The development of algorithms for remote sensing of water quality (RSWQ) requires a large amount of in situ data to account for the bio-geo-optical diversity of inland and coastal waters. The GLObal Reflectance community dataset for Imaging and optical sensing of Aquatic environments (GLORIA) includes 7,572 curated hyperspectral remote sensing reflectance measurements at 1 nm intervals within the 350 to 900 nm wavelength range. In addition, at least one co-located water quality measurement of chlorophyll a, total suspended solids, absorption by dissolved substances, and Secchi depth, is provided. The data were contributed by researchers affiliated with 59 institutions worldwide and come from 450 different water bodies, making GLORIA the de-facto state of knowledge of in situ coastal and inland aquatic optical diversity. Each measurement is documented with comprehensive methodological details, allowing users to evaluate fitness-for-purpose, and providing a reference for practitioners planning similar measurements. We provide open and free access to this dataset with the goal of enabling scientific and technological advancement towards operational regional and global RSWQ monitoring.

The Hoa Binh dam (HBD), located on a tributary of the Red River in Vietnam, has a capacity of 9.45 × 109 m3 and was commissioned in December 1988. Although it is important for flood prevention, electricity production and irrigation in northern Vietnam, the Hoa Binh dam has also highly influenced the suspended sediment distribution in the lower Red River basin, in the delta and in the coastal zone. Its impact was analysed from a 50-year data set of water discharge and suspended sediment concentration (1960–2010), and the distribution of water and sediment across the nine mouths of the delta was simulated using the MIKE11 numerical model before and after the dam settlement. Although water discharge at the delta inlet decreased by only 9%, the yearly suspended sediment flux dropped, on average, by 61% at Son Tay near Hanoi (from 119 to 46 × 106 t yr−1). Along the coast, reduced sedimentation rates are coincident with the lower sediment delivery observed since the impoundment of the Hoa Binh dam. Water regulation has led to decreased water discharge in the wet season (−14% in the Red River at Son Tay) and increased water discharge in the dry season (+12% at the same station). The ratios of water and suspended sediment flows, as compared to the total flows in the nine mouths, increased in the northern and southern estuaries and decreased in the central, main Ba Lat mouth. The increasing volume of dredged sediments in the Haiphong harbour is evidence of the silting up of the northern estuary of Cam–Bach Dang. The effect of tidal pumping on enhanced flow occurring in the dry season and resulting from changed water regulation is discussed as a possible cause of the enhanced siltation of the estuary after Hoa Binh dam impoundment.

Remote sensing of suspended particulate matter, SPM, from space has long been used to assess its spatio-temporal variability in various coastal areas. The associated algorithms were generally site specific or developed over a relatively narrow range of concentration, which make them inappropriate for global applications (or at least over broad SPM range). In the frame of the GlobCoast project, a large in situ data set of SPM and remote sensing reflectance, R_rs(λ), has been built gathering together measurements from various coastal areas around Europe, French Guiana, North Canada, Vietnam, and China. This data set covers various contrasting coastal environments diversely affected by different biogeochemical and physical processes such as sediment resuspension, phytoplankton bloom events, and rivers discharges (Amazon, Mekong, Yellow river, MacKenzie, etc.). The SPM concentration spans about four orders of magnitude, from 0.15 to 2626 g·m⁻³. Different empirical and semi-analytical approaches developed to assess SPM from R_rs(λ) were tested over this in situ data set. As none of them provides satisfactory results over the whole SPM range, a generic semi-analytical approach has been developed. This algorithm is based on two standard semi-analytical equations calibrated for low-to-medium and highly turbid waters, respectively. A mixing law has also been developed for intermediate environments. Sources of uncertainties in SPM retrieval such as the bio-optical variability, atmospheric correction errors, and spectral bandwidth have been evaluated. The coefficients involved in these different algorithms have been calculated for ocean color (SeaWiFS, MODIS-A/T, MERIS/OLCI, VIIRS) and high spatial resolution (LandSat8-OLI, and Sentinel2-MSI) sensors. The performance of the proposed algorithm varies only slightly from one sensor to another demonstrating the great potential applicability of the proposed approach over global and contrasting coastal waters.