Dive into this workshop organized under the EU Horizon-funded project BioEcoOcean, and explore advanced satellite monitoring of crucial marine ecosystems. Join leading experts and innovators as we address the latest advancements and opportunities in the remote sensing of essential ocean variables (EOVs) for macroalgae and seagrass ecosystems.At the heart of our discussions: the game-changing EU Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission. With its enhanced spatial resolution and open-access data, this EU satellite mission is revolutionizing how we monitor our coastal oceans at global scales — though not without challenges. While Sentinel-2 satellite imagery offers an unprecedented opportunity due to its higher spatial resolution and open-access availability, various questions remain, particularly regarding resolution limitations, validation, and operational integration.

The session focuses on the current work and perspectives for making the most out of Sentinel-2 for improving the remote sensing of seagrass and macroalgae, across submerged, intertidal, and sea surface (floating) habitats.

By the end of the workshop, we aim to identify and collect the best approaches and recommendations for optimizing Sentinel-2 for macroalgae and seagrass monitoring, regarding:

• Datasets, Repositories & Data Management (e.g., ground-truth data, data curation and sharing, repositories and interoperability),
• Satellite Algorithms & Operational Workflows (e.g., current state of detection algorithms, scalable workflows, challenges in resolution, and spectral characteristics)
• Innovations & Downstream Applications (e.g., carbon sequestration, monitoring conservation/restoration, and policy implementation).

This workshop aims to shape the future of macroalgae and seagrass monitoring, ensuring that remote sensing contributes meaningfully to the protection, management, and sustainable use of coastal ecosystems worldwide, and supports the BioEcoOcean project to perform transformative changes in our approach to the biological and ecosystem ocean observation system.