| Abstract | The project INSEA is focused on the development of integrated management tools for coastal eutrophication assessment combining Models, Satellite Remote Sensing and in situ Measurements. The INSEA specific objectives are:
- Downscaling physics from global to regional models and assimilating remote sensing data.
- Improve and develop new tools for real-time in situ measurements.
Improve and develop new tools for processing and using remote sensing data (from Earth Observation).
- Improve and validate the ecological models of the areas under investigation, with especial emphasis for eutrophication related parameters.
- Demonstrate the potential of the combination of Earth Observation data, numerical modeling and in-situ data for assessing eutrophication in coastal areas.
- Explore the forecasting capabilities of the modelling system achieved.
As result is expected that INSEA will provide innovation in the following areas:
- Assimilation techniques and sub-grid-scale processes knowledge: benefiting from large amounts of data made available by the project.
- Modelling & Data Managing Tools: Data acquisition, visualization and analysis.
- Management & Decision making: Forecasting capacity & better scenario evaluation and development of indexes.
INSEA potential Users
- Water administration authorities,
- Environmental protection authorities,
- Wastewater management companies,
- Water resources management companies,
- Civil protection services.
Coastal waters are transitional ecosystems buffered by variable landward-based freshwater input volumes and constituents, influences of oceanic provinces and human disturbances, including nutrient enrichment, superimposed on these natural regimes. Considering coastal systems complexity, associated with highly dynamic spatial (horizontally and vertically) and temporal changes, it becomes obvious that any type of monitoring, either remote sensing or local data acquisition, can only give a brief perspective of the problems in coastal waters and estuaries. Satellite imagery has the capability of describing spatial distribution but, inevitably, short term temporal phenomena (in the range of hours) and vertical processes are impossible to track. On the other hand, local data measurements can show these short time trends but usually are unable to give a clear overview of spatial variation and have high costs. Adding to these different data sources the capabilities of proper modelling tools it provides means to fill the information gaps and make available added value managing tools capable to help to draw diagnostics and perform prognostics.
INSEA aims to set-up and validate numerically robust ecological modelling systems in order to describe biogeochemical cycling of carbon and nutrients occurring under different hydrographical and trophic regimes, and to explore the system capabilities in a forecast mode to support coastal zone management issues. |
