Validation of MERIS chlorophyll a products in the Lithuanian Baltic Sea case 2 coastal waters

The national water quality monitoring in the Lithuanian Baltic Sea waters has started fifty years ago. Consistently implemented long-term monitoring programs are critical for detecting changes in water environment in frame of rapidly changing climate and increasing anthropogenic activity on costal waters. Nevertheless, conventional sampling methods cannot produce enough data about spatial and temporal distribution of phytoplankton blooms, outflow hypertrophic waters of the Curonian Lagoon in the Sea. Satellite based remote sensing provides critical ecological information on global, regional and local scales. However, before the direct use of satellite products for the monitoring and scientific applications, Earth observation data should be validated with in situ measurements for the particular research area.