OBSERVER: An in-depth look at the Copernicus Coastal Hub
Imagine a summer jog along the sandy beaches of the Algarve in Portugal, a boat trip around Norwegian fjords or a leisurely walk to see the pink flamingos of the Camargue in France. Diverse and full of life, Europe's coastal zones are much admired for their biodiversity and the benefits they provide to people's livelihoods. Copernicus helps us to study and understand individual aspects of these regions; for example, the Copernicus Marine Service (CMEMS) provides products on ocean parameters such as water quality or sea surface temperature, while the Copernicus Land Service (CLMS) provides data on salt marshes. But to fully understand a coastal zone - and the impact of human activity on it - we need to be able to consider and analyse the different characteristics of the zones and the complex interplay of variables that can impact these unique landscapes. The recently launched Copernicus Coastal Hub aims to facilitate this kind of comprehensive analysis by providing an integrated platform for accessing a wide range of coastal data.
In this week's Observer, we'll take you on a tour of the hub and see how it's improving user experience and streamlining access to coastal zone data.
A Natura 2000 site, the Camargue in France is home to Europe's largest colony of pink flamingos, as well as many other priority species listed under EU nature directives. Credit: European Union, Copernicus Sentinel-2 imagery
About the Coastal Hub
Shaped by the dynamic interplay of sea and land, coastal zones are often densely populated. Rich in biodiversity and resources, they support important ecosystems and vital industries such as tourism, fisheries and shipping. These areas, characterised by intense variability at the sea-land interface, are vulnerable to natural hazards due to the energy of waves and wind. These impacts are intensifying as the climate changes, leading to more extreme weather events and significant human and economic losses.
Established by the European Commission, the Copernicus Coastal Hub serves as a single access point to Copernicus knowledge and applications on climate, ocean, land and emergency, with a focus on Europe's coastal regions. Around 150 Earth Observation-based products are available free of charge in the hub catalogue, providing a wide range of datasets from satellite imagery to in situ observations, giving a comprehensive view of the coastal environment.
The hub facilitates data access for new and existing users and supports policy implementation from national to local levels. While it's coordinated by the Copernicus Marine Service [1], the hub aims to promote learning between all Copernicus services and facilitate the process of identifying thematic needs and gaps.
Exploring the hub
As soon as you enter the hub, you are presented with links to some basic background information on its content — the different data sets available as well as some use cases, in which you'll find applications that businesses and researchers are using to monitor, manage, and improve coastal areas across Europe. Common areas of interest include land-sea interactions, water reservoirs, pollution, eutrophication, marine protected areas and maritime spatial planning. However, if you already know what topic and subject you'd like to explore within the hub, you can go straight to the data viewer.
The data viewer is an incredibly useful tool for exploring coastal zones across Europe. It lets users access EO data from a vast portfolio of Copernicus products and services, visualised directly on a map. By including products based on satellite and in situ data (e.g. data collected by buoys in the sea) from all five thematic areas and services, the viewer provides both up-to-date and comprehensive information about coastal regions.
Once you've opened the viewer, you can browse the catalogue of products and add any new layer to the map view. If you're unfamiliar with a product and want to learn more before adding it to the data viewer, you can click on the 'i' button and read a full description of the product, its temporal and geographical extent, use cases, and other features.
Navigating the data viewer
Imagine, for example, that you're scouring a coastal area in the Mediterranean for possible locations to open a new aquaculture farm. Choosing the perfect location means considering a number of factors to ensure the best conditions for the success of your venture.
Factors such as water quality, site accessibility, impact on biodiversity are important in the selection of an aquaculture site. Credit: Lucut Razvan, Unsplash
One aspect you need to pay close attention to is water quality, which includes variables such as ocean colour, suspended matter and turbidity or water temperature and salinity. At the same time, you'll need to secure the infrastructure and check if extreme weather, like extreme waves, are likely to occur. You'll also want to make sure you're not too close to runoff from agricultural land, as pollution from pesticides and fertilisers can harm fish and shellfish. These are just a few of the many variables that must be considered when selecting a location for an aquaculture farm. As these data are produced by different Copernicus services, checking them individually would mean going to the website of each service to access each dataset.
To assess water temperature and salinity using the Coastal Hub data viewer you simply select the "Sea Water Potential Temperature" and "Sea Water Salinity" layers of the Mediterranean Sea Physical Analysis and Forecast product. To find a place away from where frequent high waves are uncommon, you can add a layer for this, and finally, you can activate the coastal land cover/land use layer, which shows you what land is used for agricultural purposes so you can avoid locations too close to these areas. Now you have a global view of the Mediterranean and are ready to choose the perfect spot!
The Copernicus Coastal Hub Data Viewer is a powerful tool to navigate through different products on different aspects of Europe's coastal zones. Credit: Coastal Hub, Mercator Ocean International
The Copernicus Coastal Hub is a ground-breaking platform that offers a new perspective on the study of Europe's coastal zones. By bringing together data from different Copernicus services, it creates a holistic view that promotes a better understanding of the complex relationships between human activities and the environment in coastal regions.
References and notes
- The Copernicus Marine Service is implemented by Mercator Ocean International.