Ireland’s Marine Atlas is developed and maintained by the Marine Institute with funding by the Government of Ireland. This work is part supported by the Irish Government and the European Maritime & Fisheries Fund as part of the EMFF Operational Programme for 2014-2020. The atlas provides a one-stop-shop to view and download marine environmental data relevant to reporting under Ireland’s Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). The aim of the European Union’s MSFD directive is to protect more effectively the marine environment across Europe through the establishment of “good marine waters”. Data in Ireland’s Marine Atlas has been guided by the European Directive on harmonising environmental data across Europe within a spatial data infrastructure known as INSPIRE. INSPIRE Data Specifications (Data Models) have been used to manage data to the categories visible under THEMES in the atlas. Many of the layers displayed in the Atlas are also used in the National Marine Planning Framework (NMPF). This framework aims to bring together all marine-based human activities, outlining the government’s vision, objectives and marine planning policies for each marine activity. The NMPF report details how these marine activities will interact with each other in an ocean space that is under increasing spatial pressure, ensuring the sustainable use of our marine resources to 2040. Please read the following information carefully as it sets out the terms and conditions that govern the use of products and services on this website. Once you have read these terms and conditions click the "Agree" button at the bottom of the page to proceed. By clicking the "Agree" button you will be deemed to have accepted the terms and conditions, our legal notices and privacy statement.

The Human Activities portal was not included in the first phase of EMODnet, and its development only begun in September 2013. Nonetheless, in the previous EMODnet phase, the Human Activities team caught up with the other portals, and now work towards providing a seamless multi-resolution digital map of European waters, with the highest resolution possible. EMODnet Human Activities aims to facilitate access to existing marine data on activities carried out in EU waters, by building a single entry point for geographic information on 14 different themes. The portal makes available information such as geographical position, spatial extent of a series of activities related to the sea, their temporal variation, time when data was provided, and attributes to indicate the intensity of each activity. The data are aggregated and presented so as to preserve personal privacy and commercially-sensitive information. The data also include a time interval so that historic as well as current activities can be included. The information provided through the portal is collated from a variety of sources, harmonised and made interoperable. Data are free and free of any restrictions, in such a way as to ensure their use from a multitude of stakeholders (policy makers, researchers, students, spatial planners, etc.).

Marine research is truly multidisciplinary as evidenced by e.g. the EMODnet I, II, and III projects that have been running since 2009. EMODnet Geology has succeeded in bringing together harmonised offshore data including sea-floor geology, seabed substrates, rates of coastline migration, geological events and probabilities and mineral resources. The EMODnet Geology Portal aims at providing harmonised information on marine geology in Europe. It is one of several EMODnet portals with the purpose to strengthen blue growth in Europe.

This is a compilation of OSPAR habitat point data for the northeast Atlantic submitted by OSPAR contracting parties. The compilation is coordinated by the UK's Joint Nature Conservation Committee, working with a representative from each of the OSPAR coastal contracting parties. This public dataset does not contain records relating to sensitive species (e.g. Ostrea edulis) in specific areas, or where data are restricted from public release by the owner's use limitations. This version (v2020) was published in July 2021.

This layer shows the current known extent and distribution of live hard coral cover in European waters, collated by EMODnet Seabed Habitats. The polygons portion was last updated in 2019. The points were added in Sept 2021. Lophelia pertusa and Coral gardens are both on the OSPAR List of threatened and/or declining species and habitats. The purpose was to produce a data product that would provide the best compilation of evidence for the essential ocean variable (EOV) known as Hard coral cover and composition (sub-variable: Live hard coral cover and extent), as defined by the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS). This data product should be considered a work in progress and is not an official product.

This layer shows the current known extent and distribution of macroalgal canopy in European waters, collated by EMODnet Seabed Habitats. The polygons portion was last updated in 2019. The points were added in Sept 2021. The purpose was to produce a data product that would provide the best compilation of evidence for the essential ocean variable (EOV) known as Macroalgal canopy cover and composition (sub-variable: Areal extent), as defined by the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS). Kelp and fucoid brown algae are the dominant species that comprise macroalgal forests. This data product should be considered a work in progress and is not an official product.

HydroWASTE is a spatially explicit global database of 58,502 wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and their characteristics. This database was developed by combining national and regional datasets with auxiliary information to derive or complete missing characteristics, including the amount of people served, the flow rate of effluents, and the level of treatment of processed wastewater. The HydroSHEDS river network with streamflow estimates was used to geo-reference plant outfall locations and to assess the distribution of wastewaters at a global scale. All wastewater treatment plants are co-registered to the global river network of the HydroRIVERS database via their estimated outfall locations.

This data was obtained through a partnership with IMF, as part of IMF's World Seaborne Trade Monitoring System (Cerdeiro, Komaromi, Liu and Saeed, 2020). The data analysis was supported by the World Bank’s ESMAP and PROBLUE programs. The dataset contains 6 density layers, with vessel types aggregated to suit the needs of the WBG Offshore Wind Development Program: 1) Commercial ships 2) Fishing ships 3) Oil & Gas [note: this is just platforms, rigs, and FPSOs] 4) Passenger ships 5) Leisure vessels 6) GLOBAL ship density layers of all ship categories combined

Output of the 2019 EUSeaMap broad-scale predictive model, produced by EMODnet Seabed Habitats and aggregated into the Benthic Broad Habitat Types of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (as defined in the Commission Decision 17 May 2017). The extent of the mapped area includes the Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, Baltic Sea, and areas of the North Eastern Atlantic extending from the Canary Islands in the south to the Barents Sea in the north. The map was produced using a "top-down" modelling approach using classified habitat descriptors to determine a final output habitat. Habitat descriptors differ per region but include: - Biological zone - Energy class - Oxygen regime - Salinity regime - Seabed substrate - Riverine input Habitat descriptors (excepting Substrate) are calculated using underlying physical data and thresholds derived from statistical analyses or expert judgement on known conditions.

Seabed Habitats was one of seven themes of the European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet) initiative, funded by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund. Since its inception in 2009, EMODnet Seabed Habitats developed, improved and gradually increased the coverage of a broad-scale seabed habitat map for Europe's seabed, also known as EUSeaMap. In addition, EMODnet Seabed Habitats continued the work started by MESH and MESH Atlantic projects in collating and making available seabed habitat maps from surveys, through the EMODnet Seabed Habitats map viewer. In it's third Phase (2017-2019), EMODnet Seabed Habitats collated and provided habitat point data and the outputs of habitat distribution modelling, and the third phase has now been extended to 2021. The extended third phase of the project will: - Continue to grow Europe's only comprehensive library of habitat maps from surveys and collection of survey sample points - Create new composite data products to add to those for the Essential Ocean Variable habitats and OSPAR threatened and/or declining habitats - Update the EMODnet broad-scale seabed habitat map for Europe (EUSeaMap) using the next seabed substrate update from EMODnet Geology - Update web content with extra resources for habitat mapping, including a catalogue highlighting all the most useful data products