The European Atlas of the Seas is an easy-to-use and interactive web-based atlas on the coasts and seas within and around

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and provides information on Europe's marine environment. It is freely accessible on the internet. The latest version of the Atlas was released on the 16 September 2020 in the 24 official languages of the European Union. The Atlas is provided by the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...

, Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, in the context of the implementation of the integrated maritime policy Integrated Maritime Policy
European Union (Communication 'An Integrated Maritime Policy for the European Union', COM(2007) 575 final, 10/10/2007). Other names: European atlas of the oceans, European coastal atlas, European maritime atlas, European marine atlas

Purpose

The European Atlas of the Seas brings statistical data in a comprehensive way to professionals, students and anyone interested in learning more about Europe's seas and coasts, their environment, related human activities and European policies.

Content

The European Atlas of the Seas offers a diverse range of information on topics. Users can view predefined and ready to use maps, covering topics such as environment, tourism, security, energy, transport, litter, sea bottom, fishing activity, aquaculture, and much more. Users can also benefit from an enriched catalogue with more than 250 map layers, covering a wide range of topics, to explore, collate and create their own maps. These maps can be printed, shared and embedded in articles or presentations. The Atlas is the ideal tool for schools, researchers and professionals, or anyone wishing to know more about the European seas and its coastal areas. The Atlas is an Open Data platform and benefits from the important contributions of many data providers. These are primarily the European Commission and its agencies (European Environment Agency, Eurostat,…), as well as the European Marine Observation and Data Network ( MODnet, which is a network of organisations supported by the EU's integrated maritime policy. The information source and date appears in each map's description.

Geographical coverage

The European Atlas of the Seas covers the seas and oceans within and around Europe: *

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, including the Celtic Sea, the

Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay (), known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay ( es, Golfo de Vizcaya, eu, Bizkaiko Golkoa), and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony (french: Golfe de Gascogne, oc, Golf de Gasconha, br, Pleg-mor Gwaskogn), ...

, and the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian ...

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

* Outermost regions of the European Union *

White Sea The White Sea (russian: Белое море, ''Béloye móre''; Karelian and fi, Vienanmeri, lit. Dvina Sea; yrk, Сэрако ямʼ, ''Serako yam'') is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is s ...

History

References

External links