STREAM starts delivering a new data product. View daily operational information on sea surface chlorophyll-a (CHL) mass concentration in the Malta Shelf area and the coastal sea areas around the Maltese Islands. The service provides detailed routine information with mapping of large sea areas through the use of satellite data, together with statistical elaboration on anomalies with respect to climatology, forecasts and specially derived chlorophyll index spatial maps.
CHL is a core parameter in the Marine Strategy Framework Directive which provides the common framework for the assessment of the state of health of coastal seas to ensure coherence with the set goals of productive, healthy and clean European seas. CHL is considered to be a proxy of phythoplankton biomass, and hence for eutrophication. Measuring chlorophyll is an indication of how much primary production is occurring in the sea.
The service provides a monitoring tool for local responsible entities that need to assess sea water quality in the short and longer term perspectives, to report and provide guidance against impacts on the marine environment. Other users include operators in aquaculture and fisheries. Information on sea surface temperature and chlorophyll are amongst the key variables that are needed to support fish-farmers with their daily decision making to optimise production, and to pre-empt against adverse sea water quality conditions.
