Meet Marc Neumann, BlueAdapt’s Project Coordinator
This month we would like to introduce you to Marc Neumann, our Project Coordinator.
Marc is particularly passionate about blue environments like rivers, lakes and the ocean, bringing a wealth of experience and expertise to the project. He believes that research that integrates knowledge from multiple disciplines is fundamental for addressing climate change.
Can you introduce yourself?
“I’m Marc Neumann, a Research Professor at the Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3) and Project Coordinator of BlueAdapt. I specialize in urban water, with doctoral studies at ETH Zurich and postdoctoral research at Eawag and Laval University. Since 2012, I’ve focused on climate change adaptation at BC3, integrating knowledge and environmental modelling for holistic solutions.
My role at BlueAdapt is to facilitate the collaboration between partners, to guide management of the consortium, liaise with the European Commission and build synergies with the partner projects in the Climate and Health Cluster.”
Why do you feel passionate about BlueAdapt’s area of research?
“BlueAdapt brings together so many key challenges: climate change, environmental pollution, antimicrobial resistance. Coastal zones are both highly sensitive areas in terms of biodiversity and ecological processes and at the same time strong attractors of human settlements and activity. In addition, these are areas where pressures from the upstream river basins coincide with pressures coming from the open ocean. We have a strong case-study based approach in BlueAdapt working at fine spatial and temporal scales, in order to try and capture the relevant processes that determine pathogen fate and human exposure and susceptibility. The setting requires true integration of many scientific disciplines as well as a collaboration with local agents.
What progress has the project made so far?
“BlueAdapt studies how climate change and human activities like pollution and antimicrobial resistance affect coastal pathogens. In the project’s first phase, we reviewed system characteristics and their interconnections to inform health strategies like One Health. We also mapped future trends in science, society, technology, and policy. Our team has customized climate data for specific sites and begun new climate simulations dedicated to the project. Key activities, including lab experiments, fieldwork, and transport modelling, are also in progress. It’s great to see these building blocks coming together as we start gearing up to analyse results and release more publications.”
Can you tell us about the Horizon Europe Climate and Health Cluster?
“One of Horizon Europe’s strategic focuses is on ‘Health impacts of climate change, costs and benefits of action and inaction.’ Six projects, including BlueAdapt, CATALYSE, CLIMOS, HIGH Horizons, IDAlert and TRIGGER, form the Climate-Health Cluster to enhance the societal and policy impact of EU-funded research. This collaboration involves five working groups and joint participation in events like the ENBEL conference in October 2023 and the EU conference on Health Impacts of Climate Change in February 2024.
BlueAdapt brings expertise in coastal virology, pathogen dispersal modelling, climatology, and health economics to the Cluster. We study adaptation interventions in coastal zones, provide policy support on climate change adaptation, and improve short-term alert systems for bathing water quality.”
How do you see the Climate Health Cluster working to support EU policy action?
The Climate Health Cluster, with over one hundred partners, offers a unique opportunity to address health impacts of climate change from multiple angles.
Understanding similarities and differences in climate impacts across various hazards, diseases, environments, and scales should enable us to propose valuable and coherent policy recommendations. By synthesising research outcomes and expertise within the Cluster, we intend to provide robust evidence for EU policy action on climate and health.
