Ur-EMODNET hydrography - interim reports

Second Interim Report

This Second Interim Report describes the activities from month 13 to month 18 of the Lot 1 – Hydrography (SI2.531515) of the Service Contract No MARE/2008/03 on the Preparatory Actions for European Marine Observation and Data Network. The contract has been signed by both the Commission and by the Contractor, Mariene Informatie Service (MARIS), 29th of May 2009.

First Interim Report

EMODNET (European Marine Observation and Data Network) is a contribution to the EU Integrated Maritime Policy. The European Commission, represented by the Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE), has concluded several service contracts for creating pilot components of the EMODNET. The overall objective is to create pilots to migrate fragmented and inaccessible marine data into interoperable, continuous and publicly available data streams for complete maritime basins.

The results will help to define processes, best technology and approximate costs of a final operational European Marine Observation and Data Network. It will also provide the first components for a final system which will in themselves be useful to the marine science community.

This Report describes the activities undertaken and progress made for the Hydrography Lot during its 1st year. The specific objectives of the Hydrography Lot are to:

• collate existing data from public and private organisations relating to the state of maritime basins; process them into interoperable formats which includes agreed standards, common baselines or reference conditions;
• assess their accuracy and precision and assemble them into common datasets;
• develop, test, operate and maintain a portal allowing public access and viewing of these data and a link to WISE-marine
• monitor and report on the effectiveness of the system in meeting the needs of users in terms of ease of use, quality of information and fitness for purpose of the products delivered;
• analyse what further steps need to be taken to improve the accuracy, precision, coverage and ease of use of the data, including a scheme for sustainable quality assurance and control of the data delivered to the system, both in this preparatory action and in the future larger system.
• analyse the necessary requirements to maintain the components built up in each lot as a sustainable infrastructure
• keep the portal operational afterwards and be prepared to transfer to the Commission.

The following geographical information system layers have to be produced and made available in the hydrographic lot:

1. water depth in gridded form over whole of maritime basin on a grid of at least quarter a minute of longitude and latitude.
2. water depth in vector form with isobaths at a scale of at least one to one million.
3. depth profiles along tracklines
4. multibeam surveys along tracklines
5. coastlines
6. underwater features – wrecks, seabed obstructions etc

Thereby it is accepted that the accuracy and precision of the gridded data will vary over the basin in question. No new data should be collected specifically for the project, but the aim is to provide access to data from existing monitoring programmes. All data delivered by EMODNET should be INSPIRE compliant.

The hydrographic project deals with the following geographical regions:

• the Greater North Sea, including the Kattegat and stretches of water such as Fair Isle, Cromarty, Forth, Forties,Dover, Wight, and Portland.
• the English Channel and Celtic Seas.
• Western Mediterranean, the Ionian Sea and the Central Mediterranean Sea.