Ocean color NATO SfPS Project Annual Meeting Istanbul November 2011

Project title “Ocean colour – Application for the Western Black Sea” Period of development: 2010 – 2014 Joint Research Centre of EC (JRC), Ispra, Italy (through a Letter of Endorsement) Maritime Hydrographic Directorate (MHD), Constanta, Romania Research Center of the Navy, Costanta, Romania) Institute of Oceanology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IO-BAS), Bulgaria, Varna National Institute for Marine Research and Development (NIMRD) Grigore Antipa, Constanta, Romania

Rationale and Justification The Black Sea receives drainage from almost one-third of the continental Europe (five times its own surface) which includes significant portions of 17 countries, 13 capital cities and some 160 million people. Of all the basins of the world ocean, the environmental degradation in the Black Sea is the most severe. The monitoring of trophic and geochemical status of the Black Sea can rely on satellite ocean color data. In fact such a technology allows for the determination at synoptic scale of water quality indicators like: -chlorophyll a concentration (and potentially accessory pigments) used as a proxy for phytoplankton biomass; -concentration of total suspended matter and colored dissolved organic matter through its absorption properties. Current limitation in the operational use of satellite ocean color data in the Black Sea and in other marginal seas is the lack of regional bio-optical algorithms linking the satellite signal to the specific water quality indicators. In fact operational satellite products generally rely on algorithms developed for global applications which generally are the source of large uncertainties in coastal areas. This urges the development of specific regional bio-optical algorithms on the basis of comprehensive data sets of statistically representative in situ measurements.

Current Status and Objectives Optical remote sensing (satellite ocean color) has demonstrated the capability to provide synoptic information of the optical and biogeochemical properties of the oceans. This is based on the determination of the spectrum of the water leaving radiance (i.e., the radiance emerging from below the sea surface obtained from the top-of-atmosphere signal corrected for the atmospheric perturbation). The proposed project, within the framework of ESA and ROSA coordinated activities, and with the collaboration of JRC, aims at carrying out dedicated bio- optical cruises in the Romanian waters influenced by the Danube discharges. The data collection carried out by the partnership will basically rely on the equipment and methodologies regularly applied by the JRC for mapping the bio-optical properties of the European seas and complying with the MERIS Validation Team protocols. The in situ data collected during these cruises will then be applied: i. to verify the consistency of the models utilized for the atmospheric correction process in sediment dominated waters with specific reference to the MERIS bright pixel atmospheric correction; ii. to support the development of regional bio-optical algorithms and models for the determination of optically significant seawater constituents in the form of concentration or inherent optical properties from satellite ocean color sensor data (with the highest priority for MERIS imagery).

The project also aims at operating an autonomous above-water radiometer on an oil platform in front of the Romanian coast. This system will produce data which will be used for the continuous assessment of the atmospheric correction process of current satellite ocean colors sensors (with the highest priority for MERIS). The autonomous radiometer will be provided by the JRC and will be part of the international AERONET-OC network. The long-term operation of the system will be taken over by NIMRD with the support of the JRC. The system will ensure real-time transmission of data. These will be available to the project partnership without restrictions from the AERONET-OC data base and also from the ESA MERMAID server. The operation of the above- water system will be complemented by an ADCP (Acoustic Doppler Current Profile) operated near the deployment platform to monitor sea currents and wave regimes. The data exploitation will comprise the continuous analysis of in-situ and satellite match-up data, and an evaluation of the sea current effects on them. The project will also benefit from the NIMRD data archive of transparency and sea color produced during different oceanographic cruises from 1971 to 2009.

Data The in situ data collected within the framework of the oceanographic cruises will comprise state-of-the-art and quality assured comprehensive measurements of apparent and inherent optical properties of seawater, in addition to the concentration of optically significant constituents AOP are the remote sensing reflectance and the diffuse attenuation coefficient (all determined through in-water radiometric profiling). Inherent optical properties are the absorption, scattering and back-scattering coefficients (determined through in-water profiling). Concentrations of specific seawater suspended constituents include those of pigments and total suspended matter (determined from laboratory analysis of water samples). The in situ data collected with the autonomous above-water radiometer on a continuous basis will be the remote sensing reflectance and the aerosol optical thickness

Milestones and Deliverables i. the installation of the autonomous system on an offshore oil platform in the Danube area during the first year; ii. the completion of the oceanographic campaigns scheduled for the first and second year; and iii. yearly summary of data analysis. Accordingly deliverables are: Data from the fixed platform (i.e., the radiometric data accessible from the AERONET OC and MERMAID servers and ADCP data accessible from NIMRD) Data from ship campaigns (radiometric data and inherent optical properties); Annual scientific reports and publications documenting the field activities and results from data analysis. It is expected that results are also presented in at least one workshop (e.g., MERIS Validation Team Meeting) or conference per year.

ECOOP European COastal-shelf sea OPerational observing and forecasting system Regional Atmospheric Model (ALADIN Family Basin-Scale Circulation Model Sea Surface Elevation Ro ~ 1 km 170 x 270

NIMRD Romanian National Monitoring Program (part of BSIMAP)  Romanian Monitoring grid - 44 stations  21 in coastal waters  12 in transitional waters  11 in marine waters  inner shelf waters – covered quite well spatially and temporally in the National Monitoring Program  outer shelf and open waters - occasionally covered within the framework of various projects

Parameters monitored in parallel, in situ and remote sensing  Chlorophyll a  commonly used parameter for the estimation of phytoplankton biomass and primary production  included in the list of indicators of eutrophication within WFD  proposed indicator related to “Direct effects of nutrient enrichment” criteria (Descriptor 5) in the MSFD  Transparency  strongly related to the amount, size, composition of suspended material (sediments and organic material)  Transparency related to increase in suspended algae is proposed as MSFD’s indicator (Descriptor 5)

Validations of the RS data  MSFD recommends appropriate methodologies for chlorophyll a observation offshore using tools as satellite observation  In open waters remote sensing methods are the most promise tool for eutrophication assessment, on synoptic scales through the detection of chlorophyll a and water transparency  Integration of in-situ and remote sensing data improves understanding of ecosystem processes and dynamics  Identification of chlorophyll a temporal trends  the use of remote sensing products for wider marine areas can provide a much finer resolution in time and space  Identification and understanding the link between algal blooms and nutrients input  Serious issues  provide reliable data at very low costs  based on information provided by the RS measurements, we can plan and/or adjust the course of the cruises of 2012

Use of RS data in NIMRD’s Oceanography Department  important tool of monitoring marine waters in the Romanian National Monitoring Program:planning, developing and extension of all marine monitoring activities  in several on-going national projects (annual reports)  The influence of Danube’s discharges on the trophic status of Romanian transitional and coastal waters in order to implement WFD and MSFD  Characterization of benthic and planktonic communities of the Romanian continental shelf  Evaluation of macrophyte communities from the Romanian coast (MACROEVAL)  Complex system for the application of the remote sensing technics for environmental quality monitoring and Romanian ICZM implementation support (IMAGIS)/coastal WQ studies

Northwestern BS Basin RS data requirements more accurate data (if possible) in the inner shelf waters and fill data gap before 2009 Work to do (NIMRD)  Contribution to improvement of data validation  extended coverage area for in-situ measurements through common cruises  collect discrete samples (spatial and temporal) – when is possible  Preparation and Participation in BS common expedition from September 2012 with ROSA support  better use of products  better dissemination (more papers based on these data)  use data in more national and international projects  use data in other research areas (i.e. fisheries, marine ecology)  Training/assimilation of RS technology of processing and delivery

Thanks for your attention!