"Terra Tech" conducted a study of the dynamics of the "flowering" of the Volga reservoirs

2023: Study of the dynamics of the "flowering" of the Volga reservoirs

Specialists of TERRA TECH JSC, a subsidiary of Russian Space Systems JSC (RKS, part of the Roscosmos State Corporation) conducted a study of the flowering dynamics (eutrophication) of Volga reservoirs using space monitoring technologies. This was reported to the RKS on March 1, 2023. This project is carried out jointly with the non-profit foundation "Without rivers as without hands" and the Department of Land Hydrology of the Geographical Faculty of Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov.

"Flowering of water" is characteristic of all reservoirs in the summer. A long warm period, extreme heat, the discharge of communal effluents and the removal of fertilizers from the fields cause intense reproduction of blue-green algae. Eutrophication changes the quality of water and beach recreation sites, disrupts the operation of hydraulic structures and affects the fisheries.

To monitor "flowering," space images of high spatial resolution of sections of the Kuibyshev and Cheboksary reservoirs for the summer months of 2020-2022 were used. Decryption was carried out using images of the domestic Kanopus-V spacecraft, data from open sources and satellite images from orbital groupings of friendly states. For each image, the NDCI (Normalized Difference Chlorophyll Index) index was calculated to determine the chlorophyll concentration on the water surface.

The report "Eutrophication of Volga Reservoirs" explains the reasons for the "flowering" of water and analyzes the changes taking place in water bodies during this period. The available information is supported by interactive satellite illustrations of the eutrophication process on the Kuibyshev and Cheboksary reservoirs.

The data obtained can be used to plan and adjust recreational, fisheries and other activities related to water bodies. Thanks to the use of remote sensing (remote sensing) methods Lands state , opportunities are opening up for scientists and structures to develop and preserve national water resources.

2022: Start of a project for scientific and practical research of the Volga basin reservoir network

On August 29, 2022, the Russian Space Systems (RKS) reported that a consortium consisting of the non-profit fund "Without Rivers as Without Hands," Terra Tech JSC and Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov (Faculty of Geography) began a joint project on scientific and practical research of the Volga basin reservoir network using space monitoring technologies.

The main task of the project is to study and assess the scale of eutrophication in space and in time. Eutrophication - the "flowering" of water - is largely associated with the ingress of communal and industrial effluents with a high content of phosphates into water bodies. This leads to a decrease in the fishery and recreational potentials of reservoirs, negatively affects water treatment systems for drinking water supply. Experts will find out the relationship of the phenomenon with the anthropogenic load on reservoirs, its impact on the ecological state of these large fresh water reservoirs.

The use of space technologies together with detailed field studies conducted by hydrologists and hydroecologists makes it possible to assess the state of the Volga river ecosystems, water quality and the amount of anthropogenic load, said Dean of the Faculty of Geography of Moscow State University M.V. Lomonosov, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Sergey Dobrolyubov.

Located along the entire Volga for a total of more than 3 thousand kilometers, the network of reservoirs plays a strategic role in supplying water and electricity to the center of the European part of Russia, where tens of millions of people live. In addition, reservoirs significantly affect the water quality of the Volga River itself.

This large-scale project combines fundamental science and advanced space technologies. Assessment of the state and quality of the water of the Volga reservoirs using research methods, supported by images from space, reaches a different level of objectivity. We will receive valuable results that will subsequently be used to improve the environmental condition of the objects under study. Thus, our contribution will be made to the preservation and protection of the country's strategic resources, General Director of the Fund "Without Rivers as Without Hands" Oleg Lomakov.

The project involves the development of a special method for assessing water quality based on algorithm the spectral-difference determination of chlorophyll (an algae bloom product) from to data remote sensing of the Earth (remote sensing) from space in algae bloom zones. The method will provide full-scale and operational monitoring of the state of large Volga reservoirs, and the data obtained can be effectively used in various: industries to power industry water supply, population fisheries agriculture , and others.

Space monitoring technologies are traditionally used to solve environmental and environmental management problems. Satellite survey provides simultaneous coverage of large areas. This allows a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the state of all objects in a given area. Our expertise in the field of remote sensing data processing and artificial intelligence technologies will help to conduct high-quality analysis: we compare a long-term array of field data with space survey data to form new approaches to monitoring eutrophication. The experience gained in the future will be useful in conducting similar studies for other reservoirs of the country, said Maxim Boltachev, First Deputy General Director of TERRA TECH JSC.