D7.1 Report on existing EO services, existing in situ data resources and protocols. Deliverable report of project H2020 MONOCLE (grant 776480)

This report summarizes existing EO services, validation resources, best practices/protocols and the methods employed to integrate multiple sources of in situ reference data with EO data processing. A wide variety of in situ data sampling techniques are currently available from fixed platforms (e.g. AERONET-OC or CEFAS buoys) or moving platforms (e.g. boats, ships and increasingly remotely operated aircraft), collected in various databases. Despite these efforts, many waterbodies and most inland waters remain under-sampled hampering comprehensive validation of satellite remote sensing of water quality variables. Lowering the cost of sensors, deployment methods and including citizen science have a high potential to fill these observation gaps.

To integrate existing and new in situ data into EO services, they have to be accessible in a clearly structured way. A pre-defined data format with metadata, containing information on source, location, calibration and applied algorithms, allows easy interpretation and traceability of the data. Quality control checks and flagging suboptimal observations are required to ensure their correct use.