Melding Artificial Intelligence and Remote Sensing Data for Real-Time Monitoring of Marine Biodiversity

Abstract

The biodiversity of the oceans provides us with key ecosystem services, however marine life is facing a multitude of threats like pollution, climate change and over-exploitation. Action: Monitoring and conservation strategies need to be put in place to save these fragile ecosystems. The focus of this chapter is on marine biodiversity monitoring in real-time using remote sensing and artificial intelligence (AI). Advanced monitoring systems (such as the TOPAZ system) use an ensemble Kalman filter to assimilate satellite-measured sea-surface temperatures, sea-surface heights, and in-situ measurements from Argo profiling floats and XBTs. These systems render a three-dimensional (3D) comprehensive state picture of the ocean, which comprises temperature fields and current structures rather than just climate projections. This chapter focuses on melding artificial intelligence and remote sensing data for real-time monitoring marine biodiversity.