Advances in application of GIS for Marine Science

7-11 December 2024

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have become an indispensable tool in marine science, providing a powerful platform for the management, analysis, and visualization of spatial data related to the oceans and coastal areas. The vast and dynamic nature of marine environments presents unique challenges for scientists and researchers, requiring innovative approaches to effectively study and manage these complex ecosystems. GIS addresses these challenges by offering a comprehensive framework to integrate various types of spatial and temporal data, enabling a more holistic understanding of marine systems.

Importance of GIS for Marine Science

Data Integration and Visualization: Marine environments are characterized by diverse datasets, including satellite imagery, oceanographic measurements, and species distribution data. GIS allows for the integration of these varied datasets into a single platform, enabling scientists to visualize and analyze complex relationships between physical, chemical, and biological components of marine systems.

Mapping and Monitoring: GIS is critical for mapping marine habitats, monitoring environmental changes, and assessing the impacts of human activities. It helps in creating detailed maps of seafloor topography, coral reefs, and other critical habitats, which are essential for conservation planning and resource management.

Spatial Analysis: The ability to perform spatial analysis using GIS tools helps marine scientists to identify patterns and trends that would be difficult to detect otherwise. For example, GIS can be used to analyze the distribution of marine species in relation to environmental variables such as temperature, salinity, and depth, providing insights into species' habitat preferences and predicting potential impacts of climate change.

Decision Support: GIS is a valuable decision-making tool for marine spatial planning and management. It supports the identification of suitable sites for marine protected areas, the assessment of fisheries management strategies, and the planning of sustainable coastal development. By visualizing and analyzing spatial data, stakeholders can make informed decisions to balance conservation efforts with human use of marine resources.

Duration: 5 days

Topics:

Day 1- Working with GIS and spatial data:

            1.1- Basic GIS

            1.2- Analysis of spatial data

            1.3- Symbology and classification of data

            1.4- Cartographic and Mapping

            1.5- Coordinate system and map projection

Day 2- Analysis of satellite derived water constituents and integration with atmospheric data

2.1- Analysis of Satellite derived data (working with satellite-derived water constituent)

2.2- Analysis of atmospheric models’ output, integration with satellite derived data (working with wind and precipitation data and exploring the correlation with water constituents)

Day 3- Analysis and visualization of Hurricane Storm Surge and Sea-Level Rise

3.1- Analysis of sea-level (exploring and visualizing the sea-level rise data) 

3.2- Analysis of storm-surges (working with surge data, visualization and mapping) 

Day 4 - Analysis of coastal area and mapping protocols for ICZM application

4.1-0Advanced spatial data analysis of coastal area (working with coastal maps and building an ICZM plan)

Day 5- Spatial analysis and modeling of oceanographic features 

5.1- Analysis of oceanographic features in remote sensing data