Project – WHISTLE: The Western iberian sHelf Integrated multimodel forecast Service for TransnationaL Environmental management. || NOW Systems

Example of a River Freshwater Discharge Plume

The Challenge

The main goal of WHISTLE Project is to enhance environmental management along the Western Iberian Shelf. This project focuses on integrating Copernicus Marine data with local monitoring systems through a service platform to deliver comprehensive and accurate assessments of environmental conditions.

WHISTLE project fosters transnational collaboration between Portugal and Galicia (Spain) to enhance model applications in Western Ibierian waters, particularly in areas affected by freshwater contributions from rivers. The project will leverage high-resolution ocean models and in-situ observations to generate detailed data on various environmental parameters.

The improved models will support two use cases, one in Galicia to enhance marine pollution response (Plan Camgal) and the other in Portugal to ensure water quality in the Northern Litoral Natural Park. In both cases, the model results will be validated through specific monitoring campaigns.

WHISTLE aims to improve existing operational models by sharing knowledge, monitoring data, numerical models, and tools. Atmospheric forcing and ocean boundary conditions will be harmonized and integrated, downscaling Copernicus Marine products and using river data as land boundary condition for seamless coastal modelling.

Partners

The WHISTLE Consortium is composed by:

atlantic colab

+Atlantic COLAB project leader, and responsible of the coordination of the transboundary activities.

now

NOW Systems operational service provider and developer of the new WHISTLE NAUI Service Tool.

cetmar

Centro Tecnológico del Mar (CETMAR), targeted stakeholder dealing with the coordination of Stakeholder Engagement, Promotion and Dissemination activities, and, as part of the Coastal Observatory of the Xunta de Galicia, the interface with other 2 key stakeholders for the Galician Use Case (i.e., MeteoGalicia and Intecmar, also partners of the Galician Observatory and engaged in the project as local stakeholders).

inegi

INEGI, contributes to the Portuguese WHISTLE Use Case, utilizing unmanned vehicles.

Related news

The project | Objetives

Create a transboundary marine coastal operational service for Portugal and Galicia.
Demonstrate the improvement of high-resolution numerical modelling applications, downstreaming Copernicus Marine model solutions in Western Iberia waters;
Deliver integrated access to environmental data, through a new service platform powered by a NOW’s NAUI application, incorporating Copernicus Marine regional model products and national coastal forecasts (i.e. the Atlantic+ and MeteoGalicia forecast systems), along with satellite and in-situ observations delivered by the Copernicus Marine TACs and local providers (such as INEGUI and the Coastal Observatory of the Xunta de Galicia).
Provide Portuguese and Galician high-resolution coastal products in the new Marine Data Store service portfolio under the open Copernicus data policy; leveraging expertise from Digital Twin initiatives.
Engage with national stakeholders to demonstrate the capablities of downscaled operational numerical models derived indicators for decision-making.
Support EU policies such as the Water Framework Directive (WFD), Marine Strategy, Framework Directive (MSFD), Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) and Habitats Directive (HD) in both national waters.

Uses Cases

Use Case 1:

WHISTLE Use Case 1 will improve decision-support tools for managing accidental spills in Galicia, as part of the "Plan Camgal". This contingency plan addresses marine pollution, like oil spills and chemical discharges, by coordinating efforts among agencies and stakeholders to safeguard coastal ecosystems and public health.
Improvements: Integrate new data in the Common Operational Picture (COPtool) from various operational systems, including the Copernicus Marine regional model (IBI-MFC), and the coastal ones both from Galician and Portugal.
Skateholder: The Coastal Observatory of the Xunta de Galicia.

Use Case 2:

WHISTLE Use Case 2 will demostrate the improvement of the high-resolution (< 1 km) modelling to forecast river plumes at a finer scale than the regional solution in the Litoral Norte Natural Park. The model will evaluate direct river discharges and estuarine box models. The new model domain will extend enough to better capture the plume's reach during upwelling events, including its offshore and southern transport. It will also assess potential interactions with the Tagus and Sado estuaries.
Improvements: The numerical model will integrate near real-time river data. The model will also evaluate direct river discharges and estuarine box models.
INEGI will conduct a specialized monitoring mission with two autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) to gather high-quality data for model comparison, calibration, and validation.

WHISTLE:

The Western Iberian shelf integrated multimodel forecast service for transnational environmental management