Does satellite observation of chlorophyll-a and suspended sediment complement Rijkswaterstaat monitoring of the North Sea?

Management and monitoring of the Dutch part of North Sea is coordinated by Rijkswaterstaat and strongly based on international agreements. Further policy development and harmonization takes place within these international bodies (e.g. European Marine Strategy). Under the authority of the OSPAR Convention monitoring is being reviewed continuously. The project Towards Remote Sensing Supported Monitoring of the North Sea (ToRSMoN) was started in 2005 to demonstrate whether or not satellite data would be instrumental to monitor spatial patterns of total suspended matter (TSM, or suspended particulate matter SPM) and chlorophyll (Chl) in the North Sea. This project utilizes optical remote sensing of water quality parameters, or, in other words, remote sensing of ocean color.