Waterbase is the generic name given to the EEA's databases on the status and quality of Europe's rivers, lakes, groundwater bodies and transitional, coastal and marine waters, on the quantity of Europe's water resources, and on the emissions to surface waters from point and diffuse sources of pollution.
Waterbase is the generic name given to the EEA's databases on the status and quality of Europe's rivers, lakes, groundwater bodies and transitional, coastal and marine waters, on the quantity of Europe's water resources, and on the emissions to surface waters from point and diffuse sources of pollution.
Waterbase is the generic name given to the EEA's databases on the status and quality of Europe's rivers, lakes, groundwater bodies and transitional, coastal and marine waters, on the quantity of Europe's water resources, and on the emissions to surface waters from point and diffuse sources of pollution.
Waterbase is the generic name given to the EEA's databases on the status and quality of Europe's rivers, lakes, groundwater bodies and transitional, coastal and marine waters, on the quantity of Europe's water resources, and on the emissions to surface waters from point and diffuse sources of pollution.
The European Union’s (EU) network of protected sites, Natura 2000, could be further connected with green infrastructure to create a trans-European nature network. According to a European Environment Agency (EEA) briefing, published today, highways and other infrastructure currently disconnect about 15 % of the Natura 2000 sites from other nature areas, reducing their capacity for ecosystem services.
Currently, the ocean takes up about one quarter of global CO 2 emissions from human activities. The uptake of CO 2 in the sea causes ocean acidification, as the pH of sea water declines.
Ocean surface pH declined from 8.2 to below 8.1 over the industrial era as a result of an increase in atmospheric CO 2 concentrations. This decline corresponds to an increase in oceanic acidity of about 30 %.
In recent decades, ocean acidification has been occurring 100 times faster than during natural events over the past 55 million years. These rapid chemical changes are an added pressure on marine ecosystems.
Observed reductions in surface water pH are nearly identical across the global ocean and throughout European seas, except for variations near coasts. The reduction in pH in the northernmost European seas, i.e. the Norwegian Sea and the Greenland Sea, is larger than the global average.
Ocean acidification has wide-ranging impacts on marine ecosystems. A reduction in carbonate availability reduces the rate of calcification of marine calcifying organisms, such as reef-building corals, shellfish and plankton. Ocean acidification has already affected the deep ocean, particularly at high latitudes.
Changes in pH affect biological processes, e.g. enzyme activities and photosynthesis, which in turn affects primary production. These changes may be exacerbated by rising seawater temperatures.
Changes in marine primary production will have an impact on the global carbon cycle and the absorption of atmospheric CO 2 in the ocean, as well as on the overall capacity of ocean to mitigate climate change.
effectsModels consistently project further ocean acidification worldwide. Ocean surface pH is projected to decrease to values between 8.05 and 7.75 by the end of the 21st century, depending on future CO 2 emission levels. The largest projected decline represents more than a doubling in acidity.
The combined effects of elevated seawater temperatures, deoxygenation and acidification are expected to have negative effects on entire marine ecosystems and cause changes in food webs and marine production, and will also result in economic losses.
Since the adoption of the Habitats Directive in 1992 and the creation of the Natura 2000 network, the cumulative area of the network has steadily increased in EU Member States. In 2019, the network covered an area of 1 358 125 km 2 , encompassing nine biogeographical regions.
The coverage of terrestrial Natura 2000 areas was 784 994 km 2 in 2019, which is 18 % of the EU’s land area. This is more than the global biodiversity target for protected areas, which aims to conserve at least 17 % of terrestrial and inland water areas by 2020 (Aichi Target 11).
From air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions to urban life and recovery policies, how the current coronavirus crisis impacts the environment poses many questions. We try to address some of these questions based on the knowledge held by the EEA, Eionet and other partners. This section will be regularly updated with new knowledge shared with us.
Bathing is an extremely popular and important leisure activity in Europe. This annual assessment of European bathing sites shows how well environmental protection measures are implemented, allowing people to make informed decisions on where to go to best enjoy Europe’s inland and coastal bathing sites.
This map shows bathing water locations and their quality for the latest as well as previous bathing seasons. All symbols are coloured according to achieved quality status in the most recent season. Data are presented on two levels: country (less detailed scales) and bathing water (more detailed scales).
The EU Bathing Waters Directive requires Member States to identify popular bathing places in fresh and coastal waters and monitor them for indicators of microbiological pollution (and other substances) throughout the bathing season which runs from May to September
The quality of Europe’s bathing water remains high, according to this year’s European bathing water quality assessment published today. Just under 85 % of swimming sites across Europe monitored in 2019 met the European Union’s highest and most stringent ‘excellent’ quality standards.
The chart compares the results of the Cumulative Effect Assessment with the results of the Ecosystem Health Status (MESH+) Assessment and EU Water Framwork Directive ecological status (2016).
The map describes combined effects index values for pressures caused by land-based human activities. The relative values indicate areas where the pressures potentially affect the marine ecosystem. The table shows the frequency of assessment units indicating pressure
The map describes the combined effects index values for pressures on marine species and habitats in Europe's seas. The relative values indicate areas where the pressures potentially affect the marine ecosystem. The table shows the spatial coverage of the sea-based pressures in three marine zones
The map describes combined effects index values for pressures caused by human activities. The relative values indicate areas where the pressures potentially affect the marine ecosystem.
The charts shows the ranking of key groups of pressures causing ecosystem effects and ecosystem components being affected by them in Europe’s seas
The European environment information and observation network (Eionet) spatial data sets include information about European river basin districts, river basin district sub-units, surface water bodies, groundwater bodies and monitoring sites. The data sets are part of the Water Information System for Europe (WISE), and compile information reported by the 39 EEA Member and cooperating countries to the European Environment Agency (EEA) since 2001.
For the EEA Member countries and cooperating countries not reporting under WFD, the EIONET spatial data sets are the most up-to-date information available in WISE. The coverage is complete for Switzerland, and partial for the remaining countries (Liechtenstein, Turkey, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo).
For the 27 European Union Member States, Iceland, Norway and the United Kingdom, the Water Framework Directive (WFD) reference spatial data sets are the most complete and up-to-date information available in WISE (only the EIONET monitoring sites and EIONET water bodies that could not be mapped to WFD spatial objects are included in the EIONET spatial data set).
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