Monitoring water quality at the Port of Barcelona
The maritime world is regulated by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), whose purpose is “…governmental regulation and practice relating to technical matters of all kinds…the prevention and control of pollution of the sea by ships”. . (Source: OMI)
All of us the humans use and drink the same water in this planet, in this wat all country members joint with propousal to guarantee the maritime operation and responsible ocena use. Part of it´s KPIs is the Water Quality index, in the way to preserve the sea life and be able to use be people around the world.
If you consider that Barcelona Port moves 60 millions of tons by year operated by more than 6.800 vessels on 2021, the contamination risk is really high (Source: Puerto de Barcelona)
Barcelona Port moves 60 millions of tons by year operated by more than 6.800 vessels on 2021
¿How do that until now?
Traditional system is for labs tests in many points and many times in a month, the results are deliver to the authorities around 15 days later, with more than 20 km of docks in 5 areas
El modelo tradicional es la toma de muestras analizadas en laboratorios, que se toman varios días incluso hasta un par de semanas para entregar los resultados, con más de 20 km de muelles distribuidos en cinco áreas: the city port (Port Vell), the commercial port (mainly containerized cargo), the cruise port (tourist), the energy port and the logistics port, the task is really complex and high cost, if you want a real time and full cover report, take note thateach test cost between 200-500 EUR, multiply doe necessary test and monthly frequency.
We have analyzed the water quality in just 20 seconds over an 8 km2 area of the harbor using satellite images.
¿How we do it?
Barcelona is the home of Fregata Space and we are committed to the life quality of one of the best places to live in Europe, for this reason we have analyzed the water quality of an area of 8 km2 of port and sea in just 20 seconds using satellite images, which makes it possible to determine the state of water quality, from 4 variables index (chlorophyll, turbidity, chromophore dissolved organic matter and cyanobacteria). The satellites can also be used to monitor other variables such as dissolved organic carbon, particulate matter, hydrocarbons, air quality, temperature, optical properties and even air quality.
This shows the computing power of artificial intelligence and the huge capacity of scientists from different areas (oceanographers, biologists, computer engineers, environmental engineers, mathematicians, physicists) to develop a rugged platform that allows to observe any place on the planet in seconds.
By using Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning we are able to predict the water quality index, identifying the sources of pollution.
Forecast the future towards a cleaned up ocean
The information power resides in how and for what purpose to use it. Satellite images have a historical record of up to 20 years in some cases (e.g. Landast). We can now extract from these images the necessary information to transform it into pollutant indicators in time and space using mathematical models. Thus, we can determine water quality, and identify sources of pollution, as well-being, and the present and future state of the water. With this information, decision makers in ports, cities and different organizations can make better decisions to manage water resources and marine-coastal ecosystems, reducing costs, risks and making their work easier.
