Managing water quality is a great challenge simply because many factors are contributing; the way we use water, practices that threaten water quality, the different pollutants and their sources and the forcing hydrology. Knowing the processes of these factors affecting water quality is not sufficient. It is essential to monitor these factors to understand how they combine and interact for different regions.

Current monitoring practices by water managers depend largely on labour-intensive measurements, which provide only a limited insight into the spatial and temporal distributions. On the other hand, Earth Observation technology offers a significant benefit due to its synoptic coverage and repeated surveillance. However, the added value of Earth Observation data is determined, primarily, by the ability to convert these data into accurate information on water quality variables.

This course will increase your knowledge and technical skills in using Earth Observation data to derive water quality indicators and assess their accuracy.