EOMORES uses Earth Observation and optical in situ data to monitor water quality parameters, which are combined to deliver our Ecosystem Assessment services. The products can be delivered as maps and time series for inland, transitional or coastal waters in order to visualize changes in the ecosystem over time and space.

What is the problem?

Ecosystem assessment can be a challenge when the data available are limited in time and/or space, as they tend to be in the case of routine, sample-based monitoring. Furthermore, a lack of historical data on water bodies makes it difficult to understand changes in the ecosystem.

How does EOMORES address it?

The EOMORES services are built on a denser time series of data, thus capturing seasonal changes in phytoplankton and the timings of algal bloom events – elements which could easily be missed if assessments were based solely on traditional in situ monitoring techniques. The specific products are tailored to the user’s needs, and can provide synoptic coverage, including information for remote areas, at different spatial scales. Both near-real time assessments and retrospective analysis are available.

Consequently, the EOMORES services address the following activities:

• Monitoring of algal blooms and their timings,
• Monitoring of the presence and extent of blue-green algae (using phycocyanin as an indicator pigment)
• Sediment plume identification or changes in suspended matter
• Monitoring of land-derived inputs of dissolved organic matter in lakes

Which products are available?

• EO maps of water quality parameters (chl-a, TSM, CDOM, transparency, K_d, );
• EO time series maps or graphs of water quality parameters;
• Macrophyte percentage coverage maps;
• Quantification of phytoplankton and/or cyanobacteria biomass;
• Identification of algal bloom presence and timing.

EOMORES in action: bloom analysis in Lake Trasimeno