Earth Observation data For Science and Innovation in the Black Sea (EO4SIBS)

In the frame of the ESA Regional Initiatives, a set of coordinated activities between science, public sector, industry growth and infrastructure components focussing on regional priorities with high interest for Member States, a number of Science and Application projects are being runned for the Black Sea and Danube region.

In this context, the EO4SIBS (Earth Observation data For Science and Innovation in the Black Sea) project is dedicated to Ocean Science. The objectives of this project are:

1. To develop a new generation of algorithms that can ingest the wealth of spatial, temporal and spectral information provided by recent sensors providing high quality reference products for the blue and green ocean. In particular, regarding Ocean Colour derived products, innovative, high quality reference products of Chl-a, Total Suspended Matter (TSM) and turbidity products will be generated for the whole Black Sea geographical area, with a special focus on the western part directly influenced by the Danube River plume. Merged products will be generated to combine the high temporal resolution of S-3 OLCI and high spatial resolution of S-2 MSI satellite products and capture the optimal spatio-temporal coverage over the Black Sea waters. Concerning altimeter datasets, Level-3 Sentinel-3A [2016, 2018] and Cryosat-2 [2011, 2018] along-track product will be generated and their impact for coastal sea level trend study in the Black Sea assessed, and Level-4 multi-mission gridded products over the [2011, 2018] for improved mesoscale studies. Finally, 10 year (2010-2020) of improved gap-free high resolution salinity products will be generated.
2. To collect new data to support the development of novel algorithms and to propose laboratory analyses of the highest quality
3. To build novel composite products that integrate the satellite information with that from robotic platforms and numerical ocean models;
4. To assess how the use of EO data improves our knowledge of good environmental status (GES) and climate change in the Black Sea. In particular three scientific use cases will be assessed : Physical oceanography and biochemical ecosystems; Black Sea level dynamics and trends; Deoxygenation.
5. To disseminate the developed tools and products to the regional and international scientific and end-user community through the setting of a web platform, the organization of dissemination events, the participation to conferences.