Résultats exploitables
The INSEA activities were specially focused in modelling, remote sensing, data management and communications activities. The modelling activities foreseen within INSEA project comprises the ecosystems characterisation, the models implementation and testing, including the downscaling and data assimilation activities and, finally, the put in place of the operational systems.
The remote sensing activities included tasks related with improvement of the quality of the altimeter data and the specification for remote sensed ocean colour observation operators for its assimilation. The X-track software developed for this purpose in 2006 is a processing chain processing standard altimetric products like the one distributed by space and meteorology agencies (CNES, ESA, NOAA), and improves the products, in particular for coastal applications (but not only). The improvement comes from new algorithms and correction terms that are not in the standard products. The upgrade consists in:
- adding new geophysical correction terms, in particular the tide and the response of the ocean to the atmospheric forcing;
- implementing regional models that are more accurate than the global models used in the standard products;
- applying a more accurate data quality checking: the standard editing criteria are too coarse for a proper flagging of the data in coastal regions: sometimes good data is flagged as bad' and obviously bad data is flagged 'good';
- computing a mean sea surface under the satellite ground tracks, with the estimation of the local cross-track gradient, which is useful for research groups working with data re-localised over fixed reference ground tracks.
The X-track data can be used either for the validation of the dynamical models, or for the assimilation in the dynamical models.
During 2008, an observation operator prototype start to be developed based on the Hydrolight numerical marine optical model. Starting from models outputs and space products provided by the partners there were processed test cases over the Gulf of Fos (CNRS-LA), Pagasitikos (HCMR) and Tagus Estuary (IST) zones.
Also in order to describe and validate the model's assimilation outcomes several satellite remote sensing datasets were used. As referred particular attention was paid to the ocean colour Chlorophyll-a datasets.
From an overall point of view it can be said that most of the originally proposed objectives have been achieved. In some areas the progress has been more evident than on the others, but all the subjects that were foreseen were tackled and the overall result, at least from the point of view of the INSEA consortium, is very positive.
In a general way one may identify five specific fields where the project proposed to produce improved or new approaches to deal with the problems:
- the downscaling from regional to local solutions;
- the data assimilation schemes;
- the relevance of a correct evaluation of the land nutrient sources for a proper evaluation of the coastal eutrophication (catchments nutrient loads evaluation);
- the integration of different sources of data with models (with a special emphasis to the use of remote sensed data);
- the organisation of the data sources and model results in structured data bases accessible and exploitable trough the internet.
By the end of the INSEA project , researchers ended up with operational systems running in all of the three sites and with users interested in the project products. The systems are showing capabilities that may help effectively in issues such as the coastal management and safety and, according the consortium experience and feed-back from the stakeholders, the services made available in the framework of INSEA combined with other available services in the framework of the Kopernikus (former GMES) core services represent already the basis for the dissemination of operational downstream services.
In any case it is a fact that despite of the all effort put on the subject, some aspects had not gone so far as the project team would like. One of these aspects is the improving the quality of satellite colour data. Although important progress has been achieved and the work performed launched the basis for an innovative work with the radiative transfer models the subject revealed very complex aspects that need further investigations to become of current use. In any case it was demonstrated the potentialities of the approach and the work is being continued beyond the project framework. This issue will be object of discussion on a paper that will be submitted to the Journal of Marine Systems.
Also the aspect of the communications did not go as further as the team would wish. Although all the objectives foreseen were full achieved, at some time there was some expectation that the technological evolution and the available infrastructure could allow to have a prototype working on the field during the project lifetime. The 'proof of concept' foreseen has been achieved but the infrastructure it is not yet ready to fully support the satellite communications in the basis proposed in the project. However, according the state of the art, the concept proposed is very promising and it may indeed play a relevant role in the near future.
The remaining foreseen activities were focused in the final implementation of the models and selection of proper outputs that may be used and understood by the common users, in the finalisation of the remote data exploitation tools and in the dissemination of the INSEA products and services through the end-users.
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