HiSea consortium wins EU contract to offer data on sea water quality

HiSea consortium has secured a contract worth €2m from the European Union (EU) to develop, test and showcase information services that offer high resolution data on sea water quality.

These services will integrate, and process data obtained through marine, land and climate services.

The platform will improve operation, planning and management of different marine activities, with focus on ports and aquaculture sectors.

Among the HiSea services to be provided include early warning services, real time crisis management, key performance indicators, information for planning operations, knowledge data base.

Its early warning services will include alerts on storms, harmful algal blooms, and faecal contamination along with other hazards.

It will also help in real time crisis management pertaining to pollution accidents, which will ultimately help in responding adequately to a crisis.

Additionally, the platform will offer data on important performance indicators such as fish growing rates, and environmental conditions.

It will provide accurate meteorological, hydrodynamic and water quality forecasts.

It will further help to create knowledge data base so that cause-effect relations can be analysed for better understanding and management of future operations.

HiSea Project coordinator Dr Ghada El Serafy said: “The main goal of HiSea services is to deliver accurate and reliable information which is readily available, easily understandable and can fit seamlessly into users’ operation, planning and management requirements.

“HiSea will provide relevant information, derived from many different sources, in a simple and effective way to add value to their operations and provide them with a competitive advantage.”

HiSea consortium, which secured financial assistance through the EU Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme, comprises seven partners.

The partners include Deltares from the Netherlands, Hidromod from Portugal, Spain-based Valenciaport, France’s ARGANS-FR, Greece-based Selonda Aquaculture, Ascora in Germany, as well as Israel-based Agora Partners.