Pilot6 | EO-based surveillance of POPs pollution
Pilot 5.6 | EO based phytoplankton biomass for WFD reporting
A good water quality is the base of a healthy ecosystem with rich biodiversity. Aquatic ecosystems also provide essential services for drinking water, irrigation, recreation, aquaculture and fisheries. The EU Water Framework Directive recognizes this and requires member states to monitor and, if necessary, improve water quality. Although the spatial component is key to gain insight in the processes in water, regular sample-based monitoring only provides point data.
The use of earth observation (EO) data for contributing to this purpose was promoted by the H2020 EOMORES and CoastObs white paper 'Satellite-assisted monitoring of water quality to support the implementation of the Water Framework Directive'. To generate further recognition and support for EO based products in the scope of the WFD at political, administrative and management levels, WFD ecological status maps of phytoplankton biomass based on EO data are being developed, thereby adjusting to local water types and WFD threshold differences. WFD ecological status products of phytoplankton biomass are made for lake Saadjärv and lake Lauwersmeer, with a potential to roll out the approach.
/ Objectives
- Provide WFD ecological status products of phytoplankton biomass for management of selected water bodies, based on Chlorophyll-a concentrations derived from EO data
- Generate recognition and support for EO based products in the scope of the WFD at political, administrative and management levels
- Push towards the recommendations as formulated in the white paper 'Satellite-assisted monitoring of water quality to support the implementation of the Water Framework Directive'
- Set up the processing chain in such a way that it allows to roll out the approach as a larger-scale service with a potential of a European coverage, thereby adjusting to local water types and WFD threshold differences
- Learn if similar approaches can be applied to other markets
/ Partners
Water Insight B.V. (the Netherlands)
/ Key Users
- Eesti Maaülikool (Center for Limnological research, Estonia)
- Waterschap Noorderzijlvest (local water authority, Netherlands)
/ Key Datasets
- Sentinel 2 (A and B) MSI data, optical (VIS + NIR), spectral bands 1-8a, resolution 10-60 m. S2 data is available via several sources, including the Sentinel API hub and Google cloud.
- Validation data (Chlorophyll-a) from public databases (EEA, LIMNADES, GEOSS) and from user data bases
- Information about the WFD bodies: their exact areas, and the applicable thresholds are public (since these are part of the EU framework), usually available via national systems in national languages.
/ ID Card
Initially, one season of maps of phytoplankton biomass was presented. These maps can complement the monitoring for the Water Framework Directive. Together with the users we defined how to improve the presentation of the results. The final product will be a thee year period of processed data.
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Acknowledgment
The e-shape project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement 820852