Report of the Workshop on Real-time Coastal Observing Systems for Ecosystem Dynamics and Harmful Algal Blooms (WKHABWATCH)

A Workshop on Real-time Coastal Observing Systems for Ecosystem Dynamics and Harmful Algal Blooms [WKHABWATCH] (Co-Chairs: M. Babin, France and J. Cullen, Canada) was held in Villefranche-sur-Mer, France from 11–21 June 2003.

There is a great deal of interest, throughout the world, in the installation of ocean observation systems to provide the data and knowledge needed to detect and forecast physical, chemical and biological changes in coastal and open-ocean ecosystems. Recent advances in instrumentation, communications and modelling capabilities have led to the design of prototype real-time observation and prediction systems for coastal ecosystems. Important phenomena in coastal waters include flooding and coastal erosion, oxygen depletion due to eutrophication, and harmful algal blooms (HABs). However, many of the new approaches are unfamiliar to potential users. Optical and chemical sensors are, for instance, increasingly used from various platforms. Effective use of these sensors does not necessarily require advanced technical training, but it does require knowledge of the underlying theoretical and technical principles, how to properly deploy these instruments, methods for processing data, approaches for interpreting the results within reasonable limits, and how such results can be incorporated into different kinds of predictive models.
It is for this reason that the “Workshop on Real-time Coastal Observing Systems for Ecosystem Dynamics and Harmful Algal Blooms” was convened at the Observatoire Océanologique de Villefranche and Citadelle of Villefranche-sur-Mer, France. The idea of this workshop initially emerged from the Working Group on Harmful Algal Blooms Dynamics (WGHABD) of ICES; the first stages of planning at a meeting in Dublin were critical. Major support from the European Commission made it possible for planning to proceed.