Periodic Reporting for period 3 - CERTO (Copernicus Evolution – Research for Transitional-water Observation)
Período documentado: 2023-01-01 hasta 2023-09-30
Water quality is a key worldwide issue relevant to human consumption & food production, industry, nature and recreation. The European Copernicus programme includes satellite sensors designed to observe water quality, and services to provide data and information to end-users in industry, policy, monitoring agencies and science. However, water quality data production is split across three services Marine, Climate Change, and Land, with different methods and approaches used and some areas, notably some transitional waters, not supported by any service.
The CERTO project has completed and addressed this lack of harmonisation by undertaking research and development necessary to produce harmonised water quality data from each service. CERTO focussed on methods to classify waters, using satellite observations, together with the most comprehensive existing in situ data sets and additional data gathering within the project. Methods were be improved to remove the atmospheric signal, particularly problematic in near-coastal and transitional waters, as well as to flag waters where the bottom is visible. CERTO also evaluated optical water quality Indicators, as specified by the broad group of end-users engaged in the project from industry, monitoring agencies and science communities. CERTO investigated cross-cutting Indicators for use across coasts, transitional and inland waters including large rivers (monitored through the Water Framework and Marine Strategy Framework Directives). The project contributed to DANUBIUS the European research infrastructure on River-Sea Systems, and international communities such as Group on Earth Observation (GEO) AquaWatch and Blue Planet, the Lagoons for Life initiative as well as supporting the United National Sustainable Development Goals.
The main output of the project was a prototype system that can be “plugged into” the existing Copernicus services, used on cloud platforms, or in popular open-source software used widely by the community (SNAP). CERTO produced the evidence needed by the “entrusted entities” that run the Copernicus services as to the improvements, potential to increase the user community, possible downstream services and wider impact of the prototype
CERTO achieved its objectives by uniquely bringing together the leaders of the water quality data production in the three Copernicus Services, four SMEs involved in research and innovation and downstream water quality services, the Climate-KIC that leveraged a pan-European partnership and a community of innovators and entrepreneurs, four research intensive institutes/ universities, together with leaders of end-user relevant communities either in the team or as advisors.
The CERTO project has completed and addressed this lack of harmonisation by undertaking research and development necessary to produce harmonised water quality data from each service. CERTO focussed on methods to classify waters, using satellite observations, together with the most comprehensive existing in situ data sets and additional data gathering within the project. Methods were be improved to remove the atmospheric signal, particularly problematic in near-coastal and transitional waters, as well as to flag waters where the bottom is visible. CERTO also evaluated optical water quality Indicators, as specified by the broad group of end-users engaged in the project from industry, monitoring agencies and science communities. CERTO investigated cross-cutting Indicators for use across coasts, transitional and inland waters including large rivers (monitored through the Water Framework and Marine Strategy Framework Directives). The project contributed to DANUBIUS the European research infrastructure on River-Sea Systems, and international communities such as Group on Earth Observation (GEO) AquaWatch and Blue Planet, the Lagoons for Life initiative as well as supporting the United National Sustainable Development Goals.
The main output of the project was a prototype system that can be “plugged into” the existing Copernicus services, used on cloud platforms, or in popular open-source software used widely by the community (SNAP). CERTO produced the evidence needed by the “entrusted entities” that run the Copernicus services as to the improvements, potential to increase the user community, possible downstream services and wider impact of the prototype
CERTO achieved its objectives by uniquely bringing together the leaders of the water quality data production in the three Copernicus Services, four SMEs involved in research and innovation and downstream water quality services, the Climate-KIC that leveraged a pan-European partnership and a community of innovators and entrepreneurs, four research intensive institutes/ universities, together with leaders of end-user relevant communities either in the team or as advisors.
CERTO has completed and fulfilled its objectives though the project was severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and was granted a 9 month extension
Main achievements:
• WP1: Project management was undertaken by PML with regular in person and virtual meetings
• WP2: Comprehensive user consultations were undertaken in the 6 user case studies and with the CERTO advisory board; CNR led analysis of existing water-quality products, methodologies and approaches, implemented across the Copernicus services inc. the new CMEMS high resolution service. Analyses of user requirements focussed on the quality and accuracy required for water quality, different sectors (e.g. regulators and agencies reporting on MSFD and WFD), industry sector needs (e.g. aquaculture, port authorities, etc.). The users requirements were also analysed in terms of scientific and technical functional requirements needed for the CERTO prototype.
•WP3: A comprehensive in situ campaign was undertaken with ~560 stations and >550 individual samples; spectroradiometers were integrated with autonomous sun-tracking platforms designed by PML and deployed by PML, FCID and GEOECOMAR
•WP4: the water optical classification scheme was reviewed and updated and second OWT sets produced
•WP5: Atmospheric correction algorithms were evaluated over the 6 case study areas; Polymer was investigated for adjacency and bottom effects; an AC blending approch was implemented
•WP6: case-study users were analysed and reported in depth; indicators were developed and shown to end users; where appropriate these have been integrated into the prototype
•WP7: the CERTO prototype was completed and two versions of Sentinel2 MSI data and one version of S3 OLCI data were produced
•WP8: user demonstrations were completed and a survey was produced for feedback on the prototype results
•WP9: Dissemination and Exploitation activities were completed and exceeded KPIs
•WP10: Communications activities continued throughout the project
•WP11: Ethics requirements were completed
Main achievements:
• WP1: Project management was undertaken by PML with regular in person and virtual meetings
• WP2: Comprehensive user consultations were undertaken in the 6 user case studies and with the CERTO advisory board; CNR led analysis of existing water-quality products, methodologies and approaches, implemented across the Copernicus services inc. the new CMEMS high resolution service. Analyses of user requirements focussed on the quality and accuracy required for water quality, different sectors (e.g. regulators and agencies reporting on MSFD and WFD), industry sector needs (e.g. aquaculture, port authorities, etc.). The users requirements were also analysed in terms of scientific and technical functional requirements needed for the CERTO prototype.
•WP3: A comprehensive in situ campaign was undertaken with ~560 stations and >550 individual samples; spectroradiometers were integrated with autonomous sun-tracking platforms designed by PML and deployed by PML, FCID and GEOECOMAR
•WP4: the water optical classification scheme was reviewed and updated and second OWT sets produced
•WP5: Atmospheric correction algorithms were evaluated over the 6 case study areas; Polymer was investigated for adjacency and bottom effects; an AC blending approch was implemented
•WP6: case-study users were analysed and reported in depth; indicators were developed and shown to end users; where appropriate these have been integrated into the prototype
•WP7: the CERTO prototype was completed and two versions of Sentinel2 MSI data and one version of S3 OLCI data were produced
•WP8: user demonstrations were completed and a survey was produced for feedback on the prototype results
•WP9: Dissemination and Exploitation activities were completed and exceeded KPIs
•WP10: Communications activities continued throughout the project
•WP11: Ethics requirements were completed
Progress beyond state of the art completed: an optical water type approach using blended atmospheric corrections has been implemented for Sentinel 2 and tested in six case study sites; a prototype to produce Sentinel 2 and 3 data was produced and available open source; the OWT approach was implemented in the widely used SNAP toolbox; an extensive database of in situ observations was constructed with ~560 stations and > 5000 individual measurements; three autonomous radiometers were deployed and gathered approx 100,000 QCed spectra.