An emerging thrust for the OCR-VC is in the area of remote sensing of coastal and inland water quality. A related International Ocean Colour Coordinating Group (IOCCG) Working Group (Earth Observations in Support of Global Water Quality Monitoring) has recently been established. The OCR-VC recommends the creation of a GEO Water Quality Community of Practice, which would significantly expand upon the IOCCG working group and bring together data providers and users to significantly advance the utilization of satellite observations in support of water quality monitoring in both developed and developing nations.
A GEO Water Quality Summit was held April 2015 in Geneva at WMO. The Summit Goal was to define specific requirements of the water quality observing system components and develop a plan to implement an integrated, global end-to-end water quality monitoring and forecasting service. The Summit Deliverables included: Development of a) Strategic implementation and b) A phased action plan including baseline service build-outs, with both a short-term (0-5 year) build-out plan for pilot/prototype regional service(s) and a long-term (6-10 year plan for a global-scale water quality monitoring and forecasting service). A GEO Water Quality (GEO-WaQ) Community of Practice has now been formally implemented, and is bringing together relevant data providers and users who will work collaboratively to implement, utilize, maintain and enhance the global water quality monitoring and forecasting service. The IOCCG WG on "Earth Observations in Support of Global Water Quality Monitoring" also met at this summit. They are preparing an IOCCG Report which will identify current and future user data, product and information needs and requirements, assess space-based and in situ observing capabilities and need for associated modeling and data assimilation activities, identify supporting research and development activities, and identify best practices and new & improved data streams and products.