EO4AgroClimate: VISualisation and Assessment of water quality using an Open Data Cube FOR the weStern English chAnnel - Vis4Sea.

There is a wealth of data available to marine scientists to study the environment. These include measurements made from samples collected by boats, data from marine moorings, buoys and unmanned vessels as well as satellite data. For satellite data, this is now available at very high resolution so that a range of parameters and the intricate details of these in rivers, estuaries and the coast can be easily seen from space. Having all of these different sources of data available, makes it hard to analyse in a coherent, consistent and easily findable format. Data Cubes have been invented which are gridded and stacked arrays of different data sets, that can be interrogated easily and efficiently by scientists. The scientific organisation CSIRO in Australia has developed open data cubes, called AquaWatch Data Integration and Analysis System or ADIAS, that allows multiple users to easily interact with large archives of data. Through this platform, computer code, known as machine learning, can be used to turn some of the data sets into water quality parameters, to allow the assessment of whether coastal water is 'clean' or 'poor' quality. In both the western English Channel and eastern Australia, periodic flooding as a result of heavy rainfall is becoming more frequent. This is because the heating of inland water and the sea is causing more evapo-transpiration which results in high rainfall and then flooding. These flooding events can carry agricultural fertilisers, sewage effluent and, in some locations, heavy metals from mining tailing ponds from the rivers to the coast. This poses a risk to human health and to the environment through the deposition of high nutrients, suspended material, viruses and bacteria to the coast. This in turn can be deleterious to Seagrass beds and mud flats are important areas for depositing and drawing down CO2 from the atmosphere. These flooding events can be harmful to both seagrass beds and mud flats by blocking light that is normally available to seagrasses to photosynthesize and by introducing toxic material that disrupt mud flats. The project will measure the effect of flooding on seagrass beds and mud flats in Plymouth Sound, UK and the Fitzeroy River and adjacent coast of Australia. It will also provide maps of areas that are not effected by flooding to allow conservation groups to regenerate Seagrass beds. The information generated by the project will be a freely available to end-users to help the monitoring and management of water quality in the Plymouth Sound catchment. The project data and results will be showcased to interested parties through an end of project stakeholder event. The following groups will be invited to the event: Marine managers (FSA, DEFRA, CEFAS,), Fishery and Shellfishery end users (regional IFCA groups, OS-UK), Marine policy makers (DG-ENV, DG-MARE, OSPAR, ICES, OSPAR ICG COBAM Pelagic Habitats Expert Group), tourism and recreation groups (SAS, Sailing clubs, local anglers, SUP clubs) and Wildlife conservation and Environmental protection groups (UK Wildlife Trusts). Due to Brexit, collaboration with other European scientists is now restricted due to lack of funds. This project will facilitate knowledge and technology exchange between UK and Australia, now that EU collaboration is reduced.