EMODnet geology and data harmonisation: Seafloor mapping of the Western Baltic Sea

Harmonisation of marine geological data across the EEZ , both semantically and geometrically, is key to understand geological information across national borders. There is a multitude of EEZ boundaries in the European Seas which are partly intense and partly hardly mapped. This presents a considerable challenge.

The European EMODnet geology project is running since the year 2009. One of the aims is to provide geological data of the European Seas, harmonized as far as possible and available according to FAIR data principles.

Within the workpackage seafloor geology several international teams are working on semantic and geometric data harmonisation in seven marine areas, the so-called prototype areas. One of them focusses on the Western Baltic Sea with participants from Poland, Sweden, Denmark and Germany. The data  being compiled and harmonized centrally at BGR, Germany. The heterogenity of the geological information from each of the partners derive from the following reasons: data exist in some regions in patches or ribbons, e.g. along research vessels‘ tracks, the mapping results and classifications of terms differ due to different scientific approaches, the mapping took place in different scales and at differing ages. Thus, it was crucial to set up common standards, especially controlled vocabularies based on international standards (INSPIRE Directive, IUGS) as a base and to also practically discuss and agree on the continuation of geological structures across EEZ boundaries.

The poster demonstrates differing national classifications approaches, outlines the method of agreeing on the continuation and naming of geological structures and presents the first results of a geological map of the Quaternary of the Western Baltic Sea.