Data sources

Most of the data used in the MSP Challenge Simulation Platform is geodata, data associated with a geographical location. Exception to this was the data used to set-up the starting conditions for the shipping simulations in the 3 different editions developed. For the North Sea and Clyde Marine Region we used data from marinetraffic.com and verified the results against the shipping intensity showed in havbase.no. For the Baltic edition we used data provided by partners in the Baltic LINes project.

The geodata sources are specified per region below.

Geodata

The MSP Challenge makes use of open source of geodata sets, mainly EMODnet (www.emodnet.eu)), Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service, as well as governmental agencies that participated in the regions' corresponding projects, as specified below for each edition.

All data layers have been simplified and processed in order to be integrated in the MSP Challenge Simulation Platform.

The projection used in the platform is the Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area (ETRS89 datum).

North sea edition

Layer name	Main category	Sub category	Source	Last update
Countries	Management	Governance	Adapted from http://www.naturalearthdata.com (for whole region).	2017/01
Country Info	Management	Governance	Wikipedia, other layers & common knowledge	2019/02
Cities	Management	Governance	Adapted from http://www.marineregions.org/downloads.php#iceser	2016/10
Topography	Management	Governance	https://land.copernicus.eu/pan-european/satellite-derived-products/eu-dem/eu-dem-v1.1	2018/04
Rivers	Management	Governance	http://www.naturalearthdata.com	2018/05
EEZ	Management	Governance	Adapted from http://www.marineregions.org/downloads.php#iceser	2016/10
Territorial Waters Lines	Management	Governance	Adapted from http://www.marineregions.org/downloads.php#iceser	2016/10
Military Areas	Management	Governance	From old game*, and then updated from http://www.noordzeeloket.nl (for whole region)	2018/03
ICES Rectangles	Management	Governance	http://gis.ices.dk/sf/index.html?widget=StatRec	2018/04
Wind Speed	Management	Environmental conditions	http://marine.copernicus.eu/services-portfolio/access-to-products/?option=com_csw&view=details&product_id=WIND_GLO_WIND_L4_REP_OBSERVATIONS_012_003 - mean speed in 2016 at 10m height	2017/10
Currents speed	Management	Environmental conditions	http://marine.copernicus.eu/services-portfolio/access-to-products/?option=com_csw&view=details&product_id=NORTHWESTSHELF_REANALYSIS_PHY_004_009 - mean speed in 2016 at 0m height	2017/10
Wave Height	Management	Environmental conditions	http://marine.copernicus.eu/services-portfolio/access-to-products/?option=com_csw&view=details&product_id=SEALEVEL_EUR_PHY_L4_NRT_OBSERVATIONS_008_060) - significant height of the sea	2018/09
Eutrophication Status	Management	Environmental conditions	Old version of game*	NA, pre 2016
Bathymetry	Management	Environmental conditions	http://portal.emodnet-bathymetry.eu	2019/11
Sediments	Management	Environmental conditions	Old version of game*	NA, pre 2016
Sand & Gravel Availability	Management	Natural resources	Old version of game*	NA, pre 2016
Fossil Fuel Availability	Management	Natural resources	Old version of game*	NA, pre 2016
Aquaculture	Activities	Aquaculture	Old version of game*	NA, pre 2016
Ports	Activities	Shipping	Old version of game*	NA, pre 2016
Anchorages	Activities	Shipping	Old version of game* + shipping data from NorthSEE partner World Maritime University (BE and NL EEZ only)	2018/05
Wreckages	Activities	Shipping	Old version of game*	NA, pre 2016
Sand & Gravel Extraction	Activities	Shipping	Old version of game*, updated from https://www.noordzeeloket.nl/en/management/noordzeeatlas/ (2004) for the Netherlands (hand-drawn)	2018/04
Dumping areas	Activities	Shipping	EMODnet + Update from https://www.noordzeeloket.nl/en/management/noordzeeatlas/	2018/03
IMO Routes	Activities	Shipping	Adapted from shapefiles received from NorthSEE partner World Maritime University	2018/05
National Shipping Lanes	Activities	Shipping	http://www.naturalearthdata.com/ne_10m_roads/ne_10m_roads	2017/10
Shipping Intensity cargo	Activities	Shipping	https://www.emodnet-humanactivities.eu/	2019/11
Shipping Intensity tanker	Activities	Shipping	https://www.emodnet-humanactivities.eu/	2019/11
Shipping Intensity passenger	Activities	Shipping	https://www.emodnet-humanactivities.eu/	2019/11
Shipping intensity	Activities	Shipping activity	Shipping simulation (SEL) - all ship types together	NA (simulated)
Ferry intensity	Activities	Shipping activity	Shipping simulation (SEL) - ferry ship traffic only	NA (simulated)
Passenger intensity	Activities	Shipping activity	Shipping simulation (SEL) - passenger ship traffic only	NA (simulated)
Tanker intensity	Activities	Shipping activity	Shipping simulation (SEL) - tanker ship traffic only	NA (simulated)
Maintenance intensity	Activities	Shipping activity	Shipping simulation (SEL) - maintenance ship traffic only	NA (simulated)
Cargo intensity	Activities	Shipping activity	Shipping simulation (SEL) - cargo ship traffic only	NA (simulated)
Shipping risk	Activities	Shipping activity	Shipping simulation (SEL) - all ship types together	NA (simulated)
No shipping zones	Activities	Shipping	Adapted from shapefiles received from NorthSEE partner World Maritime University	2018/05
Precautionary Areas	Activities	Shipping	None (empty by default)	NA
Oil & Gas Installations	Activities	Energy	http://www.emodnet-humanactivities.eu	2018/04
Oil & Gas Licensed Areas	Activities	Energy	http://www.emodnet-humanactivities.eu	2018/02
Tidal Farms	Activities	Energy	Old version of game*	2018/02
Wave Farms	Activities	Energy	Old version of game*	2018/02
Wind Farms	Activities	Energy	Adapted from https://odims.ospar.org/odims_data_files/ and merged with existing wind parks from NL: https://www.noordzeeloket.nl/en/up-date-atlas/	2017/10
Electricity Cables (non-editable)	Activities	Cables and pipelines	Adapted from http://www.kis-orca.eu/map	2018/02
Energy Cables	Activities	Cables and pipelines	Data from Electricity Cables (non-editable) layer, rough estimations, and energy model requirements	NA (estimated)
Pipelines	Activities	Cables and pipelines	https://www.emodnet-humanactivities.eu/search-results.php?dataname=Pipelines	2018/04
Cable Corridors	Activities	Cables and pipelines	None (empty by default)	NA
Landing Stations	Activities	Energy	No source - Stations/Sockets are drawn in based on rough estimations or energy model requirements	NA (estimated)
Converter Stations	Activities	Energy	No source - Converters/Transformers are drawn in based on rough estimations or energy model requirements	NA (estimated)
Telecom cables	Activities	Cables and pipelines	Data provided by NorthSEE partner Rijkswaterstaat, the Netherlands	2017/05
Unused cables	Activities	Cables and pipelines	Data provided by NorthSEE partner Rijkswaterstaat, the Netherlands	2017/05
Wind Farms - Areas of Search	Activities	Energy	NorthSEE partners (Energy working group led by Marine Scotland - the Scottish Government)	2018/09
Wave Farms - Areas of Search	Activities	Energy	NorthSEE partners (Energy working group led by Marine Scotland - the Scottish Government)	2018/09
Tidal Farms - Areas of Search	Activities	Energy	NorthSEE partners (Energy working group led by Marine Scotland - the Scottish Government)	2018/09
Recreational Interest	Activities	Recreational	Old version of game*	NA, pre 2016
Lighthouses	Activities	Recreational	https://www.emodnet-humanactivities.eu/search-results.php?dataname=Lighthouses	2018/04
Bottom Trawl Catch	Activities	Fishing	Ecosystem simulation (MEL & EwE)	NA (simulated)
Drift and Fixed Nets Catch	Activities	Fishing	Ecosystem simulation (MEL & EwE)	NA (simulated)
Industrial and Pelagic Trawl Catch	Activities	Fishing	Ecosystem simulation (MEL & EwE)	NA (simulated)
Marine Protected Areas	Ecology	Protected Areas	https://www.protectedplanet.net/c/official-mpa-map/official-mpa-map-ver-3	2016/12
Natura 2000	Ecology	Protected Areas	https://www.protectedplanet.net/c/official-mpa-map/official-mpa-map-ver-3	2016/12
Protection against fishing	Ecology	Protected Areas	(Several fleets) Ecosystem simulation (MEL & EwE)	NA (simulated)
Artificial substrate	Ecology	Pressure	Ecosystem simulation (MEL & EwE)	NA (simulated)
Bottom disturbance	Ecology	Pressure	Ecosystem simulation (MEL & EwE)	NA (simulated)
Surface disturbance	Ecology	Pressure	Ecosystem simulation (MEL & EwE)	NA (simulated)
Noise	Ecology	Pressure	Ecosystem simulation (MEL & EwE)	NA (simulated)
Birds and mammals	Ecology	Several species, according to regional relevance	Ecosystem simulation (MEL & EwE)	NA (simulated)
Fish	Ecology	Several species, according to regional relevance	Ecosystem simulation (MEL & EwE)	NA (simulated)
Macrobenthos	Ecology	Several species, according to regional relevance	Ecosystem simulation (MEL & EwE)	NA (simulated)
Shannon Diversity Indicator	Ecology	Biodiversity Indicator	Ecosystem simulation (MEL & EwE)	NA (simulated)
Large Fish Indicator	Ecology	Biodiversity Indicator	Ecosystem simulation (MEL & EwE)	NA (simulated)

* data used in the previous version of the game, unknown source.

Baltic sea edition

Layer name	Main category	Sub category	Source	Last update
Countries	Management	Governance	adapted from http://www.naturalearthdata.com	Jan/17
Populated places	Management	Governance	http://www.naturalearthdata.com (for whole region)	Oct/16
EEZ	Management	Governance	http://www.marineregions.org/downloads.php#iceser (for whole region)	Oct/16
Territorial Waters	Management	Governance	http://www.marineregions.org/downloads.php#iceser (for whole region)	Oct/16
Bathymetry	Management	Environmental conditions	Helcom	Dec/16
Sediment Type	Management	Environmental conditions	Helcom	Oct/17
water temperature (at Sea bottom)	Management	Environmental conditions	Helcom	May/18
Salinity	Management	Environmental conditions	Helcom (raster)	Jun/18
Eutrophication Status	Management	Environmental conditions	Helcom, (period of 2007-2011)	Oct/17
Ice Cover (Winter, summer)	Management	Environmental conditions	Helcom, (period of 2005-2009)	Oct/17
wind resource density	Management	Environmental conditions	Ri.Se Scenarios	Oct/18
wave resource density	Management	Environmental conditions	Ri.Se Scenarios	Oct/18
Military Areas	Management	Restricted areas	Open street maps	Jun/16
Elevation	(background)	(background)	Helcom	Aug/17
Bathing sites	Activities	Recreation	Helcom	Dec/16
Recreational fishing	Activities	Recreation	Helcom	Jun/16
Finfish Mariculture	Activities	Aquaculture	Helcom	Oct/17
Shellfish Mariculture	Activities	Aquaculture	Helcom	Sep/17
Renewable Energy Sources - Operational	Activities	Energy	Helcom	Feb/17
Potential Wind Farms (RI.SE)	Activities	Energy	RI.SE	Oct/18
Oil platforms	Activities	Energy	Helcom	Oct/17
Refinning Stations	Activities	Energy	Helcom (refinaries)	2016
Pipelines	Activities	Energy	Helcom	Updated in May 2018 (data from 2015)
Electricity Cables (from wind farms)	Activities	Energy	Helcom	Dec/18
Transformers	Activities	Energy	Derived from the land grid	Dec/18
Transmission lines (land grid)	Activities	Energy	Helcom	Dec/18
Other Cables	Activities	Energy	Helcom	Dec/18
Potencial cables (RI.SE)	Activities	Energy	Ri.SE	Oct/18
Dredging sites areas	Activities	Shipping	Helcom	Helcom date: 2018-01-15. updated in the game on 19/11/2018.
Depositing sites areas	Activities	Shipping	Helcom, removed areas under 0.250km2	Helcom update a year ago, updated for the game on 19/11/2018
Sand and Gravel extraction	Activities	Shipping	Helcom	Helcom date: 2018-01-15.added in the game on 19/11/2018.
Ports	Activities	Shipping	Helcom	Jan/17
NO shipping zones	Activities	Shipping	Adapted from shapefiles received from Baltic Lines partner with draft plans of partners	Dec/18
IMO routes	Activities	Shipping	Helcom, updated on 28/06/2018	Dec/18
National shipping lanes	Activities	Shipping	Adapted from shapefiles received from Baltic Lines partner with draft plans of partners	Dec/18
Fairways	Activities	Shipping	Adapted from shapefiles received from Baltic Lines partner with draft plans of partners	Dec/18
Shipping intensity	Activities	Shipping	In game data comes from SEL (Shipping model)	NA
Marine Protected Areas	Ecology	Protected Areas	Helcom	Dec/17
Natura 2000 sites	Ecology	Protected Areas	https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/natura-9	Jan/19 (data from Mar/2019)
Unesco Sites	Ecology	Protected Areas	Helcom	Dec/17
Baltic Sea Fisheries closure	Ecology	Protected Areas	Helcom	Oct/17
Cod Fisheries closure	Ecology	Protected Areas	Helcom	Oct/17
Breeding areas for birds	Ecology	Sensitive areas	Helcom (raster)	Oct/17
Wintering areas for birds	Ecology	Sensitive areas	Helcom (raster)	Oct/17
Cod Spawning areas	Ecology	Sensitive areas	Helcom (raster)	Oct/17
Bottom disturbance	Ecology	Pressure	Pressure calculation (MEL)	NA
Artificial substrate	Ecology	Pressure	Pressure calculation (MEL)	NA
Noise	Ecology	Pressure	Pressure calculation (MEL)	NA
Surface disturbance	Ecology	Pressure	Pressure calculation (MEL)	NA
Protection against fishing	Ecology	Pressure	Pressure calculation (MEL)	NA
Fish	Ecology	Several species, according to regional relevance	EwE	NA
Mammals	Ecology	Several species, according to regional relevance	EwE	NA
Macrobenthos	Ecology	Several species, according to regional relevance	EwE	NA

Clyde marine region

Layer name	Main category	Sub category	Source	Last update
Councils	Management	Governance	Marine Scotland (Drew)	Dec/17
Marine Regions	Management	Governance	Marine Scotland (Drew)	Dec/17
Planning Regions	Management	Governance	Marine Scotland (Drew)	Dec/17
Populated Places	Management	Governance	http://www.naturalearthdata.com	Jun/17
Roads	Management	Governance	http://www.naturalearthdata.com
Railroads	Management	Governance	http://www.naturalearthdata.com
Airports	Management	Governance	http://www.naturalearthdata.com
Territorial Waters	Management	Governance	N.A.	N.A.
Fossil Fuel Availability	Management	Natural Resources	N.A.	N.A.
Sand and Gravel Availability	Management	Natural Resources	N.A.	N.A.
Topography	N.A.	N.A.	https://land.copernicus.eu/pan-european/satellite-derived-products/eu-dem/eu-dem-v1.1	Dec/17
Bathymetry	Management	Environmental conditions	Emodnet	May/17
Water Quality	Management	Environmental conditions	Marine Scotland (Drew)	Dec/17
Sediment Type	Management	Environmental conditions	Emodnet	NA
Dredging locations	Activities	Shipping	Marine Scotland (Drew)	Dec/17
Disposal Sites	Activities	Shipping	Marine Scotland (Drew)	Dec/17
Anchorages	Activities	Shipping	Marine Scotland (Drew)	Dec/17
Ports	Activities	Shipping	Marine Scotland (Drew)	Dec/17
Transport routes	Activities	Shipping	Marine Scotland (Drew)	Dec/17
Cultural Heritage (wreckages)	Activities	Shipping	Marine Scotland (Drew)	Dec/17
Harbour areas	Activities	Shipping	Marine Scotland (Drew)	Dec/17
Shipping Intensity passengers	Activities	Shipping	Marine Scotland (Drew)
Shipping Intensity Cargo	Activities	Shipping	Marine Scotland (Drew)
Shipping Intensity Tankers	Activities	Shipping	Marine Scotland (Drew)
Cables	Activities	Energy	Emodnet (only telecom cables)	Dec/17
Water temperature	Management	Environmental conditions	Not enough variance or coverage
Salinity	Management	Environmental conditions	Not enough variance or coverage
Current intensity	Management	Environmental conditions	Country/region dependent
Wind intensity	Management	Environmental conditions	newables-atlas.info, see tab for terms and conditions
Wave Power	Management	Environmental conditions
Marinas	Activities	Recreation	RYA	Dec/17
RYA Clubs and Training Centres	Activities	Recreation	RYA (via MS)	Dec/17
Scuba	Activities	Recreation	Marine Scotland Survey (Drew)	Dec/17
Rowing	Activities	Recreation	Marine Scotland Survey (Drew)	Dec/17
Canoeing	Activities	Recreation	Marine Scotland Survey (Drew)	Feb/18
Windsurfing	Activities	Recreation	Marine Scotland Survey (Drew)	Dec/17
Walking	Activities	Recreation	Marine Scotland Survey (Drew)	Jan/18
Birds Watching	Activities	Recreation	Marine Scotland Survey (Drew)	Dec/17
Sea angling from shore	Activities	Recreation	Marine Scotland Survey (Drew)	Dec/17
Sea angling from boat	Activities	Recreation	Marine Scotland Survey (Drew)	Mar/18
General Boating areas	Activities	Recreation	RYA	Dec/17
Recreational Boats shipping intensity	Activities	Recreation	Marine Scotland RYA Survey (Drew)	Dec/17
Fish Farm	Activities	Aquaculture	Marine Scotland (Drew)	Dec/17
Fishery Site	Activities	Aquaculture	Marine Scotland (Drew)
Shellfish Farm	Activities	Aquaculture	Marine Scotland (Drew)	Dec/17
Demersal trawl catch	Activities	Fishing	EwE	NA
Seine catch	Activities	Fishing	EwE	NA
Nephrops trawl catch	Activities	Fishing	EwE	NA
Scallops fleet catch	Activities	Fishing	EwE	NA
Electicity Sockets	Activities	Energy
Junction boxes	Activities	Energy
Nephrops Static	Activities	Fishing	NA anymore since we are integrating the EwE model
Nephrops Mobile	Activities	Fishing	NA anymore since we are integrating the EwE model
Scallops	Activities	Fishing	NA anymore since we are integrating the EwE model
Demersal Mobile	Activities	Fishing	NA anymore since we are integrating the EwE model
Pelagic Herring	Activities	Fishing	NA anymore since we are integrating the EwE model
Natura2000 Areas	Ecology	Protected Areas	Drew (merged SPAs and SACs)	Dec/17
Marine Protected Area	Ecology	Protected Areas	Drew (might have to review types according to the fleets used in EwE	Dec/17
Bottom disturbance	Ecology	Pressure	Pressure calculation (MEL)	NA
Artificial substrate	Ecology	Pressure	Pressure calculation (MEL)	NA
Noise	Ecology	Pressure	Pressure calculation (MEL)	NA
Surface disturbance	Ecology	Pressure	Pressure calculation (MEL)	NA
Protection against fishing	Ecology	Pressure	Pressure calculation (MEL)	NA
Several species, according to regional relevance	Ecology	Fish and benthos	EwE	NA
Several species, according to regional relevance	Ecology	Birds and Mammals	EwE	NA
Telecom Sockets	Activities	Telecommunications	Emodnet
Artificial substrate	Dynamic layers	Pressure	Calculated by MSP
Bottom disturbance	Dynamic layers	Pressure	Calculated by MSP
Noise	Dynamic layers	Pressure	Calculated by MSP
Protected areas	Dynamic layers	Pressure	Calculated by MSP
Surface disturbance	Dynamic layers	Pressure	Calculated by MSP
Construction	Dynamic layers	Temporary Restricted zones	Calculated by MSP
Coastal habitats	Ecology	Habitats	Search for info
Marine habitats	Ecology	Habitats	Ask EII if they can provide this
Several species, according to regional relevance	Ecology	Birds	EwE
Several species, according to regional relevance	Ecology	Fish	EwE
Several species, according to regional relevance	Ecology	Macrobenthos	EwE
Several species, according to regional relevance	Ecology	Marine Mamals	EwE
spawning/nursery areas	Ecology	Sensitive Areas
Vulnerable areas	Ecology	Sensitive Areas