The GEO AquaWatch Initiative The Water Quality Community of Practice

Steven Greb

University of Wisconsin-Madison

GEO AquaWatch Director

CEOS WGISS-47 meeting

29 April-2 May, 2019

Silver Springs, Md.

• ~117 million lakes globally covering 3.7% of the Earth’s land

surface, coastal zones ~ 15 percent.

• Critical role in ecosystem services. Only 0.007 percent of the

planet's water is available to fuel and feed its 6.8 billion people.

• Water scarcity facing 1.8 billion people by 2025

• Sentinels of change and threatened globally by climate change,

eutrophication, toxicity.

• Many gaps in monitoring, particularly in developing countries

Inland and Coastal Waters

• AquaWatch aims to develop and build the global

capacity and utility of Earth Observation-derived water

quality data, products and information to support water

resources management and decision making.

GEO AquaWatch Goal

Lakes Mendota & Monona -University of Wisconsin SSEC imageChesapeake Bay Buoy – NOAA Image

AquaWatch Objectives

• Objective 1: Facilitate effective partnerships between the producers,

providers and users of water quality data, products and information.

• Objective 2: Improve analysis and integration of in situ and remote

sensing water quality data.

• Objective 3: Develop and deliver fit-for-purpose water quality products

and information services.

• Objective 4: Support technology transfer and access to water quality

data products and information.

• Objective 5: Advocate for increased education and capacity for the use

of water quality information for decision making.

AquaWatch Organizational Model

Water Quality

Knowledge Hub

Outreach and End User

engagement

Observations and Data

Products and Information

Distribution, Access and Visualization

Education and Capacity Building

0.000

0.001

0.002

0.003

0.004

0.005

0.006

0.007

0.008

0.009

0.010

400 450 500 550 600 650 700 750 800 850 900

Rrs

(λ),

sr-1

Wavelength, nm

Chlorophylls, Carotenoids,

NAP, CDOM

TSM

Cyanonphycocyanin

Chlorophyll-a

TSM

COMPARISON OF EARTH OBSERVATION SENSORS SUITABLE

FOR WATER QUALITY ASSESSMENT WITH PUBLIC ACCESS

DATA POLICY

7

0.000

0.005

0.010

400 500 600 700 800 900

Rrs

(λ)

(sr-

1)

Wavelength (nm)

Landsat 8

OLI/TIRS

Sentinel-2

MSI

Sentinel-3

OLCI

Landsat 7

ETM+

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8-10 11 12-16 17 18-19

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8b

8a

1 2 3 4 5

8

8

1 2 3 4

The TIGER Water Observation

Information System (WOIS)

Examples of current data and product sources

Different……….

• Sensors

• Regions /AOI

• Time scales

• Time segments

• Product processing

Some open source/some proprietary

Different degree of validation

Bottom line……………..

Conflicting results from different products for same time/location

Disparate Data Sources

S2 WATER QUALITY PROCESSOR AND VIEWER

Workflow Landsat

ESA hubESA hub

Download Download Pixel

identification

Pixel identification Adjacency

correction

Adjacency correction Atmospheric

correction

Atmospheric correction

RGB RCORGB RCO

ZeZe

SPM SPM

bbp555bbp555

KdKd

FormattingFormatting

KdPARKdPARCloud flagsCloud flags

RrsRrs

User interface

User interface

RHOa RHOa

ANGANG

AOTAOT

metadatametadataTURTUR

VITO archive

VITO archive

Formatting to

NetCDF

Formatting to

NetCDF

L2WL2W

Download Pre-processing A/C L2W

CHLCHL

apig443apig443

Water quality processor + Water monitor

Two examples of WQ processors

GLOBAL TURBIDITY PRODUCT HARMONIZATION

• AquaWatch data inventory RealEarth Portal

• Embedded in AquaWatch Website

• Bring together data of varying file formats, naming conventions, and

columns, and transforming it into one cohesive data set

• Grab samples, buoy data, satellite products

• Visual display, time series, scroll across sources for data comparison

• Updated hourly

• Understanding all user needs

• In situ data- more data needed in underrepresented areas and water

types, access to databases for calibration and validation, standardization of methods, instruments, metadata, integrate with satellite data

• Satellite imagery accessibility and discovery tools, cloud resources,

algorithm library

• Increased interoperability and standardization of metadata, sensor

specification, calibration reports, updates on processing software

• Inland and Coastal Analysis Ready Data System- Demonstration

project (10-100m res. , 5-10 day).

Looking towards the future…………………

Upstr

eam………..D

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nstr

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Additional Resources and leverage ongoing work with similar objectives

UNEP World Water Quality Alliance, SDGs (6.3.2,14.1.1), GEO Initiatives,

CoPs

Continue Expansion of AquaWatch Knowledge Hub

• Understanding all user needs

• In situ data- more data needed in underrepresented areas and water

types, access to databases for calibration and validation, standardization of methods, instruments, metadata, integrate with satellite data

• Satellite imagery accessibility and discovery tools, cloud resources, algorithm library

• Increased interoperability and standardization of metadata, sensor specification, calibration reports, updates on processing software

• Inland and Coastal Analysis Ready Data System- Demonstration project (10-100m res. , 5-10 day). Incorporate in respective WPs?

Looking towards the future…………………

Upstr

eam………..D

ow

nstr

eam

Additional Resources and leverage ongoing work with similar objectives

UNEP World Water Quality Alliance, SDGs (6.3.2,14.1.1), GEO Initiatives,

CoPs

Continue Expansion of AquaWatch Knowledge Hub

Contact Information

AquaWatch Secretariat (Merrie-Beth Neely) at

info@aquawatch.org

Or contact Steven Greb, AquaWatch Director at the

University of Wisconsin at

srgreb@wisc.edu

Visit our website :

www.geoaquawatch.org