ARSET – Monitoring Coastal and Estuarine Water Quality Using Remote Sensing and In Situ Data

November 30-December 7, 2021.  This two-part, advanced webinar series is a follow-on to the training on coastal and estuarine water quality held in September 2021. It is a hands-on training with demos provided by instructors, followed by an hour of lab time for participants to use Level-1 MODIS and VIIRS data provided by the Ocean Biology DAAC (OB.DAAC) and SeaDAS and OCSSW software for deriving water quality parameters. These will include chlorophyll-a concentration, sea surface temperature, and suspended particulate matter from optical satellite imagery and in situ measurements using the SeaWiFS Bio-optical Archive and Storage System (SeaBASS), a public repository of in situ oceanographic and atmospheric data, and SeaDAS, a comprehensive software package for the processing, display, analysis, and quality control of remote sensing data. This training will provide participants with the skills to combine in situ measurements and optical remote sensing data to assess water quality for their area of interest.

AGENDA

REGISTER (SESSION A): 10:00-12:00 (UTC-5)

REGISTER (SESSION B): 14:00-16:00 (UTC-5)

Find out more here:

There are major milestone events linked to global policy agendas taking place in 2021, including the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) COP26, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) COP15, the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development and the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration. These will bring a new set of challenges and opportunities for the international community. During GEO Week 2021, we will present the multidisciplinary activities of the GEO Work Programme that address these areas. This will be assessed through the lens of nexus thinking to highlight how the use of Earth observations in different sectors contributes to these efforts.  Find out more here:

November 18-19, 2021

 

The satellite event aims to raise awareness, among Member States and stakeholders, about the state-of-the-art capabilities and limitations of remote sensing to support the monitoring and management of marine litter, by means of instruments on board of satellites, aircraft, and drones. Creating this awareness is an essential part to align needs with capabilities and find a common ground for a successful development of the technologies. We will discuss these needs of the target community, explain the current and near future capabilities, the best available techniques, and agree on a roadmap to match them together, along with the elaboration of a set of actions and recommendations to support their development and fulfilment. We will coordinate existing working groups to support a Call-for-Action platform to foster the use of remote sensing as a complementary monitoring strategy for marine litter. The activity will benefit from the full support and participation of the IOCCG Task Force on Remote Sensing of Marine Litter and Debris, as well as of a coordinated set of international experts from academia, industry, civil society and stakeholders from the global network that the organizing committee of this Activity has access to, which includes OASIS, IMDOS and the Marine Debris Working Group from Blue Planet.

Register here

The Virtual Industry Track at GEO Week 2021 will focus on presenting the multidisciplinary activities of the GEO Work Programme with a priority to boost public-private partnerships which support national Earth observation initiatives. This year we are offering 16 small, medium and micro-sized enterprises (SMMEs) an opportunity to profile their work in Earth observations. Submissions to present in one of the Company Profile slots is open to all SMMEs across the globe. This will be a virtual presentation illustrating how your business supports or complements the GEO Work Programme. This will be followed by a GEO Work Programme and GEO Associates feedback panel which will provide insights into how you can improve your engagements with the GEO community. Please complete the form below for your company to be considered for a slot. Deadline 4 Nov 2021

Apply HERE

In an effort to more effectively serve the water quality community, The Group on Earth Observations (GEO) AquaWatch Initiative is expanding through the formation of regional and thematic nodes. GEO AquaWatch invites government agencies, research institutions and NGOs to submit an expression of interest to host a node to the GEO AquaWatch Secretariat’s principal office.

Submission deadline: continuously open

About GEO AquaWatch

Water quality is essential for human, ecosystem, and economic health.  Degradation of water quality can result in human exposure to disease and harmful chemicals, reduction in productivity and diversity of ecosystems and damage to aquaculture, agriculture and other water-related industries. The goal of the AquaWatch Initiative is to develop and build the global capacity and utility of Earth Observation-derived water quality data, products and information to support effective monitoring, management and decision making.  AquaWatch encourages activities to engage, and be led by, early career scientists.

Formation of New AquaWatch Nodes

The GEO AquaWatch Secretariat provides scientific and logistical support, and program development  for GEO AquaWatch activities. In order to effectively support coordination of relevant activities in other regions and to support global coordination and development of thematic activities, GEO AquaWatch invites government agencies, research institutions and NGOs to submit an expression of interest to host a regional or thematic node of the secretariat. Secretariat nodes can be regional, thematic or a combination of regional and thematic. Thematic nodes should generally align with one, or more, of AquaWatch’s focus areas: Outreach and End User Engagement; Observations and Data; Products and Information; Distribution, Access and Visualization; and Education/Capacity Building. Read the node responsibilities and requirements to become a regional or thematic node here.   Any entities considering node hosting should be aligned with, and committed to implementing, GEO AquaWatch’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policy. 

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement

It is GEO AquaWatch’s goal to exceed legal mandates and be a role model of Equity and Inclusion in Water Quality Monitoring and more generally in STEM science. Especially, actively ensuring we are promoting the scientific findings and ideas of, and offering leadership roles and presentation opportunities to, all minority groups and women as the first objective in our planning, not as an afterthought or side effort. Diversity and inclusion are essential to Scientific Excellence and improves scientific outcomes. 

Submitting an Expression of Interest

Expressions of interest responsive to  the submission questions referenced here should be submitted via email to Steve Greb, Director of GEO AquaWatch at srgreb@geoaquawatch.org. If you have any questions about hosting a node Contact us!