7th EARSeL Workshop on Remote Sensing of the Coastal Zone
Topics
Rügen on the rocks on 24/02/2012 (Copyright JAXA, ESA)
The 7th workshop will focus on the contribution of the remote sensing to the monitoring of the terrestrial
and marine ecosystem status and its variability in the coastal zone of the European Seas.
As suggested by the strategic plan for Coastal GOOS
(Global Ocean Observing System) and the
Panel for Integrated Coastal Ocean Observations
(PICO) the priority indicators of the ecosystem state (health) are:
- Surface phytoplankton biomass and subsurface oxygen fields
- Distribution and abundance of waterborne pathogens and toxic phytoplankton
- Spatial extent of living benthic habitats (coral reefs, seagrass beds, mangrove forests and tidal marshes) and ecological buffers to coastal flooding
- Distribution and condition of calcareous organisms (cold and warm water corals, coccolithophores and pteropods)
- Distribution and abundance of exploitable fish stocks
These indicators can be evaluated on the basis of some “essential variable”. The list include both ecosystem state variables such as temperature, salinity or phytoplankton biomass and external pressures such as winds, solar radiation or precipitations as listed in the PICO report: Remote sensing methodologies represent a real opportunity for estimating at least some of these essential variables with increasing precision, starting from basic measured variables such as remote sensing reflectance, emitted radiation, or radar backscattering.Considering this general framework and future challenges for the coastal zone remote sensing community, the 7th Workshop represents an ideal opportunity for discussing these themes and trace the route for forthcoming projects and collaborations. Themes proposed for discussions are:
- changing terrestrial run-off into coastal waters
- escalation of extreme coastal events: floods, storms, high tides
- hydrology and water budget evolution of rivers and lakes
- increasing temperatures in inland and coastal waters
- impact of vaying physical forcing on morphodynamics and ecosystems
- new developments of habitats, biodiversity and alien invaders
- fluxes and fate of seawater constituents, including pollutants
- role of Coastal Zone Management in adapting to climate change
and their investigation with Remote Sensing:
- active and passive methods in all spectral ranges, sensor combinations
- satellite, airborne and ground-based methods including ground truth
- modelling of radiative transfer, image processing and related aspects
- interaction of physical, biological and chemical conditions and processes
- Ocean Colour Remote Sensing for Coastal and Inland Waters
Previous events:
- 1st Workshop in Ghent, Belgium, 2003
- 2nd Workshop in Porto, Portugal, 2005
- 3rd Workshop in Bolzano/Bozen, Italy, 2007
- 4th Workshop in Chania, Greece, 2009
- 5th Workshop in Prague, Czech Republic, 2011
- 6th Workshop in Matera, Italy, 2013