Remote Sensing for Water Quality and Ecosystem Analysis

Dear Colleagues,

Inland and coastal aquatic ecosystems (including lakes, reservoirs, rivers, wetlands, estuaries, lagoons, and nearshore waters) are currently undergoing rapid transformations due to climate change, land-use intensification, and increasing anthropogenic pressure. Over recent decades, remote sensing has become an essential tool for monitoring these systems at multiple spatial and temporal scales, evolving from the use of single sensors to integrated, multi-sensor approaches. The combined use of optical multi- and hyperspectral imagers and radar (SAR) has opened new possibilities for observing water constituents, surface dynamics, and habitat structure under diverse atmospheric and illumination conditions.

This Special Issue aims to gather high-quality contributions that advance the monitoring, understanding, and modeling of inland and coastal aquatic ecosystems using remote sensing, emphasizing synergies between optical and SAR sensors, the exploitation of new-generation instruments (e.g., PACE, ECOSTRESS, ROSE-L), rigorous satellite-data validation with in situ measurements, and studies addressing climate-change-driven alterations in aquatic systems. We encourage studies that offer a comprehensive overview of emerging methodologies, applications, and challenges, covering both innovative approaches and applied ecosystem studies.

We welcome research related to the use of both multi- and hyperspectral optical sensors and radar sensors. We particularly encourage multi-sensor fusion and physical-based algorithm approaches for the retrieval of optically active constituents, as well as the application of new satellite products to estimate water-related processes and stressors under a changing climate. This Special Issue will also place particular emphasis on the development and evaluation of new algorithmic approaches designed to produce high-quality and transferable water-product estimates. This includes both the refinement of algorithms compliant with established international standards and the creation of innovative methods tailored to the capabilities of new and forthcoming satellite missions. In addition, given the increasing attention to environmental sustainability in the field of Earth observation, studies that integrate carbon-footprint assessments related to remote-sensing data processing are also of great significance.

For this Special Issue, we welcome the following contributions: original research articles, methodological papers, validation and intercomparison studies, multi-sensor or multi-mission case studies, long-term trend analyses related to climate change, and short communications on innovative algorithms or datasets.

Dr. Mariano Bresciani
Dr. Nicola Ghirardi
Guest Editors

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