| Sede | Taranto |
| Tipologia di contributo | Progetto |
| Tipologia di progetto | Progetti di ricerca internazionali |
| Titolo | Space Based Cyanobacteria Information & Services |
| Acronimo | CyanoAlert |
| Abstract ITA | CyanoAlert si propone di sviluppare un'applicazione completamente automatizzata per monitorare le fioriture di cianobatteri e/o specie algali potenzialmente tossiche nei sistemi acquatici a livello globale, utilizzando la rivoluzionaria tecnologia Copernicus Earth Observation. Il servizio ha previsto un doppio sistema di diffusione delle informazioni specifiche sulla presenza di bloom algali rivolto sia agli utenti che acquisteranno il servizio sia al pubblico che potrà usufruire di un servizio di informazione gratuito e aperto basato sulla telecomunicazione mobile. Le piccole e medie imprese europee collaboreranno con gli utenti dei settori ambientale e commerciale, al fine di stabilire una “supply chain”, basata su un solido modello di business, per portare questo servizio innovativo sul mercato. |
| Abstract ENG | CyanoAlert aims to develop a fully automated application to assess the cyanobacteria and / or potentially toxic algal blooms in aquatic systems, using the Copernicus Earth Observation technology. The service provided for the dissemination of specific information on the presence of algal blooms to users who purchase the service. Moreover, a free information service open wil be provided to the public based on mobile telecommunications. European SMEs
collaborate with users of the environmental and commercial sectors in order to establish a “supply chain”, based on a solid business model, to bring this innovative service to the market. |
| Rilevanza scientifica e risultati ITA | * |
| Fonte di finanziamento ITA | Horizon 2020, Call H2020-EO-2016 |
| Altre informazioni ITA | Brockmann Consult GMBH (Germany), Odermatt & Brockmann GmbH (Switzerland), Brockmann Geomatics Sweeden AB (Sweden), "Danube Delta" National Institute for Research and Development (Romania), Istituto Superiore di Sanità (Italy) |
| Website | https://www.cyanoalert.com/ |
| Coordinatore | Petra Philipson, Brockmann Geomatics Sweeden AB (Sweden) |
| Referente IRSA | Caroppo Carmela |
| Altro personale coinvolto | Santina Giandomenico, Giuseppe Portacci, Vincenzo De Palmis |
| Periodo di attivita | 01/11/2016-30/06/2020 |
| Data | 2020-21-12 |
| Descrizione estesa ENG | This project aims to bring an innovative service and application for monitoring and forecasting of cyanobacteria blooms in lakes and coastal seas to the market. This is towards the aims of:
• Improving the management and health of aquatic ecosystems around the globe (environment)
• Reducing the risks to human, animal and ecosystem health from cyanotoxins (health)
• Reducing the long-¬‐term cost of monitoring a large number of widespread water bodies by taking ad-¬‐vantage of Copernicus’ wealth of information (economy)
• Creating a sustainable business model generating significant turnover and new jobs in Europe and abroad (economy)
• Significantly changing the way water quality is monitored around the globe to address emergency, se-¬‐curity and climate change concerns (environment)
The objectives were:
1. To provide a warning and monitoring service based on integrated Copernicus Earth Observation and ground data for cyanobacteria blooms and eutrophication in lakes and enclosed seas to public, commercial and research users in a customer-¬‐specific and targeted manner. The service will be the first worldwide with the ability to distinguish harmful cyanobacteria from other algae and aims to take cutting-¬‐edge research findings and deliver these to customers via a commercial service.
2. To develop a commercial service platform, supported by a fully automated production process capable of producing and delivering to customers the EO information products (Impact 1).
3. To customise, shaped by user needs and requirements, the EO information service platform and application to maximise its utility to customers and uptake by the market (Impact 2).
4. To achieve complete integration of the customised EO information into the customer’s workflow processes (e.g., monitoring, analysis, dissemination, reporting tasks and public communication mandate) (Impact 2B). WP1 includes a component dedicated to integrating the EO information services into the customers various
5. To validate the customised EO information and intermediate products provided by the service application to increase customer acceptance and reduce uncertainty estimates (Impact 2A).
6. To establish service level models and quality of service agreements with customers in targeted transnational communities (e.g., water utilities, regional authorities, commercial companies) (Impact 2A).
7. To demonstrate the business case, commercial value and economic viability of the service, through the establishment of sustainable supply chains based on proven market revenues (Impact 3).
8. To establish an economically viable business that generates significant turnover and creates new jobs in Europe and abroad after the end of public funding, through transnational and international partnerships between SMEs and customers (Impact 3). This objective is aimed at boosting business activity in Europe, and establishing European technology as the world leader in EO based water quality services, thereby demonstrating that the investment in Copernicus space infrastructure is justified. |
| Rilevanza scientifica e risultati ENG | Legislation from countries around the world (including Europe, America, Australia, South Africa etc.) and global organisations (e.g., World Health Organisation, UNEP, see Chorus & Bartram, 1999) have highlighted the demand for documentation of natural habitats by monitoring temporal variation and spatial distribution of the most sensitive and essential habitats requiring long-¬term protection. Some of these international, national and regional agreements, directives and management plans aim to protect and monitor freshwaters and coastal waters in order to ensure the sustainable management of these ecosystems. The need to restore and protect water bodies from further degradation has resulted in formulation of the European Union Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC (WFD). The directive aims to harmonize European legislation on water and calls for Member States to establish programs for monitoring the status of all water bodies larger than 0.5 km2, in order to guarantee the quality and quantity of inland waters in the future. The directive demands that ecological status should be assessed, and action plans for a sustainable management and protection of freshwater resources should be established. In practice, this means that extensive and expensive sampling programs are needed. For aquatic environments, the fulfilment of the monitoring requirements is an acknowledged problem due to the size of the largest lakes, the enormous number of lakes in total, their considerable temporal and spatial variability and, in some cases, their inaccessibility. Several countries have received criticisms from the EU regarding a number of spatial and temporal shortcomings in their existing monitoring programs. In addition, not all lakes are monitored because of lack of resources. The ecological status of a water body can be described by various biological and physical-chemical quality measurements and several of these important ecological parameters can be monitored from space. Some of these are addressed by the proposed service, including cyanobacteria dominance in total phytoplankton biomass, frequency and intensity of blooms, and chlorophyll concentration. The service seeks to take advantage of market opportunities in the sector through addressing users’ needs through integration with existing programmes, leading to significantly improved spatial and temporal frequency of monitoring and forecasting and long-term cost savings. Therefore there is considerable incentive from economic, health and social perspectives to establish an effective service for monitoring cyanobacteria blooms in the world’s freshwater resources and marine environments.
In the frame of the CyanoAlert project and the MERIS retrospective analyzes, IRSA-CNR provided chemical-physical and biological data of the Taranto Seas for the years 2007-2009. Furthermore, IRSA contributed to WT 5.1 and 5.3 by carrying out samples for the validation of the Copernicus system in the Mar Piccolo and Mar Grande of Taranto (Southern Italy), affected by eutrophication problems and harmful algal blooms. Seawater samples were analyzed to assess the presence of harmful algal species and toxins (cyanotoxins in particular) and to possibly establish the link between the algal blooms signaled by remote sensing and the levels of biotoxins. The results of the project have been disseminated in national and international conferences and a master's degree thesis on the algal communities of the Mar Piccolo of Taranto (University of Bari) has been produced. The collected data are under the elaboration phase. |
| Fonte di finanziamento ENG | Horizon 2020, Call H2020-EO-2016 |
| Altre informazioni ENG | Brockmann Consult GMBH (Germany), Odermatt & Brockmann GmbH (Switzerland), Brockmann Geomatics Sweeden AB (Sweden), "Danube Delta" National Institute for Research and Development (Romania), Istituto Superiore di Sanità (Italy) |
