Reference · built on requestCommons signalAviation & marine

EMODnet

European bathymetry, vessel density, ocean physics, chemistry, geology, biology, and seabed habitat layers over OGC web services.

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About

EMODnet, the European Marine Observation and Data Network, is managed by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries and funded by EMFAF. Seven thematic lots publish harmonised layers for European seas: Bathymetry, Biology, Chemistry, Geology, Human Activities, Physics, and Seabed Habitats. Each lot exposes WMS, WFS, WCS, or WMTS services, several add ERDDAP, THREDDS, or REST, and a central GeoNetwork catalogue with a CSW endpoint indexes the products.

Through Fibric, an operator queries the layers around a site, a cable route, or an anchorage and proposes a plan, a permit note, or a hold for your approval, with the layer name and query on the record.

This is a reference listing. It documents what Fibric would read from EMODnet and what it could propose, based on the publisher's published interfaces. Fibric builds it under a managed deployment when you request it; selecting it here installs nothing.

Inputs

  • Bathymetry: the EMODnet Digital Bathymetry DTM and survey coverage over ows.emodnet-bathymetry.eu as WMS, WFS, and WCS, WMTS tiles, and rest.emodnet-bathymetry.eu
  • Human Activities: Vessel Density Map and Route Density Map rasters, Main Ports, Cables, Pipelines, Aquaculture, Energy, and Dredging over ows.emodnet-humanactivities.eu
  • Physics: data products and gridded products through prod-geoserver.emodnet-physics.eu and the ERDDAP at prod-erddap.emodnet-physics.eu
  • Chemistry: eutrophication, contaminants, and litter layers, with ERDDAP and THREDDS access
  • Geology: seabed substrate, sea-floor bedrock, coastal behaviour, marine minerals, and submerged landscapes from drive.emodnet-geology.eu
  • Seabed Habitats and Biology: habitat maps and species occurrence over ows.emodnet-seabedhabitats.eu and geo.vliz.be
  • Product metadata from the GeoNetwork catalogue and its CSW 2.0.2 endpoint: GetCapabilities, GetRecords, and GetRecordById

Proposed actions

Read-only. This feed informs operators; it changes nothing.

Proposed actions are target capabilities. Every action runs propose-first and needs a validated deployment and the appropriate permissions.

What you can build

  • Check seabed works against the map before a permit

    Before a cable pull or a dredge, the operator queries substrate, habitats, cables, pipelines, and area designations at the site and proposes the permit checklist and constraints for your review, with the layers cited.

    With Permit Check

  • Size traffic near a new facility

    The operator reads monthly vessel density by ship type for the cells around a terminal or anchorage and proposes a demand outlook and berth pattern for your approval.

    With Demand Outlook, Dock Schedule

  • Prepare a coastal site for the season

    Using bathymetry, coastal behaviour, and physics products, the operator drafts exposure notes and preparation steps for a marina or works site and leaves the queries it ran on the record.

    With Storm Prep

Requirements

  • An OGC client for WMS 1.3.0, WFS 2.0.0, WCS 2.0.1, or WMTS 1.0.0; EMODnet offers Python and R tutorials and the emodnet.wfs R package
  • The thematic endpoint for each layer; services are hosted per lot on different domains, listed on the web service documentation page
  • Attribution as the terms of use word it, naming EMODnet, DG MARE, and EMFAF, or the data originator for individual datasets
  • A check of each dataset's metadata for originator-specific licences or use restrictions
Authentication
None. The OGC web services, ERDDAP endpoints, and the GeoNetwork catalogue are open without a key or account.

Limits

  • EMODnet data products are CC BY 4.0, but individual datasets can carry their originators' own licences; the metadata record governs
  • Quality varies considerably by dataset and is the responsibility of the data originator; EMODnet gives no warranty
  • The Vessel Density Map is updated yearly from purchased AIS and covers 2017 to 2024; satellite data thinned from June 2024
  • Services are spread across many hosts; monitor.emodnet.eu reports availability per service

Access and pricing

Reference listing. Public feed access is separate from Fibric integration. If you request this feed, your quote covers the build, usage, and support.

Request EMODnet ↗

Questions and answers

What licence covers EMODnet data?
Data products created by EMODnet are owned by the EU and licensed under Creative Commons CC BY 4.0, free of restrictions of use and free of costs. Individual datasets may carry their originators' licences, so check the metadata record before reuse.
How is the Vessel Density Map built?
It is created for EMODnet from AIS data purchased yearly from Collecte Localisation Satellites, ORBCOMM, and vesseltracker.com. The GeoTIFF grid has 1x1 km cells over EU waters and some neighbouring areas, expressed in hours per square kilometre per month, by month and by ship type.
Which services are available?
Each thematic lot publishes WMS 1.3.0 and WFS 2.0.0, and most add WCS 2.0.1 and WMTS 1.0.0. Chemistry and Physics add ERDDAP, Chemistry adds THREDDS, and Bathymetry adds a REST API. The central catalogue is a GeoNetwork with a CSW 2.0.2 endpoint.
Ask about EMODnet

Ask about the capabilities and requirements in this listing.

For project-specific requirements, contact Fibric.

This Commons signal listing is developed, published, and supported by Fibric. It reads public data published by European Marine Observation and Data Network for the European Commission DG MARE (emodnet.ec.europa.eu). Upstream agencies and projects are the property of their respective owners, who are not affiliated with Fibric and do not sponsor or endorse this listing. Trademark policy