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GCRIOceans and CoastsIn development
STEM foundation

STEM foundation of Oceans and Coasts

The science, technology, engineering and mathematics Oceans and Coasts rests on. Each method has a canonical page in the STEM Commons, hosted by GCRI, and a page here on how it is applied in this field.

Open Ocean science for coastal risk Back to Oceans and Coasts
Publisher
The Global Centre for Risk and Innovation
Field
Oceans and coasts, Climate and hazards, Biodiversity and nature
Canvas · methods feeding this platformDesign, not a record
STEM foundation of Oceans and Coasts: coastal flood risk and adaptation pathwaysSea level scenarios combined with storm surge and tide give extreme water levels by return period; a flood model maps exposure and damage; adaptation pathways sequence measures with signals for switching before tipping points. Design of the process, not a record of a run.

Fig.The methods this platform draws on and what each one feeds. Design, not a record.

01In brief

The short answer.

The Oceans and Coasts STEM foundation is the set of canonical methods its findings depend on, from ocean and coastal science to water and environmental engineering. For the Consortium, Oceans and Coasts stewards ocean and coastal science. Each method has a canonical STEM Commons page and a page here on its use in the oceans and coasts field.

02Geography

Ocean state in Pacific Island states.

Marine heat, sea surface temperature, chlorophyll and sea ice from satellite analyses, framed on Pacific Island states; each layer is a dated NASA product.

The interactive map needs JavaScript; the layer list and sources are below.

Layers 1

Ocean state

Latest available

NASA GIBS / EOSDIS · ASTER GDEM (METI, NASA) · Natural Earth

Loading the latest NASA imagery.

Drag to move. Ctrl or ⌘ and scroll, pinch or the buttons to zoom; hover for the values under the pointer; reset returns to the region.

Marine heat, sea surface temperature, chlorophyll and sea ice from satellite analyses, framed on Pacific Island states.Satellite and model products as NASA publishes them, each with its own date; indicators, not assessments of any place; claim ceiling INTEGRATED.

Data: NASA GIBS · ASTER GDEM · Natural EarthSources and licences

  • We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • GHRSST Level 4 MUR analyses, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory; distributed by the NASA Physical Oceanography DAAC (PO.DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • MODIS Aqua ocean colour, NASA Ocean Biology Processing Group; distributed by the NASA Ocean Biology DAAC (OB.DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • VIIRS near-real-time products (flood, land surface temperature, snow cover, corrected reflectance), NASA LANCE; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • ASTER GDEM is a product of METI and NASA (ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003, NASA LP DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com. Public domain
  • Globe: MapLibre GL JS 6.9.1, BSD-3-Clause, © MapLibre contributors.

Layers and dates

  • Sea surface temperature anomaly: GHRSST MUR25, NASA JPL PO.DAAC · 12 Oct 2026
  • Sea surface temperature: GHRSST MUR, NASA JPL PO.DAAC · 12 Oct 2026
  • Ocean chlorophyll-a concentration: MODIS Aqua ocean colour, NASA OB.DAAC · 12 Oct 2026
  • Sea ice concentration: GHRSST MUR, NASA JPL PO.DAAC · 12 Oct 2026
  • True colour: VIIRS NOAA-20 corrected reflectance, NASA LANCE · 13 Oct 2026

03Methods

The methods behind the field.

  1. Ocean and coastal scienceRegional sea-level budgets · Marine heatwave analysis · Wave climate assessmentSteward · Oceans and CoastsApplied here
    Canonical · STEM Commons
  2. Earth observation and remote sensingOcean colour and blooms · Shoreline change mapping · Coastal habitat mappingSteward · Space and Earth ObservationApplied here
    Canonical · STEM Commons
  3. Extreme value theory and tail riskExtreme sea level return levels · Amplification factors · Extreme wave heightsSteward · Reinsurance and CatastropheApplied here
    Canonical · STEM Commons
  4. Ecology and biodiversity scienceReef condition monitoring · Stock assessment inputs · Restoration monitoringSteward · Biodiversity NexusApplied here
    Canonical · STEM Commons
  5. Geospatial information systemsCoastal exposure mapping · Marine spatial planning layers · Fishing effort mappingSteward · Space and Earth ObservationApplied here
    Canonical · STEM Commons
  6. Earth and geophysical scienceDelta subsidence · Sediment budgets · Tsunami source characterisationSteward · Climate and HazardsApplied here
    Canonical · STEM Commons
  7. Water and environmental engineeringCoastal defence options · Coastal wastewater planning · Adaptation pathwaysSteward · Water NexusApplied here
    Canonical · STEM Commons
04Method mix

Why ocean and coastal needs this combination of methods.

Ocean and coastal work combines ocean science and ecology, Earth observation and geospatial methods, extreme value statistics for surges, geoscience for coasts and environmental engineering for defences.

05Why it matters

Grounding makes claims checkable.

When a finding names the methods it depends on, a reader can see its assumptions and limits, and an expert in that method can challenge it.

06Key terms

Terms used on this page.

Each term as this page uses it. Where a standard-setting body defines the term, the wording follows that body.

TermDefinition
STEM CommonsThe shared reference of science, technology, engineering and mathematics methods for the Nexus network, hosted by GCRI, with one canonical page per method and a named steward platform.
Steward platformThe platform that maintains the canonical description of a method in the STEM Commons and reviews how other platforms apply it.
Ocean and coastal scienceOcean science studies the physics, chemistry, biology and geology of the oceans and coasts.
Earth observation and remote sensingEarth observation and remote sensing gather information about the Earth's surface and atmosphere from airborne and spaceborne sensors.
07Sources

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.

08Pages

Pages in STEM foundation of Oceans and Coasts.

Method

Ocean science for coastal risk

Method

Earth observation of oceans and coasts

Method

Extreme value statistics for coasts

Method

Marine ecology

Method

Geospatial analysis for oceans and coasts

Method

Coastal geoscience

Method

Coastal engineering

09Questions

Questions and answers.

What is a steward platform?
The platform that maintains the canonical description of a method and reviews how it is applied across the Consortium.
Related

Around Oceans and Coasts.

Oceans and Coasts

Bring your expertise to this field.

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