MAPAQUALI - Modular system for continuous monitoring of inland waters quality by satellite
Water is a vital resource for life in general and human life in particular. It is also essential for economic development and social well-being, which depend on the water availability of nations. Approximately 12% of the freshwater available for use on the terrestrial surface circulates through the Brazilian territory. Due to this water availability, Brazil has a large number of large artificial and natural aquatic ecosystems. If, on the one hand, water availability leaves Brazil in a privileged position, on the other hand, it poses a great challenge, such as how monitoring and sustainably using these natural resources. For example, the construction of hydroelectric reservoirs enhances the use of irrigated agriculture around them, which significantly contributes to the increase in algae bloom events due to nutrient inflows. At the same time, many of these reservoirs receive untreated water from nearby cities, further enhancing the eutrophication process and the systematic occurrence of cyanobacterial blooms, which produce toxins that can lead to a series of liver, digestive, neurological, and even death when ingested by humans, fish, and birds. These environmental impacts on hydroelectric reservoirs need to be determined and monitored, as, in addition to being renewable, it is important that energy sources must also be clean. The MAPAQUALI project aims to develop a customizable modular system for continuous monitoring of continental aquatic systems by remote sensing. The system proposes to generate and make available, for aquatic systems for which it is customized, time series of the spatial distribution of water quality parameters: Chlorophyll-a, Cyanobacteria, Total Suspended Solids, Dissolved Colored Organic Matter (CDOM), underwater light field through the diffuse attenuation coefficient (Kd) and alerts for bloom events (especially cyanobacteria).
Acknowledgment
