands, Greece) to validate the accuracy of models and install new sensors to track water dynamics and river levels.

Who is who in the project

The project has 10 partners from 10 countries covering various fields of soil hydrology modeling.

HydroDataCube4EU within the Soil Deal for Europe

The EU Mission 'A Soil Deal for Europe', the European Commission (DG AGRI, DG ENV), and the Joint Research Centre (JRC / EUSO) view the HydroDataCube4EU project as an operational policy-support initiative designed to bridge soil science, hydrology, and European environmental legislation. Key expectations of the HydroDataCube4EU project include:

1. Supporting EU Soil Legislation & Policy Frameworks

• EU Soil Monitoring Law Support: A central expectation is providing decision-ready data and indicators for the Soil Monitoring Law (approved October 23, 2025) to support the EU target of achieving healthy soils by 2050. Member states require tools to identify sub-basins vulnerable to flooding and drought due to low water retention capacity.
• Filling Critical Hydraulic Data Gaps: The project is expected to deliver pan-European 10-meter resolution mapping (SoilHydro10m) for key soil descriptors listed in Annex I of the Soil Monitoring Law, specifically soil water holding capacity, topsoil saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat), subsoil bulk density, and air capacity.
• Broader Legislative Synergy: Outputs are expected to directly serve the EU Water Resilience Strategy, Nature Restoration Law, EU Soil Strategy for 2030, EU Water Framework Directive, and the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

2. Enhancing Operational Copernicus Early Warning Systems

• Upgrading EFAS & EDO: Rather than replacing existing systems, the project is expected to innovate and improve the European Flood Awareness System (EFAS / LISFLOOD) and the European Drought Observatory (EDO / Combined Drought Indicator).
• High-Resolution Data Fusion: This is achieved by combining a 10-meter hydrologically corrected terrain model (EUDTM10m), dynamic vegetation cover, daily 1-km satellite soil moisture products, and SoilHydro10m layers to improve flood and drought risk forecasting accuracy.

3. Integrating Soil Biodiversity into Hydrological Risk Modeling

• Connecting Soil Biology to Water Retention: The project is expected to address a major gap in current hydrological models by explicitly integrating soil biodiversity data (abundance, biomass, and diversity of earthworms, nematodes, and microbes) to quantify how biological processes influence soil structure, macropore creation, and water infiltration.

4. Data Harmonization, LUCAS Access & Joint JRC Collaboration

• Standardized Measurement Protocols: All field sampling, sensor networks, and laboratory protocols across the six European pilot catchments must be aligned with JRC / EUSO standards (such as LUCAS protocols).
• LUCAS Soil Sample Utilization: JRC grants the consortium access to LUCAS soil samples (including the ~38,000 samples from LUCAS 2022) to calibrate and validate pedotransfer functions (PTFs) and soil hydraulic property models.

5. Open Science, FAIR Data, and Long-Term Transfer to EUSO / SoilWise

• FAIR-by-Design Infrastructure: All code, Python libraries, and at least 50 TB of novel 10-meter geospatial datasets must be published as open FAIR data on public repositories like Codeberg and Zenodo under open licenses (CC-BY).
• Permanent Knowledge Transfer: Upon completion, the project's datasets, back-end APIs, and web platform must be transferred to the European Soil Data Centre (ESDC) / EUSO and registered in SoilWise catalogs for long-term usage by European citizens, policy officers, and land managers.

6. Active Engagement with Mission Living Labs & Stakeholders

• Mission Soil Synergy: The project is expected to collaborate with at least 15+ Mission Soil sister projects, test tools in local Mission Living Labs and Lighthouses, and engage directly with over 200 farmers, land managers, and SMEs across its 6 European pilot sites.

Integrated soil-vegetation-hydrology modeling webinar

To learn more about the HydroDataCube4EU project, watch the 1 hr webinar on "Integrated modeling of soil-vegetation-hydrology dynamics" with some of the key project partners discussing state-of-the-art methods for integrated soil, vegetation, and hydrology modelling and future climate scenarios.

The HydroDataCube4EU project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 101297296.