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Initiatives should be launched in the capacity building

and educational area in developing countries, such as

specialized graduate programmes, the development of e-

learning and distance learning using freeware and open

source domain software tools. Awareness and interest in

water quality at secondary school level must be initiated,

and support given for ICT initiatives to promote Earth

observation – derived water quality maps in e.g. Google

Earth or similar web-based global services.

Awareness of inland and coastal remote sensing capa-

bilities should be increased through a number of

coordinated programmatic activities including: creating

a global remote sensing of inland and coastal waters

community of practice (CP) or joining a related CP (e.g.,

the Coastal Zone Community of Practice), or forming a

new organization similar to the ocean colour coordinat-

ing group. An ultimate goal could be to establish a global

freshwater and coastal ‘water watch’ programme.

Demonstration projects should be established in each

hemisphere of the world, involving water quality manage-

ment staff that want or need to embrace what remote

sensing technology can offer.

Value-added products should be provided, which utilize

time series statistics to establish baselines, seasonality,

trends and extreme events. Ultimately, watershed remote

sensing and data assimilation should be fully integrated

with receiving river, estuarine, coastal and ocean data and

models. Long-term datasets of water characteristics

should be analysed to provide an informational clearing-

house for disputes of water diversions and fate, and what

quality was evident.

Conclusion

Having and maintaining suitable water quality is critical

to sustaining life on our planet. Monitoring of water

quality using remote sensing, in conjunction with strate-

gic in situ sampling, can play a crucial role in determining

the current status of water quality conditions and helps

anticipate, mitigate and even avoid future water cata-

strophes. The GEO workshop discussed here helped

identify issues, gaps, solutions and recommendations to

expand our capability to utilize this technology. Key

recommendations focused on continuity of existing satel-

lites, development of new and improved sensor/platform

technology, algorithm development and cal/val activities,

improvements in data accessibility, education and capac-

ity building through new demonstration project

initiatives, and the formation of a scientific group dedi-

cated to inland and coastal water quality remote sensing.

Acknowledgements

We thank the participants of the 1st GEO Inland and

Nearshore Coastal Water Quality Remote Sensing

Workshop and their sponsors, as well as the GEO

Secretariat for their support of this effort.

The manuscript contents are solely the opinions of

the authors and do not constitute a statement of policy,

decision, or position on behalf of WMO, NOAA or the

U.S. Government.

remote sensing working group (or community of practice), to be

formed as a result of this workshop.

The water quality community should send letters to various agen-

cies to encourage continued support for cal/val activities and in situ

monitoring. There is a need to promote and organize international

field measurement campaigns (also as capacity building segments)

in developing countries and support developing countries for instru-

mentation needed for in situ cal/val operations and Earth observation

data acquisition.

In cooperation with other organizations, e.g. the International Ocean

Colour Coordinating Group (IOCCG), international partnerships

should be built within GEO member countries for cal/val activities

and to discuss issues like instrument calibration and data processing,

accuracy, sharing, protocols etc.

Raw data should be released within minutes of reception and

processed products within one to two hours. Near-real time (NRT)

metadata should provide information on accuracy (or errors), and faster

access to ancillary data is needed to improve accuracy of NRT data.

Use of GEONETCast and ESA DDS should be encouraged, to

improve data distribution particularly for developing countries. Server-

side options could be implemented, such as spectral or spatial

sub-setting on demand to reduce data transmission size.

Data should be provided in agreed formats, and data networks should

be more interoperable. Open formats should be required and open

source software encouraged for multiple platforms. A consensus build-

ing exercise led by the space agencies is needed to standardize data and

metadata formats that are compatible with end user requirements.

An international activity/entity is needed to ensure that coastal and

inland water algorithmic requirements (e.g. SWIR wavelength atmos-

pheric correction, adjacency effects, optical parameter assignment in

semi-analytical models) are taken into consideration for present and

future missions. A working group (possibly through IOCCG) should

explore methods for regional algorithms implementation.

Harmonization of quality control and accessibility of in situ data

(atmospheric and in-water) for algorithm parameterization purposes

should be improved, and extended to include inland waters.

Needs for water quality products should be defined in relation to

developing countries, with points of contact established in GEO

member countries in relation to the water quality theme (e.g. start

from UNEP GEMS focal points).

GMES MarCoast Product

GMES MarCoast product showing distribution of turbidity in the Gulf of

Finland, Baltic Sea

Source: © SYKE

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