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COVID-19 lockdown brought to a drastic reduction of anthropic impacts on the environment worldwide, including the marine-coastal system. Earth-Observation (EO) data have the potential to monitor and diagnose the effects of the lockdown in terms of water quality. Here we connect the dots among some coastal environmental changes that occurred during the Italian COVID-19 lockdown by using EO data, also seeking to assess connectivity between inland and marine systems. We present a holistic analysis of spatial and temporal variability of environmental parameters in the North Adriatic Sea, Mediterranean basin, exploiting the synergy of different satellite sensors, as well as hydrologic data from in situ observations. Our analysis indicates a favourable interplay of environmental variability that resulted in negative anomalies of Chlorophyll-a concentration, with respect to the climatologic values. Peculiar meteo-oceanographic and hydrological conditions made hard to disentangle potential anthropogenic effects. However, a multi-year hierarchical cluster analysis of riverine remote sensing reflectances groups together the optical properties of inland waters during the lockdown. This emergent cluster highlights the possibility of a second-order, anthropogenic effect that, superimposed to the (first-order) environmental natural causes, may have enhanced water quality during the lockdown., Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image

COVID-19 lockdown measures brought to a drastic reduction of anthropic impacts on the environment, including the marine-coastal system. EO data have the potential to monitor and diagnose the subsequent effects of the lockdown in terms of water quality. The ESA-RACE project SOON aims to link complex patterns that may arise from the environmental changes due to COVID-19 lockdown by using EO data, also seeking to assess connectivity between inland and marine system. Within this frame, here we present a holistic, satellite-based analysis of the spatial-temporal variability of environmental parameters in the North Adriatic Sea (NAS; Mediterranean basin), exploiting the synergy of OC and SST products from different sensors, as well as in situ hydrologic data. Our analysis indicates a favorable interplay of environmental variability and reduction of anthropogenic activity that results in negative anomalies of Chlorophyll-a and Total Suspended Matter with respect to the climatologic values.

In order to control the spread of the pandemic of Corona-Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), lockdowns of various durations and intensities have been established in many countries over the world all through the year 2020. The trilateral dashboard jointly implemented by NASA, JAXA and ESA aims at exploiting remote-sensing data to evaluate the impact of these restrictions, and subsequent recovery phases on many different environmental, agriculture and economic indicators. More specifically, this paper presents the indicators implemented to monitor the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on Water Quality, together with preliminary analysis results over a few Areas of Interest.

This work describes a continuous sampling system that has been designed, implemented, and tested for the acquisition of Inherent Optical Properties (IOPs) during field campaigns. The major challenge of the work was to design and build a flow-through housing accounting for the complex sensing geometry of the ECO-VSF3, a backscattering meter, i.e., three sensor heads each of which measures the VSF at three angles. A detailed characterization of the ECO-VSF3 housing in terms of impact of the boundaries and overall system inertia is reported. A key feature of the system design is the possibility to easily detach the IOP package from the flow-through hydraulic circuit and use it in cast mode at fixed stations. This, to the best of authors' knowledge, is the first time the ECO-VSF3 is used in an underway system. Results from the comparison of continuous (Co) and cast (Ca) bb measurements show excellent agreement, with differences not exceeding 7%, thus proving the system to be reliable and highlighting the feasibility for increasing the spatio-temporal sampling of surface observations.

Inherent optical properties (IOPs) and concentrations of the sea water components are key quantities in supporting the monitoring of the water quality and the study of the ecosystem functioning. In coastal waters, those quantities have a large spatial and temporal variability, due to river discharges and meteo-marine conditions, such as wind, wave and current, and their interaction with shallow water bathymetry. This short term variability can be adequately captured only using Geostationary Ocean Colour (OC) satellites, absent over the European seas.In this study, to compensate the lack of an OC geostationary sensor over the North Adriatic Sea (NAS), the Virtual Geostationary Ocean Colour Sensor (VGOCS) dataset has been used. VGOCS contains data from several OC polar satellites, making available multiple images a day of the NAS, approaching the temporal resolution of a geostationary sensor.Generally, data from different satellite sensors are characterized by different uncertainty sources and consequently, looking at two satellite images, it is not easy to ascertain how much of the observed differences are due to real processes. In the VGOCS dataset, the inter-sensor differences are reduced, as the satellite data were adjusted with a multi-linear regression algorithm based on in situ reflectance acquired in the gulf of Venice. Consequently, the use of the adjusted spectra as input in the retrieval of the IOPs and the concentrations allows performing a reliable analysis of the short-time bio-optical variability of the basin.In this work, we demonstrate the suitability of VGOCS to better characterise the river-sea interaction and to understand the influence of the river forcing on the short time variability of IOPs and concentrations in the coastal areas. This variability will be analysed for different case studies characterised by a different regime of river discharges, using meteorological, hydrological, and oceanographic fields as ancillary variables. This new approach and the availability of this new set of data represent an opportunity for interdisciplinary studies, in support to and interacting also with modelling implementations in river-sea areas.

New applications on global-scale plankton retrievals using the CALIOP (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with orthogonal Polarization) lidar measurements on the CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations) satellite recently suggested that space-based lidars could provide information about the depth distribution of optical scattering. Assessing the oceanic surface layer’s optical properties through CALIOP is one of the reasons of the extension of the CALIOP mission for another 3 years (2018-2020). The objective of this work is the evaluation of the potential CALIOP ocean products in the Mediterranean and Black seas using the ocean color products provided by the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Systems (CMEMS).

Particulate optical backscattering (bbp) is a crucial parameter for the study of ocean biology and oceanic carbon estimations. In this work, bbp retrieval, by the quasi-analytical algorithm (QAA), is assessed using a large in situ database of matched bbp and remote-sensing reflectance (Rrs). The QAA is also applied to satellite Rrs (ESA OC-CCI project) as well, after their validation against in situ Rrs. Additionally, the effect of Raman Scattering on QAA retrievals is studied. Results show negligible biases above random noise when QAA-derived bbp is compared to in situ bbp. In addition, Rrs from the CCI archive shows good agreement with in situ data. The QAA’s functional form of spectral backscattering slope, as derived from in situ radiometry, is validated. Finally, we show the importance of correcting for Raman Scattering over clear waters prior to semi-analytical retrieval. Overall, this work demonstrates the high efficiency of QAA in the bbp detection in case of both in situ and ocean color data, but it also highlights the necessity to increase the number of observations that are severely under-sampled in respect to others environmental parameters.

Highlights: • Strong longitudinal variability occurs in the North Atlantic subtropical gyre. • Allochthonous supply of semilabile DOP may occur in the western oligotrophic gyre. • Semilabile DON supply does not provide a significant direct N source. Abstract: We combine modelled timescales of ocean circulation with satellite-retrieved and in situ biogeochemical observations collected in spring along 24.5°N in the subtropical North Atlantic. Longitudinal gradients in the distribution of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) and dissolved organic phosphorus (DOP) and in other biogeochemical parameters are associated with the longitudinal variability in physical forcing and in the eastward increase of the timescale of advective transport. The western (West of 70°W) and eastern (East of 30°W) margins of the subtropical gyre appear influenced by the productive regions of the Gulf Stream and upwelling zones off Africa, respectively. Within the oligotrophic zone between 70 and 31°W, at approximately 46°W there is a change in the nutrient-controlling factors from the western ultra- oligotrophic with barely any seasonal cycle to an eastern oligotrophic environment with a more intense mixed layer dynamics. The allochthonous supply of semilabile-DOP may be important in the western sector of the oligotrophic gyre (approx. 70–46°W) where, together with the combination of shallow mixed layers, almost permanent stratification and high water temperatures create a niche for the growth of diazotrophs, which we detect from space. Turnover estimates exceeding 3 yr suggest that even re- active fractions of DON are unlikely to be a significant N source. In the eastern sector of the oligotrophic gyre (46–31°W), transit timescales longer than 3 years suggest that the allochthonous supply of the semilabile DOP is negligible due to its exhaustion. Here, an intense mixed layer dynamics favours nu- trient supply from below the mixed layer. We speculate that longitudinal variability in physical forcing and gradients in the timescale of advection, combined with distinct turnover timescales of reactive fractions of DON and DOP, drive diverse phytoplankton assemblages and surface nitrogen fixation gra- dients across our region of investigation.

We evaluate retrieval of particle backscattering at 555 nm (bbp (555)) in the Mediterranean Sea with the quasi-analytical algorithm (QAA), using new in-situ concurrent data of remote-sensing reflec- tance (Rrs) and inherent optical properties (IOP). When Rrs is cor- rected for Raman scattering, retrieved bbp(555) are reduced between ~7% in open waters and ~3% in coastal waters. After Raman effect is accounted for, partitioned statistics within the data set for cruise and water type are rather homogeneous. QAA- retrieved bbp(555) slightly underestimates our in-situ bbp(555), thus contradicting the few previous studies, in which high over- estimation was either reported or suggested. Retrieval errors are mostly caused by the Rrs-IOP model. The 'new' Rrs-IOP model that separates the influences of water and particle phase functions produces mean bias ~-3% for open waters and ~-7% for coastal waters. In contrast, the 'old' model, ambiguous with respect to the phase function, produces a bias ~-5% for open waters and ~- 9% for coastal waters. It is also shown that regional calibration can virtually suppress bias. In all cases, RMS error remains ~19% and accounts for all errors involved.

Assessing the oceanic surface layer's optical properties through CALIOP has been one of the reasons of the extension of the CALIOP mission for 3 more years (2018-2020). This is the first work evaluating the potential use of CALIOP for ocean applications at regional scale in mid-latitude regions (i.e. Mediterranean, MED, and Black Sea, BS) and investigating the added information on ocean particles given by the column integrated depolarization ratio (delta(T)) parameter. We implemented and refined a retrieval procedure to estimate this parameter at 1/4 degree of spatial resolution, comparing 7 years of CALIOP observations (2011-2017) to the corresponding Copernicus multi-sensor L3 ocean colour products of the surface particle backscattering coefficient (b(bp)) and chlorophyll-a concentration (Chl-a). This study pointed out that the current CALIOP sampling is inadequate to detect subtle day-night difference due to plankton diel variability for these basins. At a basin scale, delta(T) covaries with b(bp) for b(bp) >= 0.0015 m(-1). This is more evident for BS (R = 0.84) than for MED (R = 0.61). The analysis of seasonal distributions confirm this result for BS, where dT has a semi-annual cycle in very good agreement with bbp. In the MED, characterized by different trophic regimes, delta(T) shows also some similarities with Chl-a annual cycle. The combined characterization in the MED bioregions of the annual patterns of b(bp):Chl-a, delta(T):Chl-a and delta(T):b(bp) ratios suggested that delta(T) parameter can provide valuable information about the non-sphericity and the size of ocean particles.

Understanding spatial and temporal dynamics of non-algal particles in open ocean is of the utmost importance to improve estimations of carbon export and sequestration. These particles covary with phytoplankton abundance but also accumulate independently of algal dynamics. The latter likely represents an important fraction of organic carbon, but it is largely overlooked. A possible way to study these particles is via their optical backscattering properties (bbp) and relationship with chlorophyll-a (Chl). To this aim, we estimate the fraction of bbp associated with the non-algal particle portion ((Formula presented.)) that does not covary with Chl by using a global Biogeochemical-Argo data set. We quantify the spatial, temporal, and vertical variability of (Formula presented.). In the northern productive areas, (Formula presented.) is a small fraction of bbp and shows a clear seasonal cycle. In the Southern Ocean, bkbp is a major fraction of total bbp. In oligotrophic areas, (Formula presented.) has a smooth annual cycle.

In coastal areas, the concentrations and the optical properties of the water components have a large spatial and temporal variability, due to river discharges and meteo-marine conditions, such as wind, wave and current, and their interaction with shallow water bathymetry. This large temporal variability cannot be captured using the standard Ocean Colour Radiometry (OCR) polar orbiting satellites, the latter providing almost one image per day. On the contrary, the use of OCR geostationary sensors, like the Geostationary Ocean Colour Imager (GOCI), centred above the Korean Peninsula, enable to capture the short-term variability of the optical properties. To compensate the lack of a geostationary sensor similar to GOCI over other coastal environments, like the North Adriatic Sea (NAS), the multiple observations provided during the same day by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) mounted on the SUOMI NPP satellite, can be exploited. Indeed, due to its large swath of 3060 km, the VIIRS orbits can overlap over the NAS during the same day within 1 h and 42 min, an important feature that can be useful in capturing the short term variability of the optical properties. A large number of VIIRS overlaps in the NAS are characterized by high sensor zenith angle (SZA) of the observation, resulting in a large portion of images masked by the high satellite zenith flag. In order to make available those observations and, in general, to reduce the dependence of the VIIRS observations from the SZA, an adjustment based on a multi linear regression scheme, which exploits radiometric in situ observations, was here applied. This study aims to prove the suitability of the adjusted overlapping VIIRS in capturing the short time scale dynamics of particulate backscattering, and this was demonstrated by the analysis of a case study for the 21st and 22nd of March 2013. In order to evaluate the advantages in using multiple observations during the same day, also the ~24 h dynamics was analysed, comparing the overlapping VIIRS results with the ones obtained from the daily product.

This work describes the main processing steps operationally performed to enable single ocean colour sensors to enter the multi-sensor chain for the Mediterranean Sea of Ocean Colour Thematic Assembling Centre. Here, the multi-sensor chain takes care of reducing the inter-sensor bias before data from different sensors are merged together. The basin-scale in situ bio-optical dataset is used both to fine-tuning the algorithms for the retrieval of phytoplankton chlorophyll and attenuation coefficient of light, Kd, and to assess the uncertainty associated with them. The satellite multi-sensor remote sensing Reflectance spectra better agree with the in situ observations than that of the single sensors, and are comparable with the ESA-OC-CCI multi-sensor product, highlighting the importance of reducing the inter-sensor bias. The Mediterranean near-real-time multi-sensor processing chain has been set up and is operational in the framework of the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service.

International audience; In the last few decades, phytoplankton biomass has been commonly studied from space. However, satellite analysis of non-algal particles (NAPs), including heterotrophic bacteria and viruses, is relatively recent. In this work, we estimate the backscattering coefficient associated with the NAP fraction that does not covary with chlorophyll based on satellite particulate backscattering coefficient and chlorophyll (b(bp)NAP). b(bp)NAP is computed at 100-km resolution using 19 years of monthly satellite data. We find clear differences in b(bp)NAP between northern and southern oceans. High b(bp)NAP values are found in the Arctic and Southern Oceans, the North Atlantic area influenced by the Gulf Stream current, as well as shelf regions (i.e., Patagonian shelf) affected by upwelling regimes. Low correlation between chlorophyll and backscattering prevents precise b(bp)NAP estimations in oligotrophic areas (e.g., subtropical gyres). These b(bp)NAP estimations lead to a reduction to half in satellite-based phytoplankton biomass estimates respect to previously published results. Plain Language Summary In the ocean, there are different seawater constituents that contribute to the inherent optical properties: Phytoplankton is a major constituent and one of the most studied in the last decade. Other important constituents are the colored dissolved organic matter and non-algal particles (NAPs). NAP includes (i) heterotrophic organisms such as bacteria, micrograzers, and viruses; (ii) detrital organic particles such as fecal pellets and cell debris; and (iii) mineral particles of both biogenic (e.g., calcite liths and shells) and terrestrial origin (e.g., clays and sand). This study is the first attempt to define the NAP from space, and its spatial variability, and how it contributes to refine the phytoplankton carbon biomass estimation. We estimate the backscattering coefficient associated with the NAP fraction that does not covary with chlorophyll from the satellite particulate backscattering coefficient and chlorophyll (bbpNAP). Our main results evidence a geographical variability of bbpNAP from northern to southern oceans with two distinct regimes: one associated with the productive areas in which bbpNAP and biomass are anticorrelated and another in which bbpNAP high values are in regions dominated by inorganic origin. We demonstrate that the spatial variability of bbpNAP should not be ignored.

Remotely sensed ocean chlorophyll concentration is related to the presence of phytoplankton in the upper ocean layers. Its spatial and temporal variability significantly differs from region to region, originating from both purely ecological factors and local environmental conditions (e.g. species involved, grazing, light and nutrient availability, temperature, etc.). As a result, various physical processes are known to significantly affect chlorophyll distribution especially in coastal areas. Among these, wind-driven upwelling, river discharge, cross-shelf exchanges related to local dynamics and horizontal advection due to larger scale dynamics are often invoked as dominant mechanisms. In this work, we investigate which physical process mostly contributes to the phytoplankton variability in the Channel of Sicily (Mediterranean Sea), based on satellite estimates of surface chlorophyll (CHL) concentration, kinetic energy (KE) and sea surface temperature (SST). An empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis is applied to the three time series, spanning the 1998-2006 period. The main patterns of variability of each parameter and the physical processes associated with KE and SST modes are identified. The successive cross-correlation analysis shows that most of the CHL variability (explained variance 78%) is induced by the seasonal advection of the Atlantic Waters (r=0.7), while wind-driven upwelling, generally considered the main process modulating phytoplankton growth in the area, only explains 1.4% of the total CHL variance. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

We present a closure experiment between new inherent optical properties (IOPs: absorption a, scattering b, back-scattering b(b)) and apparent optical properties (AOPs: remote-sensing reflectance R-rs, irradiance reflectance R, and anisotropic factor at nadir Q(n)) data of Ionian and Adriatic seawaters, from very clear to turbid waters, ranging across one order of magnitude in R-rs. The internal consistency of the IOP-AOP matchups was investigated though radiative transfer closure. Using the in situ IOPs, we predicted the AOPs with the commercial radiative transfer solver Hydrolight. Closure was limited by two unresolved issues, one regarding processing of in situ data and the other related to radiative transfer modeling. First, different correction methods of the absorption data measured by the Wetlabs ac-s produced high variations in simulated reflectances, reaching 40% for the highest reflectances in our dataset. Second, the lack of detailed volume scattering function measurements forces us to adopt analytical functions that are consistent with a given particle backscattering ratio. The analytical phase functions named Fournier-Forand and two-term Kopelevich presented reasonable angular shapes with respect to measurements at a few backward angles. Between these phase functions, induced changes were within 4% for R-rs, within 11% for R, and within 10% for Q(n). Additionally, closure of Q(n) was generally not successful considering radiometric uncertainties. Simulated Q(n) overestimated low values and underestimated high values, especially at 665 nm, where Hydrolight was unable to predict measured Q(n) values greater than 6 sr. The physical nature of Q(n) makes this mismatch almost independent of the measured IOPs, thus precluding Q(n) tuning by varying the former. The non-closure of Q(n) might be caused by an inaccurate phase function and, to a lesser extent, by the modeling of the incoming radiance. For the future, this remains the task of accurate absorption and phase function measurements, especially at red wavelengths. (C) 2016 Optical Society of America

Photoacclimation is a cellular process that allows phytoplankton to change the intracellular chlorophyll- a concentration ( Chl ) in relation to environmental factors such as light and nutrients. This process is currently overlooked by standard operational ocean colour algorithms used to retrieve information about both the phytoplankton standing stock and production. Here, we describe the photoacclimation effect on the phytoplankton seasonal cycle through the chlorophyll to carbon ratio ( Chl : C ) over the Mediterranean Sea, using SeaWiFS (1998–2007) monthly data. Chlorophyll was calculated through a regionalized empirical algorithm and Carbon was estimated from the particle backscattering, after subtraction of the non-algal contribution (b bp NAP ). Historically, b bp NAP has been neglected or assumed constant, and only recently its space-time variability started to be taken into account. Here, bootstrapping simulations are used to compute the monthly b bp NAP s over a former bio-regionalization map of the Mediterranean Sea, all highlighting significant space-time variability. Resulting Chl : C varies within a factor of three, demonstrating the important role that photoacclimation plays at seasonal and basin scales. Lowest Chl : C values (~ 0.0013) are observed during summer; this is due to the combined effect of high irradiation, shallow mixing and low nutrient concentration. Maximum values (~ 0.031) are observed in winter and spring dominated by both low solar radiation, deeper mixing and high nutrient availability. It emerges that a better view of the phytoplankton space and time variability can be achieved through the joint use of Chl and C .

Fifteen-year (1997–2012) time series of chlorophyll a (CHL) in the Baltic Sea, based on merged multisensor satellite data provided by the European projects Globcolour and ESA-OC-CCI were analysed. Several available CHL algorithms were sea-truthed against a large in situ CHL dataset consisting of data by Seadatanet, HELCOM and NOAA. Matchups were calculated for three separate areas (1) Skagerrak and Kattegat, (2) Baltic Proper plus gulfs of Riga and Finland, called here "Central Baltic", (3) Gulf of Bothnia, and for the three areas as a whole. Statistics showed low linearity. The OC4v6 algorithm (R2 = 0.46, BIAS = +60 %, RMS = 79 % for the whole dataset) was linearly transformed by using the best linear fit (OC4corr). By construction, the bias was corrected, but RMS was increased instead. Despite this shortcoming, we demonstrated that errors between OC4corr and in situ data were log-normally distributed and centred at zero. Consequently, unbiased estimators of the horizontally-averaged CHL could be obtained, the error of which tends to zero when a large amount of pixels is averaged. From the basin-wide time series, the climatology and the annual anomalies were separated. The climatologies revealed completely different CHL dynamics among regions: in Skagerrak and Kattegat, CHL strongly peaks in late winter, with a minimum in summer and a secondary peak in spring. In the Central Baltic, CHL follows a dynamics of a spring CHL peak, followed by a much stronger summer bloom, with decreasing CHL towards winter. The Gulf of Bothnia shows a similar CHL dynamics as the central Baltic, although the summer bloom is absent. Across years, CHL showed great variability. Supported by auxiliary satellite sea-surface temperature (SST) data, we found that phytoplankton growth was inhibited in the central Baltic Sea in the years of colder summers or when the SST happened to increase later in the season. Extremely high CHL in spring 2008 was detected and linked to an exceptionally warm preceding winter. Sharp SST changes were found to induce CHL changes in the same direction. This phenomenon was appreciated best by overlaying the time series of the CHL and SST anomalies.

Operational ocean forecast systems provide routine marine products to an ever-widening community of users and stakeholders. The majority of users need information about the quality and reliability of the products to exploit them fully. Hence, forecast centres have been developing improved methods for evaluating and communicating the quality of their products. Global Ocean Data Assimilation Experiment (GODAE) OceanView, along with the Copernicus European Marine Core Service and other national and international programmes, has facilitated the development of coordinated validation activities among these centres. New metrics, assessing a wider range of ocean parameters, have been defined and implemented in real-time. An overview of recent progress and emerging international standards is presented here.

The CNR-ISAC Informatics Infrastructure for the Satellite Climatological and Oceanographic data: production, harmonization and dissemination in Interoperability Frameworks Vega Forneris, ISAC-CNR GOS, vega.forneris@artov.isac.cnr.it (Italy) Cristina Tronconi, ISAC-CNR GOS, cristina.tronconi@isac.cnr.it (Italy) Gianluca Volpe, ISAC-CNR GOS, Gianluca.Volpe@isac.cnr.it (Italy) Simone Colella, ISAC-CNR GOS, Simone.Colella@isac.cnr.it (Italy) Bruno B. Nardelli, ISAC-CNR GOS, bruno.buongiornonardelli@cnr.it (Italy) Andrea Pisano, ISAC-CNR GOS, andrea.pisano@artov.isac.cnr.it (Italy) Rosalia Santoleri, ISAC-CNR GOS, Rosalia.Santoleri@isac.cnr.it (Italy) The Satellite Oceanography Group (GOS) CNR-ISAC is one of the leading Units of the Earth Observation Division of ISAC-CNR since 1987 and focuses on operational Satellite Data processing and analysis. GOS is responsible for the Mediterranean and Black Seas satellite operational systems in the framework of several Partnership, such as MyOcean (http://www.myocean.eu/), SeaDataNet (http://www.seadatanet.org/), MOON (http://moon.santateresa.enea.it/), and others (some still under development). As Production Unit, CNR-ISAC GOS systems acquire satellite data from different data upstream (NASA, ESA, etc), process them in a distributed environment (grid, clusters/blades) and produce Near Real Time (NRT), Delayed Time (DT) and Re-analysis (RAN/REP) of Ocean Color (chlorophyll-a and several optics parameters such as KD490, RRS at several wave length bands, etc) and Sea Surface Temperature (at different spatial resolutions) covering the Mediterranean and the Black Seas. Working in such frameworks/projects, which involve several partners and institutes spread through Europe, made clear the importance of the interoperability of different realities ("Being able to accomplish end-user applications using different types of computer systems, operating systems, and application software, interconnected by different types of local and wide area networks" James O'Brien, George Marakas: Introduction to Information Systems, McGraw-Hill/Irwin). One of the main objectives of such shared projects was in fact to define standards and common approaches in order to standardize formats and interfaces, to provide end users with homogenous results in terms of data formats, conventions and interfaces for accessing those products. An overview of the processing procedures involved in such projects will be presented: oSatellite data processing: based on GRID technology, clusters and blades, GOS's processing chains download data input files (L0/L1/L2P_GHRSST) and process them up to final products (L3/L4) using regional algorithms, optimized through the implementation of C++ and/or MPI libraries and taking advantage of distributed computing oProducts harmonization: will be presented a quick overview of formats, conventions and specifications commonly used, in particular: NetCDF Climate and Forecast (CF) Metadata Convention (http://cf-pcmdi.llnl.gov/), INSPIRE DIRECTIVE (http://inspire.jrc.ec.europa.eu/), GDS (GHRSST Data Set) documents: (https://www.ghrsst.org/documents/q/category/gds-documents/) oProducts dissemination: MyOcean Project will be used as use case, showing the THREDDS catalog and its interfaces (OpenDAP and WMS) and MOTU (custom software deployed in the MyOcean Project framework) used for creating higher levels services (MOTU).

The CNR-ISAC Informatics Infrastructure for the Satellite Climatological and Oceanographic data: production, harmonization and dissemination in Interoperability Frameworks Vega Forneris, ISAC-CNR GOS, vega.forneris@artov.isac.cnr.it (Italy) Cristina Tronconi, ISAC-CNR GOS, cristina.tronconi@isac.cnr.it (Italy) Gianluca Volpe, ISAC-CNR GOS, Gianluca.Volpe@isac.cnr.it (Italy) Simone Colella, ISAC-CNR GOS, Simone.Colella@isac.cnr.it (Italy) Bruno B. Nardelli, ISAC-CNR GOS, bruno.buongiornonardelli@cnr.it (Italy) Andrea Pisano, ISAC-CNR GOS, andrea.pisano@artov.isac.cnr.it (Italy) Rosalia Santoleri, ISAC-CNR GOS, Rosalia.Santoleri@isac.cnr.it (Italy) The Satellite Oceanography Group (GOS) CNR-ISAC is one of the leading Units of the Earth Observation Division of ISAC-CNR since 1987 and focuses on operational Satellite Data processing and analysis. GOS is responsible for the Mediterranean and Black Seas satellite operational systems in the framework of several Partnership, such as MyOcean (http://www.myocean.eu/), SeaDataNet (http://www.seadatanet.org/), MOON (http://moon.santateresa.enea.it/), and others (some still under development). As Production Unit, CNR-ISAC GOS systems acquire satellite data from different data upstream (NASA, ESA, etc), process them in a distributed environment (grid, clusters/blades) and produce Near Real Time (NRT), Delayed Time (DT) and Re-analysis (RAN/REP) of Ocean Color (chlorophyll-a and several optics parameters such as KD490, RRS at several wave length bands, etc) and Sea Surface Temperature (at different spatial resolutions) covering the Mediterranean and the Black Seas. Working in such frameworks/projects, which involve several partners and institutes spread through Europe, made clear the importance of the interoperability of different realities ("Being able to accomplish end-user applications using different types of computer systems, operating systems, and application software, interconnected by different types of local and wide area networks" James O'Brien, George Marakas: Introduction to Information Systems, McGraw-Hill/Irwin). One of the main objectives of such shared projects was in fact to define standards and common approaches in order to standardize formats and interfaces, to provide end users with homogenous results in terms of data formats, conventions and interfaces for accessing those products. An overview of the processing procedures involved in such projects will be presented: oSatellite data processing: based on GRID technology, clusters and blades, GOS's processing chains download data input files (L0/L1/L2P_GHRSST) and process them up to final products (L3/L4) using regional algorithms, optimized through the implementation of C++ and/or MPI libraries and taking advantage of distributed computing oProducts harmonization: will be presented a quick overview of formats, conventions and specifications commonly used, in particular: NetCDF Climate and Forecast (CF) Metadata Convention (http://cf-pcmdi.llnl.gov/), INSPIRE DIRECTIVE (http://inspire.jrc.ec.europa.eu/), GDS (GHRSST Data Set) documents: (https://www.ghrsst.org/documents/q/category/gds-documents/) oProducts dissemination: MyOcean Project will be used as use case, showing the THREDDS catalog and its interfaces (OpenDAP and WMS) and MOTU (custom software deployed in the MyOcean Project framework) used for creating higher levels services (MOTU).

The relation between physical and biological processes affecting the Mediterranean Sea surface layer was investigated through univariate Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) decompositions of remotely sensed chlorophyll-a (CHL), sea surface temperature (SST) and Mediterranean Absolute Dynamic Topography (MADT) weekly time series (1998–2006). As part of the analysis, the Data INterpolating Empirical Orthogonal Functions (DINEOF) technique was successfully applied to CHL images. Results from the single EOFs, along with a cross-correlation analysis, identified physical–biological interactions at both short (weeks to months) and long (years) temporal scales, and from meso- to basin-scales. Phytoplankton biomass abundance and the sea surface thermal stratification show a strong inverse relationship at seasonal and sub-basin scales. At a regional scale, the spring bloom space–time variability is related to the intensity and spatial extent of the deep water formation process and especially to its pre-conditioning phase. At interannual and sub-basin scales, a gradual decline of the phytoplankton biomass in the whole central Mediterranean occurs with a delay of one year relative to the decrease of the cyclonic circulation in the eastern basin, and the northward displacement of the Algerian current. Regionally, the phytoplankton biomass and the surface heat content anomalies associated with extreme atmospheric anomalies (such as the cold 1998–1999 winter and the summer 2003 heat wave) show a significant correlation with a ~ 5-month time lag.

Despite accounting for a significant fraction of total litigation in Italy, small claims litigation has so far received little attention. Using a Ministry of Justice database that contains information disaggregated by subject matter, the paper provides a thorough description of the time trend and geographical distribution of small claims litigation in Italy in the period 2001-2008. Further, it empirically evaluates the impact of different socio-economic variables on litigation. We find evidence of a strong increase in appeals against administrative sanctions, while the number of civil proceedings remained stable. Litigation rates are higher in the Centre and Southern regions. More interestingly, for claims on movables and claims for damages caused by circulation of vehicles, they are strongly concentrated in some provinces. Our results provide support to existing anecdotal evidence about opportunistic behaviour in the use of courts.

In this paper we present the Pilot Project PRIMI, designed to provide information on marine oil spills, and its validation campaign, held in august 2009, conducted with the oceanography ship Urania. During the experiment CosmoSkymed has provided an extraordinary contribution supplying almost any day images over the area inspected by the ship and in some cases also images requested with short notice. © 2010 IEEE.

Recent technological and scientific advances related to the Mediterranean Sea surface chlorophyll retrieval from space are discussed in this chapter. In particular, a complete review on the definition and vali- dation of specific regional ocean colour bio-optical algorithms for this area is presented. The need for specific algorithms in the Mediterranean is ex- plained mainly by the observed failure of standard procedures. Latest results, mostly focusing on biological response to deep water formation

In this paper, uncertainties in the retrieval of satellite surface chlorophyll concentrations in the Mediterranean Sea have been evaluated using both regional and global ocean colour algorithms. The rationale for this effort was to define the most suitable ocean colour algorithm for the reprocessing of the entire SeaWiFS archive over the Mediterranean region where standard algorithms were demonstrated to be inappropriate. Using a large dataset of coincident in situ chlorophyll and optical measurements, covering most of the trophic regimes of the basin, we validated two existing regional algorithms [Bricaud, A., E. Bosc, and D. Antoine, 2002. Algal biomass and sea surface temperature in the Mediterranean Basin - Intercomparison of data from various satellite sensors, and implications for primary production estimates. Remote Sensing of Environment, 81(2-3), 163-178.; D'Ortenzio, F., S. Marullo, M. Ragni, M. R. d'Alcala, and R. Santoleri, 2002. Validation of empirical SeaWiFS algorithms for chlorophyll-alpha retrieval in the Mediterranean Sea - A case study for oligotrophic seas. Remote Sensing of Environment, 82(1), 79-94.] and the global algorithm OC4v4 used for standard NASA SeaWiFS products. The results of our analysis confirmed that the OC4v4 performs worse than the two existing regional algorithms. Nonetheless, these two regional algorithms do show uncertainties dependent on chlorophyll values. Then, we introduced a better tuned algorithm, the MedOC4. Using an independent set of in situ chlorophyll data, we quantified the uncertainties in SeaWiFS chlorophyll estimates using the existing and new regional algorithms. The results confirmed that MedOC4 is the best algorithm matching the requirement of unbiased satellite chlorophyll estimates and improving the percentage of the satellite uncertainty, and that the NASA standard chlorophyll products are affected by an uncertainty of the order of 100%. Moreover, the analysis suggests that the poor quality of the SeaWiFS chlorophyll in the Mediterranean is not due to the atmospheric correction term but to peculiarities in the optical properties of the water column. Finally the observed discrepancy between the global and the regional bio-optical algorithms has been discussed analysing the differences between the two in situ datasets used for tuning the algorithms (SeaBASS versus ours). The main results are that methodological differences in the two datasets cannot play a major role and the inherent bio-optical properties of the basin can explain the observed discrepancy. In particular the oligotrophic water of the Mediterranean Sea is less blue (30%) and greener (15%) than the global ocean.

Many studies indicate that the atmosphere is a significant and in some cases the dominant pathway by which specific elements are transported from the land to the open sea. The Mediterranean Sea is a semi-enclosed basin, that continuously receives anthropogenic substances from the industrialized European country, and sporadically, from the arid region of the Sahara desert, nearly the 90% of the total amount of aerosols that reach the sea surface. The Mediterranean is a predominantly oligotrophic basin with areas of high productivity limited to areas influenced by runoff, rivers or upwelling. In situ biogeochemical measurements indicate that atmospheric deposition can induce significant productivity changes. The present work aims to use SeaWiFS satellite data and the SKIRON atmospheric model to provide an estimate of the temporal and spatial variability in the atmospheric forcing (dust events) and in the marine biological response (blooms), and to evaluate the overall contribution of these Saharan dust events to the fertility of the Mediterranean Sea. Although biological dynamic is meanly driven by the circulation features of the basin, results show that the atmospheric nutrient deposition gives some evident response in the biological activity.

The present work develops in the framework of the EU-ADIOS project for providing an estimate of the seasonal occurrence of Saharan dust events over the Mediterranean Sea. SeaDAS True Color (TC) images are used for monitoring dust. Dust identification has been carried out by visual inspection of TC images from 1998 up to 2002. The presence of dust, easily recognizable because of its color, is catalogued day by day. A grid representing a schematic division of the Mediterranean basin is overlaid to the TC images for a better identification and localization. The information retrieved by the cataloguing concerns space-time distribution of dust throughout the years examined. It is not possible to retrieve the intensity of the event by looking only at the TC images. Monthly values of Saharan dust load observed for each sector of the Mediterranean Basin for the period 2001 to 2002 have been retrieved from the Aerosol Optical Thickness maps for each dust day identified by the previous analysis. This is given in order to describe a spatial-temporal variability of the aerosol content. A brief description of the dataset, of the processing methodology and of the geophysical atmospheric products is also given.