SEOS: Ocean Colour in the Coastal Zone.

We will present the module on coastal water quality that is being developed within the Science Education through Earth Observation for High Schools (EU-SEOS) project. The aim of this module is to learn important functional aspects of the coastal zone by analysing ocean colour images. Sensors like MERIS (ESA) and MODIS (NASA) on recently launched satellites are especially designed for observations of coastal waters since they can cope with complex spectral signals. It is now possible to create maps showing the distribution of algal pigments, suspended material and transparency and solar photo-synthetically active radiation (PAR) available for phytoplankton growth.
In this module the students will experience that our European coastal waters are frequently observed from space and that relevant information is available on-line. The module will contribute significantly to an understanding of coastal resources: coastal water quality is a complicated issue affected by a large number of parameters including human activities (river-run-off, fisheries) and numerous consumer products are produced in coastal areas. The presented module will introduce the relation of biodiversity to eutrophication and the need for monitoring coastal waters:
· Light and life: Students will start to understand the role of light in water. A link is made to growth, in particular the available light for algae and water plants to grow
· Ecosystems: Understanding and visualisation of human impact on coastal eco-systems, in particular eutrophication.
· Health: Increase the capabilities to monitor harmful algal blooms in coastal waters and the potential risk for the quality of products such as shellfish.