CSIRO
CANBERRA, Australia, March 21, 2023 (Reuters) /PRNewswire/
Australia’s science agency, CSIRO, has launched a mission to deliver a world-first ground-to-space water quality monitoring system.
According to United Nations estimates, three billion people could be at risk from unsafe water. Through AquaWatch Australia, CSIRO works with international partners to protect freshwater and coastal resources.
AquaWatch will provide near real-time updates and forecasts – a Weather service for water quality – as soon as it is fully operational. It will contribute to better water quality management and can be used to monitor water quality in drinking water, sanitation, aquaculture, environmental impact assessment and a variety of other applications to help achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
CSIRO, together with founding partner SmartSat Cooperative Research Centre, brings together research, government and industry with an initial investment of AU$83 million in the design and development of AquaWatch.
Data collected via an extensive network of Earth observation satellites and ground-based water sensors will be aggregated at a central data hub, where CSIRO’s data analysis and artificial intelligence capabilities can provide forecasts several days in advance.
dr Larry Marshall, executive director of CSIRO, said water is one of the world’s most important and vital resources.
“In areas where people are still at risk of not having safe water for their basic needs like drinking and sanitation, a service like AquaWatch could make a difference.
“The genius of AquaWatch is that it combines Earth observation with other scientific capabilities such as in situ sensing, ecosystem modeling, engineering, data science and artificial intelligence.
“It is the latest example of CSIRO’s Missions Programs, which are large-scale scientific and collaborative research initiatives designed to accelerate the pace and scale at which we can solve our toughest challenges.”
CSIRO and its international partners are already working together on pilot projects in:
- California, USA, in collaboration with the University of California, Davis and the University of California, Merced, focusing on turbidity in a large reservoir
- Sarawak, Malaysia, in collaboration with Swinburne University Sarawak, focusing on carbon losses in mangrove forests
- Chile, with a focus on salmon aquaculture and desalination
- Colombia with a focus on coastal wetlands
- Vietnam, in collaboration with the National Center for Water Resources and Investigation (NAWAPI) and Hanoi University of Mining and Geology (HUMG), with a focus on drinking water supply and hydropower needs.
CSIRO is Australia’s pre-eminent national science organization, driving innovation through global science.
View original content: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/australien-entwickelt-weltweit-ersten-wetterdienst-fur-wasserqualitat-301777599.html
Press contact:
Cassandra Erbs,
[email protected]
Original content from: CSIRO, transmitted by news aktuell
