The EU-funded HiSea project has recently published a new research paper and was able to present its message at a conference on innovation in marine ecosystem modelling.
The HiSea research paper, on “Integrating Inland and Coastal Water Quality Data for Actionable Knowledge”, was published on 23 July 2021 in a special issue of Remote Sensing dedicated to Big Earth Data and Remote Sensing in Coastal Environments.
The paper, written by a team of 22 researchers including HiSea project coordinator Ghada El Serafy and Anna Spinosa, both of Deltares, argued that “the integration of multiple sources of water quality data via data assimilation can result in a more holistic characterization of inland and coastal waters, and consequently improve water resource management.”
This is especially true following the recent emergence of methods for scaling water quality date across regions and beyond, “particularly with the availability of satellite data now providing global coverage at high spatial resolution,” the researchers noted. The research paper therefore reviewed data sources and existing data integration frameworks to provide an overview of the present situation and identify any missing needs.
“We propose an integration framework to provide information to user communities through the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) AquaWatch Initiative,” the researchers said. “This aims to develop and build the global capacity and utility of water quality data, products, and information to support equitable and inclusive access for water resource management, policy and decision making,” they explained.
HiSea also sent delegates to the Advances in Marine Ecosystem Modelling Research (AMEMR) Symposium, held online on 12-15 July 2021, where they presented the project at a session on themes related to science and society.
“The development of such an advanced platforms scheme, as the ones of the HiSea and FORCOAST projects, was highly appreciated for their use of cloud-processing infrastructures that provide access to Copernicus products and guarantee the sufficient processing capabilities to deploy and operationalize the offered services,” HiSea delegates recounted.
