Sea level is known to have fluctuated by more than 100 metres over repeated glacial cycles resulting in recurring exposure, inundation and migration of coastlines not only across Europe, but worldwide. Landscape response to these changes in sea level, and the preservation of these features on continental shelves around Europe, are an invaluable resource for improving our understanding of human history and environmental change over geological time. More than 10,000 features representing 27 classes of submerged landscape and palaeoenvironmental indicator ranging from mapped and modelled palaeocoastlines, evidence for submerged forests and peats, thickness of post-Last Glacial Maximum sediments and submerged freshwater springs have been collated

These datasets represent a systematic collection of harmonized data concerning geological events. GIS layers display data on the Portal at a resolution of 1:100,000 and 1:250,000 scale concerning earthquakes, submarine landslides, volcanoes, tsunamis, fluid emissions and Quaternary tectonics, subdivided according to their geometry (polygons, points and lines). They provide information on the type of events which have taken place in the past and might potentially occur again. Where available, details include dimensions, state of activity, morphological type and lithology. The elaboration of guidelines to compile GIS layers was aimed at identifying parameters to be used to thoroughly characterize each event. Particular attention has been devoted to the definition of the Attribute tables in order to achieve the best degree of harmonization and standardization complying with the European INSPIRE Directive. Shapefiles can be downloaded from the Portal and used locally in order to browse through the details of the different features, consulting their Attribute tables. Information contained therein provide an inventory of available data which can be fruitfully applied in the management of coastal areas and support planning of further surveys. By combining the diverse information contained in the different layers, it might be possible to elaborate additional thematic maps which could support further research. Moreover, they potentially represent a useful tool to increase awareness of the hazards which might affect coastal areas. Data sources include detailed information held by the Project Partners plus any further publicly available third-party data (last update Sep. 2021). All products delivered by Partners have been collated, verified and validated in order to achieve the best degree of harmonization and INSPIRE compliance. Each layer is complemented by an Attribute table which provides, in addition to the location, type of geological event and its references (mandatory), further information for each occurrence (where available). Since features considered within WP6 have a scattered distribution, the additional layer “Geological events distribution” provides basic information on areas of occurrences, no occurrences and no data for the marine areas surrounding European countries.

The EMODnet (European Marine Observation and Data network) Geology project collects and harmonizes marine geological data from the European sea areas to support decision making and sustainable marine spatial planning. The project partnership consists mainly of the marine departments of the geological surveys of Europe (through the Association of European Geological Surveys-EuroGeoSurveys), which have assembled marine geological information at various scales from all European sea areas (e.g., the White Sea, Baltic Sea, Barents Sea, the Iberian Coast, and the Mediterranean Sea within EU waters), the Caspian Sea and the Caribbean Sea. EMODnet seabed substrate data products include datasets at 1:1 000 000, 1:250 000, 1:100 000 and high-resolution scales (1:1 500, 1:5 000, 1:10 000, 1:15 000, 1:20 000, 1:25 000, 1:30 000, 1:45 000, 1: 50 000, 1:60 000, 1:70 000). Traditionally, European countries have conducted their marine geological surveys according to their own national standards and classified substrates on the grounds of their national classification schemes. These national classifications are harmonised into a shared EMODnet schema using Folk's sediment triangle with a hierarchy of 16, 7 and 5 substrate classes. The data describes the seabed substrate from the uppermost 30 cm of the sediment column. The datasets have been compiled at different scales from background information that depends on the original producer. In cases, the data has been generalized into a target scales. Coarser scale data (1M, 250k and 100k) describes the seabed substrate at a general level only and is not suitable for a detailed analysis. High-resolution material includes multiple scales from 1:1 500 to 1:70 000 and the user should assess its suitability for the intended purpose. The smallest cartographic unit within the data is about 4 km2 at 1:1M, 0,3km2 at 1:250k and 0,05km2 at 1:100k scale. Further information about the EMODnet Geology project is available on the centralized EMODnet portal https://emodnet.ec.europa.eu/en/geology

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 human uses of the ocean.