AndreaBozzo/ceres-open-data-index huggingface dataset:
Beach litter - Median number of single use plastics (SUP) related items normalized per 100m & to 1 survey - EU-MSFD monitoring 2001/2023 v2025

This visualization product displays the single use plastics (SUP) related plastic items abundance of marine macro-litter (> 2.5cm) per beach per year from Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) monitoring surveys.


EMODnet Chemistry included the collection of marine litter in its 3rd phase. Since the beginning of 2018, data of beach litter have been gathered and processed in the EMODnet Chemistry Marine Litter Database (MLDB).

The harmonization of all the data has been the most challenging task considering the heterogeneity of the data sources, sampling protocols and reference lists used on a European scale.


Preliminary processings were necessary to harmonize all the data:

- Exclusion of OSPAR 1000 protocol: in order to follow the approach of OSPAR that it is not including these data anymore in the monitoring;

- Selection of MSFD surveys only (exclusion of other monitoring, cleaning and research operations);

- Exclusion of beaches without coordinates;

- Selection of SUP related items only. The list of selected items is attached to this metadata. This list was created using EU Marine Beach Litter Baselines, the European Threshold Value for Macro Litter on Coastlines and the Joint list of litter categories for marine macro-litter monitoring from JRC (these three documents are attached to this metadata). The selection was adapted to the Joint list of litter categories SUP identification and therefore contains some differences with the selection made for previously published versions of this product;

- Normalization of survey lengths to 100m & 1 survey / year: in some case, the survey length was not exactly 100m, so in order to be able to compare the abundance of litter from different beaches a normalization is applied using this formula:

Number of SUP items of the survey (normalized by 100 m) = Number of SUP related items of the survey x (100 / survey length)

Then, this normalized number of¨SUP related items is summed to obtain the total normalized number of SUP related items for each survey. Finally, the median abundance of SUP related items for each beach and year is calculated from these normalized abundances of SUP related items per survey.

Sometimes the survey length was null or equal to 0. Assuming that the MSFD protocol has been applied, the length has been set at 100m in these cases.


Percentiles 50, 75, 95 & 99 have been calculated taking into account SUP related plastic items from MSFD data for all years.


More information is available in the attached documents.


Warning: the absence of data on the map does not necessarily mean that they do not exist, but that no information has been entered in the Marine Litter Database for this area.
Baltic Sea - Beach litter aggregated datasets 2011/2023 v2024

EMODnet Chemistry aims to provide access to marine chemistry data sets and derived data products concerning eutrophication, ocean acidification, contaminants and litter. The chosen parameters are relevant for  the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), in particular for descriptors 5, 8, 9 and 10. The dataset contains standardized, harmonized and validated data collections from beach litter (monitoring and other sources). 
Datasets concerning beach and seafloor litter data are loaded in a central database after a semi-automated validation phase. Once loaded, a data assessment is performed in order to check data consistency and potential errors are corrected thanks to a feedback loop with data originators.
For beach litter, the harmonized datasets contain all unrestricted EMODnet Chemistry data on beach litter, including monitoring data, data from cleaning surveys and data from research. A relevant part of the monitoring data has been considered for assessment purposes by the European institutions and therefore is tagged as MSFD_monitoring. EMODnet beach litter data and databases are hosted and maintained by 'Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale, Division of Oceanography (OGS/NODC)' from Italy.
Data are formatted following Guidelines and forms for gathering marine litter data, which can be found at: https://doi.org/10.6092/15c0d34c-a01a-4091-91ac-7c4f561ab508
The updated vocabularies of admitted values are available at:
https://nodc.ogs.it/marinelitter/vocab
The harmonized datasets can be downloaded as EMODnet Beach litter data format  Version 7.0, which is a spreadsheet file composed of 4 sheets: beach metadata, survey metadata, animals and litter. Local_CDI field in the survey metadata sheet allows to retrieve the original data.
EMODnet Human Activities, FAO Statistical Areas for Fishery Purposes

FAO Major Fishing Areas for Statistical Purposes are arbitrary areas, the boundaries of which were determined in consultation with international fishery agencies on various considerations, including (i) the boundary of natural regions and the natural divisions of oceans and seas; (ii) the boundaries of adjacent statistical fisheries bodies already established in inter-governmental conventions and treaties; (iii) existing national practices; (iv) national boundaries; (v) the longitude and latitude grid system; (vi) the distribution of the aquatic fauna; and (vii) the distribution of the resources and the environmental conditions within an area. The rationale of the FAO Major Fishing Areas has been that the areas should, as far as possible, coincide with the areas of competence of other fishery commissions when existing. This system facilitates comparison of data, and improves the possibilities of cooperation in statistical matters in general.
Micro litter - Size of litter per net - Research and monitoring protocols 2011/2023 v2025

This visualization product displays the size of litter in percent per net per year from research and monitoring protocols.
EMODnet Chemistry included the collection of marine litter in its 3rd phase. Before 2021, there was no coordinated effort at the regional or European scale for micro-litter. Given this situation, EMODnet Chemistry proposed to adopt the data gathering and data management approach as generally applied for marine data, i.e., populating metadata and data in the CDI Data Discovery and Access service using dedicated SeaDataNet data transport formats. EMODnet Chemistry is currently the official EU collector of micro-litter data from Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) National Monitoring activities (descriptor 10).
A series of specific standard vocabularies or standard terms related to micro-litter have been added to SeaDataNet NVS (NERC Vocabulary Server) Common Vocabularies to describe the micro-litter.
European micro-litter data are collected by the National Oceanographic Data Centres (NODCs). Micro-litter map products are generated from NODCs data after a test of the aggregated collection including data and data format checks and data harmonization.

A filter is applied to represent only micro-litter sampled according to research and monitoring protocols as MSFD monitoring.

To calculate percentages for each size, formula applied is:
Size (%) = (∑number of particles of each size)*100 / (∑number of particles of all size)
When the number of microlitters was not filled or was equal to zero, it was not possible to calculate the percentage.

Standard vocabularies for microliter sizes are taken from Seadatanet's H03 library (https://vocab.seadatanet.org/v_bodc_vocab_v2/search.asp?lib=H03 ). Different protocols with different degrees of precision were used to classify the sampled micro-litters. Consequently, on the map, the distribution of micro-litter in the size classes depends on the protocol applied during the survey.

Warning: the absence of data on the map does not necessarily mean that they do not exist, but that no information has been entered in the National Oceanographic Data Centre (NODC) for this area.
Baltic Sea - Seafloor litter aggregated datasets 2011/2024 v2024

EMODnet Chemistry aims to provide access to marine chemistry data sets and derived data products concerning eutrophication, ocean acidification, contaminants and litter. The chosen parameters are relevant for  the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), in particular for descriptors 5, 8, 9 and 10. The datasets contain standardized, harmonized and validated data collections from seafloor litter. 
Datasets concerning seafloor litter data are loaded in a central database after a semi-automated validation phase. Once loaded, a data assessment is performed in order to check data consistency and potential errors are corrected thanks to a feedback loop with data originators.
EMODnet seafloor litter data and database are hosted and maintained by ‘Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale, Division of Oceanography (OGS/NODC)’ from Italy.
For seafloor litter, the harmonized datasets contain all unrestricted EMODnet Chemistry data on seafloor litter data.
Data are formatted following Guidelines and forms for gathering marine litter data, which can be found at: https://dx.doi.org/10.6092/15c0d34c-a01a-4091-91ac-7c4f561ab508
The updated vocabularies of admitted values are available at:
https://vocab.seadatanet.org/search
https://vocab.ices.dk/
The harmonized datasets can be downloaded as EMODnet Sea-floor litter data format version 1.0, which is a csv file, tab separated values.
Beach Litter - Number of surveys & temporal coverage per beach - Other sources 2001/2021 v2021

This visualization product displays the number of non-MSFD monitoring surveys, research & cleaning operations and the associated temporal coverage per beach.


EMODnet Chemistry included the collection of marine litter in its 3rd phase. Since the beginning of 2018, data of beach litter have been gathered and processed in the EMODnet Chemistry Marine Litter Database (MLDB).
The harmonization of all the data has been the most challenging task considering the heterogeneity of the data sources, sampling protocols and reference lists used on a European scale.


Preliminary processing were necessary to harmonize all the data:
		- Exclusion of OSPAR 1000 protocol: in order to follow the approach of OSPAR that it is not including these data anymore in the monitoring;
		- Selection of surveys from non-MSFD monitoring, cleaning and research operations;
		- Exclusion of beaches without coordinates.


More information is available in the attached documents.


Warning: the absence of data on the map doesn't necessarily mean that they don't exist, but that no information has been entered in the Marine Litter Database for this area.
Micro litter - Spatial distribution of the sampling effort (period 2017-2022) - Research and monitoring protocols v2025

This visualization product displays the spatial distribution of the sampling effort over the six-years' period 2017-2022 from research and monitoring protocols.
EMODnet Chemistry included the collection of marine litter in its 3rd phase. Before 2021, there was no coordinated effort at the regional or European scale for micro-litter. Given this situation, EMODnet Chemistry proposed to adopt the data gathering and data management approach as generally applied for marine data, i.e., populating metadata and data in the CDI Data Discovery and Access service using dedicated SeaDataNet data transport formats. EMODnet Chemistry is currently the official EU collector of micro-litter data from Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) National Monitoring activities (descriptor 10).
A series of specific standard vocabularies or standard terms related to micro-litter have been added to SeaDataNet NVS (NERC Vocabulary Server) Common Vocabularies to describe the micro-litter.
European micro-litter data are collected by the National Oceanographic Data Centres (NODCs). Micro-litter map products are generated from NODCs data after a test of the aggregated collection including data and data format checks and data harmonization.

A filter is applied to represent only micro-litter samplings carried out according to research and monitoring protocols as MSFD monitoring.

The spatial distribution was then determined by calculating the number of times each cell was sampled during the period 2017-2022. The corresponding total distance (kms) sampled in each cell is also provided in the attribute table.

Warning: the absence of data on the map does not necessarily mean that they do not exist, but that no information has been entered in the National Oceanographic Data Centre (NODC) for this area.
Beach litter - Total abundance (Nb. Items) of litter aggregated over a given period per beach - EU-MSFD monitoring 2001/2021 v2021

This visualization product displays the total abundance of marine macro-litter (> 2.5cm) per beach, per 100m & to 1 survey aggregated over the period 2001 to 2020 from Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) monitoring surveys.

EMODnet Chemistry included the collection of marine litter in its 3rd phase. Since the beginning of 2018, data of beach litter have been gathered and processed in the EMODnet Chemistry Marine Litter Database (MLDB).
The harmonization of all the data has been the most challenging task considering the heterogeneity of the data sources, sampling protocols and reference lists used on a European scale.


Preliminary processing were necessary to harmonize all the data:
		- Exclusion of OSPAR 1000 protocol: in order to follow the approach of OSPAR that it is not including these data anymore in the monitoring;
		- Selection of MSFD surveys only (exclusion of other monitoring, cleaning and research operations);
		- Exclusion of beaches without coordinates;
		- Some categories & some litter types like organic litter, small fragments (paraffin and wax; items > 2.5cm) and pollutants have been removed. The list of selected items is attached to this metadata (total abundance list). This list was created using EU Marine Beach Litter Baselines and EU Threshold Value for Macro Litter on Coastlines from JRC (these two documents are attached to this metadata);
		- Normalization of survey lengths to 100m & 1 survey / year: in some cases, the survey length was not exactly 100m, so in order to be able to compare the abundance of litter from different beaches a normalization is applied using this formula:
		Number of items (normalized by 100 m) = Number of litter per items x (100 / survey length)
		Then, this normalized number of items is summed to obtain the total normalized number of litter for each survey. Finally, a median is calculated over the entire period among all these total numbers of litter per 100m calculated for each survey. 
		Sometimes the survey length was null or equal to 0. Assuming that the MSFD protocol has been applied, the length has been set at 100m in these cases.


The size of each circle on this map increases with the calculated median number of marine litter per beach, per 100m & to 1 survey.
The median litter abundance values displayed in the legend correspond to the 50 and 99 percentiles and the maximum value.

More information is available in the attached documents.


Warning:
- the absence of data on the map doesn't necessarily mean that they don't exist, but that no information has been entered in the Marine Litter Database for this area.
- This map was created to give an idea of the distribution of beach litter between 2001 and 2021 in a synthetic manner. NOT ALL BEACHES MAY HAVE DATA FOR THE ENTIRE PERIOD, SO IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO MAKE A COMPARISON BETWEEN BEACHES.
Micro litter - Type of litter per net - Other specific protocols 2011/2021 v2025

This visualization product displays the type of litter in percent per net per year from specific protocols different from research and monitoring protocols.
EMODnet Chemistry included the collection of marine litter in its 3rd phase. Before 2021, there was no coordinated effort at the regional or European scale for micro-litter. Given this situation, EMODnet Chemistry proposed to adopt the data gathering and data management approach as generally applied for marine data, i.e., populating metadata and data in the CDI Data Discovery and Access service using dedicated SeaDataNet data transport formats. EMODnet Chemistry is currently the official EU collector of micro-litter data from Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) National Monitoring activities (descriptor 10).
A series of specific standard vocabularies or standard terms related to micro-litter have been added to SeaDataNet NVS (NERC Vocabulary Server) Common Vocabularies to describe the micro-litter.
European micro-litter data are collected by the National Oceanographic Data Centres (NODCs). Micro-litter map products are generated from NODCs data after a test of the aggregated collection including data and data format checks and data harmonization.

A filter is applied to represent only micro-litter sampled according to a very specific protocol such as the Volvo Ocean Race (VOR) or Oceaneye.

To calculate percentages for each type, formula applied is:
Type (%) = (∑number of particles of each type)*100 / (∑number of particles of all type)
When the number of micro-litters was not filled or was equal to zero, it was not possible to calculate the percentage.

Standard vocabularies for micro-litter types are taken from Seadatanet's H01 library (https://vocab.seadatanet.org/v_bodc_vocab_v2/search.asp?lib=H01). Some morphological types of micro-litters may have been sampled but were not defined by the protocole applied during the survey. They are represented as « undefined micro-litter items ».

Warnings: - the absence of data on the map does not necessarily mean that they do not exist, but that no information has been entered in the National Oceanographic Data Centre (NODC) for this area.
- since 03/07/2023, the preferred label « Undefined micro-litter items » has been integrated into the H01 library whereas the labels « microplastic items », « non-plastic man-made micro-particles (e.g. glass, metal, tar) » and «non-plastic filaments (natural fibres, rubber) »  have been deprecated. When defined, the material or polymer type can be checked directly in the source data.
Beach litter - Composition of litter according to material categories in percent normalized per beach per year - Other sources 2001/2024 v2025

This visualization product displays marine macro-litter (> 2.5cm) material categories percentages per beach per year from non-MSFD monitoring surveys, research & cleaning operations.

EMODnet Chemistry included the collection of marine litter in its 3rd phase. Since the beginning of 2018, data of beach litter have been gathered and processed in the EMODnet Chemistry Marine Litter Database (MLDB).
The harmonization of all the data has been the most challenging task considering the heterogeneity of the data sources, sampling protocols and reference lists used on a European scale.


Preliminary processings were necessary to harmonize all the data:
		- Exclusion of OSPAR 1000 protocol: in order to follow the approach of OSPAR that it is not including these data anymore in the monitoring;
		- Selection of surveys from non-MSFD monitoring, cleaning and research operations;
		- Exclusion of beaches without coordinates;
		- Exclusion of surveys without associated length;
		- Some litter types like organic litter, small fragments (paraffin and wax; items > 2.5cm) and pollutants have been removed. The list of selected items is attached to this metadata. This list was created using EU Marine Beach Litter Baselines, the European Threshold Value for Macro Litter on Coastlines and the Joint list of litter categories for marine macro-litter monitoring from JRC (these three documents are attached to this metadata);
		- Exclusion of the "feaces" category: it concerns more exactly the items of dog excrements in bags of the OSPAR (item code: 121) and ITA (item code: IT59) reference lists;
		- Normalization of survey lengths to 100m & 1 survey / year: in some case, the survey length was not 100m, so in order to be able to compare the abundance of litter from different beaches a normalization is applied using this formula:
		Number of items (normalized by 100 m) = Number of litter per items x (100 / survey length)
		Then, this normalized number of items is summed to obtain the total normalized number of litter for each survey.

To calculate the percentage for each material category, formula applied is:
Material (%)  = (∑number of items (normalized at 100 m) of each material category)*100 / (∑number of items (normalized at 100 m)  of all categories)

The material categories differ between reference lists (OSPAR, TSG-ML, UNEP, UNEP-MARLIN, JLIST). In order to apply a common procedure for all the surveys, the material categories have been harmonized.

More information is available in the attached documents.


Warning: the absence of data on the map does not necessarily mean that they do not exist, but that no information has been entered in the Marine Litter Database for this area.
Seafloor litter - Density per trawl normalized per km² 2011/2021 v2021

This visualization product displays the density of seafloor litter per trawl.

EMODnet Chemistry included the collection of marine litter in its 3rd phase. Since the beginning of 2018, data of seafloor litter collected by international fish-trawl surveys have been gathered and processed in the EMODnet Chemistry Marine Litter Database (MLDB). 
The harmonization of all the data has been the most challenging task considering the heterogeneity of the data sources, sampling protocols (OSPAR and MEDITS protocols) and reference lists used on a European scale. Moreover, within the same protocol, different gear types are deployed during fishing bottom trawl surveys.

In cases where the wingspread and/or number of items were unknown, data could not be used because these fields are needed to calculate the density. Data collected before 2011 are affected by this filter.

When the distance reported in the data was null, it was calculated from:
- the ground speed and the haul duration using this formula: Distance (km) = Haul duration (h) * Ground speed (km/h);
- the trawl coordinates if the ground speed and the haul duration were not filled in.

The swept area is calculated from the wingspread (which depends on the fishing gear type) and the distance trawled:
Swept area (km²) = Distance (km) * Wingspread (km)

Densities have been calculated on each trawl and year using the following computation:
Density (number of items per km²) = ∑Number of items / Swept area (km²)

Percentiles 50, 75, 95 & 99 have been calculated taking into account data for all years.

More information on data processing and calculation are detailed in the document attached.

Warning: the absence of data on the map doesn't necessarily mean that they don't exist, but that no information has been entered in the Marine Litter Database for this area.