Availability of Coastal and Marine Data and Potential Applications for Development Co-operation

This report summarise the availability of coastal and marine data and highlights some of the potential applications such data may have in the context of development co-operation. The focus is on the data and the applications which already exist at the Global Environment Monitoring (GEM) Unit of the Institute of Environment and Sustainability (IES), and is not intended as a global overview of all possible use of data. The report also emphasises some potential new activities targeted to provision of information relevant for thematic policies and actions in EC and beneficiary countries and regions.JRC.H.3-Global environement monitorin

Assessing the Dynamics of Ecological Provinces in the European Seas

The concept of oceanographic provinces has existed for almost a century, providing a useful framework for understanding the mechanisms controlling biological, physical and chemical processes in the ocean and their interactions. This work is an attempt to identify and map marine provinces using satellite observations related to biological processes such as phytoplankton primary production. The approach is based on fuzzy logic as a means of classifying the European Seas into objectively defined areas. The analysis has identified nine domains based on three important variables, surface chlorophyll concentration, sea surface temperature, and available radiation for photosynthesis. These domains were subsequently mapped over the European geographical window using satellite ocean colour and temperature data. The method displays correctly most important productive and unproductive zones, as well as captures the dynamic nature of the marine systems. This study has been conducted in the frame of the institutional project ECOMAR (Monitoring and Assessment of Marine Ecosystems, Action # 2121) within the Inland and Marine Unit of the Institute for Environment & Sustainabilility.JRC.H.5-Rural, water and ecosystem resource

Marine and Coastal Information Systems for Europe and Africa

Marine Information Systems for Europe (EMIS, http://emis.jrc.ec.europa.eu/) and Africa (AMIS, http://amis.jrc.ec.europa.eu/) have been recently developed at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission to provide the Users with an appropriate set of bio-physical information, of importance to conduct water quality assessment, resource monitoring and climate change studies in the coastal and marine waters. These systems are simple and easy-to-use mapping tool applications, created for the publication and dissemination of African and European marine information via the web. Both systems rely mostly on Earth Observation data from optical and thermal sensors, processed according to standard (i.e., space agency-related) and in-house peer-reviewed algorithms, as well modeled data, to generate indicators for global diagnostic of the coastal state and analyses of changes in marine ecosystems. In addition, the systems supply the users with basic navigation and interrogation tools with a range of time-series and statistical analysis generated automatically in a format ready for publication / reporting, and enabling decision makers to make full and lasting use of this information.JRC.H.5-Land Resources Managemen

Assessment of Global Ocean Colour Products against In-situ Datasets

Ocean colour from satellite has given over the last two decades another dimension to ecosystem studies and marine biology, providing key information on the timing and spatial distribution of phytoplankton blooms, and the magnitude of primary production. Remote observations of ocean colour from space represent therefore a major tool directly related to the marine biogeochemical distributions and associated processes. One of the goals of the European GMES Integrated Project MERSEA is to provide an accurate and consistent stream of ocean colour data, by exploiting the products made available in a number of individual missions launched by various space agencies. In this context, validation exercises, done via the direct comparison of satellite derived quantities with in situ measurements, represents a critical component in establishing the accuracy of the remotely-sensed data. In this study we present a validation of Chlorophyll-a concentration derived from SeaWiFS and MODIS sensors, against in situ measurements retrieved from three different datasets (NODC, SeaBASS, JODC). The results of this comparison are well in line with previous analysis conducted on SeaWiFS, both from the point of view of the global statistics than for most of the regional results, and the uncertainties are lower than the value of 0.35 often considered as the objective for Chlorophyll-a distributions. The SeaWiFS global average of RMS difference (for log-transformed values) shows an uncertainty of 0.29, while it is is slightly higher for MODIS (0.31), a difference likely partly due to a smaller statistical basis. The agreement is better for open ocean regions (RMSD reduced to 0.26 and 0.27 for SeaWiFS and MODIS respectively) than for coastal areas. An important objective of this work, that goes beyond the scope of the present report, was to develop the validation procedure and protocols for further analyses regularly reviewing validation results to take into account successive reprocessing and other sensors, as well as including additional in situ data sets.JRC.H.3-Global environement monitorin

Monitoring for the Marine Strategy Framework Directive: Requirements and Options

According to the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD: 2008/56/EC) coordinated monitoring programmes should be established and implemented by Member States in order to assess the environmental status of marine waters and the achievement of environmental targets. These programmes shall be compatible within marine regions or sub regions and shall integrate and complement the monitoring requirements imposed by other EU legislation and international agreements. In this report, monitoring requirements are reviewed and overlaps and gaps (including considerations on spatial scale and temporal frequency) are highlighted. The screening of monitoring requirements is restricted to the WFD (2000/60/EC), EQS Directive (2008/105/EC), Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), Birds Directive (2009/147/EC), Common Fisheries Policy and Regional Sea Conventions covering European seas (OSPAR, HELCOM, UNEP MAP, Black Sea Commission). Additionally, concepts of integrated monitoring and less applied monitoring approaches are discussed.JRC.H.1-Water Resource

In-Depth Assessment of the EU Member States’ Submissions for the Marine Strategy Framework Directive under articles 8, 9 and 10

According to the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), in 2012 Member States had to report on the initial assessment of their marine waters (art. 8), on the determination of good environmental status (art. 9) and on the establishment of environmental targets and associated indicators (art. 10). At the request of DG Environment, the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission has carried out an in-depth assessment (IDA) of the reporting done by Member States. This document presents the result of this IDA, carried out on the basis of reporting from the following Member States (MS): Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom. The aims of the IDA were: i) to evaluate comparability and coherence of methods and in particular their relation to the assessments under other European and international frames and the latest scientific evidence, ii) to provide recommendations for improved implementation of the MSFD in the second cycle (2018) and iii) to support the review and the possible revision of the Commission Decision (2010/477/EU). The IDA covers all MSFD descriptors expect D3 and D7 and is presented in six chapters (biodiversity: descriptors 1, 4 and 6; non indigenous species: descriptor 2; eutrophication: descriptor 5; contaminants: descriptor 8 and 9; marine litter: descriptor 10; underwater noise and other forms of energy: descriptor 11). This IDA presents a set of suggestions that can be pursued to strengthen the further implementation of the MSFD.JRC.H.1-Water Resource

Biomass production, supply, uses and flows in the European Union: First results from an integrated assessment

The report delivers an assessment of EU biomass production, uses, flows and related environmental impacts for the sectors agriculture, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture, and algae. Quantitative estimates are derived from available data and current knowledge, yet highlighting the uncertainties and the remaining gaps. The work is framed within the JRC biomass study and is meant to support the EU bioeconomy and the related policies.JRC.D.1-Bio-econom

Marine Strategy Framework Directive - Task Group 5 Report Eutrophication

The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (2008/56/EC) (MSFD) requires that the European Commis-sion (by 15 July 2010) should lay down criteria and methodological standards to allow consistency in approach in evaluating the extent to which Good Environmental Status (GES) is being achieved. ICES and JRC were contracted to provide scientific support for the Commission in meeting this obligation. A total of 10 reports have been prepared relating to the descriptors of GES listed in Annex I of the Directive. Eight reports have been prepared by groups of independent experts coordinated by JRC and ICES in response to this contract. In addition, reports for two descriptors (Contaminants in fish and other seafood and Marine Litter) were written by expert groups coordinated by DG SANCO and IFREMER respectively. A Task Group was established for each of the qualitative Descriptors. Each Task Group consisted of selected experts providing experience related to the four marine regions (the Baltic Sea, the North-east Atlantic, the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea) and an appropriate scope of relevant scien-tific expertise. Observers from the Regional Seas Conventions were also invited to each Task Group to help ensure the inclusion of relevant work by those Conventions. This is the report of Task Group 5 Eutrophication.JRC.DDG.H.5-Rural, water and ecosystem resource

Scientific Support to the European Commission on the Marine Strategy Framework Directive - Management Group Report

The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (2008/56/EC) (MSFD) requires that the European Commis-sion (by 15 July 2010) should lay down criteria and methodological standards to allow consistency in approach in evaluating the extent to which Good Environmental Status (GES) is being achieved. ICES and JRC were contracted to provide scientific support for the Commission in meeting this obligation. A total of 10 reports have been prepared relating to the descriptors of GES listed in Annex I of the Directive. Eight reports have been prepared by groups of independent experts coordinated by JRC and ICES in response to this contract. In addition, reports for two descriptors (Contaminants in fish and other seafood and Marine Litter) were written by expert groups coordinated by DG SANCO and IFREMER respectively. A Task Group was established for each of the qualitative Descriptors. Each Task Group consisted of selected experts providing experience related to the four marine regions (the Baltic Sea, the North-east Atlantic, the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea) and an appropriate scope of relevant scien-tific expertise. Observers from the Regional Seas Conventions were also invited to each Task Group to help ensure the inclusion of relevant work by those Conventions. This is the report of the MSFD Management Group.JRC.DDG.H.5-Rural, water and ecosystem resource

European marine biodiversity monitoring networks: Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats

© 2016 Patrício, Little, Mazik, Papadopoulou, Smith, Teixeira, Hoffmann, Uyarra, Solaun, Zenetos, Kaboglu, Kryvenko, Churilova, Moncheva, Bucas, Borja, Hoepffner and Elliott. By 2020, European Union Member States should achieve Good Environmental Status (GES) for 11 environmental quality descriptors for their marine waters to fulfill the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). By the end of 2015, in coordination with the Regional Seas Conventions, each EU Member State was required to develop a marine strategy for their waters, together with other countries within the same marine region or sub-region. Coherent monitoring programs, submitted in 2014, form a key component of this strategy, which then aimed to lead to a Program of Measures (submitted in 2015). The European DEVOTES FP7 project has produced and interrogated a catalog of EU marine monitoring related to MSFD descriptors 1 (biological diversity), 2 [non-indigenous species (NIS)], 4 (food webs), and 6 (seafloor integrity). Here we detail the monitoring activity at the regional and sub-regional level for these descriptors, as well as for 11 biodiversity components, 22 habitats and the 37 anthropogenic pressures addressed. The metadata collated for existing European monitoring networks were subject to a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis. This interrogation has indicated case studies to address the following questions: (a) what are the types of monitoring currently in place? (b) who does what and how? (c) is the monitoring fit-for-purpose for addressing the MSFD requirements? and (d) what are the impediments to better monitoring (e.g., costs, shared responsibilities between countries, overlaps, co-ordination, etc.)? We recommend the future means to overcome the identified impediments and develop more robust monitoring strategies. As such the results are especially relevant to implementing comprehensive and coordinated monitoring networks throughout Europe, for marine policy makers, government agencies and regulatory bodies. It is emphasized that while many of the recommendations given here require better, more extensive and perhaps more costly monitoring, this is required to avoid any legal challenges to the assessments or to bodies and industries accused of causing a deterioration in marine quality. More importantly the monitoring is required to demonstrate the efficacy of management measures employed. Furthermore, given the similarity in marine management approaches in other developed systems, we consider that the recommendations are also of relevance to other regimes worldwide