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Satellite Surveys of Lagoon and Coastal Waters in the Southeastern Mediterranean Area

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Remote Sensing of the African Seas

Abstract

Satellite observations provide elements about the environmental status of the major lagoons in northern Egypt (i.e. Lakes Maryut, Edku, Burullus, Manzala and Bardawil) and the adjacent marine area off the Nile River delta, in the southwestern Mediterranean region. Examples are shown of data collected by various sensors onboard the Landsat, Système Pour l’Observation de la Terre (SPOT) and EgyptSat-1 satellite series, and by the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS). The remote sensing-derived parameters (e.g. lagoon size, aquatic vegetation patterns and other water quality parameters) allow to evaluate evolution and degradation of the near-coastal water bodies in the last four decades. The basic ecosystem indicators delivered by the satellite surveys are considered important contributions for the establishment of a sound decision-making process for environmental management purposes, aiming to ensure protection of natural systems and sustainability of human activities.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The word “sabkha” (a transliteration of the corresponding Arabic word) indicates a supratidal coastal plain, normally covered by a salt crust.

  2. 2.

    i.e. the Goddard Earth Sciences (GES) and Data Information Services Center (DISC) Interactive Online Visualization ANd aNalysis Infrastructure, (GIOVANNI), available at the address http://disc.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/giovanni/overview/, by the National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA). This web services portal allows for the extraction of fully processed data, from multiple sensors, and the use of various data analysis and visualization options.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to express their gratitude to the many Colleagues from the Marine Sciences Department, National Authority Remote Sensing and Space Sciences (NARSSS), Cairo, Egypt, and from the Institute for Environment and Sustainability (IES), Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission (EC), Ispra, Italy, who contributed to the research activities summarized in the present paper. Work at IES, JRC EC, was carried out as part of the Framework Programme 7 (FP7) JRC Action no. 21203 “Protection and Conservation of the European Seas” (PROCAS). Some of the data analyses and visualizations used in this paper were produced with the online data services featured by the Goddard Earth Sciences (GES) and Data Information Services Center (DISC) Interactive Online Visualization ANd aNalysis Infrastructure (GIOVANNI), of the National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA). We acknowledge the Mission Scientists and Principal Investigators who provided the data used in this research effort. Thanks are also due to two anonymous reviewers of this paper, who contibuted substantially to the improvement of its content.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Marine Sciences Department, National Authority Remote Sensing and Space Sciences, Cairo, Egypt

    Mahmoud Ahmed

  2. European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Environment and Sustainability, Ispra, Italy

    Vittorio Barale

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  1. Mahmoud Ahmed
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  2. Vittorio Barale
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Correspondence to Mahmoud Ahmed .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. TP272, Joint Research Centre European Commission, Ispra, Italy

    Vittorio Barale

  2. Institut für Meereskunde, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Martin Gade

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Ahmed, M., Barale, V. (2014). Satellite Surveys of Lagoon and Coastal Waters in the Southeastern Mediterranean Area. In: Barale, V., Gade, M. (eds) Remote Sensing of the African Seas. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8008-7_19

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