Management information
Title: European Marine Observation and Data Network-Geology
Code: EASME/EMFF/2020/3.1.11 - Lot 2/SI2.853812_EMODnet – Geology 5
Initial date: 25 de September de 2021
Ending date: 25 de September de 2025
Funding: 222950 €
E-mail: t.medialdea@igme.es
Project web page: https://www.emodnet.ec.europa.eu/en/geology
Project description
The objective of the project is to provide standardized and harmonized marine geological information and the creation of thematic maps of the European seas, the Caspian Sean and the Caribbean Sea.
The network, composed of more than 120 organizations, makes available to public and private users standardized and harmonized marine data of high quality, interoperable and unrestricted use in order to reinforce Blue Growth and support the Energy Transition. EMODnet, through its central portal (https://emodnet.ec.europa.eu), provides access to European marine data across seven discipline-based themes: geology, bathymetry, seabed habitats, chemistry, biology, physics and human activities.
The objective of the EMODnet-Geology project is to develop and provide a marine geological information infrastructure and the creation of a cartographic database of the European seas using standard formats to facilitate access to information to government agencies, industry, research centers and the general public.
The EMODnet-Geology project, funded by the European Union and involving the geological surveys organizations of all the maritime countries of the European Union (30 countries), is currently led by the Geological Survey of Finland. The project, which started in 2013 after a preparatory phase (2009-2012), is now in its fifth phase (2021-2023).
The regional seas covered by the project are the Baltic Sea, the Barents Sea, the North Sea, the Norwegian Sea, the White Sea, the Celtic Sea, the Iberian coast and Bay of Biscay and Macaronesia, the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea the Caspian Sea and since 2021, the Caribbean Sea. The metadata, data and data products of the project cover the jurisdictional waters (including continental shelf and claimed extended continental shelf) of Member States, the United Kingdom (UK) and Norway.
The EMODnet-Geology project is delivering the following geological map products:
- Seabed Substrate and Sedimentation rates maps
- Sea-floor Geology map: Pre-Quaternary geology, Quaternary geology
- Geomorphology map
- Coastal Behavior maps: Satellite and Field data based Coastal behavior, Coastal types
- Geological Events (earthquakes, tsunamis, submarine landslides, volcanoes and Quaternary tectonics)
- Marine minerals (e.g. aggregates, hydrocarbons, gas hydrates, marine placers, polymetallic nodules)
- Submerged landscapes
The maps, at scales of 1:1,000,000, 1:250,000 and 1:100,000 or finer where the underlying data permit, are prepared for consultation and use with Geographic Information Systems, thus facilitating the visualization and joint analysis of the various levels of information. The maps have been harmonized following the INSPIRE directive and using common vocabularies, some of them newly created for the project. The maps are accompanied by information on the source, as well as associated information that allows the user to control the quality of the map. All the data and products are freely available through the project's web portal. (https://emodnet.ec.europa.eu/en/geology) and several tools have been developed to allow searching, downloading and visualization through the web site.
EMODnet-Geology has progressively consolidated by providing increasingly detailed and updated maps, adding new layers of information and expanding the geographical scope of the work program and then, stimulating the adoption of EMODnet standards in other parts of the world.
Targets
Data from the marine environment are a valuable asset and easy and rapid access to reliable and accurate marine information is of vital importance for industries, decision-making bodies and scientific research. These data are a vital component of seafloor habitat maps, and are essential tools in marine spatial planning, coastline protection, offshore installation design, environmental conservation, risk management and resource mapping, development of policies and legislation to protect vulnerable areas of our coasts and oceans. Likewise, better quality and more easily accessible marine data is a prerequisite for further sustainable economic development, the so-called ‘Blue Growth’ and to support the Energy Transition.
Because of these reasons, the European Commission addressed the development of the European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet), where the geological surveys organizations of all the maritime countries of the European Union play an important role. The Instituto Geológico y Minero de España joined the Consortium that carries out the project in 2013.
Activities
- Elaboration of marine geological maps of the Spanish continental margin and abyssal plains
- Coordination of geological mapping in the Caribbean Sea
WP3
Seabed Substrate Map and Sediment Rates Map
The objective of the project is to provide standardized and harmonized marine geological information and the creation of thematic maps of the European seas. All data, information and maps are available free of charge through the project's web portal.
Elaboration of seabed substrate maps and rock outcrops at different scales and rock outcrops at different scales and associated information. The digital maps have been made according to the formats and standards established in the EMODnet-Geology project. The project uses a modified Folk's sediment classification in which a hierarchy of 5, 7 and 16 classes is established. A map with information on recent sedimentation rates (last decades, approximately since 1900) has also been elaborated.
WP4
Quaternary, Pre-Quaternary and Geomorphological Maps
The objective of the project is to provide standardized and harmonized marine geological information and the creation of thematic maps of the European seas. All data, information and maps are available free of charge through the project's web portal.
Elaboration of the Quaternary and Pre-Quaternary maps with information related to the distribution of units, ages, lithology and genesis (geological processes and environment) and Geomorphological Map with the main morphological features of the continental margin and abyssal plain at a scale of 1:250 000. The preparation of the digital maps has been carried out according to the formats and standards established in the EMODnet-Geology project.
WP5
Coastal Behavour Maps
The objective of the project is to provide standardized and harmonized marine geological information and the creation of thematic maps of the European seas. All data, information and maps are available free of charge through the project's web portal.
Elaboration of coastal types of maps, coastline migration (accretion and erosion) determined from satellite and other methods and coastal vulnerability studies. The production of digital maps has been carried out according to the formats and standards established in the EMODnet-Geology project.
WP6
Geological Events Maps
The objective of the project is to provide standardized and harmonized marine geological information and the creation of thematic maps of the European seas.
All data, information and maps are available free of charge through the project's web portal.
Elaboration of maps of volcanism, submarine landslides, Quaternary faults, earthquakes, tsunamis and fluid emissions with associated information. The production of digital maps has been carried out according to the formats and standards established in the EMODnet-Geology project.
WP7
Coordination meetings of the Working Group in teh Caribbean Sea
The objective of the project is to provide standardized and harmonized marine geological information and the creation of thematic maps of the European seas. Data and products are freely available through the project's web portal.
Coordination and training meetings with the Caribbean Caribbean Working Group for the elaboration of the different marine thematic maps in this region. The production of the digital maps has been carried out in accordance with the formats and standards established in the EMODnet-Geology project.
WP8
Submerged Landscapes
The objective of the project is to provide standardized and harmonized marine geological information and the creation of thematic maps of the European seas. All data, information and maps are available free of charge through the project's web portal.
Compilation and mapping of submerged features and indicators related to or generated by sea level changes on the continental shelf (dating, terraces and other geomorphological features, etc.) that contribute to reconstruct the location of ancient coastlines.
Collaborators
Involved departments
Involved groups
Research Group on Paleontology of Terrestrial and Marine Ecosystems: Response to the Biotic and Environmental Crises of the Phanerozoic
(GI-PETEMA)
Publications
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