As the foundation of the aquatic food chain, phytoplankton are an integral part of the ecosystem, affecting trophic dynamics, nutrient cycling, habitat condition, light availability and fisheries resources. Chlorophyll-a, which is the primary light-harvesting pigment, is a proxy of phytoplankton biomass, and of trophic status. Earth observation techniques are a step forward for phytoplankton mapping, going beyond the local-scale and supporting regional to continental monitoring of the spatial and temporal dynamics of primary producers in freshwater ecosystems. Chlorophyll-a concentration maps are derived by CNR from an APEX image (airborne hyperspectral imager; 2016/09/01), and from two Sentinel-2(Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2015-2016) images (2015/08/17; 2016/08/24) of the Curonian Lagoon in Lithuania.

Phytoplankton are an indicator of trophic status (water ecosystem productivity); a temporal shifting of bloom phenology as well as the spreading of cyanobacterial blooms might be an indicator of a lake’s response to climate change. The occurrence of harmful algal blooms (HABs) – also often associated with cyanobacteria – might hinder the use of water resources. The measurement of Phytoplankton pigments and functional types is therefore a key part of water quality monitoring programs worldwide. Maps of scum events in the Curonian Lagoon (Lithuania) are derived by CNR from a series of Landsat-8 (data courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey) images acquired in the period June-October (from 2013 to 2016), and from a Sentinel-2(Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2015) image acquired in 2015/08/10. The phycocyanin map, a pigment typical of cyanobacteria species, is derived from an APEX image (airborne hyperspectral imager) of the Curonian Lagoon acquired in 2016/09/01.

Turbidity maps of the Po River (potamal zone and delta) in Italy are derived by CNR from six Landsat-8(data courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey) images (2014/03/08; 201/11/19; 2014/12/12; 2015/01/13; 2015/03/18), and from four Sentinel-2(Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2015-2016) images (2015/08/20; 2016/01/17; 2016/08/14; 2016/12/22).

This time series of suspended sediment maps is derived by VITO from Landsat-8(data courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey) OLI and Sentinel-2 MSI (Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2016) imagery over Lake Marken, covering a time period from 2013 – 2016.

Quantification of available light in the water column is key to evaluating water quality in lakes as it is one of the major factors determining primary production. The light environment in water is generally described in terms of the vertical attenuation coefficient (Kd) or the euphotic depth (Ze) defined as the depth where the light is reduced to 1% of its (just below) surface value. Remote sensing reflectance can be used to determine Kd and Ze with the quasi-analytical algorithms (QAA). Kd and Ze can be determined from remote sensing reflectance data through quasi-analytical algorithms (QAA). The QAA, originally developed for ocean colour sensors such as MERIS/MODIS, is desiged to derive absorption (a) and backscatter (bb) coefficients by inverting remote sensing reflectance (Rrs). The absorption and backscatter coefficients are subsequently used to estimate Kd. In INFORM this algorithm was adapted to be used for new sensors such as Landsat-8 (data courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey) OLI and Sentinel-2 (Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2016) MSI for inland water cases. The QAA was refined by performing a spectral shift to the Rrs data to simulate MERIS-like bands from the Landsat-8 OLI and Sentinel-2 MSI data.

This suspended sediment map is derived by VITO from a Landsat-8 OLI image (data courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey) of the Gironde river in France acquired at 17/05/2014. More work on the Gironde river is published in E. Knaeps, , K.G. Ruddick, D. Doxaran, A.I. Dogliotti, B. Nechad, D. Raymaekers, S. Sterckx, A SWIR based algorithm to retrieve total suspended matter in extremely turbid waters, Remote Sensing of Environment Volume 168, October 2015, Pages 66–79; doi:10.1016/j.rse.2015.06.022.

As the foundation of the aquatic food chain, phytoplankton are an integral part of the ecosystem, affecting trophic dynamics, nutrient cycling, habitat condition, light availability and fisheries resources. Chlorophyll-a, which is the primary light-harvesting pigment, is a proxy of phytoplankton biomass, and of trophic status. Earth observation techniques are a step forward for phytoplankton mapping, going beyond the local-scale and supporting regional to continental monitoring of the spatial and temporal dynamics of primary producers in freshwater ecosystems. Maps of chlorophyll-a concentration and of water quality classification by water frame directive (WFD) of the Garda Lake in Italy are derived by CNR from a Landsat-8(data courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey) image (2014/06/10), from two Sentinel-2 (Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2016-2017) images (2016/08/27; 2017/03/08), and from two Sentinel-3 images (2016/06/28; 2017/03/08).

These suspended sediment maps are products generated by the Sentinel-2(Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2017) processor developed in the framework of the Highroc Project. The Belgian coastal zone is one of the focus areas in the service trials.

As the foundation of the aquatic food chain, phytoplankton are an integral part of the ecosystem, affecting trophic dynamics, nutrient cycling, habitat condition, light availability and fisheries resources. Chlorophyll-a, which is the primary light-harvesting pigment, is a proxy of phytoplankton biomass, and of trophic status. Earth observation techniques are a step forward for phytoplankton mapping, going beyond the local-scale and supporting regional to continental monitoring of the spatial and temporal dynamics of primary producers in freshwater ecosystems. Maps of chlorophyll-a concentration and of water quality classification by water frame directive (WFD) are derived by CNR from two APEX images (airborne hyperspectral imager; 2011/09/21 and 2014/), and from six Sentinel-2 Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2015-2016) images (2015/07/24; 2015/08/26; 2016/06/18; 2016/09/09) of the Mantua Lakes in Italy. More work on the Mantua lakes system is published in Bresciani, M., Giardino, C., Lauceri, R., Matta, E., Cazzaniga, I., Pinardi, M., ... & Morabito, G. (2017). Earth observation for monitoring and mapping of cyanobacteria blooms. Case studies on five Italian lakes. Journal of Limnology (in press).

These suspended sediment maps are products generated by the Sentinel-2(Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2017) processor developed in the framework of the Highroc Project. The Belgian coastal zone is one of the focus areas in the service trials.