GCRI · Oceans and Coasts
Source and data register
Where Oceans and Coasts gets its data: each source with its licence, lineage, resolution, quality checks and known gaps.
01Sequence
The order things happen in.
- 01Draftsources cited, labels attached
- 02Evidence checkevery value traced
- 03Independent reviewconflicts declared
- 04Editionpublished with its limits
- 05Correctiona new version, never a silent edit
02What is recorded
Each source carries five facts.
01
Origin
Who produces the data and how.
02
Access terms
Licence, restrictions and permitted uses.
03
Quality
Coverage, resolution, update frequency and known errors.
04
Provenance
How the data reached the platform and what was changed.
05
Gaps
What is missing and how the gap is handled.
03Register
Every source the topic dossiers cite, with its terms.
| Source | What it gives | Terms | Used in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allen Coral Atlas | Maps of shallow coral reef habitats and bleaching monitoring | Open, CC BY 4.0 | Marine ecosystems |
| Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS and UN-OHRLLS data | SIDS priorities and development statistics | Public, UN terms of use | Island resilience |
| Argo programme data | Global temperature, salinity and biogeochemical profiles | Free and open, Argo data policy | Ocean observation |
| Coastal infrastructure from OpenStreetMap | Locations of ports, roads and facilities | Open, ODbL | Ports and maritime infrastructure |
| Copernicus DEM and lidar where available | Island elevation | Licence per product (to check) | Island resilience |
| Copernicus DEM and other global elevation models | Coastal elevation for exposure analysis | Free, licence per product (to check) | Sea level and coastal flood |
| Copernicus Marine Service biogeochemistry products | Chlorophyll, nutrients and oxygen fields | Free, Copernicus Marine licence | Marine pollution |
| Copernicus Marine Service sea level products | Satellite altimetry sea level and anomalies | Free, Copernicus Marine licence | Sea level and coastal flood |
| Copernicus Marine Service wave and sea level products | Wave and water level hindcasts and forecasts | Free, Copernicus Marine licence | Ports and maritime infrastructure |
| FAO FishStat and the State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture | Global catch, aquaculture, trade, employment and stock status | Open, FAO terms (to check) | Fisheries and livelihoods |
| GESAMP reports | Scientific assessments of marine pollution, including plastics | Public, terms per publication | Marine pollution |
| GESLA global extreme sea level archive | High-frequency tide gauge records for extremes | Free with citation, licence per contributor (to check) | Sea level and coastal flood |
| Global Fishing Watch | Fishing activity estimated from vessel tracking | Open, licence per dataset (CC BY-SA or non-commercial, to check) | Fisheries and livelihoods |
| Global Mangrove Watch | Mangrove extent and change | Open, CC BY 4.0 | Marine ecosystems |
| Global Ocean Acidification Observing Network data | Ocean carbonate chemistry observations | Open, terms per data provider (to check) | Marine ecosystems |
| GLOSS tide gauge network | Core network of tide gauges for sea level | Free, terms per data centre | Ocean observation |
| IMF and World Bank debt sustainability analyses | Public debt and fiscal risk | Public, terms per institution | Island resilience |
| IMF PortWatch | Port activity and disruption estimates | Public, IMF terms (to check) | Ports and maritime infrastructure |
| IOC Global Ocean Science Report | National ocean science capacity and investment | Public, UNESCO terms (CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO for many) | Ocean observation |
| IOC-UNESCO marine spatial planning resources | Status and guidance of marine spatial planning | Public, UNESCO terms | Blue economy |
| IPCC AR6 sea level projection tool (NASA) | Regional sea-level projections by scenario | Open, NASA data policy | Sea level and coastal flood |
| IRENA and national offshore energy statistics | Offshore renewable capacity | Public, terms per publisher | Blue economy |
| ITOPF oil tanker spill statistics | Tanker spills by size and year | Public, ITOPF terms | Marine pollution |
| National beach litter monitoring programmes | Standardised beach litter surveys | Open data where published | Marine pollution |
| NOAA Coral Reef Watch | Satellite sea surface temperature and bleaching heat stress products | Public domain, US government data | Marine ecosystems |
| NOAA tides and currents data | Water levels, high-tide flooding outlooks and datums for US stations | Public domain, US government data | Sea level and coastal flood |
| Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS) | Marine species occurrence records | Open, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-NC per dataset | Marine ecosystems |
| OceanOPS (WMO and IOC) | Status of ocean observing platforms worldwide | Public, OceanOPS terms | Ocean observation |
| OECD Ocean Economy database and outlooks | Ocean economy value and employment by sector | Public, OECD terms | Blue economy |
| Pacific Data Hub (Pacific Community) | Statistics and geospatial data for Pacific island countries | Open, licence per dataset | Island resilience |
| Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level (PSMSL) | Monthly and annual mean sea level from tide gauges worldwide | Free with citation, PSMSL terms | Sea level and coastal flood |
| PIANC guidance on climate change adaptation for waterborne transport infrastructure | Engineering guidance for ports and waterways | Licence per publication | Ports and maritime infrastructure |
| Post-Disaster Needs Assessments for island states | Damage and loss after major events | Public, terms per publisher | Island resilience |
| Protected Planet (World Database on Protected Areas) | Marine protected areas and OECMs | Free for non-commercial use, terms to check | Marine ecosystems |
| RAM Legacy Stock Assessment Database | Compiled stock assessment results | Open, licence to check | Fisheries and livelihoods |
| Regional fisheries management organisation reports | Stock assessments and management measures | Public records, terms per organisation | Fisheries and livelihoods |
| Sea Around Us | Reconstructed catches including unreported catch | Open, licence to check | Fisheries and livelihoods |
| UN Statistics SEEA Ocean accounting resources | Methods for ocean economic and ecosystem accounts | Public, UN terms of use | Blue economy |
| UN Tourism statistics | International tourism data | Licence to check | Blue economy |
| UNCTAD climate adaptation of ports reports and surveys | Port exposure and adaptation practice | Public, UNCTAD terms (to check) | Ports and maritime infrastructure |
| UNEP SDG 14.1.1 data and Global Environment Monitoring System | Coastal eutrophication and plastic debris indicators | Public, UNEP terms | Marine pollution |
| World Ocean Database (NOAA NCEI) | Quality-controlled archive of ocean profile data | Public domain, US government data | Ocean observation |
04Known gaps
Where the ocean and coastal data record is thin.
- Tide-gauge coverage in Africa and small islands.
- High-resolution nearshore bathymetry and coastal elevation.
- Small-scale fisheries catch data.
- Biogeochemical observations in the deep ocean.
05Status
How the register grows.
Sources are added to the register as they are reviewed. A source is listed only once its terms permit the use described.
06Sources
Where this page’s references lead.
The bodies and documents this page is read against. Status and editions change; each link goes to the issuing body.
07Questions
Questions and answers.
Can I suggest a data source?
Yes. Write to the contact form with the source, its owner and its terms.
ReportsContribute
Contribute evidence from this page.
Reports is the Consortium’s quarterly publication. What you know about this subject can become evidence, a case or a correction in the next edition, credited to you and published under CC BY 4.0 where it is your own work.
GCRIOceans and CoastsGlobal Sector Risk and ResilienceObservatory Signal
- EmailGateway GW-GCRISend it from this pageEvidence, a correction, a case, a method, a review, a translation or profile input. It arrives tagged with this page, so the editor who owns it receives it.
- ZenodoOpen depositDeposit it and submit to the communityPublish your own record on Zenodo with your ORCID iD, then submit it to the Reports community there. Curators review it; the DOI stays yours.
- ReportsGCRISee every way to contributeThe contribution types, how each is reviewed, what credit you receive, the licence and what is never accepted.
Never send personal data, sensitive infrastructure detail or anything you have no right to share. A contribution is reviewed before use; sending it confers no authorship or editorial rights, and sponsorship never buys a finding.
Oceans and Coasts
Bring a method, a dataset or a question.
Information and enquiries are open today. An enquiry receives a reference and names the next step; applications, payments, compute allocations and registrations open only when their team, terms and review capacity exist.
Legal
Legal documents.
Maps, data and figures on this site are shown for context and general information. They are not advice, forecasts or warnings; the limits of the information are set out in the Disclaimers and Data Notices.