Grid-based environmental risk analysis system

A computer-supported system for analyzing and managing pollutant-related environmental risks is being developed in the ERAMAS (Environmental Risk Analysis and Management System) project. The objective is to use sophisticated simulation programs to forecast and evaluate the dispersion of carcinogenic and chemically toxic substances in the atmosphere, the soil and the groundwater and to calculate the risk they pose to human beings. The system is being implemented using the technology of the Fraunhofer Resource Grid (FhRG). This technology facilitates coupling of the various project partners' local hardware and software components via the Internet, thus making the system extremely flexible. Depending on the problem in hand, it can select the most suitable models and system information and thus give optimal consideration to the respective constraints, whether in terms of the concrete area affected or the type of substance released. The design of ERAMAS as a distributed system also guarantees that it is dynamically adapted to the current state of the art because the different simulation models are monitored by their respective developers. ERAMAS provides lightweight web-based user interfaces (also suitable for low-bandwidth clients such as mobile devices) implemented using the VirtualLab platform developed in collaboration with DLR (German Aerospace Center).