Why should we try to examine water quality from space? Can it be done?
Like many other aspects of Earth observation from satellites, there are significant advantages to the remote sensing of water quality. One of the main advantages is that a single clear view of a water body, such as an estuary, a lake, a bay, a sound or fjord, etc. can provide much more information than could be obtained by a dedicated in-water sampling effort from ships or from the shore, even over a period of several days. When clear views can be obtained over a period of time, significant insight can then be gained into the status and evolution of water quality within the entire body of water, rather than at just a few discrete locations inside of it.
Despite the fact that clear views aren't always possible, particularly for remote sensing using the visible wavelength region of the spectrum, the comprehensive view acquired by a satellite makes this effort quite useful. Ever since the beginning of remote sensing of ocean color, the detection of pollution and the evaluation of water quality have been important aspects of this science. As the instruments in space have matured and become more advanced and more sensitive, the usefulness of their data for wate quality research and monitoring has increased. However, there has not been a focused effort to refine the data processing algorithms specifically for water quality assessment.
This NASA research project intends to do just that: improve existing algorithms, provide new data products, and make the data directly related to water quality easy to find and easy to use. Advances in computational power as well as the instrumentation in space make this project possible. The results of this project will provide advanced and accurate water quality data at higher spatial resolution than has been provided before, specifically for the needs of the organizations and citizens directly related to regional water quality issues.
Project Description
Our overarching objective is to develop/refine an algorithm suite that can be applied to current (MODIS and/or MERIS) and future (VIIRS and/or Sentinel) satellite sensors, intending to efficiently and accurately retrieve water-quality products for inland and coastal waters. These products are water clarity, concentration of chlorophyll a, and concentration of total suspended sediments, i.e. BIOP3. The algorithms will be semi-analytical in nature, centered on inherent optical properties (IOPs).
Welcome to NASA's Giovanni
Giovanni is a Web-based application developed by the GES DISC that provides a simple and intuitive way to visualize, analyze, and access vast amounts of Earth science remote sensing data without having to download the data. Giovanni is an acronym for the GES-DISC (Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center) Interactive Online Visualization ANd aNalysis Infrastructure.
Web site: http://giovanni.gsfc.nasa.gov/
Giovanni will be utilized to distribute new water quality-related data products, also providing its unique interface for the analysis of such data. As the project progresses, Giovanni will provide the water quality-related data products at both increased spatial and increased temporal resolution.
