Temporal series (annual mean values) and long term average (LTA) of temperature for each river mouth.

The Oil Platform Leaks challenge attempts to determine the likely trajectory of the slick and to release rapid information on the oil movement and environmental and coastal impacts in the form of a bulletin broadcast 72 hours after the event. This bulletin indicates what information can be provided, evidencing the fitness for use of the current available marine datasets, as well as pointing out gaps in the current Emodnet data collection framework. The exercise relies on two tools operated by CLS: The OSCAR model (Oil Spill Contingency and Response, operated at CLS under license) made available by SINTEF and used to simulate the oil spill fate and weathering at water surface, in the water column and along shorelines. A QGIS system to display and cross the oil spill forecast with coastal data (information on environment and human activities). The declarative data given for the OSCAR simulation are: Date and time of oil spill, Location and depth of oil spill, Oil API number or oil type name, Oil spill amount or oil spill rate

Map the occurrence of ice at 1-degree resolution over different periods of the last century (1915-2014, 1965-2014, 2005-2014, 2009-2014). For each entire period (100, 50, 10, 5 years) find and map all cells of the 1 degree grid that experience ice conditions in at least 1 month.

Identified areas across the north Atlantic which have been flagged as priority locations for quality bathymetry data, in the context of expanded shipping traffic and port expansions. The reference to determine the priority survey areas in combination with shiping routes and port locations are the bathymetric data sources used for product 2( GEBCO, EMODnet bathymetry, USGS and CHS) and the depth uncertainty derived of Product 2. The adequacy assessment of the input characteristics of Product 3 is limited to the shiping routes and port locations.

Data from a number of different sources have been integrated to provide new perspectives on fishing activities. Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) record and transmit the position and speed of fishing vessels at intervals of two hours or less. Fishing time can be calculated from the VMS data and combining this parameter with vessel logbook data, maps of fishing effort and intensity at different spatial and temporal scales can be calculated. The statistical software package “R” is used to extract the required information then re-interrogated to produce maps of fishing effort or intensity per month and year. The use of Automatic Identification System (AIS) data was not considered as combining AIS data with fisheries logbook data would pose issues namely; the ability of the AIS system to be switched off, only mandatory on vessels > 15 meters in length, cost involved to purchase data, and confidentiality.

The impact of fishing on benthic habitats has previously been investigated however; a conclusive classification of potentially sensitive habitats per gear type does not exist. Currently only qualitative estimates of fishery impact using Broad-scale habitat maps are possible. Here a sensitivity matrix using both fishing pressure (fishing Intensity) and habitat sensitivity is employed to define habitat disturbance categories. The predominant fishing activities associated with physical abrasion of the seafloor area are from bottom contacting towed fishing gear. The swept area of the aforementioned gear in contact with the seabed is generally considered a function of gear width, vessel speed and fishing effort (ICES. 2015). The varying characteristics of fishing gear, their interaction with the sea floor and species being targeted; provide scope for differing interactions with subsurface (infaunal) and surface (epifaunal) dwelling communities. An evaluation of the abrasion pressure and habitat sensitivity split into surface and subsurface pressure allows greater insight to the ecological effects. Fishing intensity was calculated annually and based on the area of sea floor being swept (or swept area ratio SAR) by gear type. Calculations are based on SAR’s of gear types per area, per year. Fishing pressure ranks and habitat sensitivity ranks obtained from WGSFD working group (01 WGSFD - Report of the Working Group on Spatial Fisheries Data 2015) can be incorporated within a GIS environment to existing ICES fisheries data to provide habitat disturbance maps (fishing pressure maps+ habitat sensitivity maps) ICES. 2015. Report of the Working Group on Spatial Fisheries Data (WGSFD), 8–12 June 2015, ICES Headquarters, Copenhagen, Denmark. ICES CM 2015/SSGEPI:18. 150 pp.

The aim of the product is to represent areas where all forms of resource extraction are prohibited such as: • fishing • aggregate extraction • hydrocarbon offshore facilities • aids to navigation • habitation The product is specified through the same components as for the first product plus 2 additional ones: • Pipe lines and cables • Military activity

The three digital maps provided in this product aim to assess the degree of Offshore windfarm siting suitability existing over a geographical area with a focal point where waters of France and Spain meet in Biscay Bay on 500 m depth. The maps display respectively the spatial distribution of the average and lowest windfarm siting suitability scores along with the average wind speed distribution over a time period of 10 years. They are part of a process set up to assess the fit for use quality of the currently available datasets to support a preliminary selection of potential offshore sites for wind energy development. To build these maps, GIS tools were applied to several key spatial datasets from the 5 data type domains considered in the project: Air, Marine Water, Riverbed/Seabed, Biota/Biology and Human Activities, collated during the initial stages of the project. Initially, each selected dataset was formatted and clipped to the study area extent and spatially classified according to suitability scores, to define raster layers with the variables depicting levels of current anthropogenic and environmental spatial occupation of activities, seabed depth and slope, distances to shoreline, shipping intensity, mean significant wave height, and substrate type. These pre-processed layers were employed as inputs for applying a spatial multi-criteria model using a wind farming suitability classification based on a discrete 5 grades index, ranging from Very Low up to Very High suitability. In adition to suitability maps, an average wind speed spatial distribution map for a 10 years period, at 10 m height, was obtained over the study area from the raster processing of a wind speed time series of monthly means available from daily wind analysis data. The characteristics of the datasets used in this exercise underwent an appropriateness evaluation procedure based on a comparison between their measured quality and those specified for the product. All the spatial information made available in these maps and from the subsequent appropriateness analysis of the datasets, contributes to a clearer overview of the amount of public-access baseline knowledge currently existing for the North Atlantic basin area.

Temporal series (annual mean values) and Long Term Average (LTA) of sediment load for each river mouth where in situ data is available. Different sources can be mixed if any.

Temporal series (annual mean values) and Long term Average (LTA) of water discharge for each river mouth where in situ data is available. Different sources can be mixed if any.