European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet): Human Activities
Original (non-English) name
Acronym
EMODnet Human Activities
Citation
Abstract
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 20 different themes.
Data on marine and maritime human activities are essential for effectively managing our seas and oceans in a sustainable way. This is becoming increasingly necessary due to growing population size and greater demand for resources, combined with advances in technology, resulting in a huge increase in the number and extent of marine and maritime human activities. These range from established activities such as fisheries and shipping to more recent activity such as construction of offshore energy facilities. Whilst there is considerable data available on these activities it is often only available on a per country, regional or sector-by-sector basis.
The portal is based on free, open-source technology, using both MapServer and OpenLayers. MapServer is used as the geographic data rendering engine. MapServer is designed to render vector and raster data using advanced cartographic output. OpenLayers is a map viewing library that provides a JavaScript API which makes it easy to incorporate maps from a variety of sources into a webpage or application and configure map tools. The portal uses MySQL database technology to hold and serve the GIS data. Web Feature Services will be used to allow request for geographical features across the web using platform-independent calls.