The study of water-related ecosystems covers a wide range of applicative contexts, entailing many scientific challenges and several diversified technological solutions.
Nowadays, the sustainable management of water resources requires a holistic approach, which attains to the soil, vegetation and all the living things interacting with the water.
The transition from the mere monitoring of the processes related to water systems to the wider concept of “water habitats”, implies the study of such ecological interactions in various possible scenarios, which are often characterised by a strong relationship between natural and anthropogenic contexts.
In this challenging framework, research activities aimed at developing efficient monitoring technologies and management strategies are encouraged to embrace a highly multidisciplinary approach. Here, water management meets noticeable ecological, economic and social implications, and the public awareness of such implications is rapidly growing.
Accordingly, scientific/technological advancements have to go beyond the observation of water bodies and their related processes and infrastructures, by extending the scope to the water habitats and the many measurable indicators of their functions and health status, directly or indirectly related to water, such as water quality, biodiversity, plant ecophysiology, and resilience to environmental extremes.
This session welcomes contributions related to the monitoring of water systems and their characteristic habitats about:
• design of field measurement instrumentation
• development of new sensing techniques, innovative field experiments
• application of remote sensing products
• advancements in sensor networks
• Integration between sensor systems and computational tasks
• Investigations about data science aspects, e.g. geospatial analyses, big data and AI applications.
Contributions may regard (but are not limited to) rivers & lakes, wetlands, irrigated areas, forests and natural habitats, coastal zone, urban habitats and water infrastructures, including distribution networks. Both qualitative and quantitative assessments are appreciated.
Studies regarding groundwater monitoring and management and its interaction with surface processes are also relevant to this session and are very encouraged.