Author: merriebethneely

Check out CitSci Water Quality Expert Laurence Carvalho at GEO Virtual Symposium!

The GEO Citizen Science Spotlight Sessions occur twice in the GEO Virtual Symposium agenda:   Tuesday June 22nd 10:00-1030 and again on Wednesday June 23rd 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.

IWA Webinar: Earth Observation technologies for water quality management

The International Water Association Webinar on Earth Observation technologies for water quality management , featuring GEO AquaWatch Director Steve Greb and GEO AquaWatch Management Team member Blake Schaeffer,  is taking place on 21st July 2021 at 15:00 CEST.   

REGISTER FOR THE WEBINAR HERE

Target Audience

EO experts, potable water production, recreation, hydropower, aquaculture, environmental protection, water resources management and emergency planning; water professionals

14:00-15:30 BST | 09:00-10:30 EDT

Description

Across various parts of the water sector – from water treatment plants to hydropower to aquaculture – preparing and adapting to risks in a planned manner is far more efficient than reacting to a major system failure. For this reason, having the tools and capability to predict and respond in advance to potential water quality (and quantity) risks can improve environmental performance while lowering costs.  

In this framework, there is great potential in the application of Earth Observation (EO) technologies in the water sector. EO technology combined with modelling of highly complex, dynamic systems can provide monitoring and forecasting information of water quality and quantity. This information can guide water professionals in making quick and data-informed decisions, achieve regulatory compliance at low cost and improve the day-to-day performance of operations. 

 This webinar will explore how EO technology is being applied across the water sector to better manage water quality issues such as algal blooms and turbidity.

Learning Objectives

Following this webinar, participants will be able to:

  • Gain perspectives on the application of EO technologies in water quality management in different parts of the water sector.
  • Recognise how EO technologies can be integrated into existing decision support systems to help prepare and respond to water quality hazards
  • Navigate and access groups to engage further on this topic (e.g. GEO AquaWatch, PrimeWater H2020 EU project).

Host

International Water Association

Panelists

  • Erin Urquhart PACE Applications Coordinator at NASA GSFC (Webinar Chair)
  • Steve Greb Associate fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Aquatic Sciences Center and GEOAquaWatch Director
  • Apostolos Tzimas Managing Director at EMVIS Consultant Engineers and International coordinator of EU H2020 project PrimeWater
  • Maria Antonietta Dessena Geologist at Ente Acque della Sardegna (ENAS)
  • Blake Schaeffer Research Scientist at US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Tune in June 21, 14:30 CEST for GEO and CEOS COAST an EO Partnership!

(click photo for PDF flyer)

GEO and CEOS COAST: A coastal EO partnership

June 21st 14:30pm CEST       Join meeting here

Description

This session will be great opportunity learn about the new Committee on Earth Observation Satellites Coastal Ocean Applications, Services, and Tools (COAST) – recognized as a UN Ocean Decade Contribution. This presentation will be jointly presented with GEO and seeks to inform the community about the pilot projects directed at solving coastal problems in 4 thematic areas and 5 geographic regions. The two COAST Pilot Projects address Sea Impacts to Land from flooding and shoreline erosion; and Land Impacts to the Sea from delivery of sediment and nutrients to coasts. Earth Observation applications will be co-developed and co-designed to provide data for decision-making to identified geographic stakeholders.

The themes being tackled in the first 2 years are: Flooding and inundation, bathymetry/coastline mapping, coastal eutrophication, and turbidity/sedimentation. The geographic regions targeted in the first 2 years are: Bay of Bengal, the west coast of Africa, Chesapeake Bay, La Plata Estuary, and Pacific and Caribbean small island nations. Enhanced stakeholder benefits through CEOS COAST’s collaboration with the CoastPredict UN Ocean Decade Programme will be highlighted, followed by a Case Study for potential information capabilities in Bay of Bengal. We wish to identify, from among Symposia attendees, interested stakeholders and potential partners to sustain applications and to engage in a preliminary discussion of coastal issues and potential product development of mutual interest.

Moderator(s) and Speaker(s)

Paul Digiacomo

Paul
Digiacomo

Raj Kumar

Raj
Kumar

Douglas Cripe

Douglas
Cripe

Nadia Pinardi

Nadia
Pinardi

Rashmi Sharma

Rashmi
Sharma

Programme

  • COAST Overview: High level explanation of COAST’s mission and Phase 2 pilot goals (Raj Kumar)
  • GEO Programme Activity Affinities & Capacity Building with COAST (Douglas Cripe)
  • COAST Partnership with UN Decade’s CoastPredict Project (Nadia Pinardi)
  • Case Study for Bay of Bengal (Rashmi Sharma)

Webinar: Monitoring Plastics in Rivers and Lakes – June 17th

The World Water Quality Alliance invites you to register for their Launch Webinar for MONITORING PLASTICS IN RIVERS AND LAKES: Guidelines for the Harmonization of Methodologies on June 17, 2021 at 1:30 PM EAT (12:30 PM CEST).

The guidelines contain the most current procedures for monitoring and analyzing plastic content in rivers, lakes, reservoirs and water/wastewater treatment plants. The harmonization of monitoring methods and techniques will allow for synthesis of data and will provide knowledge of transport processes, loads and impacts of plastic debris in freshwater bodies/ecosystems, that can be used to monitor water quality and also strengthen evidence base for guiding effective policymaking. The webinar will feature a panel of expert speakers and will provide the audience with an overview of the publication, practical use and implementation of the guidelines, as well as opportunities to put them into practice.

Registration link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5721038690869826316.

More information and links to the guidelines (released on 17 June): https://www.unep.org/resources/report/monitoring-plastics-rivers-and-lakes-guidelines-harmonization-methodologies