Chapter 1 of 4
Mapping and data
Where are the habitats, and how do we know?
Where Europe's marine habitats are, and how we know: the survey methods that see the seabed, how maps are checked and named, and where the data lives.
3 paths
About this chapter
What this chapter covers
Restoration starts with a map. This chapter explains how the habitats of European seas are surveyed and mapped: from satellite imagery in clear shallow water to acoustic surveys in deeper water, and the divers and cameras that check what the instruments see.
It also covers what turns a survey into a map others can use: a shared habitat classification (EUNIS), a statement of how confident each part of the map is, and open repositories such as EMODnet where maps and data are published and reused.
The state of the habitats, what restoring them costs and where to do it are left to the next chapters. The guided paths here go from a first introduction for curious readers to the full survey chain for practitioners.
Questions it answers
- Why do we need a habitat map before planning any restoration?
- Which survey method fits a given depth and water clarity?
- How do divers and cameras check that a map is right?
- How is a mapped habitat named so other teams can compare maps?
- Where can existing European habitat maps and data be found?
At a glance
What you will find inside
- guided paths
- 3
- pages
- 7
- to read every page
- 42 min
- sources
- 8
Pages by level
- Introductory · 4
- Intermediate · 3
Paths written for
- Planners and public officers
- Researchers
- Students
- Curious citizens
Sources by type
Guided paths in this chapter
Each path is a short route through the pages of this chapter, on one topic, for a kind of reader. Pick the one that fits.
Habitat mapping
- Guided paths Sample
Map a meadow from scratch
The survey chain in four steps: choose the sensors, read the sound, check on the seabed, name what you found.
For Researchers, Students
4 steps · 27 min - Guided paths Sample
First steps in habitat mapping
Why maps come first, how divers check them, and where anyone can look at them.
For Curious citizens, Students
3 steps · 15 min
Other paths
Go deeper
Sources in this chapter
The papers, datasets and guidelines cited by the pages above.
- Database
EUNIS habitat classification
The European reference system for naming habitats, from broad seabed types to specific communities.
- Database
EMODnet Bathymetry: European seabed depth model
Harmonised depth data for European seas, the base layer of most habitat maps.
- Paper
Seagrass meadows (Posidonia oceanica) distribution and trajectories of change
Mediterranean-wide map of Posidonia meadows and how their extent has changed. Sample record that shows how a paper with a DOI appears.
- Geoportal
EMODnet Seabed Habitats
European portal of broad-scale seabed habitat maps and survey data.