Result description
What is the problem
In 2015, the coastal area of the Loire estuary has been designated as a Natura2000 perimeter managed by the French Agency of Biodiversity. The agency requested the monitoring of the export of SPM from the estuary to the coastal ocean, and the assessment of its impact on the primary production. Predicting the extent and the direction of the Loire turbid plume is also necessary for the assessment of anthropogenic impacts of industrial activities.
CoastObs solutions
The launch of the Sentinel satellites has opened up new opportunities for consistent monitoring of coastal ecosystem quality. Satellite methods are faster, more cost-effective and produce map outputs providing a more synoptic view of the study area with a good temporal coverage. Using a time-series of Sentinel-2 SPM data from 2017 – 2018, simple descriptors of the plume morphology have been tested and related to environmental conditions (river flow, wind, tidal regime) to understand the mechanisms governing the turbid plume dynamics.
Addressing target audiences and expressing needs
- Grants and Subsidies
- Loans
- Expanding to more markets /finding new customers
CoastObs service provides maps of sediment plumes at a spatial resolution of 10m (Sentinel 2) to 30 m (Landsat 8) with a moderate temporal resolution (at best 5 days). The different plume morphologies were classified and statistically related to the prevailing environmental conditions (e.g. wind, tide, river flow) to identify temporal windows for dredging operations that would have the lowest impact on the environment. The product is however still under development and not fully operational yet.
- Others/ No specific audience
- Public or private funding institutions
- Other Actors who can help us fulfil our market potential
R&D, Technology and Innovation aspects
The service will be further operationalized, tested, and validated
Can be applied to other areas
Methods well documented
Earth Observation is a sustainable monitoring method
- Global
Result submitted to Horizon Results Platform by BIO-LITTORAL
