The GEO Citizen Science Spotlight Sessions occur twice in the GEO Virtual Symposium agenda: Tuesday 22 10:00-1030 and again on Wednesday 18:00-18:30 CEST. Both sessions feature a presentation by GEO AquaWatch Steering Committee Chairperson Dr. Laurence Carvalho, Professor, Freshwater Restoration & Sustainability at the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.
Prof. Laurence Carvalho is a freshwater ecologist in the Freshwater Restoration and Sustainability Group at UK Centre for Ecology. Laurence’s research is focused on the monitoring and management of freshwater resources and in particular understanding and minimizing the risks to public and animal health from harmful algal blooms. His work considers the complementarity of different sources of monitoring data including traditional in-situ data from regulatory agencies and research institutes, satellite earth observation, sensors and citizen science. He leads the Bloomin’Algae citizen science campaign https://www.ceh.ac.uk/algal-blooms/bloomin-algae, which is an app and web service for reporting, and being notified of, the presence of harmful algal blooms in freshwaters. The app helps speed up public health warnings and teaches the public how to recognize potentially toxic algal bloom incidents.
The International Centre for Water Resources and Global Change (ICWRGC) at UNESCO announces the Call for Applications for the ISI Training Workshop on River Sediment Monitoring and Management. This Virtual Workshop will take place 06-10 September 2021.
This online training workshop focuses on training and capacity-building in the field of river sediment monitoring and management. In this training workshop, we teach about sediment monitoring techniques, data analysis
methods and management practices. This workshop will concentrate on monitoring and management of sediment in rivers and will not include topics such as hillslope erosion and soil conservation.
Who should apply?
• You have a background in geosciences (hydrology, geography, etc.), civil engineering or related disciplines.
• Your current future job involves working on topics related to sediment transport in river basins.
• You need extra training and support to improve your knowledge of sediment monitoring techniques,sediment data analysis and river basin management.
• You have a basic knowledge of working with R Studio.
Participants may register until June 20, 2021. Please see more information in the 2-pg information flyer.
The paper was published in Nature and entitled “Widespread deoxygenation of temperate lakes” (see full citation below). Study co-author Kevin C. Rose, is a professor of biology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and an active member of GEO AquaWatch Working Group 3.
Rose and his co-authors found dissolved oxygen levels declined in 393 temperate lakes in the United States and Europe between 1941 and 2017 – a result of anthropogenic climate change altering the physical and chemical environment in lakes. Oxygen values dropped in both surface and deep lake waters, but for different reasons. Surface values mostly dropped due to less soluble oxygen in warmer surface waters, but enhanced phytoplankton production led to more surface dissolved oxygen in some of the most productive warming lakes. Dissolved oxygen declined in deeper waters was associated with thermal stratification and reduced water clarity limiting primary production and enhancing respiration, but not altering gas solubility in the warming lakes. Lake oxygen declines were ~3-9 times greater than oxygen declines observed in oceanic waters, threatening ecosystem services, and leading to increased fish kills, algal blooms and methane emissions. Read more here.
Kevin – Congratulations on the publication of this important study, and the associated public attention it has garnered you and your colleagues!
Citation: Jane, S.F., Hansen, G.J.A., Kraemer, B.M. et al. Widespread deoxygenation of temperate lakes. Nature 594, 66–70 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03550-y
On June 8th, World Oceans Day, UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission announced the first Actions officially endorsed as part of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, 2021-2030 (the ‘Ocean Decade’). The Committee on Earth Observation Satellites Coastal Observations, Applications, Services, and Tools (CEOS COAST) was selected as a Contribution to the Ocean Decade, and GEO AquaWatch is proud to be among the Leadership Team of COAST’s Land2Sea Pilot. Paul DiGiacomo, NOAA (GEOAquaWatch Co-Lead and patron) is the Co-Lead of CEOS COAST along with Raj Kumar, ISRO.
Find out more about CEOS COAST here:
Read the Ocean Decade announcement here:
